BRITISH BLIND SPORT National Knockout Cup Final 1982
By George & David Simmons
Article taken from “Participation” magazine Autumn 1982
Metro v Worcester Old Boys
This year the competition brought Metro Sports Club and Worcester Old Boys together in the final. The game was held on Saturday 24 July 1982 at the Granby Sports Club Ground, at Elmstead Lane, Chislehurst, Kent.
Metro won the toss and asked Worcester Old Boys to bat first. Worcester started shakily, losing a wicket in the second over, then they settled down, Jeremy Browne, though a totally blind player, took charge with 17 runs in 55 minutes, which included two 4s. Jeremy Browne’s wicket was taken by David Mears who in his one over took 3 wickets for just 2 runs. At this stage Worcester were 49 for 7 after 13 overs. Hugh Davies added another 13 runs before his wicket fell. Then Paul Hester with David Sheridan, Worcester’s Captain, made 28 in 15 minutes before David Sheridan was caught for 16 which included three 4s. Paul Hester followed in the next over, and so Worcester Old Boys had made 89 all out after just 18 overs. The wickets fell most notably to David Mears, who took three and to Keith Wells, Robbie Bryden and Alan Henderson who took two wickets each.
After tea Metro started quite steadily though losing on average a wicket every 12 runs, though easily within their target of 90 runs. Up to the loss of the fifth wicket Peter Young’s calm batting was Metro’s foundation, in his 84 minutes he scored 9 runs. Another totally blind player, Graham Salmon, showed his batting skill in making 12 runs in just over 20 minutes. Unfortunately for Metro, when Graham Salmon was out the remaining 3 wickets fell for only 8 runs. In fact, Metro lost their last 5 wickets for only 15 runs. In the sixteenth over Metro lost their last wicket, they had made a total of 82 all out, just 8 runs short of victory. The two most notable of the Worcester bowlers were David Sheridan and Hugh Davies who took 4 wickets and 3 wickets respectively.
At the end of this tense and exciting game Worcester Old Boys finished as the BRITISH BLIND SPORT 1982 National Cricket Knock-Out Champions. Their Captain David Sheridan was presented with the Lord’s Taverners Shield and a Sports equipment voucher for £50, and the whole team was presented with individual trophies. Metro’s Captain Robbie Bryden was presented with a Cricket Bat as a runner-up prize, and each member of the team received a trophy. As well as the two teams, the two umpires, Mr Peter Taylor and Mr Peter Simmons received a trophy each for their excellent work, and the two scorers, David and Steven Simmons, received a medal each.
The Award of a £10 sports voucher for the best totally blind player was given to Peter Young for his all round performance, taking three excellent catches to complement his calm batting. David Sheridan was awarded a £10 sports voucher for the best partially sighted player, taking 4 wickets and making a vital 16 runs. BRITISH BLIND SPORT would like to thank the Granby Sports Club and everyone involved in this year’s competition and would like to wish all clubs every success in next year’s competition.
Note from the magazine’s Editor: A special thank you should go to George Simmons for his tremendous efforts on the day.