HAROLD Stephenson, a Co Durham lad who became a cricket legend in Somerset, has died, aged 87.

Down there they knew him as Steve; in the North-East he remained simply Stivvie.

Harold's wife Connie died ten years ago. "I don't think he ever got over it," says David Stephenson, his son.

He was born in Haverton Hill, north bank of the toiling Tees, attended Mill Lane School in Billingham, became a sheet metal worker at ICI and played his early cricket for Stockton, where he found Durham County skipper Arthur Austin close behind the stumps.

Dick Spooner, another Stockton man, was keeping canny at the same time and went on to play for England.

Many supposed that both Austin and Stephenson should have been capped, too.

Austin pursued the family cheese-making business; Stivve, self-taught and brilliant, could never get past Godfrey Evans.

He'd moved across the A19 to Billingham Synthonia, for whom he played both cricket and football, was offered a football contract by Alec Stock at Fulham and remained an ardent Boro fan throughout his life.

"He probably wasn't very happy with all the foreigners in the team," says David. "He wanted Middlesbrough boys."

Stivvie chose Somerset cricket after attending trials with lifelong friend Tony Thomas, who died in March.

Tony's son Chris, an ex- Durham county player, recalled at the time how his dad had been returning north in Stivvie's van with Harold's wife Connie and a then little-known journalist called John Arlott.

Connie became ill. "She was being sick out of the back of the van while my dad had hold of one leg and John Arlott hold of the other."

Since he'd been given a lift, it thus seemed a bit ungrateful of Arlott to consider but reject Stivve's claim when, in 1981, he compiled a side of the best uncapped players in English cricket history.

In batting order, his Unlucky Lads were Langridge, Hallam, Davies, Oldroyd, Newman, Martyn, Sainsbury, Wooller, Shepherd, Kortright and Wass.

Stivvie played for Somerset between 1948-64, the last four seasons as skipper, and made an immediate impression.

"Some of his stumpings off the slow bowlers were remarkably clever and quick enough to suggest optical tests for umpires," suggested Wisden in 1950.

Though his batting average barely topped 20, he hit seven centuries and four times topped 1,000 for the season. Though his best bowling was 1-0, his career record was 1-135.

In 1950-51 he also toured India and Ceylon in a Commonwealth team, among those implicated when wondrously named Pakistani umpire Idris Bergh was kidnapped and had water poured over him.

It led to a diplomatic incident - Brian Close, Donald Carr and Roy Swetman also involved.

In 1960 he was also responsible for taking future county captain and chairman Colin Atkinson - the first PE master at Haughton School in Darlington - to Somerset.

Four years later he had a fall at home, suffered a back injury and - much to his chagrin - was released. He became a brewery rep, but still had four good Minor Counties seasons with Dorset and afterwards played occasionally for his son's club team.

"I know I'm biased but he was still the best I've ever seen," says David Stephenson.

"He accepted that he couldn't get past Godfrey Evans but I still think he was worth an England chance."

He remained in Taunton, played football for Taunton Town, never lost his Durham accent or his affection for home. In Haverton Hill he is forever Stivvie.

SOMERSET'S website, incidentally, reveals that former Times editor Lord Rees Mogg and Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare - both lifelong fans - will be among the guests in June at the opening and blessing of Gimblett's hill, on the county ground at Taunton. Former Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson rejects criticism that Archer served four years. "If we went through the records of everyone who'd been in prison, we'd never know where to stop."

HAROLD Stephenson was in Stockton's side, as an opening batsman, when Wilf Tennant made his wartime debut as an anxious 15-year-old.

Stockton were about 13-3 against Thornaby, Stivvie still at one end, when Wilf edged tentatively towards the middle.

Stivvie was fine - "Nice man, great character" - but it's Thornaby fast bowler Alan Townsend who Wilf more vividly remembers. "My lace was broken and he helped me fasten it, asked my name and told me that until I got off the mark everything would be down the off side.

"I didn't see the first ball, finally scored and came panting back to the bowler's end. Alan smiled and told me that from then on I was on my own. I scored five."

Alan Townsend, now 86, subsequently played 342 firstclass matches for Warwickshire, claimed 325 wickets at 28.84 and averaged almost 25 in amassing 12,000 runs.

He also had 413 catches, though Wilf's recollection that it may be an English record falls quickly to earth.

The record is 1,018, held - as it were - by Frank Woolley, 978 games between 1906-38. W G Grace (887) is second, Tony Lock (830) third and Brian Close, the scallywag, fourth.

Sensible Mr Bean champions the seniors

FAR removed from his hapless Rowan Atkinson namesake, 65-year-old former mayor of Stockton Terry Bean has been the North-East Over 40s league's senior player of the year.

Now the sensible Mr Bean is calling on the government to invest more time and money into football for senior citizens.

"In Holland the state organises Over 70s leagues, which I think is great. Here you're officially a veteran if you're over 35, which is crazy. There are still men in the Premiership at that age.

"The Over 40s league is brilliant, but there should be leagues for the over 50s and over 60s as well. Properly run, the health benefits could be huge."

Terry, from Billingham, plays for the aptly-named Wynyard Old Boys and is also the team secretary. Though they'll finish bottom of the third division, he's enjoyed every senior moment.

"My wife is completely supportive and I'll go on as long as my body lets me. The player of the year award is a real honour and I'm delighted to be recognised, but really I'm just having fun."

Among other trophies being handed over at the league's presentation evening in June is the overseas player of the year award to Dnap Ergen, who plays for Barnard Castle and has a chip shop in Cockfield and the referee of the year award to Ashley Cooper, known in his Northern League days as The Rain Man because everywhere he went it poured down. Old Ash has clearly had another good season.

The first division outstanding player of the year award will go to Norman Hunter from Hebburn. Though he who bit your legs is himself from Gateshead, and just a bit bairn of 64, this is believed to be someone else entirely.

FOLLOWING recent references to his alleged oneliner about the Los Angeles smog - "I'm from Hebburn, this is a nice day" - Steve Cram was again on good form at Newcastle Eagles' basketball club's bash the other night.

"Someone once asked me why I became a runner," said Crammy. "I told him I was born in Gateshead and was a Sunderland fan whose mother was German and whose father was a copper. What else was I going to be?"

GOING through the cards, Martin Birtle in Billingham notices that Cast Iron Casey - one of Howard Johnson's - ran in last Friday's 3.20 at Perth and Iron Hague in the 7.15 at Bangor.

Iron Hague was an early 20th century heavyweight who, like the Richmond MP - is there something we haven't been told here? - came from Mexborough, south Yorkshire.

Cast Iron Casey was perhaps the most formidable of Sunderland's 20,000 registered boxers in the 1930s, once described by Peter Wilson of the Daily Mirror as "a ferroconcrete building masquerading as a man."

In 224 fights he was never knocked out, ascribed the toughness of his chin to eating lots of whelks - something to do with calcium, apparently - but suffered serious brain damage.

He died, aged 71, in 1980.

Iron Hague came second. Cast Iron Casey, unusually for him, was never in the running.

Kissing caution a cheek

IN THE great pecking order of offences against the laws of football, kissing your girl friend on the cheek may never before have landed a player in the black books.

That's what happened to goalkeeper Brett Wilson, however, after a romantic interlude turned swiftly sour.

Brett was playing for South Shields-based Harton and Westoe in a Wearside League game against Hartlepool when the game was stopped so that an injured opponent could be treated on the field.

Spotting that his girl friend, Lucy, had just arrived to watch the match, Brett ran across to say hello and to plant a friendly smacker.

Don't you just love it?

Referee Geoff Liddle didn't - he booked the crestfallen keeper for leaving the field without permission.

The glove affair will now cost Brett an £8 caution fee - though Harton secretary Bill Wells says that the club may fork out.

"We just thought it was a laugh at first,"

says Bill. "Brett didn't even go to the other side of the fence and he told the referee it was his girl friend. We couldn't believe it.

"It gets silly doesn't it?

But I suppose it didn't help that there was an assessor watching."

Referee Liddle, from Darlington, confirmed that he had seen the keeper kiss his girl friend. "That wasn't the offence, the offence was leaving the field without my permission. I can't say any more without speaking to Durham FA."

Brett declined to offer a view of the referee's lip service to the laws of the game, but before ending the conversation insisted that he didn't kiss her.

Former Football League referee Terry Farley, referees' representative on Durham FA, said that he'd never come across a similar incident in 56 years in football.

"As far as the referee is concerned, he was acting in accordance with law 12 which covers leaving or rejoining the game without permission. If she'd have come on and kissed him, that would have been different."

AND FINALLY...

LOTS of people knew that the only surviving Football League club with an "x" in its name is now Crewe Alexandra (Backtrack, April 29) and that those recently relegated - other than Wrexham - were Exeter, Oxford and Halifax.

David Walsh points out that one of the recently relegated clubs was - unlike any other in the League - ten miles from the nearest railway station. Readers are invited to name it; we're back on track on Tuesday.

10:00am Friday 2nd May 2008

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