A half-century to celebrate in true cricketing spirit

He is a dedicated groundsman, too, recently relinquished umpiring responsibilities and quite often makes the teas. "I'm not much good at asking others," he says. "I'd rather do things myself."

Persuaded, reluctantly, to talk about a lifetime's devotion to nurturing cricket's grass roots, he immediately suggests talking to his cousin Ken MacDonald instead. Ken's been Fryup's secretary two years longer still.

Another cousin has been secretary of Lealholm Cricket Club for 25 years, a third ("and his wife") have run Glaisdale for probably longer.

"There must be something in the genes, either that or we're daft," says Alan, 69. Possibly the latter, he adds.

His achievement warrants mention, nonetheless, in the Langbaurgh Rural West League's new handbook. "Foot-and-mouth stopped everything last year," he insists. "They'd nothing else to put in it."

Kildale is in North Yorkshire, Middlesbrough to Whitby railway line, a scattered and attractive "estate" village of 140 souls, many more sheep and a cricket team also marking its centenary.

Frequently they field four father and son pairings - Michael and Jamie Peirson, Dave and Dan Doughty, Tom and Peter Proud and Stephen and Beau Blackett. Almost always, every player has local connections.

"I like people to enjoy their cricket, none of this bickering among themselves all the time," says Alan.

"We play against teams where there are four or five captains on the field and a load of abuse between themselves. We've always been close knit at Kildale, we play for the team, not ourselves."

Just three families in 900 years have owned the Kildale estate. Andrew Sutcliffe, the present squire, has promised the team a dinner if they win something in the centenary season. Probably, runs the word from the big house, he'll kill the fatted calf, anyway.

Their inauspicious first match was on the vertiginous slopes of Spout House, Bilsdale, a short hop for a crow but 15 undulating miles for an Edwardian cricketer. Perhaps understandably, Kildale were all out for nine, parson Pawson among those who failed to register.

"I'm intrigued by how they got there," says Alan. "There were no buses or trains, I doubt if there were 11 bikes in Kildale and it's ever so far to walk."

The following season's fixture list included Married v Single, Danby School Room, Mr Lofthouse's Team and Middlesbrough SS, whatever secret society that might have represented.

The farming family Peirson arrived from nearby Danby in 1945, and have been happy to remain. "I always reckon that if I can't see Captain Cook's monument I'm lost," says Alan, though foot-and-mouth disease forced him last summer onto foreign fields - the NYSD. He was unimpressed.

"If the first team gets a high score in the NYSD, the second doesn't bother at all and that's it. It seemed pointless to me, I prefer village cricket."

He'd made his Kildale debut as a 14-year-old, when a ball was five shillings - "six if you wanted a bit better quality" - a bat was 27/6d and the club had just moved to its present gently sloping field on the rural ride out to Commondale.

The humble old pavilion came, too, sawed in half and transported on the back of a milk lorry. He remembers it vividly.

Young Peirson was principally a bowler, an ordinary player - he insists, to no surprise whatever - blessed to play among very good ones.

Howard Addison, his opening partner, won the club bowling trophy in 21 seasons out of 22 and the league award many times. "He could have played at a much higher level but wasn't interested. All he wanted to do was play for Kildale."

Arnold MacDonald, a successful captain for 20 years, died just weeks before the little club's finest achievement, however.

In the Collingwood Cup final, early 70s, they played at Normanby Hall against a Marske team which included the West Indian professional Albert Podmore, future England bowler Paul Jarvis, one of the Nicholsons who'd played for Yorkshire II and a couple, brothers he thinks, who'd been with Derbyshire II.

Kildale, who included Howard Addison, won. "I think Alan dying was what drove them on, they played out of their skins," says Alan."It was an amazing night, Marske weren't very happy about it at all."

Mind, he adds, Kildale did have an 80 run start in a 40 over match.

He himself finished playing 20 years ago, professes not to miss it. "You can't do things you used to do and it annoys you. The ground seems a foot further away every year."

In his 50 years as secretary - "they were desperate" - they've won the league ten times, the league cup 11 times and many other trophies. The immaculately kept pitch sloping away towards the Cleveland Hills - "a bit Spout Housified, if you know what I mean" - indicates as much care off, as on.

"It's not Lord's," concedes its custodian, "but you can't do anything to make it flat. It tends to have a character of its own."

The "new" pavilion, once a prefabricated bungalow, cost £800 in 1988. The secretary and seven others "loaned" the club £100 each without hope, or expectation, of its repayment.

Though he tenders his resignation at every annual meeting - "they always steam roller it" - he hopes to be pen pushing a while yet.

"I don't know if anyone would pick it up, or even understand my methods, when I die and apart from that I quite enjoy it. It still makes my weekend when Kildale win, I just don't know where 50 years has disappeared."

Usual guest appearance, even greater than usual generosity, the Crook and District Games League held its annual presentation on Monday.

When first we'd glad handed it to them, one or two winners asked for the cost of their trophies to be given to charity. Now almost all do - Wings Appeal (must have been the RAFA Club), Marie Curie Cancer Care, old folks home and the Mara unit at Tindale Crescent hospital, near Bishop Auckland.

The Mara is where former England darts international Doug McCarthy, now 60, underwent 30 weeks chemotherapy - "lovely people, not very pleasant otherwise."

Still fighting, still in the county team, he and the Belle Vue Club won almost everything open to them and with ten maximums in the process.

"He's playing better then ever," said John Thompson, his old England team mate, and when the runners up heard where the Belle Vue money had gone, theirs went to Tindale, too.

Soon there may be further demands on the league's largesse, from the Society for Distressed Trophy Engravers.

Doug, lovely guy, was unable to repeat his success on the domino board, however. Leading 4-1, he lost in the best of nine to the column's legendary late onslaught.

"I had to let you win," he said. "It's the only way I ever get my name in the paper."

George Hardwick, captain of Middlesbrough and England, was allowed home from hospital this week in time to attend the launch of a restaurant themed in his honour.

Hardwick's, knee deep in nostalgia, is at the Blue Bell in Acklam, Middlesbrough. George, 82, was clearly delighted. "You never get too old to enjoy your food," he said.

Two days previously he'd attended a sportsman's dinner at the same hotel, but only on condition that he was back in North Tees Hospital by midnight - presumably lest he turn into a pumpkin.

Not Prince Charming, then? "Ah," said gorgeous George, "time was...."

So how did the Rev - later Bishop - George Holderness greet news of Redcar's NYSD League title exactly 50 years ago?

Holderness was both Vicar of Darlington and, devil take the hindmost captain of the town's cricket team - the deposed champions.

Tuesday 's column supposed that his subsequent telegram may have lacked a little in Christian charity.

Redcar had won the league with a game to spare. On the day of the last match, against Saltburn, the once familiar brown envelope arrived.

"It called us a lucky bunch of so-and-so's. The old sweats in the dressing room were absolutely livid " recalls Stan Wilson, who made his first team debut in that match.

However "so-and-so's" might be translated, Holderness was famed for his aggressiveness on the cricket field. Redcar's second team captain, a Methodist minister, knew his clerical colleague simply as "the Philistine."

"Sunderland and Newcastle had nothing on the rivalry between Redcar and Darlington," says Stan, now living (and umpiring) near Thirsk. "We had no doubt that parson Holderness was condemning us every Sunday morning in his sermon."

Holderness left in 1954 to become Bishop of Burnley. Stan recalls a subsequent conversation with Darlington cricket legend Hank Sanders - "their nice guy."

A dark cloud had been lifted from Feethams, said Hank. "Now we can enjoy our cricket again."

Tickle Toby CD CC, mentioned in Tuesday's column, proves to have been a compact version. In the 1950s they were Central Depot, formed among engineering and maintenance staff of the old North Riding council. Sponsored by the Tickle Toby pub in Northallerton, they are now - says secretary Jez Rocks - Tickle Toby Central Depot Romanby CC. Has cricket a longer name?

...and finally

Tuesday's column also sought the identity of the first Sunderland player to have appeared in a major European final with another club - and flummoxed the near-omniscient Bob Foster in Ferryhill.

Bob knew of Jim Baxter, in the Rangers Cup Winners Cup side in 1961, of Robson, Moncur and Foggon - all in Newcastle United's triumphant Fairs Cup team in 1969 before transferring to Roker Park - and of several others.

The first, however, was flying winger Harry Hooper - born in Pittington in June 1933, signed by West Ham from Hylton Colliery and in Birmingham City's Fairs Cup final team in 1960 before joining Sunderland for £17,000 later that year.

Bob Foster in turn seeks the identity of the player with most appearances in World Cup finals - an answer on Tuesday. Harry Hooper was last heard of in Bedford. Anyone know what happened to him?

Published: 31/05/2002