A FAMOUS club fallen on hard times, Crook Town FC – five times FA Amateur Cup winners – held its annual meeting last Thursday.

Last season they finished bottom of the Ebac Northern League first division – one win, five draws and three points deducted for fielding an ineligible player. Now they’re born again.

New chairman Vince Kirkup, many years up the hill at The Little House on the Prairie, offers much vigour, indomitable enthusiasm and the ability to talk the hind legs off the store horse.

Recently retired, he’d taken to reading the paper in his dressing gown around 10.30am. “Now I’m up at half past six every morning,” said Vince.

So many Crook folk want to join him that they had to pass a rule amendment to allow more places on the committee.

“He’s brilliant, and he could sell snow to the Eskimos,” said incoming secretary Dave Thompson, former governor at Frankland Prison, outside Durham.

The two of them have also offered to sponsor the Last Legs Challenge, my 500-mile exit strategy from the Northern League chair, at £1 apiece for every point Crook gain next season. “Don’t worry,” said Dave, “this year it’s going to be an awful lot more than five.”

STILL in Crook, the cricket club marks its 140th anniversary with a reunion on Friday, July 17, of players, officials and supporters. The clubhouse do starts at 8pm, but they’re playing a Frank Lees Durham Cricket League Cup semi-final against Burnopfield or Horden that night, so all welcome much earlier. They’ve invited our old friend Bomber Smith, an’ all.

OLDER yet, Stockton Cricket Club celebrates its 200th anniversary with a players’ reunion from 1pm on Saturday, July 25 – the day they host Blaydon in the North East Premier League premier division.

“Solid refreshments will be available as well as the usual liquid ones,” says club president Mark Fletcher.

Particularly, they’re keen to hear from members of the team which won the NYSD League A Division 40 years ago. Mark’s at mark.fletcher@hotmail.co.uk and club secretary Moira Watchman on 01642 656305.

Mark reckons it’ll carry on into the evening – “and knowing our lot, into the early morning, too.”

TWO years ago we watched cricket at Cliffe, a glorious ground a few miles west of Darlington. On August 2, we’ve been invited back.

Cliffe’s near Piercebridge, Cliffe Hall the home of the Wilson family – including Sir Murrough Wilson, MP for Richmond, deputy chairman of the London and North Eastern Railway and (to us smut-smeared train spotters) 60002.

“It’s a perfect cricket ground,” Cliffe batsman Chris Sowerby had said back in 2013. “I stand here thinking that this is all exquisitely English and then the ball comes along and spoils it.”

On August 2 they host the mighty Chesterfield CC, the first game of the Derbyshire side’s three-match tour of North Yorkshire. Much more north in North Yorkshire and they’d find themselves in the Tees.

Cliffe hope to borrow one or two other Darlington and District League players in order to strengthen the side; Chesterfield promise not to field some of their Derbyshire men.

“Usually they have a few hundred watching them,” says Cliffe committee man Richard Mallender. “We’re just watched by a few sheep and they’re not bleating, they’re laughing.”

This one will be much different, they hope. There’s a bar, renowned teas – “particularly the jammy flapjacks” – and a barbecue afterwards at the nearby Crown Inn in Manfield.

2pm start, all welcome. All they need now is some sunshine.

LAST week’s column reported the death of Alan Archbold, one of those correspondents whose contributions always enlivened these pages. Amazing what you find when clearing drawers, his son Ian now forwards a referee’s report from the 1974 match between Sunderland Catholic Youth Centre and Thorney Close Youth Club in which Alan found himself in trouble – though only a Thorney Close official. He’d gone on the pitch to protest a decision, was cautioned both for that and for his “abusive manner” and gave his name as Yogi Bear, which was probably a change from Mickey Mouse. Sadly, the penalty for impersonating a rather dim bear is not recorded. Alan’s funeral is at Sunderland Crematorium at 1.30pm next Monday.

JANET Murrell, in Durham, another reader of extraordinary assiduousness, returns whence it came a story about three Middlesbrough fans who, back in Jack Charlton’s time, wanted to become ball girls. “They asked,” we reported, “why the club only had ball boys and not boy girls.” Isn’t that what they have in Thailand?

….and finally, the England football captain whose last three clubs were Hibernian, Mansfield and Leyton Orient (Backtrack, June 26) was Ray Wilkins, about to be appointed assistant manager at Aston Villa.

Martin Birtle today seeks the identity of the cricketer who became BBC Sports Personality of the Year despite only scoring 673 Test match runs and managing just two wickets.

All round average, the column returns next week.