Relativity
There was a young lady named Bright,
Who travelled much faster than light,
She Started one day
In the relative way,
And returned the previous night.
by Arthur Barker
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Wednesday 1st September 2021
Uhlsport United Counties League Premier Division South
Northampton ON Cheneks 0
Bugbrooke St Michael’s 2
Daniel Porter 11, 42,
Referee:- Harry Price Attendance:- 141.
Admission:- OMGDS£4.00 (£7) Programme:- £1.00. Hot Chocolate:- £1.00
The Old Northamptonians ground on The Billing Road hosts mainly rugby and cricket, but a small corner is devoted to the football team and, despite the team dugouts, which severely restrict viewing, it is a quaint backwater of football in Northampton. Sadly, their resources are depleted. This was their third successive defeat in the league and, in reality, they were abject in the face of the visitors determination. Two first half goals and the second half was a non-event!
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Thursday 2nd September 2021
4th Test Match at The Oval Day 1
India 191 all out (61.1 overs)
Virat Kholi 50, Shardur Thakur 57, Chris Woakes 15-6-55-4
Ollie Robinson 17.3-9-38-3
England 53 for 3 (17 overs)
Dawid Mala 26* Joe Root 21Jasprit Bumrah 6-2-15-2
Good toss for Joe Root to win and with a dull, cloudy start, England made the most of it! India were 54 for 3 at lunch and 122 for 6 at tea, but then, an amazing 69 runs from the final ten overs of the innings including 57 from Thakur, who smote the fastest ever half century in test history at The Oval (50 off 31 balls) and included seven fours and three sixes in his knock of 57. England batted woefully, losing both openers with just six runs on the board. Then, right near the end, they lost talisman, Joe Root! Tomorrow should be a very interesting day!With son, Jim and grandsons, Sonny and Kingsley. Great day out!!!
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Saturday 4th September 2021
Southern Combination Football League Premier Division
Pagham 1
Jack Langford 85,
Saltdean United 0
Referee:- James Kerten. Official Attendance:- 187
Admission: OMGDS £3.00 (£6). Programme:- £1.00
A match preceded by an excellent meal at “The Lion”, just down the road from Pagham’s neat and well kept ground, situated immediately adjacent to the cricket club. “The Lions” for so they are nomenclatured, are presently leading the league, but the visitors arrived with four games in hand, and with a 100% league record thus far. It was a dour struggle with defences coping better than the attacking forces. A single goal, some five minutes from time settled the contest in favour of the home side, when a draw might have been a fairer result. With Phil Evans.
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Sunday 5th September 2021
English Schools Cricket AssociationU-15 National Schools T20 Finals
at Arundel Castle
1st Semifinal – Shrewsbury School defeated Manchester Grammar
2nd Semifinal – Whitgift School defeated Bradfield College
FINAL Shrewsbury 130 for 9 (20 overs) lost to Whitgift School 136 for 6 (19.2 overs) by four wickets.
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Tuesday 7th September 2021
Lords Cricket Ground
ESCA 253 all out in 44.3 overs
lost to
MCC (won toss) 256 for 8 in 47.2 overs
The white seats of Lords were as quiet as a shroud in the brilliant sunshine, but the small gathering were treated to a run fest as over five hundred runs were scored with MCC justly taking the spoils in their annual fixture against ESCA (English Schools Cricket Association). ESCA, batting first, lost five wickets for twenty five runs at the end of their innings, with some sloppy batting. MCC were more circumspect and batted assiduously reaching their target with nearly three overs still remaining!
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Thursday 9th September 2021
Emergency Services League
Warwickshire Police 3
Dan Stanton 66, 83, Craig Marshall 70,
WMAS Coventry 1
Craig Cunliffe 74,
Referee:- Madhan Jassal. Attendance:- 23
Admission :- F.O.C. Programme:- NONE
Warwickshire Constabulary HQ hosted this match between the police and West Midlands Ambulance Service. Heavy showers before, but the rain mostly held off during the match, however it was pretty dark by the end of the contest. There were no goals until well after the hour mark, but then, four goals in the final twenty minutes or so. The victory deservedly went to the hosts in an entertaining encounter. With John Main, Lee West, Martin Hayden and Dave Wooding amongst others!
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Friday 10th September 2021
Uhlsport United Counties League Premier Division North
Loughborough Students 2
Olusanya Fadahansi 34, 52,
Sleaford Town 0
Referee:- William Murray. Attendance:- 173
Admission:- OMGDS £2.50 (£5). Programme:- £2.00
Loughborough University Stadium is a ground far above the norm for UCL football and wonderfully comfortable for watching the game. Tonight, perennial strugglers, Sleaford Town, put up a pretty good fight, and their goalkeeper made several excellent saves including a penalty, but the students were just too good for them, and really ought to have made more of the chances they created. A goal either side of half-time was scant reward for the opportunities they carved out! With John Main, Lee West, Joanna Baroudi and Chris Berezai, amongst others!
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Saturday 11th September 2021
Pitching-in Southern League Premier Division South
Wimborne Town 1
Ben Scored 21,
Chesham United 2
Jaden Thompson-Brissett 54, Kyle Davidson-Gordon 75,
Lewis Rolfe sent off 49,
Referee:- James Welsh. Attendance:- 384
Admission:- OMGDS £8.00 (£12). Programme:- £2.50
The New Cuthbury has been well designed with plenty of car parking (at £1.00) and a grass pitch with a floodlit 3G pitch adjacent. There is cover on three sides and seating for around 200. A bit miffed to discover concessions advertised at £7 when I had paid £8 on line for my ticket. Both these sides are struggling this season in the bottom five of the division, but it was Wimborne who looked to be in most danger. They took a first half lead against the run of play, then, Chesham had a player dismissed for violent conduct and yet they went on to score two goals and dominate the match! Six bookings and a sending-off, but it was by no means a dirty match.
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Sunday 12th September 2021
Rutland & District League Division 1
Burghley Park (won toss) 186 for 8 (45 overs)
lost to
Barnack 187 for 3 (37 overs)
by seven wickets
This quintessentially quaint English cricket ground is situated in the grounds of Burghley Park, home of the horse trials, in Stamford. William Cecil’s magnificent mansion is visible from the pavilion. This year marks 250 years of cricket at the ground. This match had a very end of season feel about it. Neither team was in danger of relegation, but neither were they challenging at the top! Burghley Park started slowly and after 30 overs were 89 for 3. The last fifteen overs produced nearly 100 runs. Barnack, in response started at a gallop and at 30 overs had reached 158 for 2. Inexplicably, it took them a further seven overs to knock off the final 29 runs!
Monday 13th September 2021
U23 Premier League 2 Division 1
Leicester City U23 1
Wanya Marcal-Madivadua 77,
Lewis Brunt sent off 4,
Crystal Palace U23 6
David Omilabu 10, 38, Rob Street 12,49, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi 42, 57,
Referee:- Tom Bishop. Attendance:- c350
Admission:- £3.00. Programme:- None (free team sheet)
Leicester City’s new £100 million state of the art training facility at Seagrave, just off the A46, north of the city, hosted it’s first competitive match this evening, but the match was blighted by the 4th minute sending off of central defender, Lewis Brunt. Leicester never recovered and conceded four first half goals. They performed better in the second half, but still shipped a further two strikes, before, at last getting on the score sheet in the last ten minutes of the game.
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Tuesday 14th September 2021
Southern Counties East League Premier Division
Glebe 2
Jamie Philpot 3, Aaron Watson 18,
Tunbridge Wells 0
Referee:- Chris Clarke. Attendance:- 96
Admission:- OMGDS £5.00 (£8). Programme:- £2.00
Situated almost in the middle of nowhere, just inside Kent, Glebe have a very extensive club house offering a variety of sustenance and all but a short walk to the ground itself which has cover and seats down one side and some cover behind one goal. They presently sit atop the premier division of the league, but this evening’s performance was run-of-the-mill rather than the stuff of champions. With John Main.
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Wednesday 15th September 2021
Midland League Premier Division
Worcester City 4
Fortune Maphosa 37, Dan Westwood 49, 63, 78,
Stourport Swifts 1
Matthew Gardner 18,
Referee:- David Hinton. Attendance:- 490
Admission:- OMGDS £6.00 (£8). Programme:- £2.00
Claines Lane is the home of The Worcestershire FA and Worcester City, back at last within the city boundaries. There are two football pitches, both floodlit a la Biggleswade in the olden days, except that the extra pitch is 3G. Excellent refreshment facilities with home made pies, pasties and cakes as well as the burger van and a bar. Seating for around 200 in two small stands, but otherwise narrow standing room on the other three sides. The Swift’s were gifted an opening goal early on, but the teams were level at the interval and a second half hat trick from Dan Westwood ensured that the visitors were well beaten.
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Thursday 16th September 2021
EUFA Europa League Group C
Leicester City 2
Ayoze Peres 9, Harvey Barnes 65,
Wilfrid Ndidi sent off 90+2
SSC Napoli 2
Victor Osimhen 69, 87,
Referee:- Tiago Martins (POR). Attendance:- 29,579
Admission:- OMGDS £28.00 (£36). Programme:- £3.00
In a pulsating encounter, an under strength home side had to pull out all the stops in the final twenty minutes after taking a two goal lead. Man of the match was Napoli’s flamboyant striker, Victor Osimhen, whose dominant performance and command in the air brought him two goals. Good match … for the neutral! With son, Mike and grandson, Freddie.
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Saturday 18th September 2021Witney & District League
11.00am Division 2
Cassington Rangers 0
Ducklington 0
Referee:- Ben James. Attendance:- 133
Admission:- £3.00. Programme:- £1.00
2.00pm Division 1
Freeland 4
Ethan Simlett 17, 52, Lewis White 25, Liam Harris 83,
Witney Royals 1
Ryan Harris 86,
Referee:- Steve Bryce. Attendance:- 116
Admission:- £3.00. Programme:- £1.00
5.00pm Premier Division
Hanborough 2
Jack Morton 41, 56,
Hailey 3
Freddie Buckingham 70, Nathan Kimber 73, Cameron Foster 83,
Referee:- Jason Hunt. Attendance:- 166
Admission:- £3.00. Programme:- £1.00
After the morning mists departed, the sun beat down from a cerulean firmament which sadly couldn’t produce a goal in the first match. The second game saw more entertainment, with top of the table Freeland smashing four goals before a solitary reply from the visitors. The final match produced an explosive finish as the visitors unjustly went two goals behind only to claim victory with three second half strikes in fifteen minutes towards the end of the contest!
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Tuesday 21st September 2021
3rd Women’s ODI – Leicester
England 178 all out (48.3 overs)
lost to
New Zealand (won toss) 181 for 7 (45.5 overs)
by three wickets.
It was good to meet up with former colleagues under the warm cerulean firmament of Grace Road – sorry … “The Uptonsteel County Ground” – in Leicester for the third Women’s ODI. England’s batting was disappointing. They lost wickets with clockwork regularity and their paltry total was never going to trouble the visitors … was it? England gave it a good go, but at the death, an excellent 70no by man of the match, Maddy Green, settled the contest in New Zealand’s favour, and ended their sixteen match losing streak. With John Lord and Ellen Wallace.
John Lord, Ellen Wallace, and yours truly, Eddie McGeown
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Wednesday 22nd September 2021
Uhlsport United Counties League Division 1
Blackstones 1
Joe Cox 60,
Aylestone Park 8 (eight)
Tom Hill 16, Spencer Edwards 21,Shay Brennan 29, 34, 80,
Joe Latham 41, 54, Harry Sheffield 84,
Referee:- Paul McVey. Official attendance:- 64
Admission:- OMGDS £3.00 (£5). Programme:- £2.00
Lincoln Road is magical on Autumnal evenings with the floodlights bathing the trees and a full moon overhead. Sadly, the home team are having a torrid start to the season and this was their seventh defeat in eight games. Confident Aylestone, on the other hand are flying high and by half time they had bagged five goals, but, crucially, had also had a man sent off which cramped their style, somewhat, after the interval. It will be a long hard season for the hosts after their successful battle to stay in The UCL.
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Thursday 23rd September 2021
FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round
Quorn 2
Chib Chilaka 21,37,
Leicester Nirvana 1
Stuart Lamont 14,
Referee:- Andrew Cuthbert. Attendance:- 134
Admission:- OMGDS £5.00 (£7). Programme:- £2.00
A mild Autumnal evening with the moon barely waning from full, two teams slugging it out like energised heavyweight boxers and all taking place on a 3G pitch. The visitors scored first, but the hosts responded with two quick strikes – all this in the first half. After the interval, although the visitors exerted increasingly intense pressure, including a missed penalty, the hosts stood firm to take the prize money and a place in the next round. With John Main, Lee West and Dave Wooding.
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Saturday 25th September 2021
Vanarama National League North
Darlington 1
Luke Charman 61
Jake Cooper sent off 31,
York City 2
Clayton Donaldson 23, 35(pen),
Referee:- Richard Aspinall. Attendance:- 2,176
Admission:- Hospitality £40.00. Programme:- incl. (£2.50)
By train, and then on foot for 1.9 miles from the station. Fairly basic package: meal plus programme and team sheet (the sweet didn’t arrive until 2.55pm!). A large crowd deserved better. The referee sent off a home player after half an hour, unnecessarily, but the hosts were already trailing and conceded a second shortly after. They pulled a goal back after the interval, but they never seemed likely to salvage anything out of the game!
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