A pretty lugubrious affair

Just two days earlier, he’d been presenting the NYSD League’s Brunton Cup to Barnard Castle skipper Mike Stanwix. A couple of weeks before that, he’d emailed here – by no means the first to remark upon the perceived resemblance between the Echo’s Durham County cricket correspondent and a rather more notorious character altogether.

It is, in truth, the whole column is to be a pretty lugubrious affair.

Since he’d decided his eulogy should be light-hearted – “Mike would want it” – NYSD president Chris West recalled his own first league management committee meeting.

Ken Gardner, Chris’s presidential predecessor, had limped into the meeting complaining that he’d been crippled while playing at Preston – the Preston near Eaglescliffe – the previous Saturday. He’d fallen through a hole in the dressing room floor.

“How come you didn’t see it,” said Mike.

“There was a bloody carpet over it,” replied Ken.

Meeting chairman Brian Johnson, a Darlington solicitor, solemnly wondered what they should do about it. “Get Preston to buy a stiffer carpet,” said Mike.

He was born at South Bank, did his National Service in the Education Corps, returned to teach at St Peter’s in South Bank but left after a year, said Chris, “because he evidently had difficulty accepting the nuns’ strict training regimes and dress code.”

Mike became head teacher at St Clare’s in Acklam, taking early retirement in 1992.

“The decision was based on a directive that he had to read the school’s water meter,” said Mike, “something that even he wasn’t prepared to do.”

He was a stalwart of Middlesbrough rugby club, played table tennis and billiards, was captivated (it’s said) by the bright lights of Marske Cricket Club, or perhaps because it was MCC, and became team captain.

Like us lot when we were kids, he still called “wickets” when grounding his bat after a run.

He joined the league committee in 1976, was renowned as both raconteur and afterdinner speaker – “everything he did he did eloquently and with a smile on his face,” said Mike – and also became an umpire, a role in which he issued Polo mints to frustrated bowlers.

He was even known to appeal for stumpings from square leg. “If I appeal,” said Mike, “it must be out.”

He was also president of Marske Mariners, an itinerant bunch formed in 1964 who’d undertake an annual pub crawl to distant parts into which a cricket match might occasionally intrude.

By 2006, however, he was having to appeal through the Backtrack column for more reservists. “The trouble is,” said Mike, “the wives have found out it’s not mandatory.”

Chris West knew him better than most. “He was an energiser, a man with the tremendous gift of being able to raise your spirits. Half an hour in Mike’s company was worth its weight in gold.”

Richly anecdotal, his eulogy maintained a light touch throughout – “but I do it,” he conceded, “with the heaviest of hearts.”

HARRY McIlvenny has died in his native West Yorkshire, aged 86. His claims to sporting fame included being Bishop Auckland’s centre forward in the 1950 and 1951 FA Amateur Cup finals and claiming seven stumpings, including the first four, in the same innings.

Harry’s passing means that Tommy Farrer – whom the Bishops inadvertently killed off last year – is the only surviving member of the 1950 side which lost to Willington and Tommy and Dave Marshall from the following year’s Wembley team.

“Harry was a typical centre forward of his day, really put himself but a very nice man with it,” recalls Tommy.

Dave Marshall recalls that Harry had played alongside Bob Hardisty in the 1948 Olympics – the British side managed by Matt Busby – and was brought to Kingsway by the Bishops’ legend.

“He was a big, rumbustious centre forward, but we didn’t see much of him socially because he was dashing back to West Yorkshire. I think his family owned mills; he certainly had a few bob.”

Harry played cricket for Bradford in the 1950s alongside the likes of Bob Platt, Phil Sharpe, Brian Bolus and Jack Birkenshaw and also made 50 amateur appearances for Bradford PA.

In 1948 he scored in five successive games, on target the following season in the still-remembered 2-0 FA Cup win over Newcastle.

He was a Yorkshire County Cricket Club committee member for 20 years and became a vice-president.

Though remembered for his sense of humour, Harry was the only former Bishops’ player to decline an interview for Alan Adamthwaite’s forthcoming biography of Bob Hardisty. “I don’t suppose I’ll get one now,” muses Alan. Harry’s funeral, like his memories of Bishop Auckland, will be private.

TERRY Farley – ever-grey, evergreen – reports the death at 72 of former Football league referee Alan Saunders from Newcastle. “One of the fittest men on the list,” says Terry.

Alan, among a succession of leading referees who graduated through the Northern League, officiated at the same time as George Courtney, Peter Willis, George Tyson, Ken Redfearn, Ken Lupton and Terry himself.

JOHN Noddings died six years ago during a charity match at Tow Law, aged 57.

The annual match in his memory, Tow Law Select v Weardale Select, was played up there on Friday.

It raises funds for the British Heart Foundation, the usual minute’s silence yet more poignant because match organiser Charlie Donaghy’s wife had died four days earlier.

Known in his Wolsingham schooldays as The Flying Specs – “They hadn’t invented contact lenses,” he says – 54-year-old Weardale goalkeeper Dave Coulson had a good first half but was replaced at half-time by his son William who plays for Wearhead and was named man of the match.

“If he’d been a foot taller, we’d have signed him on the spot,” said Tow Law FC secretary Steve Moralee.

Tow Law won 3-2, the game ending at 8.45pm with a distinct nip in the air. Up in Tow Law, winter draws on.

BACK to Tow Law yesterday for Alice Donaghy’s funeral, the primary school of which she was a much-loved chair of governors closed for the afternoon as a mark of respect.

The last time that had happened, recalled Norman Deacon, was on the wintry Wednesday in 1967 when the Lawyers thrashed Mansfield Town 5-1 in the FA Cup – but that was an altogether happier occasion.

Down on the 1B bus, we learn also of the passing of Tommy Cummings, a Sunderland lad who learned his football trade at Stanley United and became a legend at Burnley.

There’ll have to be more of Tommy in Saturday’s column.

And finally

THE 1960s Northern Ireland international who sandwiched a spell at Manchester City between Sunderland and Middlesbrough (Backtrack, July 11) was Johnny Crossan. George Cram was first up with that one.

Since the papers are all talking of the five English counties (not to mention Gateshead Fell) for whom the Australian Marcus North has played his cricket, Martin Birtle in Billingham invites readers to name the last English test player to appear in the Sheffield Shield in Australia.

The column returns, hopefully on a bit lighter note, on Saturday.