Cuppas and collisions

Posted by Peter Davies

A five-star afternoon! First, Kirkburton - cold and blustery but sunny. A second-team game against Skelmanthorpe and there was a strong Shat presence on the boundary edge. In the pavilion, club stalwarts Steve Ireland and Mike Nicholas were in evidence with everyone trying to keep up to speed with the Giants in their Wembley final against Warrington Wolves (not good news for the locals). I had a new camera which I was testing out - about as big as a mobile phone, slimline, with a top-notch zoom facility. The results were good - with video to experiment with at a later date. Tea was early because of Skelmanthorpe's poor batting display and even so the head tea lady was in good spirits. I enjoyed a cheese sandwich with salad accessories (including a rather bolognese-esque pasta dish). The tea lady was in such a buoyant mood that she was handing out free egg custard slices (with chocolate trim). Kirkburton's ground somehow feels quite a long way from the centre of the village - the greenery and the handsome church tower offer the visitor a very attractive scene.

At Lepton it was very windy with Rastrick the visitors. It always seems to be when I go there - it always feels very exposed. The views from the Wakefield Road ground are exceptional and the new pavilion - shared with the footballers - is exquisite in a very modern, state-of-the-art way. The scorebox also seemed to be new. The football results were coming in, the Giants having lost, and Liverpool had just gone 3-2 up against Bolton. A couple of windswept strolls round the boundary and I'd had enough so off we went to Dalton & Edgerton, based high up in Dalton amid lots of roads with Lake District-themed names - Coniston, Buttermere etc. Again, more wind and blustery conditions - at a ground that is very high with some amazing panoramas out over Huddersfield town centre and Leeds Road. Denby were the visitors but it was teatime when we arrived and not a soul could be seen. So I wandered in the tea room - for the first time ever - and got the impression it was shared with the local bowling club. The sole tea lady on duty was working hard, with cuppas appearing at regular intervals and the D&E players on good form in one corner of the room. There were some framed photos of the old Dalton CC on display and a rather cute bar in the far corner. Sandwiches and a variety of sweets were on offer - jam tarts and a variety of choclatey delicacies. I kept asking if D&E legend Johnny Bradbury was around but he had seemingly stayed at home to watch the Giants in the comfort of his living room. He turned up just as we were leaving. A true legend. If it wasn't for him, there wouldn't be a club.

We headed for Brighouse, one of our favourite grounds, mainly because of its superb new clubhouse. The game had finished so we sped to Rastrick, where their match was coming to a close with them trying to defend 150 or so. They did so - just - but it was a close call. The evening was drawing in and autumn felt just around the corner as we watched the action from outside the pavilion. It also got cold. The pavilion was a hive of activity with lots of punters knocking about and at least two people serving behind the bar. I took some photos of some of the framed photos on the wall and took a slight interest in the 'leftovers' that were now going for free on the long table by the windows. The egg mayo slices and the mini-sausage rolls were particularly appealing! Out on the boundary, Rastrick veteran John Edge was having a torrid time - dropping two chances and then colliding with a young Rastrick player while trying to field the ball (think Steve Waugh and Jason Gillespie). The young lad was OK but it looked nasty.

We skirted past Badger Hill - game over - and ended up at Elland, where the 1st XI fixture against Scholes was reaching a climax, in the visitors' favour. Again cold and dark but plenty of chatter among the Scholes fielders. We tried Blackley on the way back into Huddersfield but game over there too.