Old habits and diehards

Even dear old David Seaman is younger than any of this lot: for money read love, for vitality read viagra.

It began with six clubs. Now there are 63, almost 2,000 registered players and still 84-year-old Kip Watson indefatigably in the secretary's chair.

He talks of handing over the cloak "as Elijah did to Elishah" - or maybe it was the other way round - to league vice-chairman Ray Morton, who runs premier division champions Billingham Wanderers and is a polliss, two pips on his shirt, in Washington.

Youth policy, maybe, but Kip's not for dismantling just yet.

Among other familiar faces at the awards night - Sunderland Catholic Club, next to the Bethesda Free Church - was former Premiership referee Ken Redfearn, now 58.

Still calling the tune in the Saturday morning parks, he is also actively persuading the league - and FIFA - to adopt a "rolling substitute" law, under which players will be allowed to take a breather and, refreshed, return.

"You can't expect some of these lads to last a full match at their ages," said Ken, in the company of a raven haired Italian ballet dancer who spoke no English.

Kip addressed her in World War II Italian. Mussolini got a mention somewhere.

The guy really is remarkable.

Some of the awards bore Kip's idiosyncratic mark, too: the secretary of the year award to Phil Dawe of Glaxo in Barnard Castle who (for reasons we've mentioned previously) found himself ringing in the result from poolside in Gran Canaria.

Newton Aycliffe secretary Joanne Smith won an award for "outstanding bravery" - we've told that one, too, barred from the bar at Hartlepool Catholic Club - while Mickey Skirving from Hartlepool was named premier division player of the year after an incident in the game against Northumbria Police.

Two of the pollisses had clashed heads, one severely concussed, leaving Mickey with an open goal.

Instead of burying it, said Kip, he kicked the ball out of play and ran to the assistance of the innocently-assaulted officer.

Mickey was anxious to protect his bad name. "I didn't boot it out of play," he insisted.

"It's just my first touch that's so awful."

Kenny Elsdon from Hartlepool Catholic Club collected an award for his 300th Over 40s League goal - he's 52, swears cross his heart and hope to die that he's retiring and still no one believes him.

Former Darlington and Hartlepool goalkeeper Phil Owers, 47, was named overall player of the year but, forewarned, still failed to turn up.

The lad hasn't missed much over the years, but the crowd wasn't best pleased with that one.

Billingham Wanderers won the Villa Real Cup as well as the premier division, landlord Maurice Flynn of the Miners Arms at Middlestone Moor picked up the first division award for his lads despite the notorious incident in which he forgot that one of them was only 38.

He's sold the pub, he reckons, knees shot, no more football.

The column handed over the awards, as we have for several years now. Unlike some of us, however, these boys just get better with age.

After many agonies in the 90s, our friends at Willington Cricket Club are celebrating their centenary. They have cause to be grateful to the constabulary.

Beam ends, the club left the Durham County League in 1989, endured a frozen-out winter and were accepted into the North-East Durham League just as the man in the white coat was preparing to shout "Play".

Though the resurgent club is now back in the Durham County, it's appropriate that the centenary will be marked on June 23 with a game against the North East Durham League.

"They were very good to us. But for them, I don't think there'd still be cricket in Willington," says club chairman John Coe.

John's been involved since the 1950s; his dad, memorably, before him. Groundsman Alan Hill, 75 and still commuting four or five days a week from Chester-le-Street, has watched Willington cricket since being a bit bairn before the war.

"I was always given a bottle of water to go with," he recalls.

He also remembers a squadron of Blenheim bombers flying overhead during a match and the dark wartime days when petrol rationing meant they could trim the square but the outfield resembled Mickey's meadow.

"Thanks to Alan," says the chairman, "the whole ground these days is a picture."

They are also, as we were saying, much indebted to the polliss. First team captain Karl Brown, secretary Stephen Barker, treasurer Neil Moore and "two or three" other players are all serving officers.

"A real bobbies' club," says Alan Hill, cheerfully.

"Aye, but we still got brocken into," says John Coe.

Again thriving, much involved with young folk in the community, they hope to crown the undefeated century with news of major ground development. More of that, with luck, quite shortly.

Outdistanced by the World Cup, John Dawson and them are still trying to keep flickering the embers of the 2001-02 football season.

Though the English domestic game is long since put to bed, the Scottish juniors - "nothing to do with pubescent schoolboys" as a Gateshead correspondent affirms - are still at it.

The final fling may be at Volunteer Park, Armadale, tomorrow when Linlithgow Rose attempt to complete a Scottish junior grand slam by beating Whitburn in the St Michael's Cup.

The Hartlepool postman, last we heard, was still trying to coax a lift across the border. After Nigeria in the morning, it's possible we may join him.

Scotland on Sunday, unfortunately, had nothing to add for the Linlithgow Rose buddies. We were taken, however, by the bipartisan headline on the report of the English referee Graham Poll's little controversy: "A vintage Italian whine."

Cockfield United, more old friends, have won what may be the last Auckland and District League championship. Commitments elsewhere, alas, mean we shall miss the presentation night.

With the Auckland League suspended, Cockfield hope to gain admission to the Durham Alliance and are seeking a manager after Ali Milroy's decision to step down.

"The business, a part time Masters degree and a future wife haven't been receiving my full attention due to football.

"I need to redress the balance," he explains.

Football has also meant that he hasn't so much as picked up a bat for Evenwood, top of the Durham County League without him - and from Bulldog Billy Teesdale, incredibly, not so much as a squeal.

And finally...

The five cricketers sought by last Friday's column Bas Zuiderent (Sussex, born in Holland); Amjad Khan (Kent, Denmark); Geraint Jones (Kent, Papua New Guinea); Ed Joyce (Middlesex, Republic of Ireland) and - Sonny Ramadhin's grandson - Birmingham born Kyle Hogg of Lancashire.

Brian Shaw in Shildon today seeks the identity of the two only players transferred from Manchester City to Manchester United since 1934.

We return, seeing the world, on Friday.

Published: 11/06/2002