Nearly 5,000 watch Connie's Cemetery debut

Learie Constantine with the championship trophy

Nearly 5,000 spectators turned up to watch Learie Constantine's Lancashire League debut at Accrington in the opening match of the 1929 season. The famous West Indian, who was regarded as the greatest all rounder in the world at the time, would go on to play for nine highly successful seasons with Nelson, gaining seven championship medals, scoring 6,363 runs at 37.6 and taking 776 wickets at 9.9 runs each.

In his remarkable career at Nelson Constantine would break many records but his debut match at The Cemetery Ground featured a solid rather than spectacular performance.

The watching crowd paid £110, 18s and 6d for the privilege of watching the world's best all round cricketer long before the days of television. The game began at 2 o'clock in moderate sunshine on 27th April and it took almost an hour for all the spectators to take their places.

Bowling off a 20 yard run with a packed slip cordon the West Indian bowled at 'a fast pace'. In the field he was stationed at short leg or at slip.

The home sides leading batsman Bill Finney became Constantine's first Lancashire League victim with the score at 10, caught behind by Lister on a typical soft early season wicket. Constantine also dismissed Stan Smith (2) and Francis Sproul (17) but after claiming the home sides top three he would take no more wickets with Alf Pollard (5-14) and Harold Hargreaves (2-13) cleaning up Accrington for just 67. William Whittaker top scored with 19 and skipper Jimmy Ramsbottom hit 15 with new professional Abe Waddington making an unbeaten 11 on his debut when the innings ended at 3.45pm.

Accrington started well as the defending champions lost opener George Mutch and Chick Hawkwood to Smith with just 18 on the board. This brought Constantine to the wicket. For 20 minutes the crowd were entertained by a cameo innings of 27 by the great man. His first two balls from Smith were allowed to pass on the off side but in the amateur's next over Constantine helped himself to his first two boundaries. Opener Billy Windle departed at 30 to give Waddington his first wicket for Accrington but Constantine replied with a straight driven boundary off his opposite number. A misfield by Hargreaves gave Constantine another boundary and then he lifted Smith over the boundary for another four (there were no six hits on Accrington at this time). Smith had his revenge though when a miss hit lofted out to George Crawshaw at long on who took a splendid catch to end the West Indians first innings in the Lancashire League. John Hartley and Wilbert Crabtree saw Nelson to victory and the visitors batted on to 87-4.

Full Scorecard
Accrington in 1929