The recent problems at Cockermouth Cricket Club’s Sandair ground (thankfully overcome) sparked a dozen memories of time spent there.
I had my first cricketing experiences playing at Sandair and one of them was in a school match for Cockermouth Grammar School against Workington Grammar School about 60 years ago.
It was a Saturday morning and we had been invited to bat first, a fact in itself which sparked some lively conversation in our dressing room, as they had a very nippy opening bowler in Howard Jeffrey.
Now he really was rapid – a speedy winger in rugby union and also an English Schools competitor for Cumberland at the hurdles event.
It was with some trepidation that we went out to face him and our fears appeared to be justified. The exact scores have been forgotten in the mists of time but let’s just say we lost our first five wickets to the seemingly jet-propelled Howard for not very many.
I was next in and can still recall trudging out to bat (instead of the other way round after a dismissal) and peering at the sky desperate for the appearance of some dark threatening clouds – but all was bright blue and set fair.
Good fortune was at hand. It was the end of his over and I was able to take stock from the opposite end as the other Workington bowler trundled in to deliver more manageable fare.
I did get off the mark during that over but obstinately refused a single off the final delivery leaving my good pal Keith Davis to face a fully wound-up Mr Jeffrey!
For the second time good fortune was with me in the shape of our physics master Brian Broadbent.
As Howard sent down his first delivery there was a loud shout of no-ball from square leg where Brian was standing. Everyone looked at him. I knew there had been no over-stepping at the non-striker’s end but Brian had called No Ball for throwing.
Now at the time there had been a certain amount of publicity about throwing with Ian Meckiff (Australia) and South Africa’s Geoff Griffin called in Test matches.
The up-shot was that a discussion between Brian and the Workington master who was with their side ended in Howard being taken-off immediately.
As a result we got ourselves to a more respectable total in the 60s which made a game of it and they duly knocked them off for the loss of four or five wickets.
But that incident at Sandair was recalled by several of us a few years later when Howard, who had turned professional with Leicestershire, was actually no-balled for throwing in a County Championship game!
There was a certain satisfaction as we all, virtually together, came out with “Broady was right after all.”
