BRITISH BLIND SPORT National Knockout Cup Final 1980
By D J Simmons
Article taken from “Participation” magazine Autumn 1980
Metro Sports Club v Worcester Old Boys
The Final took place at the Granby Sports Club at Elmstead Lane. It was a sunny day and an intriguing final was to be looked forward to. After many hard fought matches these two clubs had reached the final. This was a limited overs match so the right tactics had to be used.
Metro won the toss and decided to put Worcester Old Boys into bat. Worcester Old Boys started well with B Parker and N Baxter making good totals of 33 and 85 respectively. After this fine start the rest of the innings dwindled away rapidly. The final total was 171 for 9 wickets. R Bryden and A Mabert had a good bowling performance taking 3 wickets each.
When Metro took up the challenge a huge task confronted them. After a quick wicket the situation was getting desperate, then A Mabert hit a 6 but was caught trying to repeat it. R Goldie also injected some hope into the team. He hit a 6 and a 4 but was then given out. The rest of the team batted valiantly but without success. At the end of 18 overs their total was 80 all out, with over half their batting total coming in the form of extras. The Worcester Old Boys bowling was very good. D Sheridan took 3 wickets and N Baxter and H Davies took 2 apiece.
The trophy and the medals were presented by Mrs Ruth Swaffield who kindly agreed to do so. The player of the match award for the best totally blind cricketer was awarded to F McFarlane for his fine fielding performance taking 3 catches. The award for the best partially blind cricketer went to N Baxter for his all round performance, both played for Worcester Old Boys.
The final was very enjoyable and it brought to an end a fine competition. Through the BRITISH BLIND SPORT cricket committee everything was organised very well. And thanks must be given to them and to everyone else who helped to organise the competition. Also thanks must be given to the Umpires who kept the games under control. It is hoped that next year’s competition will be just as enthralling. Finally on 16th August Worcester Old Boys will play a select XI to round off the season.