CROOK CRICKET CLUB began its 140th anniversary celebrations with a reunion last freezing Friday evening. At the risk of reunion bashing, it must be said that the gathering didn’t amount to much but the match before it was tremendous.

Once formidable, Crook have faced stickier wickets of late. When former Minor Counties man Dave Nevins became chairman three years ago they were all but bust.

His a five-year plan involves investment in local youth and developing the ground, half-hidden behind the Methodist church, where they’ve spent all those 140 years.

Partly funded by a Sport England grant, building work should begin in the autumn. That it almost didn’t was because someone said they thought there were bats in the vicinity. That none was found may be explained by the pervading pong of garlic from the tea hut.

Dave, still turning out occasionally for Durham Over 60s – “the only qualification is to be alive” – admits that he’s an extremely lucky chap.

Former Durham County men Steve Chapman and brothers Andrew and Neil Pratt all play, unpaid, for their home town club. Chappy, now living in Australia, was over on one of his regular visits with a young touring side. Neil’s an umpire, standing in Minor Counties this week; Andrew’s a plumber.

Crook played Horden in the semi-final of the Durham Cricket League Cup, so cold in the wind that Critics’ Corner sat muffled, and won a greatly sporting encounter with Chappy’s last-ball four. “All right for an old un,” said the ever-amiable Steve, 43 on one count and 49 not out on the other.

Dave was chuffed to bits, a cup final not really envisaged in the grand plan. The only problem may be that, before the final against Seaham Park, Chappy is expected to have returned Down Under.

CROOK Town FC, as we noted a couple of weeks back, endured a pretty wretched winter. Off the field, they played much better.

Football club lads dominated the darts and dominoes league presentation, a few nights before the cricket do. For Backtrack it’s a now-annual attraction, when many winners forsake trophies to make a charitable donation.

The night’s other talking point was Crook’s preponderance of pizza parlours – those and hairdressers, they reckon. “If you want your hair cut or a quick bite to eat, Crook’s fine,” someone said. “If you want owt else, you’ve had it.”

Alan Mangles has run the games league for 30 years, been scoutmaster at Howden-le-Wear for 49. Honours, incredibly, elude him.

At evening’s end there’s the long-traditional dominoes challenge between the Backtrack column and former England darts international Doug McCarthy, one of the nicest men afoot. On this occasion, however, it must be recorded that he missed the target. Crook Town 3 Shildon (by association) 5.

LAST week’s column on an enjoyable day’s cricket at Chester-le-Street Riverside claimed that none appeared to be supping anything stronger than black coffee. Colin Woodward has a confession. “Mu friends and I were drinking wine from the plastic bottles which are allowed,” he says. They must have been inconspicuous, adds Colin.

THOUGH he’s nobbut a bairn, young Norman Fannon turns up at the Age UK gentlemen’s breakfast in Durham indoor market.

Norman, his dad, ran Wheatley Hill dog track for 45 years. Young Norman reports that it’s now the only unregistered “flapping” track left in the North-East, after Easington closed the week previously.

“No dogs and no bookmakers,” says Norman. “At one time you couldn’t go down the street without seeing someone walking his greyhound. Now we’re lucky to have one meeting a week.”

Effortlessly, he recalls when the North-East had 20 greyhound stadiums, including Durham and Gateshead – both known as the White City – and Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, suddenly closed fifty years ago when Norman was still in short trousers.

The others were Spennymoor, Houghton-le-Spring, Belmont, Thornley, Wheatley Hill, Easington, Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool, Pelaw Grange, Stanley, Brough Park, Gosforth, Sunderland, South Shields, Ashington and Cambois.

Brough Park, Sunderland and Pelaw Grange –– in Chester-le-Street – survive under NGRC jurisdiction. Pelaw even has a real ale festival this weekend. A good bet there’ll be more of that next week.

BEACHED up at Barton the other night, we sought further exposure of a cricket team apparently known as the Godivas – said chiefly to comprise retired teachers.

It proved a mishearing. They’re the Gudivers – “as lineage as long as Michael Holding’s run up,” says a post on the team message board.

The message board also has a rubric: “Leave your assorted ramblings upon cricket, bird watching or the acquisition of Ford Mondeos. All postings will be read, inwardly digested and then contemptuously disregarded by the committee. (P Knight Esq.)”

The contempt appears total: there hasn’t been a post since 2007. The Gudivers, however, played at Bishop Auckland just last Wednesday. With luck, we shall see more of them shortly.

….AND finally, the only footballer to win amateur and professional England caps in the same season (Backtrack, July 16) was, of course, the late Warren Bradley – the former with Bishop Auckland, the latter with Man United. Familiar former Northern League man Arnold Alton was first up with that one.

Readers are today invited to name the North-East team which played its Football League games at Holliday Park.

No rest, the column returns next week.