Small Town, Big Dreams

Martin Chandler | 9:18am GMT 01 December 2024

Published: 2020
Pages: 272
Author: Brenkley, Stephen
Publisher: Baliol Books
Rating: 4 stars

Over the years we have reviewed very few club histories on CricketWeb. The main reason for this that, frankly, they aren’t really my thing and, of those few I have read the ones on clubs in Australia are generally preferable, simply because of the way the top Australian players have always remained close to their grade sides and therefore become part of their stories.

In England the situation is different, and few top English players ever have anything other than fleeting contact with club sides. It is therefore no fault of the authors of these labours of love that their books are going to be of very limited appeal outside of the locality where the club plays unless, as a player or former player, the potential reader has a personal or family connection.

The other problem I have encountered in the few English club histories I have tackled is that is that even if they are well written the authors tend not, if you get my point, to know how to write a book. This is not a criticism, but a simple statement of fact. It is no coincidence that the only two club histories I have to concede having enjoyed reading are of Lansdown in Bath, and Wimbledon, and there are no prizes for guessing what those two have in common.

But I have to admit to being curious about this history of Barnard Castle Cricket Club when I learnt, as I wrote my review of his excellent Striking Summer, it had been written by Stephen Brenkley. Serendipitously in the extreme whilst I had never previously met the former cricket correspondent of The Independent I was to do so a couple of weeks after the review appeared when I was introduced to him by the author of the Lansdown and Wimbledon club histories, a meeting which I left with a copy of Small Towns, Big Dreams tucked into my laptop bag.

As I got on the train that afternoon I thought I might read the book one day, but then discovered that, to put it bluntly, the GWR wi-fi connection was absolutely useless so, with an hour’s train journey in front of me I took solace from the fact that I at least had something to read, even if it was a club history.

I am not going to claim to have read the entirety of the book, so in that sense this is not a ‘review’ in the same way that others are, but it is based on spending that hour looking through a book that I have to say exceeded all my expectations by a distance. Anyone with an interest in Barnard Castle Cricket Club should buy it simply because it will evoke what will doubtless be pleasurable memories for them. Anyone with an interest in cricket literature should buy it, simply because it is a decent read. Most importantly however the group of people who really must buy the book are those considering embarking on a similar project for their club. Small Town, Big Dreams is an object lesson in how to do that in such a way that it will appeal beyond your target audience. That said there is no point in turning to Brenkley for advice on that subject as it seems the person responsible for the book’s design and layout is his wife, Dorothy.

The first part of the tutorial is to get someone worthwhile to do a foreword. Doing so is self-evidently easier for a man who has spent his working life in the company of top class cricketers than for a mere mortal. In this case that job is very nicely done by Geoff Cook of Northamptonshire and England and, later, Durham. There is then an introduction which tells us about Brenkley himself and his connection to Barnard Castle. Slightly to my surprise he is a most self-deprecating individual, and I have to say I don’t believe that his playing ability was as modest as he suggests, but the story and accompanying photograph on the subject of his solitary appearance in a First Class match is a cracker.

And from there it is straight into the history. There are plenty of illustrations. Photographs of teams and individual players appear regularly as do items of memorabilia associated with the club. In addition there are plenty of line drawings, many humorous, contributed by Cluff, aka John Longstaff, like Brenkley a newspaperman.

As far as the narrative is concerned that clearly demonstrates Brenkley’s background as a reporter. There are no extended passages as he goes through the club history year by year. There are news items, match summaries and, generally the most rewarding part of the book, profiles of the clubs leading players. Three in particular caught my eye. From the 1890s both of Albert Evans and Jimmy Welford played with success for the club and during the winter months played with distinction in the Football League for Aston Villa, then as now a power in  the land.

The other profile I read with interest was that of Neil Riddell, the one name that I recognised. Riddell was Durham captain for a decade just before the county was elevated to First Class status and, more memorably for me, was one of the Durham players who made a significant contribution to the first giant killing act in the old Gillette Cup, when Durham beat Yorkshire back in 1973.

But there is another feature that makes Small Town, Big Dreams stand out from the crowd. Possibly the best known phrase in the game is CLR James’ what do they know of cricket who only cricket know? Brenkley’s attitude to that one is clear from A Striking Summer, where the state of the nation and the general strike share top billing with the 1926 Ashes contest.

There is something of the same ilk here, as for selected years Brenkley presents a brief one or two sentence summary of some item of news in the world for each of the year’s twelve months. If I’m entirely honest the one part of the book I did get through in its entirety of that hour were these. Also present on occasions, and in a similar vein, are a few quick reminders of the state of the game at various points along the journey.

Published a while ago now, back in 2020, I am pleased to report that copies of Small Town, Big Dreams are still reposing in the author’s spare room so, to relieve him of a copy, or seek to engage the consultancy services of Team Brenkley, you need to contact him by email to stephenbrenkley@gmail.com