Aisbitt's on cue for family double

"Andrew was the spur," admits Richard, 29. "I hadn't entered for ten years and probably wouldn't have done again if it hadn't been for him winning the snooker. I just thought it would be nice to have a family double in the same year."

It was also the perfect wedding present. He marries Louise Law, a nurse, tomorrow.

Lester, their dad, is himself a former county golfer, 50 break snooker player and (best of all) goalscoring inside forward for Shildon.

"There must be a gene somewhere but these boys have talent and their dad was just a trier," says Lester, from Bishop Auckland. "These days I just stand around like an ornament."

Andrew, 32, is a ten handicap golfer who now plays snooker for the golf club but only took up the game seriously after watching the round framed Dennis Taylor win the world title in 1985. His new house at South Church, near Bishop Auckland, was built to accommodate a snooker table.

"About ten of us went down to the snooker club in Bishop after school the next day. It was the first time I'd played on a full sized table and I was hooked at once.

"Basically I just like potting a ball. It's similar to golf in a way in that you're hitting a dead ball all the time, but I'm just glad I can do something a bit better than Richard. I'm not in his league at golf."

Richard took up golf as an eight-year-old, almost stopped playing three years later - "I was enjoying my football too much" - resumed serious golf at 13 and at 16 carded a 63 to break the Bishop Auckland course record, previously held by his father.

"It was lovely," insists Lester, whose wife died almost ten years ago.

"If you're going to lose the course record, who better to lose it to than your son?"

Richard turned pro at 19 but has returned to the amateur ranks. He hadn't entered the county championship mainly because it clashed with other competitions.

"Basically I wasn't a great lover of being in the club shop. It suits some people but I was used to working normal hours and having weekends off. I also didn't feel I was good enough to make it on the professional circuit, though I may have a go at the English Amateurs later this year.

"I still play snooker against Andrew, but basically I should just put the white gloves on and pick the balls out of the hole."

Andrew is also content to keep his feet beneath the Durham County tables. "I don't think I'm good enough to compete professionally, but my ambition is to have a 147 break against someone."

Their dad, a Durham golfer for ten years and twice runner-up in the county matchplay, retired from the game earlier this month because of back problems. His only regret is that he didn't play more football - Shildon, he says, were lovely.

"Sport was a constant theme in our family from them being very little. Everywhere we went we had a ball, everywhere there was a tree trunk we had a cricket pitch.

"It's incredible to be simultaneously the father of county champions at two different sports. They're grand lads, I'm enormously proud of them both."

Six days to Durham's first Test match, and the mind wanders back to the promotional video for the county club's first class campaign.

It was January 1990. From a deliberately hazy setting, Lumley Castle misty in the background, a fresh faced batsman strode out to the middle.

It was Brendan McCreesh, then 16 and known as Little Bren. Tom Graveney, commentating, talked of the youngster facing the first ball in the first ever Test at Chester-le-Street. Whoever has that honour next Thursday, it won't be Brendan McCreesh.

At the time he was a promising batsman and off spinner, had played for Newton Aycliffe first team and captained the Durham County League junior side.

"I've loved cricket for as long as I can remember," he said. "It would be excellent if I could help, even a little."

Since then, he has virtually disappeared from the sports pages, though memory suggests a couple of seasons with Shildon Railway. Attempts to trace him have been complicated because there's another Brendan McCreesh in the family, and he's in Australia.

"He's probably like a lot more, get to the late teens and pack up," says Durham County League secretary Roy Coates. "Our teams these days are either under 14s or over 40s."

We even rang Andy McCreesh, familiar around the Northern League and recently installed as assistant manager at Easington Colliery FC. "No relation," said Andy.

It remains unsolved. Whatever happened to Little Bren?

Andy McCreesh's manager at Easington will be Graeme Hedley, formerly with Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday, Darlington, York City and the Pearl and for the past three months helping his wife run Wolviston post office. Andy's his fruit and veg man.

"He just came in one morning as usual and persuaded me to team up with him," says Graeme, 46. "We had the interview last Saturday and must have talked a good game."

Graeme was born at the former Thorpe maternity hospital in Easington, brought up in Blackhall, ran the Bay Horse in Middridge after he finished playing but hadn't worked for 12 months after problems following a major spinal operation.

"I was heading up to Sunderland one day and couldn't get my foot from the accelerator pedal to the brake. I knew then I had to get a job with less driving."

Though village post offices are said to be endangered, he and Pauline are enjoying the experience. "The people here are very supportive and the early indications are good.

"My back's on the mend but I still have to be careful, but I'm hoping to give it a real good go at Easington Colliery."

Alan Wright seeks to underline one of our misprints the other day: the paper called the former Darlington striker Macro Gabbiadini. "I know that footballers tend to put on a bit of weight in their later years," says the familiar local radio man, "but that seemed unnecessarily cruel."

Another broadcast message, this one from Mark Davenport who works for Tyne Tees Television in Newcastle and plays cricket for the Philanthropists in Torpoint, Cornwall.

"The club upholds the fine traditions of playing only friendly games while drunk and of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory," says Mark.

Particularly, however, he draws attention to the club website: www.furrybadge.com

They'd been talking over a few beers and discovered that several had been members of the Dennis the Menace Fan Club, where goodies include a black and red "furry" badge modelled on Dennis's dog, Gnasher.

"It's a lot better than philanthropistscc.com" Mark insists.

Steady away at 70, Keith Hopper of Bishop Auckland appears unchallenged as the region's oldest regular cricketer - but what, asks Martin Birtle in Billingham, about the opening pair up the road at Cowpen Bewley?

Colin Beesley, the junior member, was outside right in Sunderland's FA Youth Cup winning side of 1969 and made three substitute appearances in the old first division that season. He'll be 52 in October.

Lenny Walker, his partner, is of uncertain vintage but - says Martin - "likely to be receiving a weekly Giro from the Queen."

Our correspondent estimates their undefeated total at between 116-120. That probably won't be beaten, either.

Hails of Hartlepool, who mightn't even qualify for the Cowpen Bewley top two, had memories stirred by last week's football match between England and South Africa.

Had Durham County once played South Africa at the Victoria Ground, he wondered, and whilst thus engaged bumped on the indoor bowling rinks into former Tow Law centre forward Stan Foster.

"Remember it?" said Stan. "I was a county player at the time, believed I was a certainty for selection and wasn't picked."

Together they suppose it to have been around 1954. Durham FA have no record - can anyone else help?

Just about everyone knew that the three England captains to have played football for Scunthorpe (Backtrack, May 27) were Kevin Keegan, Ray Clemence and I T Botham.

John Phelan in Howden-le-Wear today seeks the identity of the only man to have played in a cup final at Wembley and a cup final at Lord's.

Plenty of time to think about it: the column returns on June 10.

Published: ??/??/2003