I just missed it.
The picture which would have perfectly summed up the varying priorities of those involved in league cricket on a rainy day in Lancashire.
On the boundary edge of the iMEP Arena stood Accrington's not out batsmen, Waleed Majeed and pro Jurie Snyman, immaculately gloved, helmeted, pads on eager to resume the innings. No wonder. Jurie is 92 not out with a potential eight overs to come.
On the steps, the watchful umpires, cautiously eyeing the clouds but just about open to be persuaded a break in the rainfall is imminent and a resumption will soon be possible.
Then, dashing past them up the stairs and past me before I could get my phone ready, a Rawtenstall lad hurrying to the dressing room with a huge overflowing tray of burger and chips with a fork sticking out. If a resumption was imminent, nobody had told this fella.
It summed up the frustration and pathos of an afternoon spent largely wishing the clouds would blow over and let the game get on with itself.
In the event the Accrington knock was already pre-destined to be over with Jurie left high and dry eight short of another century. It would have been his fourth of the season and my third of what to that point had been an extremely entertaining three days.
Provided the hungry Rawtenstall man wasn't opening the batting, he had adequate time to enjoy his hearty and calorific repast as what time remained of the afternoon's play - an inadequate 14 overs as far as any result was possible - was given to an ultimately truncated and frustrated Rawtenstall run chase.
Nobody is ever happy on a day which unfolds like that. At one point one of the captains pleaded that we should be back on as it was raining no harder than it had done on a previous occasion a particular umpire had carried on playing. While this conversation was going on, I could only see streams of water running down the windows and certainly couldn't have seen anything going on in the middle to record it accurately had I needed to.
A theme of the weekend on the scorers' WhatsApp group I belong to was whether the rules allow you to come back on in rain. Like most rule adjustments, what's supposed to be a clarification inevitably leads to arguments about definitions of words and phrases. Syntax and silly talk.
Having the same umpires doing multiple leagues hardly helps matters either. It's hard enough work memorising regs in one league.
And don't get me started about whether you can go back on if less than a quorum 20 overs is available or can you tie a game on DL - can we just have the early season sunshine back please
All a bit of a shame. Jurie's innings was a consummate and skilled professional's effort - watchful and protective at first as too many wickets fell at the other end for him to play with abandon, but just looking set to flower and bloom at the point the reduced allocation turned attack into a necessity. I feel we were all denied what could have become an epic effort and felt guilty telling Jurie it was, in its trimmed form, only the third best knock I'd seen all weekend.
Rawtenstall had reason for their own frustration at the game's final and decisive delay as they were well ahead on Duckworth Lewis but I thought on this occasion ten points shared was the fairest outcome.
At least the boys had the comfort of an unbeaten weekend having chalked up a rare 20 win over woebegone East Lancs at the Meadows on Friday. Not that that makes the final Friday game against Darwen anything other than a formality.
And by all accounts Saturday's Anniversary Dinner was a great success. I’m looking forward to Sunday's visit to Great Harwood and possibly seeing a couple of old friends from my Accrington Observer days.
In other newspaper news, I spent a fruitless half hour on Sunday morning en route to the iMEP trying to source a Sunday Times in Accrington for a Springsteen interview but Mrs Wilkinson saved the day by locating one in Preston Morrisons. Six 'paper shops' I went in. My old mate Eddie Hogan from Maden St News in Church who was also steward at Church CC will be turning in his grave.
I would have had plenty of time to read it during the rain delays but instead it was an absolute pleasure to meet a Twitter/X pal '@RawtenstallClaret' who popped up to say hello.
Chris Egan's lad had already taken a fine catch to dismiss Ali Hasham before he introduced himself. Those of us long in the tooth who are of the Rovers blue persuasion are supposed to fall out with our cousins up the M65 about who's won the most major trophies, has the historically bigger support etc (you can see 70-year-olds swanking about FA Cups won in the 1880s most days on Elon's godforsaken site) but ever since school days I've had Burnley fans among my best pals and still have to this day.
And when you're sat reminiscing during a downpour about shared memories of past cricket experiences the time flies.
I told Chris about my only overseas Test experience, Barbados in 1981, and Michael Holding's famous over to Geoff Boycott, still the greatest and most dramatic five minutes of pure live sporting theatre I've ever been as privileged to witness. A few weeks later I was watching my new clubmate Church's Ian Osborne hit Whispering Death for a flurry of sixes on a soggy Rishton Sunday.
He also got to hear about me watching Live Aid on a big screen in the Royal at Waterfoot after a seconds game at Rawtenstall much to the chagrin of my then-girlfriend with whom I'd refused to attend Geldof's celebrated Wembley fund-raiser. Cricket first.
With lots of mutual pals and shared experiences, Blue-Eyed Boy and Rawtenstall Claret got on just fine. Chris could be a handy man to know as he revealed he washes Rawtenstall's T20 kit. The catch on my washing machine door has gone so I'm looking for temporary arrangements until payday.
I had another lovely and unexpected encounter with an old cricketing pal from the Valley on Saturday when Bacup stalwart Peter Mulderigg called by on Baxenden to present me with a pair of binoculars! He'd read about my difficulties identifying players and gave them to me to thank me for writing an awards nomination testimonial to Lanehead legend Neal Wilkinson a few months ago.
What a wonderful gesture. I may be able to tell my Jurie from my Jonny at last through the goggles.
And such a perfect start to a day dominated by one of my favourite current young cricketers.
Cherry Tree's Charlie Elwood, 23-year-old twin brother of Owen, another fine player, began the season as skipper at Preston Old Road but is now back in the ranks.
His form throughout the season since the opening NKO game at Penrith has been marvellous but his match-winning innings of 121 at Back Lane was real coming-of-age rites-of-passage stuff. The left-handed (the only way I can distinguish the twins) opener has threatened a daddy ton for weeks and it was Bash, who did little wrong in a slightly rain-affected game, who were on the receiving end.
After ex-Accy man Ben Gorton, badly hampered by hay fever, smashed 81, really unleashing as Jurie might have after a stoppage (and putting a nearby bedroom window through to boot) helped set Cherry a testing target of 221from 41 overs, it looked to be the home side's game at 26 for two with pro and amateur Bhada brothers both out.
But Charlie, circumspect and patient early on and at other junctures when caution was needed, found a perfect foil in cunning, crafty cricketer Mark Hadfield, another southpaw and a vastly-experienced thinker about the game who knows what's required in most circumstances.
Particularly when the dangerous Nick Fowler was seen off, the pair gradually unleashed and in particular Charlie's almost effortless, seemingly uncomplicated but mighty hitting made the ground look too small (eight sixes in his 114 ball knock) to contain him while Hadfield's improvisation and impudence infuriated the bowlers as control changed hands.
It was a thrill to watch it. I'd perhaps learned more than I already know or ought to know about Charles's abdication of the captaincy from Baxenden players sat chatting by the scoreboard early on and I have no real interest in that other than to say I'm just delighted to watch a talented young fellow enjoying a golden summer. Owen scored a fantastic 100 in a T20 game which almost gave me a nervous breakdown two years ago so it was wonderful to see his brother join the club.
The win came with almost three overs to spare, fittingly from an another Elwood boundary.
I have to say the variety of other topics covered by the Bash players while they sat by the scorers was a bit of an eye-opener even for a seasoned old salty yard dog like myself. I've often wondered what the Woke Police would have made of some of the chat in the old Church 2s dressing room but it's good to know there are still one or two unreconstructed types around. Unfortunately I'm a bit old to be putting any of the graphically enacted Alex Comfort type tips to much use but hope they helped the presumably recent initiates in the carnal stakes they were aimed at.
Back to cricket and that man Charlie Elwood had made 77 from 41 balls (five sixes) in a losing cause the night before when a celebrated son of Hyndburn, Levi Wolfenden, struck 10 sixes in a brutal 102 in Whalley's T20 win.
The many spectators at Whalley who have their kids at practice on Friday nights need to keep their eyes on the ball and on their kids playing near the outfield with hitting like that going on.
I've known Levi almost from him being brought on Church as a baby. He is much missed at the WECG for sure. Some player. I wonder where he, and Whalley, will be next year?
My weekend had begun with a rather one-sided T20 at Brinscall where Astley Bridge won easily. It was an ordinary game but lovely to see my Church CC pal and teammate Tony Robinson there. Tony, who will have taught dozens of you, and I shared many hours together through Covid working on his football book which I'm sure he'll still sell you a copy of if you see him.
Seeing him at a. ground was a nice reminder that having things back to normal post-pandemic, meeting our friends and watching marvellous cricket is not a gift to be sniffed at.
All that and burger and chips. What more could you want?
*Last week's trivia poser - my next door neighbour in Church close to Maden St News was Jonathan Trott's half-brother Kenny Jackson, Oswaldtwistle Immanuel pro in 1995.
Today's poser - which former Accrington professional also represented Old Malvernians, HS Altham's Public Schools, Cheshire Gentlemen and Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI ?
