Lost and found

It’s not even that big. Five miles east of Durham, a speck of a place these days, it was once the home of Lord Lambton’s colliery where 500 men and boys worked – among them the ten-year-old Peter Lee – and where 30 lost their lives. It closed in 1914.

There was a village institute and a Methodist chapel, sundry shops and a pub called the Duke of York where hung a picture of a long gone Sunday School outing to Morpeth. The caption was simple: “It rained,” it said.

Almost as inevitably as pub and chapel, there was a cricket field, too.

Back in 1895, village batsman John Thompson played in Durham’s very first Minor Counties fixture – against Lincolnshire in front of a 2,000 crowd at Bunker Hill, Philadelphia – scored but a single and was never asked again.

No Littletown man ever again made the big time – not at cricket, anyway.

Almost as inexorably as pub and chapel, the cricket field finally drew stumps in 2006, included the following season in a book called Cricket’s Lost Grounds.

The book cited the Backtrack column, which, in turn, had quoted club stalwart Mark Nelson, scorer of 10,000 runs for the club. “It’ll be sad to see long grass in Littletown,” he said.

Kelloe and Newton Hall both withdrew at the same time. Hundreds of other village cricket clubs have folded in the past 30 years.

Now, however, something extraordinary is happening – Littletown is being kicked out of the long grass.

The club which in 2006 couldn’t raise 11 men begins again next month with three teams, 50 players and a place in the National Village Cup.

We’d arranged to meet two of them on Saturday morning. No matter that once again it rained, it’s precious Littletown now.

IT had got long, all right. “Waist high,” says Greg Arundel. “It had been abandoned for six or seven years, but we know it can work. It may not look very fabulous right now, but this can be a lovely cricket ground, a proper cricket ground, again.”

The intended wicket resembles a mud flat, or flattish, the outfield a swamp. A couple of cows squelch over to the fence to see what’s going on, but decide that it’s probably better going where they are.

A stone in the pavilion wall indicates that it was built in 1910, presumably at a time when cricket teams only had five men or changed, like Lord Lambton’s colliers, in shifts.

Its tiny, unguarded stairs lead precariously to the score box above.

“The vandals had been in, all sorts was dilapidated,” says Eddie Finn, the new chairman.

“All right, you look at it now and it might seem pretty horrible, but there’s an awful lot going on. It’s a unique project. Come back in two months and see.”

EDDIE had played cricket for Houghton-le-Spring, a year ago hit upon the idea of resurrection with his friend Paul Chapplow, solicited interest through a Sunderland FC website – coincidentally because Littletown’s best known former cricketer is Johnny Goodchild, village lad, who scored 21 goals in 44 Sunderland appearances between 1957-61.

“Our cricket pitch never looked that good but it played all right,”

Johnny once recalled.

He is probably best remembered, however, for scoring a hat-trick against Leeds United – and never being picked again.

Then there was Jackie Smith – “a bit of a bowler” – for whom Littletown may have seemed like Lilliput.

Though only 5ft 3in tall, he played in the Football League for Gateshead, Barnsley and, most memorably, Plymouth Argyle but may best be remembered in the North-East for a 45- year association with Spennymoor United, where he became chairman.

“When we were kids there was a colliery railway at the front and back of our house,” he’d once recalled.

“We never wanted for coal, mind.

“I can’t even remember the name of the people we lived next door to in Spennymoor, but I can remember everyone in Littletown.”

Barnsley bought him for a fiver.

Plymouth paid £3,750 – big money for a little feller back in 1932. Transfer dealings were made more difficult because no one in Littletown had a telephone and Argyle had to ring the pit. “My dad was very proud when I went away, what with me being so little,”

he said.

We’d last seen Jackie when he was 83, 20 years ago at a surprise presentation in Spennymoor. Johnny Goodchild died in 2011, aged 72.

Greg Arundel’s particularly sorry.

“What a fantastic club president he’d have made.”

GREG’S 26, officially first team captain and head of club and cricket development. In practice, it means he’s mucking in like everyone else.

In the coming weeks they expect delivery of ground maintenance equipment through a Sport England grant and a new portable building to serve as a clubhouse. There’ll be a “ground force” day in April, aimed at giving the place a makeover.

The first team will play in the North East Durham League second division, the second team in the third division and a third team on Sundays.

It’s “imperative”, says Greg, that they establish a junior section, too.

“We have to be ambitious,” says Eddie. “We look at teams like Brandon and Washington who not to long ago were in the North East Durham League and are now hosting county second team games. So many clubs have gone to the wall, it’s brilliant to be bringing one back.”

The original club had folded in 1975, started again ten years later, died if not of old age then of lack of young ’uns. Third time lucky?

“There’s a lot of energy and enthusiasm,”

says Greg. “We know there’s a great deal of work to be done but we’ve a young committee, a five-year development plan and a lot to offer.

“There may not be many players from Littletown itself, but we’d love to have former players back. We want it to be a proper village cricket club, where everyone feels included.”

It’s still tossing down as they stare across the reborn field of dreams.

“It’s not the best day to see it, but you just wait,” says Eddie.

There are six weeks to the season; they’re confident. There could be good stuff in Littletown bundles once again.