Sunday 11th May saw us off on our travels to the Midlands for five days cricket at various different venues. First stop was a ground which has long been on my wanted list at Danes Court, Wolverhampton - the home of Wolverhampton cricket club. Although I lived in the Midlands for quite a long time in my younger days I never managed to go to this ground before. As I thought, it proved to be a delightful spot in leafy Tettenhall. The home side were playing Tamworth in the first round of the National club knock out competition.
We discovered that these games are now of only forty overs duration rather than the previous forty five, but when Tamworth won the toss and batted the home side did not need the full overs and in fact bowled them out for a meagre 101 in just 32 overs. Opening bowler Aaron Patel soon disposed of both openers and finished with splendid figures of 8-2-17-4. He was aided and abetted by Matthew Kleinveldt (born in England but a regular performer in South African state cricket). Kleinveldt took 4-20 and the only real resistance came from Tamworth's number six David Fisher who was 30 not out at the end of the innings.
The home side had no problems in knocking off the runs in only twenty overs with skipper Kleinveldt top scorer on 34 not out as they cruised to victory by eight wickets in only 21 overs. However a really pleasant venue with a very attractive lounge area and plenty of seating in front of the pavilion. Worcestershire experimented with two second eleven T20 matches here last season and I would imagine they got very good support even though the area is historically of course in Staffordshire.
They also have a very pleasant second ground which was not in action today, but a third ground in a neighbouring park was the scene of an interesting game between two Asian teams, one from Wolverhampton and one from Birmingham, on a ground also used by Old Wulfrunians, the old boys of Wolverhampton Grammar School.
Later in the afternoon, on the way to our overnight base near Kidderminster, we called in at the village ground of Chaddesley Corbett, where a game in the Village knock out competition was due to take place. However it transpired that the home side, for whatever reason, had forfeited the game and withdrawn from the competition, having previously won their first round game. A game was going on but a very low key affair in a friendly with Lye cricket club.
1 comment:
Hello Tony and John.
I stumbled upon your blog and was fascinated by it, being a lover of grassroots cricket and village cricket in rural locations. I also loved the rigour of your blog, its history and how it captures a feeling of kindredness amongst spectators. I know that Spout House CC is not strictly in Calderdale or Kirklees and I was saddened to have missed seeing a match there but I wondered which ground constituted the most bizarre amongst your travels.
For roughly four years now Ann and I have been going around Sussex and Derbyshire using only public transport and walking to go to matches in the Derbyshire Cricket League and Sussex Cricket League. Quite a challenge in areas where buses pack up around 17.00! The other thing I was curious about concerns our love of nomad cricket sides (who seem few and far between the further north one travels) and I've recently spotted a fixture between Langdale's Lovelies and Yorkshire Gents at Chatsworth. However it seems really hard to find information about fixtures for these nomad games. (I actually trawl through the Nomad CC site that lists a whole host of nomad teams, a longwinded process). Do you have many nomad fixtures in Yorkshire, aside from Yorks Gents.
I know you're busy. But if you have time to reply here is my email waxolotl@talktalk.net
All the best
Doj Graham
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