Denaby & Cadeby – Denaby 149, Thorncliffe 148 – Won by One Run!

South Yorkshire Times June 7, 1947

Won by One Run!

Denaby and Cadeby 149, Thorncliffe 148

“Why doesn’t the Denaby captain let them get a four? It’s all over now,” said a Thorncliffe supporter at Tickhill Square. Thorncliffe were then 146 for seven, and the Thorncliffe fan had every grounds for his assertion, but he was wrong. He had forgotten the great maxim, “a match is never lost until it’s won.” And with a keen captain like George Allen there’s always fight. Actually Thorncliffe had four wickets in hand when they had only seven runs to get, but Denaby applied themselves to their task with typical Tickhill square tenacity.

With only one run added they disposed of Taverney; dismissed J. Wood, a veritable thorn in their flesh with both bat (28) and ball (five for 38) at 148; without further score captain Allan smartly took G. Guest behind the wicket; and with T. Cooper and C. Vickers, last pair in trying to snatch the equaliser – a very short run– Cooper was run out. Denaby had proved the golden cricket rule. It was enterprise fittingly rewarded.

The game had been a match of fluctuating fortunes. Who would have fought that Denaby, 103 for two, would have been all out for 149? The advent of Wood made all the difference; his slow ‘uns soon steadied down the rate of scoring we had seen from A. Ellis (51) and F. Roberts (46). This couple, who ran well between the wickets, added 89 for Denaby’s second wicket. Ellis sent up his 40 with a six; the ball felt with a thwack on the Tickhill Square roofs and rolled majestically into the spouting.

J. Pearson hit 37 for Thorncliffe, and H. Newton, bowling delightfully in Denaby’s crisis period, had three for 16.