As charming as the Oozehead field with its draining pool in the middle of the pitch may have been, Rovers needed more promising surroundings. While still based at the aforementioned ‘ooze’ Rovers began to look further afield for a home. Pleasington Cricket Ground was never considered as a suitable home for Rovers but it managed to be a suitable temporary venue until they discovered a home more relevant to their needs. It was a step-up from Oozehead at least.

The main problem with Pleasington was the location. It was simply too far away from the town centre, which made it difficult for many of the fans to get access to the games unless by a very long walk. Transport links to the centre of Blackburn were poor, meaning that crowds were low. Although there was an established tram link along Preston New Road as early as the 1870s (the first major tram route in Blackburn) although there was never a similar set-up along Preston Old Road. This meant that fans that had been able to catch the tram to the Rovers games at Oozebooth had no such choice with the new home ground. As it was such an open area anyway, many fans viewed Rovers without paying. Pleasington was never to be considered as a permanent home for Rovers.

The final match at Pleasington was remembered principally for a tragic occurrence. A match against Preston Rovers was abandoned after the Preston player Henry Smith collapsed after sprinting for the ball. After being taken to the local pub, The Butler’s Arms (still there and continuing to serve ale to thirsty customers to this day), medical assistance was sent for. Before it could arrive and despite the use of stimulants in attempt to revive the gentleman, he died of a heart attack. Not exactly the prefect end to Pleasington as the home ground of Rovers.

Although the Rovers first team were never again to play at Pleasington, they did train there. Pleasington has often been used for Rovers A and B games. During the early part of the managerial reign of Kenny Dalglish Rovers still sometimes trained there. At least, while waiting for the completion of the new training complex at Brockhall. One of the most inconvenient features of the site (other than the players and staff often having to clear dog excrement off the fields before training) was that sometimes a funeral cortege for a now ex-Rovers fan would sometimes detour via the pitches on their way to Pleasington Cemetary. Training had to be stopped as the players and staff lowered their heads as the hearses slowly drove past. There was obviously something about that place which seemed to attract death…maybe Rovers were better off out of it after all.

Streetmap overview of the area - Pleasington.