Periodically chronicled in these quarters, the extraordinary story of the cricket club which refused to die has completed another chapter - not necessarily a thriller, but the polliss were called in, as usual.

Twelve years ago, Willington CC couldn't even raise a team, resigned from the Durham County League, were accepted into the North East Durham League the day before the new season began and got lost on the way to the first match.

Now they're back in the Durham County League, have 11 coaches - never mind 11 players - seven teams, five groundsmen, a development officer who (folk sounded surprised) actually goes around developing things and a £350,000 new development officially opened last Friday.

Don Robson, driving force behind Durham County's county championship dream, did the honours and was in first class form. "I came to the ground and thought 'What's wrang with the owld pavilion'," he said, mischievously.

Chiefly funded by the Sport England Lottery Fund, the new facilities include a sumptuous clubhouse - Sport England calls it a "social facility" - dressing rooms, electronic scoreboard, covers and all weather practice area.

Sport England's £295,000 grant was the biggest ever made to a North-East club. "Mind," said Don, "I still can't think how the hell you got it."

They got it because Jack Surtees, Bob Lumley and John Coe refused to let Willington abandon play, and when Jack and Bob were no longer around, because the heroic John Coe was joined by men like Neil Moore and Karl Brown, both Durham police officers.

The forms were formidable, the amount of paper work almost criminal. Neil Moore talked of maelstrom and minefield, of stressed out days and sleepless nights. John Coe recalled as a bairn being sent with a bin on a barrow to get water for the teas from a nearby farm.

"Things were so primitive we didn't even have a tap. By the time I got back, half the watter had spilled onto the road, anyway."

Last season's challenge for the league title went right to the final day, their continuing ambition clouded this Spring by a series of pre-season misfortunes.

Steve Donnelly, the skipper, has broken a leg in a parachute accident, young Andrew Coe may be out for most of the season and new Australian professional Kim Lawrence flew into Heathrow last Tuesday morning and was sent home again - wrong kind of visa - that night.

The pro urged them to contact Det Sgt Moore. Visa jolly good fellow? Not even the long arm of the law could disentangle that much red tape.

"We could have a wonderful ground and just half a team," said John Coe, and 24 hours later his fears were confirmed.

First footing the new facilities, Crook won by six wickets.

Had it survived amalgamation four years ago, the Tyneside Senior League would have marked this Friday the centenary of the day that wickets were first pitched.

Eight teams - Benwell, Chester-le-Street, Morpeth, North Durham, South Northumberland, St George's Tynemouth and Wallsend - contested the first season, Chester the inaugural champions.

Made necessary by the formation of the North East Premier League, amalgamation with the Northumberland Senior League was a particular disappointment to cricket historian Jack Chapman who was already well into the 100 year history.

Jack, who wrote Cream Teas and Nutty Slack - a wonderfully entertaining chronicle of club cricket in Co Durham, still available - is rueful. "In the way of leagues' history," he says, "the North East premier League has much to answer for."

End of last cricket season, we reported Cynthia Simpson's retirement after donkeys' years as tea lady at Peterlee. A rather splendid little ditty - room only for two verses, alas - announces her change of heart.

I know that I said I'd retired

From making the Cricket Club teas,

It's just no one's prepared to take over

Despite all my begging and pleas.

I can't let the players go hungry

It's really a matter of pride,

We've always had good teas at our club

(We just missed the Michelin Guide.)

Peterlee Cricket Club is also the venue of the world egg jarping championship. Jack Smedley won this year's end game, his first title for 15 years.

Cricket also approaches on Orkney, among the problems that football kicks off as well. "Winter conditions in these parts are deemed too difficult for the beautiful game," reports Stuart Laundy, familiar at Ingleton in the Darlington and District League but now news editor of the Orcadian.

Another problem is that sport must take a mid-season break in deference to the annual round of agricultural shows.

"It is not the first time in my career that cows have stopped play," reports Stuart, wryly. "Ask anyone who played at Haughton about 20 years ago."

Sifting through the hundreds of letters congratulating him on his appointment, FA Cup final referee Jeff Winter noticed an envelope with once familiar handwriting.

The typewriter which had produced the "lovely" letter was more familiar still - "Remington, nineteen hundred and blonk, made the same holes in the paper that it always had done," says Jeff.

It was from Gordon Nicholson, the Northern League's legendary secretary from 1966-90, recalling not just Jeff's first games as NL linesman and referee, but his colleagues on the day and also his average mark at the end of his first season as a referee.

It was 6.7. "From little acorns do giant acorns grow," added Gordon, in football administration - almost certainly with the same typewriter - since becoming Shildon United's secretary in 1947.

Jeff - from Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton - was on home territory last Thursday evening as speaker at a joint dinner for Northallerton Football Club and Great Ayton Cricket Club, anticipating their first season in the NYSD top division.

"Someone told me very early on that it was as important to get things right off the field as on it," he said. "If my administration's OK, I owe a lot of that to Gordon Nicholson."

Thus tutored, he promises to reply to every letter once the final whistle blows.

The dinner was at Marton Country Club, Middlesbrough, which - coincidentally - is the venue on Thursday for the auction of Ralph "Bullet" Smith memorabilia.

Smith, as we have been recalling, was the Stockton centre forward who refused to accept his loser's medal after the 1932-33 FA Amateur Cup final and for his impertinence was suspended for a year by the FA.

Lots include one of his amateur international caps, expected to realise around £125, and his 1932-33 Northern League championship medal which should bring twice as much.

Programmes make up much of the sale, though there's everything else from badges to bed covers, fag cards to Alan Foggon's shirt.

Viewing's from 11am-5pm tomorrow and on Thursday morning, bidding from 1 30pm. Full catalogue on www.methuselahltd.com

* An amicable exchange with David Noble in Eaglescliffe ends in predictable defeat for the column. Stockton lost five Amateur Cup finals, not four as the Northern League history suggests. The Ancients won three.

...and finally

The overseas player who has made most Premiership appearances (Backtrack, April 23) is Dwight Yorke.

Fred Alderton in Peterlee welcomes cricket season by inviting readers to identify the county with three pears on its badge.

Juicy as ever, the column returns on Friday.

Published: 27/04/2004