Learie Constantine became the pioneering West Indian icon who dazzled in the English cricket leagues. In the 1930s, he attracted large crowds to Nelson, leading his team to seven Lancashire League titles within nine years, and later made history as the UK’s first black peer.
He opened the door for generations of exceptional Caribbean cricketers, with a notable start in the 1950s featuring “The Three Ws”. Everton Weekes boasted an average of an impressive 91.6 during his seven years at Bacup; Clyde Walcott excelled at Enfield, and Frank Worrell—the first black captain of the West Indies—dominated at Radcliffe in the Central Lancashire League, where Sonny Ramadhin had his own impressive performances.
The legendary stars of the 1960s from the West Indies continued this tradition. Pace bowlers Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith made significant impacts in the Lancashire League; Lance Gibbs rewarded Whitburn for making him the Durham Senior League’s first £1,000 pro by claiming a remarkable 126 wickets; while Rohan Kanhai was a prolific run-scorer wherever he played, including at Ashington, where a local JD Wetherspoon pub now bears his name.
The trend persisted with the powerhouse teams of the 1970s and 80s. Clive Lloyd spent two years in the Lancashire League before joining Old Trafford in 1968, as the county cricket scene opened to overseas players. His fellow change bowlers—Joel Garner at Littleborough and Colin Croft at Royton—added a fierce element to the CLL in the late 1970s, while in 1981, a 27-year-old Michael Holding joined Rishton, engaging in fierce competition with his new-ball partner Andy Roberts at Haslingden.
Six years later, Viv Richards would also join Rishton, while Desmond Haynes enjoyed three summers in the North Yorkshire and South Durham League with Blackhall and Guisborough. Haynes’ opening partner, Gordon Greenidge, played late-career seasons for Greenock in Scotland and Leyland in the Northern League, later succeeded by Malcolm Marshall.
Among the stars of the 1990s, a young Curtly Ambrose (Chester Boughton Hall, Heywood) and Courtney Walsh (Tynedale) gained vital experience as club professionals, while Richie Richardson and Jimmy Adams became iconic figures in the Durham Senior League. Even Brian Lara had a stint as a sub-pro at Fleetwood before they chose not to sign him for the next season. The legacy of West Indian cricketers in the leagues is remarkable, with few who didn’t participate.
And the greatest of them all was no exception—known for drawing crowds and being a sociable teammate during the eight seasons he played league cricket before joining Nottinghamshire in 1968, with the last three seasons played at Norton in Stoke-on-Trent.
As is often the case with new competitions, the North Staffordshire & South Cheshire League was established by a group of influential clubs who were apprehensive about relegation and opted to create a protective, exclusive structure.
The league’s first season commenced in 1963, the same year that limited-overs cricket was popularized with the launch of the Gillette Cup. Among the founding clubs of the NSSCL was Norton, propelled by the initiative of its chairman, Tommy Talbot, a local plumbing and decorating entrepreneur who funded the league’s limited-overs cup. That year, he secured an agreement with Garry Sobers to be Norton’s professional.
This was undoubtedly a significant achievement for Talbot, particularly since he had previously brought Frank Worrell and Jim Laker to the Potteries. Worrell was welcomed by his new teammates at a lavish dinner with an Al Jolson impersonator, while Laker’s debut took a humorous turn when he returned to find another player’s policeman’s uniform on his hook. “He may have taken 19 wickets in a Test match,” remarked Norton’s existing off-spinner, PC Frank Reynolds, “but nobody takes my place,”
Talbot signed Sobers on a five-year contract at £50 per week. While a contract of such duration might normally be viewed with caution (as it can lead to complacency), let’s examine the rationale behind Talbot’s decision.
At the time, 26-year-old Sobers had participated in 42 of his 93 Tests, averaging a remarkable 60.9 with the bat, highlighted by a world record highest score of 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958, a record that stood for 36 years, presenting a positive case for his prowess. His bowling average was a less exceptional 36.66, which would settle at just over 34 upon retirement—decent but not necessarily indicative of greatness, yet many would argue sufficient to warrant his selection as a bowler due to his adaptable skill set in swing, left-arm orthodox, and wrist-spin, a collective talent valuable at club level.
Sobers’ club record during his five seasons at Radcliffe in the Central Lancashire League further supported Talbot’s confidence. Although he had made Test history with his triple-century, could he replicate that success on a rainy Saturday in Stoke? Talbot likely assessed the stats—5,708 runs at 63.42 and 532 wickets at 11.23, including twice achieving the 1,000-run, 100-wicket double—and would have felt assured that a five-year contract for Sobers at Norton was a sound decision.
Despite this, Sobers was unable to join the NSSCL until late in the 1964 season as he was engaged in a victorious tour with the West Indies, who bested England 3-1 in the inaugural Wisden Trophy. In his absence, the outspoken Australian all-rounder Cec Pepper took on the pro role, playing alongside Sobers’ brother, Gerry, a wicket-keeper and aggressive batsman who traveled with his renowned sibling, albeit bending a few rules along the way according to Vince Lindo, the new Jamaican pro at neighboring Sneyd.
“Back then, if you were an amateur, like Gerry was supposed to be, you had to reside within a 10-mile radius of the club,” recounts Lindo. “Professionals, however, could live anywhere. So, Garry lived in Manchester and Gerry stayed with him. But Tommy Talbot arranged for him to reside in a flat on High Lane in Burslem to meet the 10-mile requirement. Gerry never spent a night there—it was basically Tommy Talbot’s office!”
Garry finally made his much-anticipated entry in late April 1964, greeted under cloudy Potteries skies by a Pathé News crew, whom he informed he was excited to “escape the sunshine” and play in “a class of cricket that contributed so much to my career”. The Norton ground, owned by the National Coal Board, was well-equipped but not particularly appealing, overshadowed by a dark spoil heap from the Ford Green pit, constantly replenished by heavy machinery.
The locals enjoyed their first glimpse of Sobers during a lively 44 in his home debut against Stone, although rain curtailed the match shortly after tea. The subsequent two Saturdays saw Norton secure comfortable wins, positioning themselves favorably for their Talbot Cup opener, usually comprising 25 overs per side on Sundays or 20 on weekdays, with no bowler restrictions. In this match, Sobers faced off against West Indies teammate Wes Hall, who was earning £60 weekly at Great Chell, reflecting his strong track record with Accrington. Around 1,800 fans flocked to Norton for a tightly contested game, where the visitors worked hard to defend a meager total of 63.
An article in the preceding week’s Evening Sentinel praised Hall’s “scrupulous fairness in bowling, avoiding bouncers when a less scrupulous man might opt for them,” and once again, he maintained his straight bowling to Frank Reynolds as Norton faltered at 61 for eight in the last over. “My cousin, John Bailey, kept wickets for Chell,” recalls a Norton tailender. “Wes Hall’s run-up was so long that I remember chatting about family matters while waiting. However, Wes was steaming in with rapid deliveries, and I was left pondering where runs would come from. Then he clean-bowled me, but the ball ricocheted to the boundary; however, the umpire called it a no-ball, awarding us four byes, and we managed to win.”
The teams would meet again a fortnight later in the league, drawing a larger crowd of 2,500 at Chell. The gate receipts of £160, plus an additional £90 from refreshments (equating to over £4,000 today), provided a much-needed boost for a club that had recently built a new pavilion.
The highlighted matchup was certainly the match between the Bajan players, and the crowd eagerly awaited Sobers’ arrival, which began as he gathered his bat from the upstairs dressing rooms and made his way past a full-sized snooker table. He descended the shallow steps of a viewing gallery lined with long rows of leather-backed seats, turning left to the top of a grand staircase that opened out to a parquet ballroom floor, across which he traversed on a rubber mat. Another door led him down a dozen concrete steps, passing rows of wooden benches where members were seated before finally stepping out into the field, with a covered stand lining the Western side—this site was the closest the Potteries had to a venue like Lord’s.
Soon, Sobers was showcasing those signature pull shots and back-foot strokes, his bat finishing its impressive arc near his backside. From the other end, 21-year-old Dave Brock watched as Sobers notched 59 runs, while he himself completed a commendable 66, an innings that left him on a high as Sobers secured five wickets for 47, helping secure a fifth victory in five completed matches.
“It was a memorable day,” reflects Brock. “Batting with Garry was incredible, although he never offered much in terms of advice, simply suggesting to play one’s own game. Wes bowled exceptionally well, even breaking my bat. It took me months to save up for a new one. He did, however, pick up the tab for a drink after the game, and after someone went to get food, we enjoyed tripe and chips together at the bar.”
Tommy Talbot’s investment was clearly paying off, both on the cricket field and beyond, as Norton buzzed with “Saturday Afternoon Fever,” an expression coined by Norton’s Peter Gibbs, an Oxford Blue and future Derbyshire opener who later reflected in Wisden: “During his tenure at Norton, Worrell was always surrounded by fans eager to carry his equipment from the car park, but Garry’s arrival drew an entourage—a bag carrier, a bat carrier, and a pads carrier—all eager to assist their idol. This allowed the star player to stroll to the pavilion unencumbered, showcasing his unique flair.”
Norton continued to perform excellently throughout the 1964 season, maintaining a six-point lead at the midpoint. The scoring system was straightforward, attributing three points for a win and one for a draw, making this cushion quite beneficial. As the final four matches approached, that six-point edge against Longton, their next opponent, remained intact.
Pakistan’s Test spinner Nasim-ul-Ghani contributed the most for Longton with a score of 31 to a modest total of 118, leaving Norton three hours to secure victory and likely clinch the league championship. Gibbs opened the batting with Bernard Newton, who scored 26 over the course of 111 minutes, while Newton managed just 13 in 57. The restless home crowd soon began to voice their displeasure, the Evening Sentinel noted, as they “missed potential singles and infrequently connected with the ball, each successful stroke greeted with ironic applause. Frequent appeal requests were directed at the umpires in hopes of declarations.”
Gibbs would later describe this “impatient heckling” as a “character-building aspect of my Saturday afternoons” in another Wisden essay entitled Stars that Shone Beside the Slag Heaps: “After dismissing the opposition for a modest total, and with the pro’s collection box already doing the rounds, Garry had the disconcerting habit of propping his feet up and prompting our first three batsmen to accumulate the runs. Consequently, we would tentatively inch our way towards victory, attempting not to disturb our star player. The crowd, however, was far from pleased. While they witnessed Sobers bowl, they expected to see him bat as well. It was only a short while before we ‘three stooges’ overstayed our welcome.”
“Garry would often state, ‘I’ve fulfilled my role; now it’s your turn,’” adds Brock. “He played by his own rules.” The captain, as well as Talbot, could not impose discipline over him. He would frequently disappear for tea, enjoying a brandy in the secretary’s office while someone brought him his sandwiches. Talbot ensured Sobers was well-looked after; his presence attracted many fans eager to engage with him, whether they were players or reporters. Occasionally, he could be heard declaring, ‘I’ll bat next, skipper’ when a significant match was in progress.
Sobers eventually made his entrance at number five and was “restrained by the poor lighting” before being caught in the deep off Nasim, who went on to dismantle the remaining order, claiming seven wickets for 39 as Longton took the last wicket with only three minutes to spare, leaving Norton just 11 runs short. The title race had tightened again, but Norton needed to falter at least once in their remaining three games.
They first dispatched Porthill Park, with Sobers contributing significantly with six wickets for 38 and an effortless unbeaten 19, ending the contest with a colossal six that sailed into the car park. A week later against Nantwich, he starred once again with nine wickets for 41 in a 100-run victory, all while Longton continued to win, until an anticlimactic rainouts impacted the finale. Nevertheless, Norton celebrated their championship victory. Sobers concluded the season with 549 runs at an average of 49.9 (second to his brother’s average of 50.1) and an astonishing 97 wickets at an average of 8.4—setting a league record that stood until 2002, outstripping the next highest tally by a full 30 wickets.
When the Norton side next encountered their star player, he was leading the West Indies, having been selected by Worrell as his successor. However, Sobers hesitated to accept, worried that his late-night habits, tolerated by Worrell, might hinder his ability to lead. Over the summer, he discussed the implications with his Norton captain, Jim Flannery, eventually finding a solution by extending the same (non-curfew) privileges to all, ensuring free rein over evening activities, provided the performance remained consistent on the field.
Life at Norton was no different, as Reynolds recalls: “He enjoyed the nightlife like any young man. Yet, he remarkably maintained his fitness and was always up for a game, even after a night of revelry.”
The 1965 cricket season offered the Potteries audience an added event—the outset of the League Cricket Conference’s inaugural inter-league tournament, the President’s Cup, backed by Rothmans (the era was marked by tobacco sponsorship). The NSSCL had triumphed over the Birmingham, Bolton, and Northumberland leagues in the earlier rounds, the latter tractably vanquished by Wes Hall’s seven wickets for 13, notably claiming six for six in his initial spell. By late August, they found themselves in the finals opposing the Yorkshire Cricket Council.
In the final, the home team batted first, with Sobers falling for a disappointing 13 in front of an expected crowd of 4,500. Stone’s Paul Shardlow, a goalkeeper at Stoke City, stood out with a score of 32 in a total of 102, featuring several ducks. In response, the visitors stumbled to 49 for seven but rallied to 81 for eight until Sobers returned, securing a 20-run victory with figures of five for 10. Celebration ensued, and the sponsors treated the victors to complimentary products. “The smokers on the team were likely left wondering where all their free Rothmans had disappeared to,” chuckled Stone seamer Peter Harvey. “Many were quite frustrated when Garry swiftly stuffed them into his kit bag!”
Sobers’ second season in the NSSCL commenced late due to his commitments as Test skipper for a five-match home series against Australia—wrapped up with a win to spare. He arrived four weeks late, but Norton had already notched three victories and one draw, setting up a home match against the winless Leek, who soon found themselves in trouble at nine for four.
In came Stan Trafford, a teenager who managed a mere two runs in his initial 45 minutes at the crease, but then exploded with 51 in the next 45 minutes, albeit with a dramatic episode: “A sharp delivery from Garry sent his box flying,” recounts teammate Steve Cartledge. “The ensuing repairs involved some vigorous adjustments by the bat handle. I can’t speculate on any repairs to Stan’s… integrity!”
This is an adapted extract from Sticky Dogs and Stardust: When the Legends Played in the Leagues, the Wisden Book of the Year for 2024. Purchase the hardback for £16.00 + p&p (use coupon code GSNSTICKY1 at checkout) or the ebook for £4.49 (use coupon code GSNSTICKY2) at thenightwatchman.net.
