Sheffield Evening Telegraph – Saturday 27 July 1907
Denaby Despondent
Denaby slip back into the old groove of defeat last Saturday. At Stairfoot they came a regular cropper, being beaten by a margin of six wickets. These lapses are really becoming too frequent, and I am reluctantly forced to the conclusion that this year Denaby are but a shadow their former substance.
Their present position, seventh in the League, with a record of 14 points from 16 matches, looks strangely unfamiliar for a club generally accustomed to one of the leading places in the competition.
“It is never too late to mend,” but all the mending in the world will not put Denaby right this season. They are the “humpty-dumpties” of the League, having undeniably fallen to pieces. Their batting is too streaky for words, and even young Smith is not fulfilling his earlier promise. P. Bury, alone of the crowd, is showing form in the “the old sweet way,” but when he partially fails, as on Saturday the rest are not long in following him to the pavilion. Even the most ardent Stairfoot partisan would hardly claim for the ‘foot’ bowlers a high order of merit, but Gill proved tar too good for the Denaby batsmen, he taking half a dozen wickets.
Denaby’s full total of 93, saw a Stairfoot response, full of effective purpose, Poliitt (39), Watson (30 not out), R. Bird (18 not out) contributing their score of I09 for3 wickets. Yes, Denaby were badly outplayed, and Stairfoot’s victory was the outcome of greatly superior cricket.