DODWORTH will see its first cricket match in four years today when an exciting form of the game comes to the Miners’ Welfare.

The 100-year-old Dodworth Cricket Club was forced to fold in 2009 due to a lack of volunteers but the ground will play host to Barnsley Men of Steel and Tommy Treddlehoyle in the eight-a-side Last Man Stands League on Monday at 6.15pm.

Steve Maddock and Michael Heseltine, who run the Last Man Stands League in the town, were impressed by the facilities at Dodworth and said it was a tragedy that cricket was no longer being played there.

They have refurbished the astroturf pitch and are all set for the game today

Maddock, a retired policeman, said: “To be honest, it’s scandalous there hasn’t been cricket at Dodworth for four years and we wanted to do something about it.

“We’ll have the first game there on Monday but my hope is that next season it can be used most nights of the week as a base for Last Man Stands in Barnsley. It’s local to the town centre, there are bar facilities, a tea room and great changing rooms.

“We also want to get some grants and update the machinery there. It’s taken about 20 hours of work to get the pitch back up to scratch and I hope there can be a Saturday team there too in the future to take advantage of it.”

Cllr Jack Carr, who is a trustee for the Miners’ Welfare, used to play cricket at Dodworth as a youngster. He said the game had been played there since the early 1900s.

“The chairman, Herbert Wiles, and the secretary, Fred Waddington, died within a few months of each other and we couldn’t find volunteers to take it over so the club had to fold.

“Herbert and Fred did most of the work but when they died there was no one willing to take it on. We had two senior teams and four junior sides. Dodworth was always one of the best places to play cricket in Barnsley and it was sad when it closed down.

“I’m glad that the Last Man Stands form of the game is coming here and hopefully it will encourage some of the players who have gone to play for other clubs to come back and get involved.”

Last Man Stands, which is in its second season, has nine teams in Barnsley. Players wear coloured kits and the games last for two hours.