South Yorkshire Times August 4, 1956
Surprise of the holiday: Denaby 76 – Mexborough 77 for 7: 8 for Lawley.
Cricket is largely akin to life: the bright patches always outshine the delay interludes, so that we came away from Hampden Road on Monday evening revelling in the gusto of a couple of bowlers who had virtually won the game between them, and forgetting somewhat the long and arduous road Mexborough had tried to victory against traditional bank holiday Council opponents, Denaby and Cadeby.
The latter were dismissed for 76, Mexborough scored 77 for seven – and it took them just under a couple of hours to score them. This was indeed a turn up for the book – and for Denaby and Cadeby bidding for the top four in the council, an unhappy one for they were rained off at Mitchell’s on Saturday.
Strange to See
it was strange to say, during a Denaby and Cadeby innings, a scoreboard reading 1 for 1, 2 for 13, 3 or 14, 4 for 17. 5 for 19, 6 for 23, 7 for 38, 8 for 43. The ninth wicket took the total to 64 and the last wicket advanced it to 76. Walker (11). Oakley (13) dismissed l.b.w. to what seemed a curious decision, and later Terry Platts – top scorer with 28 – were the mainstays.
It was the Lawley and Bob Hydes between them who send Denaby and Cadeby on their way, Lawley bowled 15.1 overs and taking 8 for 37, and Hydes 16.3 overs, 2 for 28. At one period Lawley had taken 5 for 4! It was bowling, indeed, which caused one of the youngsters up aloft in the box to ask in all seriousness, “Hey up – is it a knockout match?”
Denaby and Cadeby were struggling for two hours for their 76 runs; one certainly did not expect Mexborough to follow suit. But follow they did. Run getting became a painfully slow business and at times an occasion – half the overs sent down were maidens. The first hour produced only 27 and an hour and a half saw only 43 on the board. Cobbett had scored 15 and Shaw an invaluable 21 before the two bowlers, Lawley and Hydes, got together. It was fitting, perhaps, that they should be together again to see victory achieve, and Hydes – the typical, swashbuckling Bob Hydes, lent the final flourish by lifting the run getting out of its painful mediocrity with a Lordly six and a rattling 4 to take the total from 64 to 74 into swipes. He was not out 21 when the 77 when up. Newton (three), Forrest (two), Belton and Corey shared the wickets and special mention goes to Arthur Ellis for three catches – two of them brilliantly held.