I don`t get too many days off during cricket season weekends, nor do I want any.
My wife Lesley is as keen on her photography as I am on cricket so we’re quite happy doing our own thing.
We have all winter and plenty of holidays to do stuff together so when Worsley Cup Final Sunday came around with none of my teams involved I was delighted to accept an invitation from Cherry Tree`s Mark Hadfield to score a game for his development 4th XI at Feniscowles.
The Recreation Ground at Feni was my adventure playground in childhood, we lived in two houses on the adjacent Council estate from shortly after my birth in 1959 to about 1970 when we moved round the corner to a semi in Cherry Tree just as I was leaving Pleasington Primary School for St Mary`s College.
I first kicked a football and picked up a cricket bat on `The Rec, watched my dad play both sports for Star Paper there and my soccer career peaked early with a winning goal in the local derby against Feni Primary in the annual tournament.
While football was largely downhill from 11 onwards I did play cricket for Star with my dad - and ex-Rovers players such as Bryan Douglas and George Sharples - and went on to play at some level into my thirties.
All started on The Rec.
So it was a real delight when the first person I bumped into arriving on Sunday was an old schooldays friend I probably haven`t spoken to for decades, Brian Officer who played for Feniscowles for many years and whose daughter Megan, about the same age as our daughter Olivia, was playing for Feniscowles Thirds on the day. .
Brian, just an shade younger than me by a few months, and I were among a bunch of sports nuts out till it went dark every night as the late sixties faded into the 70`s or playing Subbuteo or Howzat indoors if it rained.
I remember going to Bloomfield Road to watch Rovers with his dad and brother Duncan, another cricketing legend from the FCC Chorley League days. I`d see more of Dunc at gigs all over the place down the years.
As the game unfolded I watched Brian concentrate on every ball - just as we all did watching East Lancs as boys - particularly as Megan opened the bowling when Cherry Tree replied to Feni`s formidable 207 for five 9 (Nattrass 80, Furniss 53, Ughradar 34).
Neither of our girls took any sporting prowess into late teens or adulthood so I was spared the agonies of watching them after schools sports and I was delighted for dad Brian and daughter when Megan helped polish off the Cherry tail after Alex Finley and Rachel Hadfield, playing alongside daughter Beatrice, had threatened the target in a well-paced second-wicket stand of 60-odd.
Even the fact that I got a nasty bump on the head from a loose scoreboard number falling out of its latch couldn`t spoil a lovely afternoon reconnecting with an old friend.
In the pre-internet days you`d know who played for who from looking at the teams in the Evening Telegraph or Accy Observer of a Friday, that`s how I knew the likes of Brian, Duncan, Andy Miller and Frank Holden and the like were Feniscowles perennials.
These days you’re lucky if a major cricket story even gets covered. In the last week or so Haslingden First XI have had points deducted - ludicrously in my view- for not fielding a Ladies` team and the NWCL have scrapped their `three down, two up` proposal between the two top divisions.
Not a peep in the paper about either. Alf Thornton, Pete White, Neil Bramwell, Matt Donlan, Chris LLoyd and Joe Boyle would have been all over such stories.
Ah well, I guess I`m just an old fool hankering after the days of the Sports Pink, a reporter on every ground using the telephone the newspaper had installed in the scorebox and blanket scorecards/averages in print each week Hopefully Accrington`s return to top spot in Lancashire League Division Two is worthy of mention.
I had to miss the home win over bottom side Bacup as Cherry Tree get Saturday first dibs and the LL programme was moved to Saturday to accommodate the rather one sided showpiece Worsley Cup Final.
Hence I was following events at Thorneyholme Road on PlayCricket Live, not without a little trepidation in the light of Accy`s shock defeat at Lanehead earlier in the campaign. It seems it wasn`t all plain sailing on Saturday either with Bacup setting a target of 206 after a poor start.
Captain Jacob Clarke, whose dad Damian was pressed into service for the first time this season following the late withdrawal of Jon Hayhurst, led the way as so often with the first four wickets but the visitors fought well although I do reckon 220 is par on a fine day there.
Three wickets in seven balls for a single truncated the visitors` effort with more than two overs unused to wrap things up a little short of that. Credit though to Luke Donovan with 54 and debutant Mason Hayhurst (25 not out).
With both Accy openers out within six deliveries around the 34 mark I was fearing a repeat of the Crompton performance but this time pro and skipper were surrendering no initiative and a stand of 127 at around five an over did the job.
When Jacob departed for 47, a half-century continuing to elude him this season, Jurie was on 75 and I was doing that calculation of what percentage of the 42 still required he needed for another ton but he too was prised out having added just one more, leaving a cameo from Emile Haratbar and a couple of boundaries from Sam Malloy to bring it home in fewer than 40 overs.
It`s almost as big a surprise Jurie missing out on a century as it is when he fails but the untroubled victory means more to him and the rest of the lads than individual landmarks with the big prizes this close.
Crompton`s heavy no-points defeat to Rochdale was a real bonus and what a pity Toby Gargan`s second 50 of the season along with fine contributions from Craig Fergusson and pro Gunasinghe weren't enough for Church to beat Nelson.
Accrington v Nelson a week on Sunday is a cracker in the making but first it`s Rishton away this Sunday.
Another of Accrington`s youth prodigies Alex Cronshaw, 14, made a maiden 100 for the Thirds at Darwen at weekend. The older lads better make the most of their careers with the quality the club has coming through the youth ranks.
At the other end of the age scale congratulations to Enfield`s Adam Bracewell on his totemic achievement of 10,000 league runs. Club and league legend status well and truly cemented.
My game on Saturday was another tremendous disappointment for Cherry Tree firsts. A total of 172 would win you some games and possibly a heavily-depleted Brinscall would be among those you`d fancy it was enough against.
But failing to bat the overs out is criminal and despite Ross Bretherton hitting his first 50 (exactly) in a while, his stand of 69 with Michael Timmis was rather frittered away as the last five wickets fell for 25 runs, Timmis was was left stranded on 36 not out as seamer Cameron Fish, recently recruited by Brinscall from Penwortham and young slow left-armer Robson Matthews shared eight wickets.
But it was a titanic battle between Brinscall overseas man Lamar Springer and Cherry Tree`s Aussie Hudson Walshaw which became the focus of the day.
Barbadian `Bruiser` hit five sixes and eleven fours in his 99 not out but Walshaw was still beating his bat through pace and bounce to the end as his 13 epic but wicketless overs went for just 35.
It was a real shame that after patting back five dot balls to allow his mate another go at the single he needed, the last delivery of a Min Bhada over to Ravi Rathnayake, 61 not out, went for four byes to end the contest.
With Cherry Tree having no game tomorrow Brinscall offered me the choice of doing their firsts or seconds on Saturday. I opted for the twos at Eagley. I hadn`t realised Cherry firsts are there next Saturday too so two Saturdays in Bolton it is for me.
No worries — Mrs Wilky, whose birthday we celebrate this week as the grouse shooting season opens, is always pleased to hear I`m making productive and profitable use of my time!
Quiz- last week`s answer- Wayne Roberts was the man Roger Harper missed out on - caught by Bacup`s Mark Taylor (who messaged me unable to recall who he’d pouched) off Dibber Ormerod. Lennie Dewhurst the not out batter.
This week - This week in 1979 I watched two Church batsmen put on an opening stand of 193 at Alexandra Meadows. Can you name them and the East Lancs pro who played his last game for the club that day without taking five-for all season - a feat he later achieved on multiple occasions in the league?
