Even at the age of 92, long after he has retired from playing in the Bassetlaw League – and indeed umpiring and serving on the management committee – he shows the same unswerving determination that his favourite sport should prosper.

This year sees the 100th anniversary of the forming of the league when six clubs, Worksop, Retford, Shireoaks, Kiveton Park, Clowne Town and Gainsborough Britannia Works met at the Lion Hotel in the town on 12th August 1903.

Since that time, Cliff has seen more of its history unwind than perhaps any other individual still alive today.

And it is that proud fact, together with his loyalty and devotion to the league, that has led him to come up with a special way to mark the centenary.

Cliff was once the proprietor of a sports shop in the town, Willmott and Sullivan on Gateford Road, that sold cricket bats stamped with ‘The Bassetlaw’ for use in the league.

He took on the role of exclusive distributor of the bats in 1946 and sold them to local cricketers until 1979.

Now, after a gap of more than 20 years, Cliff has resurrected the bat and aims to reproduce them to raise funds for the next generation of Bassetlaw cricketers – the juniors.

“The best way to solve the drugs problem facing children is to give them something to do and I think getting them interested in sport is one of the best ways of doing that,” Cliff said.

“My interest is particularly in the Bassetlaw Junior Cricket League where many ex-players are doing their best to organise and run things for the children.”

“But like all amateur sport it is very hard to finance these days so I thought it would be a good time to launch the bat scheme, in conjunction with the league’s centenary, to help provide the funds needed.”

The Bassetlaw bats were originally made in Worksop by John Kelk, a Windsor chair maker who turned to making them to supplement his income.

He hand-crafted the bats in his workshop using his own equipment until 1929 before he was taken over by a firm from Horbury near Wakefield.

They did not use the Bassetlaw stamp on their bats until 1946 – when Cliff approached them to make it for Gateford Road shop.

And it is that Horbury-based company – now called IF cricket and part of Slazenger – who have agreed to make a limited number of bats for Cliff all these years on.

The 2003 version of the Bassetlaw bat will, like the originals, have a stamp and it is being printed by Worksop company Whitaker Signs and Designs Limited.

Cliff was given his first Bassetlaw bat in 1922 and though he no longer has it in his possession, he still has very fond memories of it.

He said: “When I was in the sports business many years ago one of the most popular cricket bats we sold was the Bassetlaw.”

“My first cricket bat was a Bassetlaw and was bought for me when I got into the school team but I was the only lad I knew who had a bat of his own.”

The initial reaction to Cliff’s idea has been very positive and he is thankful to those who have assisted him.

“I am very pleased that everyone has come together to help make these bats possible,” he said.

“It was my friend Eric (Adwick) who helped with this until he passed away in October, but other people have stepped in to support me.”

“I already have around 20 people who are donating £50 to purchase a bat. Many have come from families and friends in memory of loved ones who played in and supported the league.”

“Others will be auctioned and raffled. The bats are being made not for re-sale or financial gain, but for the benefit of junior cricket.”

League president Richard Martin, who has already secured his bat, said: “It’s a remarkable achievement by Cliff who’s tackled this with determination to get it off the ground.”

“His dedication to cricket is beyond doubt and we just hope the bats now make the money they deserve.”

There are still original Bassetlaw bats in existence today, with examples on view in the Retford Museum on Grove Street.

This article was published in the summer of 2003

Sadly Cliff died during the winter of 2003/04, but his bats are a lasting tribute to his enthusiam and commitement to cricket in Bassetlaw.

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