Bon Accord C.C.

On a midsummer’s night in 1958, following their annual friendly in Duthie Park, the two opposing sections of the Post Office (Postal and Telecoms) retired to Hastie’s (‘The Sticky Wicket’). As a result of a drink (or was it the lack of it – service was poor at that venue!) those present decided to amalgamate and enter a team in the Aberdeenshire Cricket Association. Thus, Bon Accord Cricket Club was born.

During that early period in the club’s history, the greatest difficulty was attracting younger members of the P.O. staff and the ‘Bons’ then relied on such seasoned campaigners as ex-Shire spinner John Angus, the Norman Smith, the enterprise of the Jimmy Reid, the accurate medium pace of Tom Watts, plus one or two other veterans, but all under the youthful captaincy of Jim Morrison, assisted by Sandy Raeper.

Nevertheless, those ‘club’ pioneers proved very difficult to beat and within a season had lifted the Reid Cup in a memorable victory over Westburn in the 1959 final. Three years later (1962) that same cup came to ‘roost’ on the P.O. sideboard. It is worth recalling that during a match at Seaton Park in 1960, against YMCA youths (later known as Saracens C.C.) an unusual hat-trick was performed by John Angus – all his three victims being stumped by wicketkeeper Bill Simpson – as the press reported a “clear case of not toeing the line”.

So, these ‘elderly’ cricketers, with active support of their womenfolk, and augmented by such good players as Ted Murphy, John Morgan, George Dunbar and old ‘war horse’ Bob Low, carried the banner through the 1960s, never, however, reaching any great heights. There was a slight hiccup from 1967-69 when the club withdrew from the Grades, mainly because urgent replacements were not forthcoming for those who were then ‘due to collect their service pensions’.

With the advent of a few ‘semi-youngsters’ and with the ‘not too old’ keen to have another ‘go’, re-entry was possible in 1970. This meant a few more seasons ‘hard labour’ in Grade 3 until in 1976 Bon Accord were promoted for the first time. In a further effort to attract some youngsters and advertise to (and perhaps poach) those members of the Posts and Telecoms who were playing for other Grades teams, the club in 1977 became known as P.O. Bon Accord – open to all members of staff and their families.

Players like Doug Laing, Doug Cruickshank, Alan Hunter, Fraser Murray, Brian Neave and, perhaps especially, Syd Stephen and Frank Dale, formed the basis of the side through the 70s & into the 80s. Syd and Frank would develop into one of the best opening batting partnerships in the lower grades. Came the harvest in 1980, when under the captaincy of Doug Laing, P.O. Bon Accord took the Reid Cup, Ross Cup, Duncan Cup, the Thompson Shield and rocketed into Grade 2 where they would stay until relegation into G3 in 1985.

Traditionally, most of the team also represented the North Of Scotland Post Office in regional games often against players of a higher (sometimes even English County) standard, on quality wickets. It should be noted that the club was only for employees and their kin, a policy that lapsed in the 80s after British Telecom & The Post Office split to become separate companies.

The foundations for the clubs present lofty Grade 1 status was, perhaps, forged in the jungle that was Grade 3 in the 80s, when the season was divided into two halves. For the 1st half, the league was split into two groups and the winners of each met in the final (for The Duncan Cup). The 2nd half was the league proper, however, teams met just once, making it crucial to win your games against the poorer sides. A single draw against one of these sides was enough to cost you promotion. Not losing the toss was absolutely vital in those days.

During the years of 1986-1988, the club won the Duncan Cup three times in a row and, in 86 and 87, missed promotion by a whisker. The impetus for our success was another transfusion of new blood allied to the continued development of players like Ian Hunter, his brother Graham Hunter, Andy Meres, Barry Allan, Graham Stewart and Graham Morrison. Things really took off in 1988, with the arrival of Mike Brown & Ian Jamieson from rivals Anchorians, along with the emergence of Dave Goulding as wicket keeper and Doug Cruickshank as captain. The side won it all in 1988, and, just to prove their true quality at that time, got a repeat promotion the following year. Grade 3 to Grade 1 in two easy stages.

The 1st taste of Grade 1 was remarkable, to say the least. In an easy win against Inverurie, Ian Jamieson took 9 wickets for 0 runs, ZERO RUNS! The rest of the season was a disappointment, the side failing to come to grips with the higher altitude of the big league (and the apparent absence of the lbw law!!) and the Bons were relegated. They bounced back, however, immediately, and armed with the wisdom of their 1st Grade 1 experience, fared much better and, in the years up to 1999, became a solid middle of the table side.

During the run in to the New Millennium, the Bons had been transformed into Grade 1 challengers thanks to another wave of newcomers. The arrival of Mac Ahmed and ex-Mannofielder, Tauqeer Malik, provided inspiration for Aberdeen’s Asian cricketers. Some gems were unleashed upon The Grades and two players in particular, Nawaz Mirza and Fazal Awan, would go on to smash all club and league records. These two batsmen would be at the forefront of The Bons 1999 campaign which would culminate with the club winning everything in it’s path, namely, the G1 title, The Aberdeenshire Cup, The Thompson Shield and The Turriff Cup. Ironically, the only failure came in the P&J (now Thistle) Sevens, a competition we’ve since come to dominate. That season also saw the average age of the squad lowered by the (much needed) youthful presence provided by Glen Christie, Chris Hughes and Mark Napier.

1999 saw The Bons end Cults’ domination of Grade 1 but it wasn’t until 2002 that Bon Accord won G1 again although the side has won the Aberdeenshire Cup for a 2nd time, beating Kintore in a memorable final at Mannofield in 2005. Their greatest success, however, came in 2006 when the club won the national Small Clubs Cup against a strong Victoria side. That season, they also won the Grade 1 title, the Turriff Cup and for a record ninth time (not to mention 8 in a row), the Thistle Sports Sevens, all under the astute captaincy of Malik.

For 2008, New Zealander Andy Win will be captain.

External links

* [http://acagrades.org/ Aberdeenshire Cricket Association]
* [http://www.bonaccordcc.co.uk/ Bon Accord website]