Sprotbrough, England, United Kingdom
Monday was a rest day for the WA Masters. Experience from past tours meant most players during the Bradfield match had kept their hamstring stretching running to an absolute minimum, some of us simply didn't run until we batted and were on strike. We were after all in Yorkshire, the home of Geoffrey Boycott. So we had no new injuries, just the existing injuries and defects that we brought with us from Australia.
However a few of the younger, less experienced and more excitable members of the tour party had dived and slipped on the damp Bradfield ground far too frequently and the left the field filthy.
Therefore Monday was also washing day, just like the old days. Only this time mums who did the washing were in short supply. Apparently most WAGs had better things to do than washing, while the Ibis Hotel did not offer a laundry service. The Virgin displayed his touring inexperience by spending two hours trying to buy a scrubbing brush, he did though bring his cricket bat with him. The Woodsley Laundrette became the favoured destination for those who wanted a clean whites.
All cleaned up we started Tuesday slightly sore with only one days rest, for the journey to Sprotbrough, a village just outside Doncaster. The journey down the A1(M) was uneventful and it was apparent driving into Sprotbrough that this was the "nice" area of Doncaster as we passed some lovely big houses.
The Sprotbrough Cricket Club ground is a reasonable sized field in the grounds of the Ivanhoe Hotel.
It turns out the Cricket Club lease the ground from the hotel and there are a variety of complications that arise from this, land being a valuable commodity in England.
The other complication of playing cricket at the Ivanhoe Hotel, was that on arrival we found an opposition waiting for us of whom only half could buy a beer at the Hotel.
It was, after all a Tuesday and in the school holidays. Sprotbrough had done well to get a team up to play us, albeit they were aged 13 to 30. Sobering fact, every Sprotbrough player was young enough to be a son of every WA Master, a feat never before achieved in the WAM touring history.
I learnt after the game that one 17 year old in the Sprotbrough line-up was the uncle of another 17 year old in the team. Brian, the father and grandfather had more than just a twinkle in his eye.
Once again we negotiated to bowl first, fully expecting to chase leather on the dry and hard ground. The ground, as is the English custom had a slope down the ground and the prevailing breeze followed the slope.
Skip discovered that all the bowlers expressed a very strong preference to bowl downhill with the wind. Pigeon (0/29) pointed out that the breeze was heading towards 1st slip and that would suit his outswinger, however Cranky (1/15) had the honour of bowling the first over, uphill and into the breeze but wondered how he could become related to Skip...
The Sprotbrough youngsters looked well organised and were quick to attack any short balls and were even quicker between the wickets, having worked out they could play tip and run against the WA Masters. We were definitely not moving as well as on Sunday. The Duke was keeping wicket and Chopper was reduced to walking laps with his camera.
The Duke had to play in his sneakers, as he had inadvertently brought his WAGs shoe bag to the ground and not the shoe bag with his cricket boots in. A senior moment to be sure.
Cranky finally found some rhythm and enticed a miss hit loft. Stinky shook off the cobwebs to run 30 metres from deep extra cover to behind the stumps to take a stunning catch. For the second time Stinky had taken the first catch of the match. It was to be the catch of the tour.
The runs kept piling up, Murray (0/35) bowled downhill and got carted all over the place while the Cougar (2/18) took on the uphill challenge and was rewarded with a couple of wickets, Stinky (0/21) took another catch in the outfield but dropped a chance off his own bowling. The Sprotbrough boys retired at 35, but that didn't stop the runs flowing.
Chopper replaced the Duke as keeper and towered over the Sprotbrough boys while standing up to the stumps. I came on to bowl (1/21) and surprised everyone by running out a 14 year old off my bowling with a pickup, a pirouette and a direct hit and then followed up next over with a loud LBW appeal to dismiss a 16 year old.
Skip provided the outstanding highlight of the day, running, completely un-sighted, with the flight of a fly ball. Not sure where the ball was, Skipper stopped and ball dropped on to his shoulder and bounced to the ground.
The Major (3/33), whose age is greater than the combined age of the four youngest Sprotbrough players, took a bit of stick from the six-hitting youngsters but fought back well to take three wickets. Skipper (0/49) and Duke (1/24) were also dispatched without respect as they closed out the overs and we managed to keep Sprotbrough to 9 for 250.
The afternoon tea was magnificent. There were sandwiches, pork pies, scones and cakes. Everyone was moving slower after the afternoon tea.
The Duke's efforts keeping and bowling saw him request a rest and a drop down the order, so the Virgin opened with me.
Another first for the Virgin on tour! I took first strike to the young bowler whose team-mates called Panda. Wearing glasses, he did have a passing resemblance to a Panda. I edged him twice past the slips.
Next over I was bowled first ball for (5), not watching the ball, but the windmill action of the bowler. Murray (37*) batted three, somewhat reluctantly, but settled in straightaway playing some glorious shots. The Virgin (9) threatened, but did not go on with his start, while Pup (0) became the second golden duck on tour, shuffling out of his crease to the opening bowler and being stumped by the keeper. If there is theme to keeping in England it appears to be standing up to the stumps at all times.
We were in trouble at 3 for 31 but Murray assisted by Cranky (9) and the Duke (35*) raised the scoring and we got close to to 100. Murray and the Duke both retired at 35 and Chopper (35*) came in swinging. Chopper's knees are not working the best, so the plan was to hit the boundary or walk a single. By this time it was late afternoon and the Ivanhoe Hotel's back patio was a popular place to have a beer and a smoke and be entertained.
A six and several fours saw Choppers retire with a cameo 35 and the crowd well entertained.
Pigeon (0) came and went quickly but Stinky (34*) and the Major (14) kept our ultimately doomed run chase alive with some lusty hitting. Stinky retired for a miscalculated 34, while Skip (5) and the Cougar (4) were at the crease at the completion of our 40 overs, and we finished at 8 for 196.
Youth triumphed over experience, but four retirements by the WAMs left us feeling we had achieved a moral draw. Once again we walked off relatively unscathed apart from pre-existing conditions, eg Chopper's knees, Barry's inner Cougar...
The after match festivities were well supplied. Burgers, salads and all the burnt sausages you could eat. The Club thoughtfully provided some Australian Shiraz alongside the beer. The Sprotbrough players mainly talked amongst themselves while the WAMs talked to the players' parents and grand parents. Ah the generation gap.
It was another most enjoyable day of good fun cricket played in the right spirit. Thank you Sprotbrough.
The journey back was uneventful, and on return Skip lead the red wine cabal and other some members through a revision of the days play early into the morning at the Ibis bar....
2025-05-22