TRIBUTES have poured in for a Lancashire League cricket stalwart who has died after a long illness.

Former team-mates of Stephen Ratcliffe have praised the dedication he showed to Ramsbottom Cricket Club and said he always took great pleasure from the game, both as a player and latterly a spectator.

Stephen, who started playing for the Acre Bottom club as a teenager and went on to play for the first team more than 300 times, died aged 57 on Thursday and, according to friends and team-mates, he has left a great legacy.

His brother, Graham Ratcliffe, himself a Ramsbottom stalwart, said: “There was never a dull moment with him, he was generous and always willing to help people.

“He was there to make friends and have a laugh, and he’d always be open for a pint after the game.”

The brothers were born in Tottington, although Stephen spent his final years living in Ramsbottom.

Stephen claimed almost 300 wickets with his medium pace bowling and spent the majority of his near 20 year career playing for the side in the first team.

He was a key member of Ramsbottom’s Lancashire League championship winning side in 1992 - and at the weekend his club won the title for the sixth time with that win dedicated to Stephen and another club stalwart Terry Stewart, who died earlier in the month.

Graham said that Stephen had a major impact throughout the club and added: “It’s a community thing, he thought a lot of the club, he’d help the young people and set a good example of how to behave.

“He was always there if someone needed it, encouragement was a big thing for him.”

After retiring from cricket, Stephen was still heavily involved with the club, managing the team for a short period as well as being a keen spectator.

Former team-mate Maurice Haslam, who has been involved with the club for 60 years in a variety of positions, echoed how much Stephen did for the club.

Mr Haslam said: “He really did think a lot of the club, he put so much time and work back into the club when he finished playing.

“Clubs can’t work without these sort of people, he came through the ranks and he had got a lot of pleasure from the game.”