Old Record Players History

Stephen Ayris
ORP History 
The ball was in the air.

The aim here is to provide a very basic history of the Old Record Players Cricket Club. Individual comments and reflections are sought to embellish this framework. 



A brief History of the Old Record Players Cricket Club
The O.R.P. began life in 1977 as the cricket team of the Northumberland County Records Office based at Meldon Park in Gosforth and known by its initials N.C.R.O.C.C. The core of that team were eager young cricketers working at the Records Office on a graduate job creation scheme viz Ian Ayris, Dave Vickermann and Dave Howarth ,supported by the County Archivist (Robin Gard), his deputy (Bob Steward) and a few friends. The first match was arranged against the British Steel Archives X1 in Teesside using kit borrowed from N.U.P.E. A photo of that first ever X1 is posted on the ORP Face book site.
As new recruits joined the Records Office and friends of friends were invited to play the team prospered and developed over the next few years playing friendlies against Local Government and University Department teams, many of whom remained the basis of the opposition for years to come.eg Maths, Mech. Eng. Tyne Tees , Sage , County Highways and Genetics. By the end of the 1981 season links with the Records Office had become so tenuous that the name NCROCC was no longer appropriate and the name was changed to Old Record Players (to reflect some of the heritage of the team) reputedly at the suggestion of Steve Courtney.

Most of the traditions of the ORP such as the Cap, the Duck , the Star and Player of the Year along with the self deprecating Froggies (1980) date back to those earliest days. It was Chris Ramsay who presented the famous plastic “Duck” to accompany “The Cap “both of which have been presented after every game since the 1970s. The ORP club logo, which first appeared on the cap , was designed by Nick Jones and featured a gramophone and his faithful dog Nipper.
The earliest cricket dinners were held at the Cooperage. In 1982 it was held at the Red House and by 1983 the Cairn Hotel was the favoured venue. It was also around 1982 that ORP incorporated Meldon cricket Club and welcomed an influx of new players.

The team continue to play friendly 20/20 midweek and 40 over weekend games until the decision was taken to join the North East Midweek Cricket League (Div 5) in 1997 with a plan to achieve first division status in 5 years. This which was actually achieved in 6 years as the ORP progressed up the leagues.

In 2002 ORP joined the (then ) “ 3 Counties” Northumberland County League Weekend League

Following a few weekend visits to Bellingham to play against touring teams the first ORP away tour was arranged to Evesham and Doncaster in 1987. Tours followed to various destinations , Bradford and Doncaster were early favourites and it was in Doncaster ten years later that the tour game was cancelled in respect for Lady Diana’s funeral.

Nets have been a regular winter feature since the early 1980s, the first nets were held at South Northumberland Cricket Club. By 2007 an ORP team was playing in the winter Indoor League at the same venue.

The club has always been indebted to those players who have taken positions of responsibility with the club.
A full set of statistics is available from 1977 onwards and from these it is possible to trace histories and performances of any and all individual players throughout the years. 

For example. Colin Quigley first appears in the statistics in 1982 when he bowled 46 overs 7 maidens 23 wickets for 166 runs at an average of 7.21. This was achieved in 10 appearances which included 1 innings for 0 runs.

By 1997 the all time 10th wicket partnership of 37 was held by Steve O’Mara and Tony Glover.