Sports columnist Harry Pearson turns his
attention to cricket, eschewing the so called first-class test and county game for
the grit of the northern leagues.
He decides to visit a representative sample of
the hundreds of games that take place every weekend as local teams battle out
limited-over matches in the towns and villages of Lancashire, Yorkshire and the
counties further north.
These are nominally amateur leagues in which
one professional (sometimes two) are allowed per club; and with decent money on
offer, at least historically, top test players from round the world have graced
the challenging wickets and partisan atmosphere at the likes of Ashington,
Blackrod, Bacup, Stockton and Settle.
Each of Pearson’s trips trigger an avalanche
of comic observation, cricketing nostalgia and pithy comment on the way things
were and the way things are. Players past, and all the greats played up here -
Learie Constantine, Gary Sobers, Wilfred Rhodes, Basil D’Oliviera to name but a
few – are lovingly recalled along with their sometimes questionable character
traits and their epic feats etched into club record books.
Each game visited gets a mention too, with
credit (or otherwise) given to the current crop of players, supporters behind
the scenes, and spectators.
Funny and hugely entertaining, particularly
for those for whom the cricketing names and places resonate.
