The Tills are still ringing as Sessay prepare for cup date

Sessay’s one of those places which still believes in true village cricket. In 1976 they reached the National Village Cup final at Lord’s, brothers Fred and Ian Till in the side that lost narrowly to Troon, from Cornwall.

In the 1980s, when again they reached the semi-final, they were joined by a third Till brother, James. The banner was written on someone’s pram sheet: “Till makes Sessay bounce with health,” it said.

Though the picture has vanished from the photographic library, Sessay bounce yet.

On Sunday they entertain Woodhouse Grange, from near York, in the national quarter-final – Richard and Matthew Till, Fred’s lads, and Ian’s boy Christopher all expected to be in the side.

The Tills still ring merrily, it might be said, none more than Matthew who hit 200 in an early round against Barton, near Darlington and in the last 16, against West Yorkshire side Ackworth, claimed four wickets and an unbeaten 80.

The men all out in the fields, or somewhere, Doreen Till – Ian’s wife – bats for the family. “We’re very proud of our traditions, all very much involved” she says.

“Most of the team played for the juniors when they were 11 or 12. They might have moved away to work but they still come back to play cricket.”

Stephen Langstaff, the skipper, is the son of David Langstaff, who kept wicket in the 1976 side.

Woodhouse Grange have twice won it, twice more been finalists. “We’ve beaten them twice this season, we’re quietly confident we can do it again,” says Doreen. “It’s going to be standing room only. The whole village will be there on Sunday.”

The banner, of course, was a play on a budgie seed slogan well known at the time. “I think it’s at the back of my mother-in-law’s cupboard,” says Doreen. “We might just have to get it out again.”

THEN there’s the Thomas family, long involved with cricket at Norton-on- Tees and proving only last Saturday that there’s still no doubting them.

Tony Thomas, whose death we reported in March 2008, was so dedicated a Norton man for 60 years that he moved house to the boundary and lived forever on the edge.

His son Chris, 32 Durham County appearances between 1977-81, reports that Norton’s first team dismissed Marsden for 69 at the weekend but were themselves in trouble at 20-3 when his 16-year-old son Nick arrived at the crease.

Nick hit an undefeated 32, his brother Matthew, 19, added ten runs to his two wickets and Norton won a tense match.

Chris, long known as Winker – a perceived resemblance to Winker Watson, a character in the Dandy – joined middle son Jim, 17, in the seconds, home to Marsden. The visitors won the toss, batted, and were 38 all out, J Thomas 6-7 from seven overs “It would have been more but for ridiculous ECB bowling regulations,” says his dad, now 51.

His mother Glenys, Tony’s wife for 56 years, arrived with four runs needed, took her accustomed seat by the scoreboard and saw the game completed next ball.

After that, Chris headed for the top field for the fourth team match against Broughton and Kirby, who’d set Norton 230-odd to win.

They made it by one wicket – “the enigma called Taz 130 not out.”

It’s the pitch where Tony’s ashes are spread. “All in all,” says Chris, “a grand day for the club.”

DURHAM County, incidentally, held their former players’ reunion during Sunday’s match against Notts. Witnessing another struggle, someone asked old boys’ president Jack Watson if he didn’t fancy a few overs. “Only if it’s not into the wind,” he said. Still football scouting, the indefatigable J M Watson will be 90 next.

AFINAL cricket note, and our friends at Lands CC – near Cockfield – find themselves in a bit of a hole.

No longer caught on the boundary, someone’s stolen the mole traps.

“There were six of them, right by the wall, we have quite a problem with moles,” says club stalwart Tony Elliott. “They only cost about £4 apiece but the lad who set them is quite upset. You could say we’ve been moled out.”

Smashing lads, they play in the Darlington and District League. “We can’t understand it, why should anyone want to steal mole traps,” muses Tony.

A mole lover? “D’you know,” says our man, “I never thought of that.”

ONCE she was the column’s stable rider, or equestrienne, or whatever.

Now Karen Dixon, still aiming for the 2012 Olympics, is upping sticks to her husband’s native Ireland.

“Of course it’s sad, but I guess it’s time we did what he’s always hankered to do,”

she says.

Their ancestral home, the handsome Wycliffe Grange near the Tees east of Barnard Castle, is on the market at £1.4m. In 1988, when her mother tried to sell it, it was £300,000.

Back then she was Karen Straker, a three-day event silver medallist on Get Smart in the Seoul games.

Back then, emails still being ethereal and apps unheard of, she’d ring from Korea with progress reports. We thought that pretty amazing, too.

Get Smart had been bought by an old farmer from a meat sale at Pannal, near Harrogate. Karen spotted him in a field near Northallerton, gazing at her over a hedge.

“I asked for a sit on him and bought him there and then. He didn’t cost much at all,” she said.

Smartie, appropriately, was a chocaholic. There’s now a bronze of horse and rider in the hall.

Together they’d become famous, Karen even appearing on Question of Sport, though she had cause courteously to correct an assertion in the column that her weakness was obscure tennis players. “My weakness is everything,” she said. “I’m terrified, especially of Ian Botham.”

Ride before a fall, we’d also followed her when she broke a leg and four vertebra wings at Badminton in 1989 – told by the course doctor that there was nothing wrong and to get herself home.

Elaine Straker, her formidable mum, had been seriously, almost litigiously, unimpressed. “They said the medical centre was for emergencies only. The doctor treated me like a perfect idiot,” she said.

Karen married Andrew, son of Lord Glentoran and a former Grenadier Guards officer, in 1992. “He used to ride up and down the Mall, but I don’t know who taught him,” she said. They have a son and daughter, aged 11 and seven.

She and Andrew, 50, are now house hunting in Co Antrim. Karen, four years his junior, has already ridden in four Olympics and hopes her horse Classic Moet could make it a champagne five.

“She’ll be spot on for 2012.

Whether I will be is another matter entirely.”

SPEAKING of Beefy Botham, we hear that the Squire has launched his own wine label – Botham Merrill Willis, or BMW for short. Willis is his former England team-mate, Merrill the Australian wine merchant who overheard Willis’s view of Aussie beer and invited him to try the wine instead. That considered opinion?

“Weasel’s pee,” said Willis.

MORE Olympic memories: quizzed on the Guardian’s website, Steve Cram – the North- East’s favourite middle distance man – is asked, finally, to tell them a joke.

Crammy insists that he doesn’t know one but offers a “funny true story” of a friend working on stadium construction before the 2004 games in Athens, when the biggest race was against time.

Despite working right up to the opening ceremony, they weren’t allowed to stay around for the spectacular.

Fed up, one of the Frenchmen grabs a long scaffolding pole, approaches security, announces that he’s a pole vaulter with the French team and is allowed in.

Impressed, a German worker gets hold of a manhole cover, tells them he’s in the discus and is , in turn, admitted.

Finally, Crammy’s mate picks up a roll of barbed wire and tells them he’s from Team GB.

He’s asked the event.

“Fencing,” he says.

SUMMER’S almost over.

The Over 40s League – another record, 76 teams, four newcomers – kicks off as youthfully as ever on August 7. Rather sadly, however, Sunderland Beer Company have changed their name to Ryhope Foresters. For the first time in the league’s 30-year history, the old boys will have to answer to a woman – the splendid Helen Conley from Ferryhill takes charge of Trimdon Vets in the season’s first game.

...and finally

THE Northern League side which reached Wembley in 1961 (Backtrack, July 24) was West Auckland.

Everyone knew. “Our Olevel physics teacher (Donny Carter) at Durham Johnston Grammar Technical School was West’s left half,” writes Keith Bell.

Today back to the National Village Cricket Cup – only once since its inception in 1972 won by a North-East (as opposed to North Yorkshire) side.

Readers are invited to identify it.

Perhaps with more on Taz, and what is so enigmatic about him, the column returns on Saturday.