It's fair to say that the days of Sir Garfield Sobersstroking the ball magnificently around the vast green sward of RadcliffeCricket Club are a distant memory, but the events of Saturday put thingssharply into perspective.
Sobers graced the arena for five seasons between 1958 and1962 and led them to the CLL cup and league double in 1961, but the club hasfallen on hard times since then and club officials are working hard to retrievethe situation. Edgworth, on the other hand, are a club on the up, and eyewateringly expensive ground improvements meant that their ground was unfit, andRadcliffe's Racecourse ground was available to stage the game.
The Racecourse (yes, it was once a prominent horse-racingvenue established in the 1840s on the private estate of the Earl of Wilton) hasseen better days but still shows the potential to become a gem of a cricketground. Sadly, the square has suffered from years of lack of love, and itbecame obvious from the first over, bowled by Ollie Sleight, that it was goingto be a difficult day for batsmen of both sides. So, it proved as the balldeviated in all directions as Edgworth struggled to 46-4 when Gareth Cross sawthe umpteenth delivery rear up off a length and whistle past the batsman's ear.
The very next over, Ollie repeated the trick and the ballcrashed right through the Edgworth professional's helmet grid and into his eye.At this point the Umpires decided to call it a day and with both captainseventually in agreement, the match was abandoned to the whim of the GMCL boardto decide the outcome. For the record, Ollie took 3-30 and Gareth 1-15.