The date of joining the Huddersfield and District Cricket Association (HCDA) is somewhat vague, being ‘around the First World War’. The earliest mention of Blackley in the HDCA minutes is 1921, but older members can remember playing earlier than this.

The cricket square was kept in trim during the two great wars by playing bowls on it ready for when ‘the lads come home’.

Tennis was played in the bottom corner by the Golden Fleece and the nets had to be removed when there was a cricket match. New courts were later laid where the M62 slip road now lies.

Money was raised by functions in the Sunday School rooms, entertainment was proved by the players. Food for teas and suppers was begged from the inhabitants of the village. The village consisted of some 55 houses, most of these being demolished for the M62 slip road. The steady decline and this final decimation left a community of elderly people, and with no signs of modern housing development the chance of attracting young families seems pretty slim.

In their heyday Blackley lads were a boisterous bunch, throwing ‘sods’ over the cricket field wall at the inhabitants of Kew Hill as they walked to a match.

The first recorded success came in 1936 when Blackley won the Lumb Cup.

In 1946 the filed was levelled with the aid of a mechanical digger. 5ft 3in most of it shale bed was taken from the top of the field opposite the ‘Fleece’ and placed at the bottom thus levelling the field up.

The ground came up for sale in 1948 and the club not having sufficient funds to purchase it, Mr Fred Wilkinson, the then President, acquired it giving the club a 999 year lease. In the same year the club purchased an ex-army hut which became the ‘tea-room’ and was erected by members of the allotments, that had fallen into disuse with the end of the 2nd World War. To cap the year off the 2nd XI won the Armitage Shield.

In 1954 Blackley applied and were accepted into the Halifax Cricket League. Their first match was against Websters. Six years later the 2nd XI were Division Two second team champions.

In 1967 Blackley received promotion into the 1st Division and were finalist in the Parish Cup.

1970 saw the start of the extensions to the playing area. The bank at the bottom of the field was dug out and extended by a gift of land of several feet by Websters Brewery. A retaining wall was begun and completed in 1972.

The land on which the new pavilion is built was isolated by the making of the M62 slip roads, which cut through the field. Being too small to be usable and having no means of access it seemed reasonable that it should become part of the Cricket Club. This was finalised in 1974 and this final extension to the playing area just about doubles the size of the original playing area.