SATURDAY sees the end of the local cricket season and with one match left to play, Grappenhall – the Warrington area’s top ranked team – seem likely to establish an unenviable record.
The 1st XI are at home to Wirral side Maritime and if they lose they will become the first team in the 50-year history of the Cheshire County Cricket League to lose every league match they have played.
They must win or tie the game – unless it is cancelled or abandoned due to the weather – if they are to avoid the ultimate embarrassment.
Already relegated from division one they have only pride to play for.
But amazingly, they have accumulated 72 bonus points – for batting and bowling performances – which is more than any other team in the league!
So what has caused the demise of a team which only two seasons ago was playing in the league’s ECB Premier division – the highest level of amateur cricket?
A number of factors come into play. Two disappointing seasons in the Premier division – the first in which they narrowly avoided relegation and the second in which they were relegated – led to some leading players moving elsewhere. As a result, younger, inexperienced players were thrust into 1st XI cricket before they were perhaps ready for it.
The record-breaking hot, dry summer has meant no games were abandoned or cancelled.
Perhaps most importantly, a change in the rules meant there were no longer any drawn games – the traditional escape route for a team that found itself outclassed.
But it has to be said that it has not been a good season for Grappers. The 2nd XI have lost 12 games, won only three and are relegated and the 3rd XI won three, lost 12, had two rained off and are also relegated
So the three teams have lost 51 games between them – also a league record.
The question remains: Why has the drawn game – which still exists in Test and County Championship cricket and the Cheshire County League’s own Premier division – been abolished at the lower levels?
It seems to be because of what, in this writer’s opinion, is the mistaken belief that drawn games are necessarily boring. I have played and reported on cricket for more than 40 years and am convinced there are more exciting finishes to drawn games than to games won or lost.
