CROSSFLATTS Cricket Club are excited to see what the 2022 season brings after hitting the ground running in their first campaign in the Bradford Premier League last time out.

With their first team narrowly beating Great Preston to the Division Three title at the first time of asking and their second string finishing in mid-table, the club also oversaw the introduction of a popular women’s team, led by some of the best female amateur cricketers in the local area.

Formed in 1905, Crossflatts played their cricket in the West Bradford League until 1967, before moving to the Aire-Wharfe League, where they spent 27 successful years.

During their time there, Flatts won Division B titles in 1971 and 1977 before defying the odds to clinch both the Division B title and the Waddilove Cup in 1982, in what is considered one of the greatest seasons in their history.

They also reached Waddilove Cup finals in both 1976 and 1977, losing to Otley and Knaresborough respectively.

They were controversially replaced in the league by Collingham & Linton in 1993, despite having a solid record during their time there, and they transferred to the Bradford Central League the following season.

A decade later, they switched to the Craven & District Cricket League.

They won the Second Division title there in 2006, largely thanks to an outstanding 1,053 runs from Mick Brooksbank.

With their second string winning the Cowling Cup in 2009, Crossflatts’ first XI secured another trophy of their own in 2010 after winning a maiden First Division title.

That season also proved to be a memorable one for young wicket-keeper Dom Bennett, who took home the Norman Smith Merit Trophy as the league’s most outstanding player under the age of 21.

Five years later, overseas players began to make their mark, with the acquisitions of Australian Josh Kazar and Indian Vikram Bakshi, who scored three centuries each to write their names into the club’s history books.

Two of those tons came against strugglers Chatburn in a record score of 376-3, with the club also reaching over 300 runs in the cup against Denholme the following day on a weekend that will live long in the memory.

Flatts claimed the Division One crown against their local rivals a year later in a winner-takes-all clash, with bowler Jim O’Hara’s hat-trick helping them to beat Bingley Congs by 17 runs on the penultimate weekend of the season.

The club regained the title in the 2019 season as part of a famous Division One and Wynn Cup double, in their most successful season in almost 40 years.

They also made the finals of the National Village Cup and Keighley Cup, losing to Houghton Main and Keighley respectively.

Before moving to the Bradford Premier League last year, Crossflatts had to settle for second place in the Craven League’s COVID Group B, with their most impressive performance undoubtedly a 10-wicket demolition of Division One rivals Cowling at their Ryshworth Park home.

Not only has their men’s section proved popular both on and off the pitch, 2021 also saw the formation of a new women’s side, led by Chloe Feather, Adele Brooksbank, Charlotte Boulton and Lucy Hall.

Boulton, an established player for Crossflatts’ first and second teams, is full of cricketing know-how, and has enjoyed passing on her tactics and knowledge to the next generation of female cricketers over the past year.

“We held free training sessions every Wednesday night from 6pm, and we had tonnes of interest,” she explained.

“We successfully registered 42 girls, ranging from five to 16 years old.

“More than anything, we wanted the girls to enjoy playing cricket, while learning the skills and technique to play the game.”

During the off-season, the women’s section will be training indoors at Beckfoot School from January 28.

If you are interested in joining the club or women’s team, which hopes to field a side in the Under-13 softball league, please email A_ward@sky.com.