AFTER a glorious career in the Bradford League spanning four decades, Keighley Cricket Club all-rounder Steve Reape has decided to retire from regular cricket.

Since his first-team debut in 1986, the veteran has amassed over 8,400 runs and taken over 700 wickets.

However, the statistics alone tell only half the story. The contribution that ‘George’ – as he is affectionately known by his middle name – made to the club during one of its most turbulent periods is immeasurable.

It was Reape’s unwavering loyalty that helped Keighley stay afloat during financial difficulties in the mid-1990s and, under him, a promising young team was able to form.

‘The lad from Sutton’ became the figurehead for the club’s survival and his commitment and passion for KCC became the blueprint for the club’s renaissance in the years that followed.

Reape took over as captain and held the position for many years, stepping down in 2010 and then dropping down to second-team level two years later.

Brought up in the tough cricketing school of the 1980s with iconic players such as John Roberts, Dave Ross and Peter Bickley, Reape soon became a tough and hardened performer.

This unflinching will to win has never left him and, although never one to wax lyrical, he was of the generation where a quiet ‘well done’ was worth a thousand words.

In a league where many heads can be turned by the lure of financial incentives, Reape’s loyalty to Keighley demonstrated his love for the town which first gave him the opportunity of league cricket. Reape’s greatest legacy will undoubtedly be his role in the development of the crop of new and successful players who went on to carve out their own league and representative careers.

Richard Robinson, another celebrated figure of the club and Bradford League, said: “‘George’ is one of the best players I ever played with and should have definitely progressed to a higher level with all his talent.

“He knocked over Test players for fun. I will never forget West Indian player Ricky Ellcock hitting him on the head, without a helmet on, at Farsley and the ball going straight into the sight-screen. Reapey didn’t even flinch!”

Reape always harboured the respect of opposition players, spectators and the umpires. ‘Jardine’, as he was sometimes known in an affectionate nod to the no-nonsense former England captain, has always had a dry sense of humour, which were useful qualities in the days when the club teetered on the precipice of closure.

Ross Towler, a current member of Keighley’s cricket committee who featured under Reape for many years, said his former team-mate was ‘the glue that bound the players together’ as the team was rebuilt following the financial struggles.

Towler added: “Our survival wasn’t single-handedly down to him but so many players left and if Steve had too I don’t know what would have happened to the club.

“He will be a great loss to the playing side but we hope he will be a regular fixture at the club, like many of the retired legends before him, as he has a wealth of knowledge to share with the next generation of stars at Lawkholme Lane.”