A crowd pulling cup victory in 1893

Back in 1893, the Middleton & District Cricket League was formed and Prestwich competed against teams from Stand, Middleton, Rhodes, Chadderton and Castleton Moor. Unsworth and Thornham joined the year after.

Prestwich progressed to the Challenge Cup Final in that first season where they made the trip to Middleton – and won in thrilling fashion.

Batting first, Prestwich set a total of 114 before dismissing their opponents for 62. Undoubtedly the man of the match was W. Davies, who took the remarkable figures of 9 for 29.

As legend has it, the victorious team was given a heroes’ welcome when they returned from the official presentation in Middleton.

Prestwich Brass Band preceded the players’ bus, and people lined the road to cheer them.

The local paper reported: “Such a scene will long be remembered in our otherwise quiet village”.