Cuttings edge

Bishops had been drawn at Rochdale in the FA Cup first round, November 30, 1946. Six-year-old Jim – “envy of his school chums” said the cutting – had packed his usual two-blue gear and set off on the train with his dad. Once there, they discovered that the team was playing in white.

The Northern League side lost 6-1, the only goal from Stan Rutherford who later won an Amateur Cup medal with Willington. It was the first time that Jim had seen the side lose.

The cutting – “His jersey to blame” – is forwarded by Bishops’ director Terry Jackson, talks of the “tearful little tot” being comforted by Albert Hadfield, the skipper.

“It’s the Amateur Cup we’re really after, Jim” he said. They didn’t win that one, either, beaten in the semi-final by Wimbledon.

November 30 1946? Newcomer Jimmy Sloan hits four in Hartlepools’ 6-0 FA Cup win against North Shields – he only managed another 28 in the next five seasons – , an 8,073 crowd at Stockton sees the Ancients lose 4-2 to Lincoln City, Newcastle United go down 4-3 at Luton Town, Sunderland lose 2-0 at home to Everton (“everything but score”, the Echo insists) and on the rugby field, Durham lose 16-0 at Cumberland Westmoreland, the county’s fifth successive game without so much as a point. A record?

The Echo also supposed that Bishop Auckland had left behind memories of “a clean and pleasing game” in Lancashire but of the mascot – as they may never now say at Bedale Town – there simply wasn’t a sausage.

To Bishop Auckland, coincidentally, for last Saturday’s acrimonious FA Cup tie with Pickering, though the talk turns to cricket. Back in 1751, what’s believed to have been the region’s first formal match took place at Raby Castle between the Duke of Cleveland’s boys and the Duke of Northumberland’s.

It was recalled in Jack Chapman’s wonderful Co Durham cricket history Cream Teas and Nutty Slack, alongside memories of teams like Cockerton Coffee House and Cornsay Raggy Lads and the ducks that drowned when rain stopped play at Fishburn.

Now, we hear, another meeting is being arranged between the two dukeries, Cleveland now better known as Lord Barnard, for the Northern Goldsmiths Cup. “Magnificent job, goodness knows how much it cost them,” it’s said.

More than 250 years later, the side-stakes are likely to be much smaller.

Just a month after we wrote of the 125th anniversary celebrations at Cockerton Cricket Club – if not Cockerton Coffee House – officials at the Darlington-based club spent Sunday rewriting the record books.

The day previously, against Raby II, Dave Black (185 not out) and Graham Stansfield (148) shared an opening stand of 332, beating by 23 the best for any wicket.

The team amassed 382-1 from 40 overs, a club record by 57 runs, and with 43 extras.

Steve Farrow still has the highest individual score, however, 231 not out against Cliffe II in 2015 – the match in which the previous record partnership had been set.

Back at the cuttings edge, North Riding FA chairman Len Scott forwards a story from The People, February 26, 1939, shortly before war broke out.

Len’s helping research a history of the Wensleydale League, which marks its centenary next year. The column wrote of it in April.

Back then we told of a match at Leyburn in 1905 in which the poor referee was harangued, assaulted and had to have a police escort back to the railway station.

This one’s from Swaledale, next north, concerning events at the North Riding Amateur Cup match between Reeth Athletic and Stockton Reserves (to whom, presumably, the Tees had been no barrier.)

The home crowd, said The People, “rushed the pitch at half-time and roughly handled the referee” after the Athletic goalkeeper protested that a “goal” hadn’t crossed the line.

The unfortunate gentleman abandoned the match and was escorted to his dressing room in a nearby hotel. Even there, angry spectators broke in.

Who said the dales were peaceful?

For about the 180th successive season, the column is invited to do the honours at the Crook Games League’s annual presentation.

It proves a bit of a benefit for our old friend Paul “Butch” Knighton – 14 maximums at the darts and a bit of dab hand at the dominoes, too.

As always, the evening concludes with the dominoes challenge between me and former England darts international Doug McCarthy, Crook’s biggest spectator sport since 10,000 and more watched Town in the Amateur Cup.

Final score: McCarthy (Crook) 4 Backtrack (Shildon) 5.

….and finally, the youngest man to play cricket for England (Backtrack, August 11) is Brian Close –18 years and 149 days when he made his debut, against New Zealand in 1949. Eric Smallwood in Acklam first with the answer.

Still with the test team, Chris Woakes’s 120 last Saturday made him just the seventh English player to have taken five wickets and hit a century at Lord’s. Readers are invited to suggest the other six.

All-round as always, the column returns next Saturday.