Denaby & Cadeby 149 South Kirkby 78 – Denaby win first Match

April 1924

Yorkshire Council

Mexborough & Swinton Times April 26th

Denaby 149 South Kirkby 78


G Worthington 42, W E Narraway 46; H Cullen 4-20 W Proctor 44; G Worthington 4-21

Denaby, on Saturday, won the first match of the season on the Denaby ground. The weather was not ideal for cricket. Denaby batted first on a wicket so sodden as to give bowlers no help, the ball refusing to “work” or to whip up off the pitch. On the other hand, the batsmen found run-getting difficult, as the ball had to be hit hard along the dead turf. Later, the wicket became difficult, and South Kirkby had the worst of it.

The fine new pavilion, though needing many finishing touches, was near enough to completion to be used, and its design and appointments were much admired. The steep rise of the banking in front enabled a large number of people to sit and see the game comfortably. These seats, and the flat roof are going to make the watching of cricket on the Denaby ground a very pleasant business. A cold breeze from somewhere out of the nor’-west, and the rain later, spoilt it on Saturday.

Denaby began badly, Tibbles being unlucky enough to get the first “blob” of the season, Lew Bairstow taking a simple return off the second ball of the game. Greenwood and Worthington did not allow a “rot” to develop just then, and Narraway later helped Worthington to put a three figure score on the board before any further losses occurred. But the next wicket fell at 132, and then the bowlers got a grip on the game, which they did not relax to the end. Denaby’s last six wickets contributed only 17 runs. Cullen, the tall Scotsman, was the principle cause of the collapse, getting four wickets for 20 runs. Charlie Russell used six bowlers, but gave all but Cullen quite short spells. The last-named being the only one to maintain a very steady length, and keep the batsmen “pegged down.” Numerous mistakes were made in the field, most of the batsmen being “let off” at least once. The batting was not Denaby’s best, the ball being hit too much in the air through bad timing.

Rain started to fall just as Hobson and Towler went to the wickets, but the game went on. The South Kirkby batsmen, with the exception of Proctor, did not settle down to their job. Clem Hobson, after hitting a ball from Shoosmith through the window of a house on the low side of the ground, got his leg in front. Towler, Jack Bidmead, and Charlie Russell failed, and six wickets were down for 49. Lew Bairstow stayed with Proctor until that batsman lifted a ball into the hands of Harrison at mid-off, and then the end came quickly. Luther Robinson got Proctor and Cullen with successive balls, and Jim Crossley finished the business. Worthington was the most successful bowler, taking four wickets for 21 runs. Denaby also made many blunders in the field, though they were a little smarter on the whole than South Kirkby.

Worthington’s was one of the best innings of the day, and Narraway did some nice work on both sides of the wicket. Proctor’s was an invaluable effort, saving South Kirkby from utter collapse, but he had a lot of bad luck, hitting balls into the air where no fieldsman happened to be.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.