A CRICKET club is producing the sort of knock anyone would be proud of to help those battling devastating moorland fires.
Micklehurst has seen smoke billowing over its Richmond Hill ground after blazes broke out at nearby Dove Stone Reservoir, in Greenfield, and Tintwistle.
But rather than just look after its own, the Mossley side has co-ordinated a huge effort to make sure those at the front line are cared for.
“We’ve got three lads who play cricket for us, who are actually up there firefighting right this minute. I’ve been up there myself, and it’s just horrific when you get up there.”
For Gary Kippax, being on the front line of support for Greater Manchester’s fire crews is the last way he could have expected to spend his retirement.
But as one of the biggest wildfires of the decade rages across the moorlands, that is exactly how he has spent it.
Micklehurst CC, which stands on the hill overlooking Mossley, is between the Dove Stone and Tintwistle blazes.
According to Gary, it is the perfect spot to hold supplies for the fire crews up above.
On Sunday, July 12, the club announced it would be collecting food donations in wake of the fire at Dove Stone Reservoir.
And it has been “completely overwhelmed” by the sheer number of visitors through the door.
“It’s been a hectic week for us, a hectic week,” Gary added.
“We’ve been doing three runs a day. Once in the morning with all the breakfast butties; once at lunchtime with the sandwiches and then a hot meal at night.”
According to Gary, crews are there before 8am on most days and rarely leave before 9pm or 10pm.
Inside the clubhouse, teetering boxes of crisps, biscuits, fizzy drinks and water bottles have all but taken over the function room, while piles of barmcakes sit half-buttered in the kitchen.
“We didn’t expect all this to come,” he admitted. “For the first two or three days, it was non-stop people coming in and out.
“We have things they’ve asked for – mainly water, energy drinks, electrolytes, sun cream, just to keep them going.
“We’ve had a lady coming in, Izabella, who’s made sandwiches off her own back, at her own cost, every day. People are coming from Audenshaw, Stalybridge, Dukinfield, Ashton. Supermarkets have been delivering stuff.
“It’s been brilliant.”
The idea started with fellow club members Matt Barton and Grace Robinshaw, who are themselves just walking in from delivering breakfast.
“We’ve had three of the gamekeepers playing for us, and we’ve had a couple more regulars within the club that have been up there since Sunday,” Matt says. “And that’s why everyone’s clubbed together and done it.
“They’re doing good work, but they’re not getting paid for the additional stuff that they’re doing [as gamekeepers]. This is like free overtime for them at the minute: one of the lads started up there on Sunday and didn’t go home until Wednesday. The effort that they put in is just incredible.”
Both Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue and the local gamekeepers have been battling twin blazes on the moorlands for over a week.
Three people have so far been arrested in connection to the fire at Dove Stone Reservoir, which started on Saturday, July 11.
It has now combined with a fire on Tintwistle Moor, Derbyshire, which has been raging for more than three weeks and has since been declared a major incident.
Smoke from the fires has now been reported to reach as far as Salford Quays, roughly 12 miles away.
Though the situation is improving, fire crews have now warned the smoke may soon worsen again as they plan a controlled burn to keep the fire contained.
“They’ve got on top of things, but because the wind changes directions, it’s gone the other way,” Matt says.
“We had a panic when the wind changed and it all went up again. Then at the same time there was a car crash on the Woodhead Pass, which then set the moor on fire up there.
“It’s really bad. We’re dropping off at one of the reservoirs where the meeting point is, and the gamekeepers are taking it up because they can’t get anything else up there apart from the quadbikes and equipment – you can’t get fire engines up there.”
As fire crews head into their second week fighting the twin blazes, the Micklehurst team members has resigned themselves to what they fear could be a repeat event.
“We’ve had fires in the past, but we’ve never really done this sort of thing,” Gary says. “But now that we know it’s making a difference, we’ll probably do it every time.
“But I can say this sort of thing will happen every year nearly now. It’s just going to be a part of climate change, isn’t it?”
It’s a fear shared by the gamekeepers themselves, who last week requested – as well as food – they be supplied with specialist breathing apparatus that can be reused in the future.
With a single piece of equipment costing roughly £40, the club was quick to launch a fundraiser.
However, the team was left floored when within three hours, it raised a whopping £1,200 for the cause.
“The firefighters are obviously supplied masks, but the gamekeepers aren’t firefighters,” Matt says.
“They’ve not got the equipment in terms of breathing apparatus that they need, so they’re the ones that are struggling with it.”
Gary says: “We were there watching the total go up. People were just sending 10 quid, 20 quid, 30 quid into the account, and within three hours we’d got to the target.
“We never expected to do it in that short a space of time, everybody was gobsmacked.
“When I went up there, I didn’t realise what was actually involved. Now that’ve seen it, it just makes you so proud of what they’re doing up there. It really, really is hard work, but they’re still laughing and joking and smiling, they just don’t let it get them down.”
With the gamekeepers kitted out and with donations continuing to roll in, Micklehurst Cricket Club is now looking ahead to the weeks after the fire.
On August 31, it will hold its annual Festival of Cricket, which will see a host of matches, raffles, and other entertainment to raise money for the club.
Sooner than that however, Gary says another celebration is in order – to reward the gamekeepers’ hard work, as well as the generosity of the local community.
“We’re going to have a night out,” Gary says. “We’re going to have a night for them where they can just come here and have free beers and have a part, and just ease up.
“Most of them come here anyway, a lot of them play cricket here. They bring their mates with them, they come here for a drink at weekends, and they’re all good friends.
“We’re really proud to be part of this community. Mossley’s been a brilliant, brilliant area, and they’ve pulled out all the stops to keep this going.
“That’s what community spirit is. It shows how people care around here.”
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