LINDAL Moor CC said goodbye to their old pavilion on the last day of the North Lancs season, as building works starts on a new modern facility, writes LEE BENN.

Two former Lindal players, who go back decades at the club, were involved in some way on that final day to say goodbye to the old building, parts of which date back to the 1920s.

Eric ‘Bush’ Gardiner umpired the match against Millom, while Wilf Knight worked as a groundsman to help prepare the wicket.

Both played their part on the biggest day in the club’s history, when they played at Lord’s in the Village Cup final, and were involved at Pennington Lane when the old pavilion – being demolished this winter – was last extended in the 1970s.

Gardiner has many fond memories to choose from in his 57-year affiliation with Lindal.

From his first memory of the ground back in 1958, right up to the present day where he officiated the final match, Gardiner has been connected with the club, one way or another, for a generation.

Looking back, what stands out for Gardiner most is the role the clubhouse played in the team’s active social life.

“We had a great social life at Lindal. We played hard and we drank hard,” he said.

“The wildest memory was when we won the league back in 1978 and we were gate-crashed by a Carlisle team who could drink more than we could.

“After we’d finished, the place nearly needed a rebuild then! “It’s a much different social atmosphere now.”

The team’s off-field antics aside, a clear memory sticks out for Gardiner on the pitch: the 1977 Village Cup which saw him lead Lindal to Lord’s.

Remarkably, it is not the final itself which stands out for Gardiner, but the quarter-final victory over East Bierley at Lindal.

“We were in the quarter-final trying to knock 226 off,” he recalled.

“We wanted three off the last bowl. And I can always remember sitting there with my eyes shut – I didn’t dare watch, obviously – and Ronnie Coulson got a big snick over the wicketkeeper’s head and they managed to run three, which was nearly impossible at Lindal.

“It was like a miracle.”

Gardiner’s Lindal team were ultimately defeated by Cookley in the final by 28 runs.

But despite the disappointing ending, Gardiner still has fond memories of that day.

“You dream about hanging your coat where Viv Richards hung his. We were overawed,” he said.

Knight, a team-mate of Gardiner at Lindal for many years, including in that Lord’s final, reflected on the stellar team which Lindal built in the 1970s, when much of the pavilion was almost new.

“In the early 1970s, two or three players moved into the area who somehow ended up playing for Lindal,” said Knight, whose son Colin also played for the club for years and still runs junior coaching sessions. “They made a hell of a difference.

“We won the top division in 1972, 1974 and 1978, and were runners-up in 1975, 1976 and 1977. We had a good side.”

Inevitably, over such a long time, both Gardiner and Knight have seen many changes to their much-loved ground.

And, with the club eagerly awaiting the new facilities, with £270,000 being spent on the construction of an all-new clubhouse which will serve all Lindal teams, neither are sorry to see the old pavilion replaced.

“It just needs doing,” said Gardiner. “Everyone is glad to see the back of the old place really, it’s a wreck now.

“They’ve had some good guys around who’ve been able to get them some grants – they’ve done really well.”

This was echoed by Knight, who said: “It’s past its sell-by-date.

“It’s served it’s purpose now, with the need for proper facilities we had to do something.”

The old clubhouse lacked separate changing rooms for match officials and facilities for ladies; a situation which was no longer tenable given the development of the Lindal women’s team, the South Lakes Maidens.

Rather than simply renovate and upgrade the existing facilities, the club chose to tear down the historic clubhouse, in order to provide modern facilities which serve the needs of all resident teams.

For both Gardiner and Knight, however, it is clear their fond memories at Lindal will endure despite the replacement of their old stamping ground, with both hoping the new clubhouse can one day evoke the kind of memories in others which they still hold dear.