263 not out!

Posted by Peter Davies

A Huddersfield Central League tour in the company of some legendary Yorkshire- and Lancashire-based Professional Cricket Watchers, including Mick Bourne, Brian Senior, Brian Sanderson, Peter Dixon and David Thorpe. First up, Cawthorne, on the fringes of Barnsley. A picture-postcard village - really very beautiful. The cricket ground was also very lovely: tree-lined, spacious and boasting an attractive new pavilion. And they serve a nice cuppa! Almondbury Wesleyans were the visitors and were batting first. Andrew Crawshaw, Chris Jones and other Wes loyalists were circling the boundary. A good scattering of spectators too. The ground brought back some very bad memories for me. In 1997, I hurt my back and knee while fielding at Cawthorne and ended up on morphine in Barnsley General Hospital. A horrible experience.

Then to Denby Dale where Denby Grange were the visitors. The ground looked a picture in the sun and the warmth. But bad planning: the two teams were at tea and for the first quarter of an hour all we saw were the guys who do the wicket doing their stuff. The Dale tea ladies are always very friendly and the new pavilion always looks handsome and elegant. A very good viewing ground too, with the boundary edge littered with some fairly sturdy benches. Lots of spectators and also lots of bowlers on the adajacent green, so much so that parking was a major problem on the main road. I had a little bit of a lie on the patch of grass close to where we were all sitting - very nice indeed. My Dad came back with an ice lolly - from goodness know's where - and then enjoyed a stroll round the boundary. I befriended one of the tea ladies and was able to sample some of their cheddar cheese sandwiches and quiche.

At Cumberworth, another case of bad timing. The players had just gone in for tea. Again, more work on the wicket to admire and lots of players doing stretching exercises on the outfield. Cumberworth secretary and Central League official Phil Senior was chatting on the boundary with spectators and the two tea ladies were relaxing inside the pavilion after doing their stuff at the interval. Photos were taken of the Professional Cricket Watchers in their element, with Brian Senior estimating that his watching tally for the season was '263 matches or parts of matches'. A very good effort, and of course he was still going strong. Some ham sandwiches were consumed along with some lovely lettuce. But we had arrived too late for a full tea. Crigglestone were the visitors.

Finally, Cartworth Moor, where the visitors in a top-of-the-table tussle were Woolley. The winners would be crowned Section 'B' champions. An amazingly big crowd - and because of this there was a totally different atmosphere than usual. The sun was still shining and the panoramic views over and around Huddersfield were as crisp and awesome as ever. But it was also getting cold and my Dad had to borrow David Thorpe's old jumper - the one that he uses for painting! Lots of interesting people on the boundary edge, including club stalwart Stuart Clayton and current 2nd XI player Steve Spooner. One guy, also, had just returned from Chester-le-Street (in an England replica top), where Australia had at last been beaten. He said it was all over as a contest in early afternoon so he didn't want to hang about. We kept on looking out towards Upperthong's ground -on the other side of the valley - but when Moor finally came out on top (winning by 15 runs or so - and causing widespread celebrations) we called it a day - for the weekend and, as regards Huddersfield league cricket, for the season.