0:00:01 > 0:00:04Hello from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.
0:00:04 > 0:00:06It's been more than a year since Rosie Ayliffe heard
0:00:06 > 0:00:08the worst news imaginable.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Her 20-year-old daughter, Mia, had been killed
0:00:11 > 0:00:13while backpacking in Australia.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17Tonight though is about what happened next.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Rosie's been to Queensland to see the hostel where Mia
0:00:20 > 0:00:22was stabbed to death.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26She fought for her life until the very last minute,
0:00:26 > 0:00:27by the sound of it.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29She got on her feet and she ran for safety,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32what she thoguht was safety, to a bathroom where she could lock
0:00:32 > 0:00:35herself in and then she was still fighting for her life.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39And she's gone, and it's tough to be here.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44I knew it would be but I'm so glad I came because I feel
0:00:44 > 0:00:46like I owed it to Mia.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48We'll have the latest on the campaign to protect
0:00:48 > 0:00:50young backpackers.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52We don't know who the labour contractors are, we don't know
0:00:52 > 0:00:55which farms they're working on, we don't know which towns
0:00:55 > 0:00:57they're living in.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Six on the trot's a world record.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02And he's done it!
0:01:02 > 0:01:04And welll look back at the days when you could bump
0:01:04 > 0:01:08into a cricketing legend at the local pub.
0:01:08 > 0:01:14To go home on a Saturday night and say, I saw Gary Sobers,
0:01:14 > 0:01:19I spoke to Gary Sobers, I had a drink with Gary Sobers.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23And I shook his hand when I left.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26What memories.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30What memories.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32The stories that matter, closer to home.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36I'm Lukwesa Burak and this is Inside Out for the East Midlands.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51First tonight, when 21-year-old Mia Ayliffe-Chung was stabbed
0:01:51 > 0:01:55to death at a backpackers' hostel in Queensland, her mum thought
0:01:55 > 0:01:58she'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01But Rosie Ayliffe soon learned of a dark world
0:02:01 > 0:02:05where some backpackers trying to extend their visas
0:02:05 > 0:02:09are exploited, threatened and even risk their lives.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14Now, as Rachael Gilchrist reports, Rosie's campaign to protect young
0:02:14 > 0:02:18people is being heard right around the world.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28I'm so glad I'm here.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33This is a story of journeys and of loss.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37I am dealing with some quite interesting emotions as I approach
0:02:37 > 0:02:41the place where Mia spent her last few days.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Of a dark world uncovered.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48This is extortion.
0:02:48 > 0:02:55People are making huge amounts of money out of our backpackers.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57And of a campaign that continues.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59I've got to get the story out there.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03But above all it's a story of love.
0:03:03 > 0:03:09If Mia walked into a room, she lit it up.
0:03:12 > 0:03:19This is a room I've dedicated to Mia.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23I've known Rosie for more than a year.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27I was at her daughter's funeral reporting for BBC Radio Derby.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29She always wanted to travel since she was tiny.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31She loved going abroad.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35I suppose I was at my happiest when I was travelling and so was she.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38When Rosie said she wanted to go back to Australia,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41to the Queensland hostel where Mia died, she invited me to tell that
0:03:42 > 0:03:48story and I went with her.
0:03:54 > 0:04:02It's a journey in Mia's footsteps to see where she visited.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05I don't know which way it will go but
0:04:05 > 0:04:09I'm hoping it will help me to come to terms with her death.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13It was at the backpackers hostel where she was living
0:04:13 > 0:04:15that she was attacked.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19The attacker was a 29-year-old French national.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Mia's murder was reported round the world.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27This was Mia just a few days ago on her way to work on a farm.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33Tom Jackson died after trying to save her from Smail Ayad's knife.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36To extend their Australian visas for another year,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Mia and Tom joined the 88 days scheme run
0:04:39 > 0:04:42by the Australian Government.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46If you want to stay longer than a year on a working holiday
0:04:46 > 0:04:50visa in Australia, then you need to do 88 days, three months,
0:04:50 > 0:04:57of work in agricultural or various other industries in remote regions.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03Mia came to Home Hill on the promise of work at nearby farms.
0:05:03 > 0:05:09I think the crop that we're passing is sugar cane.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12When you see how tall it is an imagining Mia
0:05:12 > 0:05:17working in that field, that was way over her head.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21So, that is all I am thinking about is Mia in those fields, you
0:05:21 > 0:05:22know.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25It is pretty hot out there.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31At Home Hill hostel, Mia shared a small room with her killer.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36Burdekin Memorial Hall.
0:05:36 > 0:05:42Pink building on the left.
0:05:42 > 0:05:49Which I think may well be Home Hill hostel.
0:05:49 > 0:05:55That must be Home Hill hostel because I can see hostellers.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59Here we are, bright blue sky, beautiful day, two
0:05:59 > 0:06:04little trees in a park.
0:06:04 > 0:06:12A pink building which is like the pictures I've seen in the press.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17The hostel owner has refused to meet Rosie.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22But she will allow her inside later.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25She's brought plants for a memorial garden to Mia and Tom.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29A couple of backpackers offer to help.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33What's your opinion of this 88 days of farm work?
0:06:33 > 0:06:37When you talk about that, we have had backpackers, they say a lot
0:06:37 > 0:06:40of stories because everybody has a story.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45About the 88 days, about the working in the farm.
0:06:45 > 0:06:46A load of stories.
0:06:46 > 0:06:47Bad stories, yeah?
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Yes.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Rosie's almost 10,000 miles from home and the last few steps
0:06:57 > 0:07:03of this journey she has to make alone.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05But she is wearing a microphone.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Some viewers may find what happens next upsetting.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16I've been brought to the place of Mia's death.
0:07:16 > 0:07:23I'm sitting in the cubicle where Mia died.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27And apparently she fought for her life even with chest
0:07:27 > 0:07:29injuries, even with a blow to the heart.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Mia was still fighting for her life.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37And Tom tried to save her.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46I just feel destroyed really.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47It was always going to be hard.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51But, you know.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Just the thought of my girl lying her dying in a toilet...
0:07:56 > 0:08:00It's not easy.
0:08:00 > 0:08:07I'm going to say the Lord's prayer.
0:08:07 > 0:08:08Our father who art in heaven.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Hallowed be your name.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24as we forgive them that trespass against us.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31for ever and ever.
0:08:31 > 0:08:37Amen.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45That's what comes to you isn't it, in your darkest moments.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49You revert to the faith of your youth and that's what I did.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53And she's gone, and it is tough, it is
0:08:53 > 0:08:54tough to be here.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57I knew it would be but I am so glad I came because I
0:08:57 > 0:09:01feel like I owed it to Mia
0:09:01 > 0:09:04In the hostel, the Queensland police gave Rosie the full details
0:09:04 > 0:09:09of her daughter's last moments.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12She fought for her life until the very last minute
0:09:13 > 0:09:17from the sound of it.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20She got on her feet and ran to what she thought was safety
0:09:20 > 0:09:23to a bathroom where she could lock herself in and then
0:09:23 > 0:09:25she was still fighting for her life minutes afterwards.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Knowing what I know, it is going to put it to rest, I hope.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33Because I now know everything.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38My conscious and unconscious mind has been searching for answers
0:09:38 > 0:09:42to what happened that night and now I've had the police account
0:09:42 > 0:09:49and I can't do any better than that.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Rosie's journey has become two-fold.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59To retrace her daughter's last steps and to campaign
0:09:59 > 0:10:04against the conditions some backpackers face.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11What in particular did you find out about the farm work scheme and how
0:10:11 > 0:10:13young people like Mia, like her friends are being
0:10:13 > 0:10:15possibly exploited by it?
0:10:15 > 0:10:18When I first came to Australia to pick up Mia's body
0:10:18 > 0:10:22I started to hear stories from other young people
0:10:22 > 0:10:25who were involved in the same government programme that Mia
0:10:25 > 0:10:26was involved with.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30Frankly, I was shocked, I was horrified at some of these stories
0:10:30 > 0:10:36and some of the messages that came to me through social media
0:10:36 > 0:10:40in the subsequent weeks suggested mass exploitation.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45So I decided to look into it more.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49I arrived here three weeks ago...
0:10:49 > 0:10:53One of those to contact Rosie is Djuro Vukotic who also did
0:10:53 > 0:10:56farm work for his visa.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59It gets mentally disturbing to sit every day doing nothing.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02The treatment is very, very bad.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06The language that is being spoken toward backpackers
0:11:06 > 0:11:07is non-acceptable.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11And I've seen instances where people have been denied water,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14denied going to the toilet and just being fired
0:11:14 > 0:11:20for no particular reason.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22There's lies going on.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Like, I mean, the hostel owner will tell you there's work.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29He makes you travel a destination of 2000km.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33When you come there you realise five weeks has passed and he hasn't given
0:11:33 > 0:11:35you the work that he promised.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37We're speaking about people working in 40 degrees,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40some of them are 18, 19 years old.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42People collapse mentally, they just break down.
0:11:42 > 0:11:49It was almost like being in prison rather than being in Australia.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Rosie is ruffling feathers out here.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55She's meeting influential people and finding out more about
0:11:55 > 0:11:59the exploitation of backpackers.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03If it's raining for two weeks, as it often does in tropical Queensland,
0:12:03 > 0:12:09there's no work so the backpackers are getting further in to debt.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12That when we see practices like seizures of
0:12:12 > 0:12:16passports, seizure of laptops, things like that.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19In order to stop people from leaving.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22It's been quite a journey.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25I have met young, so-called backpackers, who have
0:12:25 > 0:12:30encountered quite harsh conditions in the field and who have had
0:12:30 > 0:12:34experiences which, you know, I don't think people back home would be
0:12:34 > 0:12:37happy about.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40I have got to get the story out there.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45I have to do my best to do something to stop what is
0:12:45 > 0:12:50happening here.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Back home in Cromford, Rosie's efforts are reaping rewards.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Three Australian states are now looking at regulating labour hire
0:13:04 > 0:13:07and her online campaign continues.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12In the last year 1,500 people have signed up to her Facebook page.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15And now a website has been set up.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18One of the first to tell Rosie their story was backpacker
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Joy Lakin from Derby.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24We kept being picked up in the middle of nowhere, dropped
0:13:24 > 0:13:25off in the middle of nowhere.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Being told we had work then suddenly we don t have work.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Being made to work for accommodation, and put down
0:13:31 > 0:13:35money for equipment and put down money for board and then realise you
0:13:35 > 0:13:39can't actually afford any money for food or to have a good time,
0:13:39 > 0:13:44which is the whole point of travelling anyway.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49This is our Tom and Mia's legacy group page.
0:13:49 > 0:13:56And then the actual website, 88 days and counting.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Basically, you can search for different areas in Australia.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04Hopefully, guiding people from the worst places
0:14:04 > 0:14:05and towards the best places.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08There's quite a lot of advice.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12If you'd had something like this when you were doing your 88 days
0:14:12 > 0:14:14would it have been useful?
0:14:14 > 0:14:16It would have been such a difference.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18It's great to have something so wonderful come from such
0:14:18 > 0:14:22a tragic experience to make sure that other
0:14:22 > 0:14:24mothers won't have to feel like this.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28I can't say enough about how well Rosie has done.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31She really has made it easier for everybody to feel a bit more
0:14:31 > 0:14:34safe and hopefully, Mia's name will live
0:14:34 > 0:14:38on in a more positive light.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48I was winding down, I was looking forward to Mia settling down.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50She wanted to have kids earlier rather
0:14:50 > 0:14:53than later because she wanted a big family.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56That is heartbreaking.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05What I can do is to carry on trying to
0:15:05 > 0:15:10bring kids like Mia home in one piece and also having had the time
0:15:10 > 0:15:13of their life, which is what travelling is all about.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I want to feel we have made a start, we
0:15:16 > 0:15:19definitely have made a start.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29What an amazing film and I am with Rosie now.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32It has been a few weeks since we spoke to you, making that film.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36What in particular has been happening regarding the website?
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Well, I wake up in the morning and the first thing I am greeted
0:15:39 > 0:15:42with is stories from young people who are often in trouble
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and some of it can be quite harrowing and difficult
0:15:46 > 0:15:47to deal with.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Stories of young people working on equipment that aren't
0:15:51 > 0:15:56properly manned, where they are losing digits, which seems to be
0:15:56 > 0:16:00quite a frequent hazard.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03When they are injured in the workplace they
0:16:03 > 0:16:05aren't taken to hospital, they aren't treated well.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07They are sacked.
0:16:07 > 0:16:08This kind of thing.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13Young people arriving in a hostel and finding them
0:16:13 > 0:16:15is no work, all of this.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Being thrown out of a hostel in the middle of the night and
0:16:18 > 0:16:20ending up on the streets at 2am in the morning.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24There is no regard for their safety.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27But there is a growing body of people who want to help.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29You're coordinating all that from the UK.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31That can't be easy.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33No.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35It seems just ironic that young people
0:16:35 > 0:16:39are saying to me, you are our only port of call.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42You are the only person we can turn to because there
0:16:42 > 0:16:44is nothing out here.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47What has the reaction been like from Australia?
0:16:47 > 0:16:49Some of those farmers can't be happy.
0:16:49 > 0:16:55I am ruffling feathers, I am aware that is the case.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59What sort of things are they saying to you as a comeback?
0:17:00 > 0:17:03If I tell you some of the messages I have received you will be
0:17:04 > 0:17:05horrified, to be honest.
0:17:05 > 0:17:12Just that kind of internet barracking that you might expect.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13Trolling, almost.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17There is some trolling and some of it is quite personal as well,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19as you can imagine.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23I've just got to be brave because I am speaking on behalf of
0:17:23 > 0:17:25young people who don't have a voice.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28I've just got to do it, I've got to bite the bullet.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30What about in the UK?
0:17:30 > 0:17:32What kind of moves have been made?
0:17:32 > 0:17:35The UK High Commission, which is based in Canberra, have taken up
0:17:35 > 0:17:38the batton with this and I am really happy that they now have
0:17:38 > 0:17:43advice for travellers, who may be doing their 88 days, on their
0:17:43 > 0:17:44website.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47They say for example, make sure you take copies of your
0:17:47 > 0:17:49passports, don't hand your passport over.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52They have got a reporting line which I report
0:17:52 > 0:17:53to on a regular basis,
0:17:53 > 0:17:57which I am encouraging young people to report to.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59It's not the natural place to look for advice when you
0:17:59 > 0:18:02are going to Australia.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Where you would look for advice would be on the
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Australian immigration website and that is where
0:18:06 > 0:18:08these links need to be.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10That is the missing link, if you like.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12You have been talking to some pretty influential people, you made
0:18:12 > 0:18:16a speech recently at the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.
0:18:16 > 0:18:17What happened?
0:18:17 > 0:18:19How did it go?
0:18:19 > 0:18:22My aim was to raise awareness of the issues
0:18:22 > 0:18:25and to make the connection between what happens
0:18:25 > 0:18:29to immigrant workers in the UK and what is happening
0:18:29 > 0:18:33to our own young people in Australia.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Because I don't think the majority of people in that room would have
0:18:37 > 0:18:41recognised that their own young people were in danger from the same
0:18:41 > 0:18:47effects as the vulnerable workers in this country.
0:18:47 > 0:18:53You don't see young, UK travellers as vulnerable in the
0:18:53 > 0:18:57same way as you would recognise that among central Europeans over here.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02Our young people are made vulnerable by their hopes and dreams
0:19:02 > 0:19:04for a better life in Australia.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Rosie, have you done enough now?
0:19:07 > 0:19:10The objective of the campaign was to get the message out
0:19:10 > 0:19:15there to the Australian population and to people in the UK.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19So, yes, I have reached that objective.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22It is in the bag really.
0:19:22 > 0:19:28But the issue is, I am still that main point of contact that
0:19:28 > 0:19:33that conduit for information to the British and Australian authorities.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37In all honesty, I can't stop now.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42To me, it shouldn't be me who is losing sleep over this.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Somebody else is responsible and somebody else needs
0:19:45 > 0:19:49to take over where I leave off.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51This is Tom and Mia's legacy.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55It is about keeping our young people safe.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57That is the bottom line.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59Thank you very much indeed.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01Thank you.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Finally tonight, the clocks may have gone back, but we'd like to remind
0:20:06 > 0:20:10you of those long summer days, the scent of freshly mown grass
0:20:10 > 0:20:13and the sound of leather on willow.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17This country has undoubtedly produced some cricketing legends,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20and none were bigger than Sir Garfield Sobers
0:20:20 > 0:20:24who captained Nottinghamshire in the twilight of his sparkling
0:20:24 > 0:20:26international Test career.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30But what you might not know is that Garry Sobers had a huge impact
0:20:30 > 0:20:33on local league cricket in the Midlands.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37Rebecca Wood has taken a step back in time to revisit a golden era.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Trent Bridge cricket ground in Nottingham.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49A regular host of international cricket and star players.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52But back in the 1950s and '60s, even small
0:20:52 > 0:20:59local cricket clubs attracted big names and big crowds.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01And here in Norton in Stoke-on-Trent,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04thousands of local fans were treated to a close-up view of the greatest
0:21:04 > 0:21:07cricket player in the world when the legendary
0:21:07 > 0:21:12Sir Garfield Sobers signed up for their local league club.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17Sobers is arguably the greatest all-rounder the game has ever seen.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Six on the trot, it is a world record.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22And he has done it!
0:21:22 > 0:21:24He has done it.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27His six sixes in one over is one of the most famous moments in
0:21:27 > 0:21:29sporting history.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30Six on the trot.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32Goodness gracious.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Sobers, finest cricketer in the world.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40He could bat, he could bowl at pace, he could
0:21:40 > 0:21:44bowl spin, either orthodox spin, leg spin.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47He was so athletic he moved like a panther.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50He got everything.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52And for those Staffordshire players who got to
0:21:52 > 0:21:57walk out with the great man, they were incredible days.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02One of those players was the former captain here
0:22:02 > 0:22:05at Stone Cricket Club, Stuart Wood, who I know as Dad.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08He was an amazing player was Gary.
0:22:08 > 0:22:14When he bent his back, when he really put all he got
0:22:14 > 0:22:16into it, he was as quick as anybody.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19He would hit you on your leg before you realised what the line and
0:22:19 > 0:22:21length of the ball was.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24He was very, very fast.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29In 1965, my dad played alongside Gary Sobers and another
0:22:29 > 0:22:33West Indian great, Wes Hall, in the final of the Rothmans Cup.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36It was an exciting time, to have them in the
0:22:36 > 0:22:39same side as you was absolutely wonderful.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42They went on to greater things, obviously, the two of them.
0:22:42 > 0:22:48But at that stage, Gary Sobers was quite the most fantastic
0:22:48 > 0:22:51cricketer I'd ever set eyes on and it was a great
0:22:51 > 0:22:55pleasure to play with him.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Gary Sobers signed for Norton Cricket club based on the miners
0:22:58 > 0:23:02welfare Institute and it even made the local news.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Gary, you've just come back from India after touring
0:23:04 > 0:23:05with the Commonwealth team.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08What made you decide to come to this class cricket is?
0:23:08 > 0:23:11This class of cricket, I think, has done a lot for me.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15I look forward to coming back year to play in the league, to
0:23:15 > 0:23:18get away a bit from the sunshine and to look forward to playing
0:23:18 > 0:23:22among the league players.
0:23:22 > 0:23:28Sobers was part of a tradition of internationals who came
0:23:28 > 0:23:31over to play in the best English leagues like here in the North
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Staffordshire South Cheshire league and the Lancashire league.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35There was money to be made in the leagues but
0:23:35 > 0:23:38that wasn't the only thing that brought the West Indians to England.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41As the man himself explains in this rarely seen archive footage.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44I think league cricket has helped West Indies
0:23:44 > 0:23:48tremendously and I think all West Indians or all overseas players
0:23:48 > 0:23:51should at least try to get into league crickets, I'm sure
0:23:51 > 0:23:54cricket would improve tremendously.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57That message made its way back to the Caribbean.
0:23:58 > 0:23:59That is a good shot.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Where the next generation of superstars were listening.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Everybody in the Caribbean thought that
0:24:03 > 0:24:05England was the best place to learn the trade,
0:24:05 > 0:24:10to develop and also you heard a lot of stories, a lot of players who'd
0:24:10 > 0:24:13come here and they talked about the pitches being green, the
0:24:13 > 0:24:17ball swinging around and the different weather conditions.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21To me, having that way was difficult and
0:24:21 > 0:24:24you constantly had to make adjustments but it could only
0:24:24 > 0:24:26help your game.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28The leagues have got rich history.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31Some of the best players that would have graced the world
0:24:31 > 0:24:34where cricket is concerned.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Sir Gary Sobers passed through the league, Sir
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Everton passed through the league, Wes Hall passed through the league.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42There is so much numerous individuals who would have made
0:24:42 > 0:24:47their mark at cricket itself, would have played in the league.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Here comes a great West Indian cricketer
0:24:49 > 0:24:51and captain, Frank Worrell.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54International cricketers didn't earn much back in the '50s and '60s.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Not eligible for county cricket, they seized the opportunity to play
0:24:57 > 0:25:01in the leagues on a Saturday and then for a touring side called
0:25:01 > 0:25:05the International Cavaliers on a Sunday.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Grounds like Norton were rammed with thousands of spectators.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10The square would be here.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Cricket isn'ts played here any more but Nigel
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Johnson, veteran sports commentator for BBC Radio Stoke, remembers those
0:25:16 > 0:25:18extraordinary days.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Take me back to those Saturdays and what it would've
0:25:20 > 0:25:22been like Garfield Sobers was here.
0:25:22 > 0:25:28All the way around on the seats, it would have been packed.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30There would have been people on seats, people
0:25:30 > 0:25:35standing, not necessarily one row, two rows.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39People would just be finding a spot where they could see
0:25:39 > 0:25:43everything that is going on here.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48Then when the teams came out, the roar, the applause going up.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51It was electrifying.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54The North Staffs and South Cheshire league was the finest
0:25:54 > 0:25:56league in the country.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59So when people came to watch the cricketers, the
0:25:59 > 0:26:02professionals and the nonprofessionals, they were
0:26:02 > 0:26:03watching the best.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06The overseas professionals were coming for the cricket but
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Stoke-on-Trent was a far cry from the Caribbean.
0:26:09 > 0:26:16It will dull, dark, smoky, dirty and polluted.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19If I could take you back then you wouldn't like it.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22It was a really awful place to live in and to work in.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Work was really laborious.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28No mechanism in those days, no computers, everything was done
0:26:28 > 0:26:31virtually by hand and by body.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Thousands worked down the mines in the potteries
0:26:34 > 0:26:37and Saturday afternoon cricket in the fresh air was the
0:26:37 > 0:26:38perfect escape.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43To see Gary Sobers and hope that he was going to hit six sixes
0:26:43 > 0:26:47again straight out of the ground or to hope even better
0:26:47 > 0:26:50that the bowler, the local bowler, was going to get his wicket,
0:26:50 > 0:26:55that was a big draw.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58And Frank Reynolds was one of those local boys.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59There is Sobers again.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01And there.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Playing at Norton for over 30 years, he shared the pitch
0:27:04 > 0:27:06with many an international superstar.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10When you went out to bat against the likes of Wes Hall,
0:27:10 > 0:27:15Sonny Ramadhin or many of the other test players, you didn't give your
0:27:15 > 0:27:16wicket away easily.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20You were toughened up and you took them on.
0:27:20 > 0:27:26In fact, it was a pleasure to me to get the scalps of test players.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31But in 1968, the rules on overseas players changed and they could now
0:27:31 > 0:27:33move up to play for counties.
0:27:33 > 0:27:38The glory days of league cricket were ending.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41The North Staffs and South Cheshire league is still going strong
0:27:41 > 0:27:46but the days when superstars played down the road are long gone.
0:27:46 > 0:27:54The chance to see Laker, Worrell, Sobers, Hall,
0:27:54 > 0:27:56all these players were visible.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59They were approachable.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01And that was a very, very important thing.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06To go home a Saturday night and say, I saw Gary Sobers,
0:28:06 > 0:28:13I spoke to Gary Sobers, I had a drink with Gary Sobers.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18And I shook his hand when I left.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20What memories.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22What memories.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Fond memories indeed.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29And that's it from Melton for another week.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33Here's what's coming up next Monday.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39The conman who exploited bereaved families trying to find out
0:28:39 > 0:28:42what happened to their loved one.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45He looked as if he was fighting for us but no, he was only there for
0:28:45 > 0:28:47his one person, himself.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50He will continue, he will con the people.