ECB Indoor National Club Championship: Hallam eye repeat win

It’s the national stages of the ECB Indoor National Club Championship with Hallam Cricket Club representing Yorkshire.

I caught up with Hallam’s captain Joe Cooper to discuss the background to their indoor cricket success and the importance they place on this format.

“We used to compete, going back 15 years or so, in the indoor cricket league under the name of Dearne. Gradually, the team became made up primarily of Hallam CC players until we eventually changed the name last year.

Apparently, they took part every year in the Sheffield Hallam University Indoor League at the Bawtry Road Sports Complex between October and December. The winners of this league go through to the County Finals annually.

They’ve won the Sheffield League eight or nine times in the last decade and a half and, in 2014, Dearne went all the way to lift the ECB national title at Lord’s (above).

Three of that side are still playing – Joe Cooper (c), Nick Dymock and Liam Mitchell. The squad now also contains Neil Longhurst, James Smedley and Nick Cooper. All six of them play in either the 1st XI or 2nd XI at Hallam Cricket Club.

Joe said: “We love indoor cricket as it keeps us fit during the winter whilst also honing our skills. It’s quite a specialised game and those proficient outdoors aren’t always able to adapt to the laws playing indoors. We’ve had several club members play indoor games and really struggle to adapt.”

He added: “The 2024 Yorkshire Final against Thornton of the Halifax League was played with a new ball on a very spicy surface at the Indoor Centre at Headingley.

Early on, the ball swung around corners and leapt off a length. It was definitely a good toss to win and we were able to restrict Thornton to just 63 from their 12 overs. In reply, Dymock and Longhurst batted superbly to cruise to victory inside six overs.”

Hallam now progress to the Regional Finals at Derbyshire CCC in early March, where they’ll face the champions of Derbyshire, Shropshire, Lancashire and Northumberland, with a place in the National Finals at Lord’s up for grabs.

Can Hallam go the distance again? Joe didn’t see why not: “It’s a long shot for us to repeat the heroics of 10 years ago but we’ll certainly be trying our best.”