South Yorkshire Times August 2, 1947

“Have A Go” Policy Might Have Won This Swinton Derby

Swinton  144 for 7                            Mexborough 145 for 9 dec

The Swinton Mexborough return at Swinton of the old hands of the traditional “Derby” game – fluctuating fortunes, doggy defence in times of adversity and a thrilling finale. Swinton threw the game away. In the pulsating final over in which they wanted to runs to win they made timidity instead of glorious bravado their maxim.

Two wanted

Just picture the scene, fighting stands by R Smelt and G Palmer and by Palmer (picture) and O Burton have placed Swinton within an ace of victory. The umpire calls “Last Over.” Mexborough 145 for nine declared, Swinton 144 for 5.

The Mexborough fielder’s close in. R Hydes begins to run from the Piccadilly end. Robinson lets the first ball go by, the second he puts into Jim Rich’s capacious hands. 144 for 6 . Youthful Penny follows. Two more deliveries but no spirit of “have a go Joe,” and the fifth ball clean bowls him! 144 for 7 and one ball left.

L Rear, Newcomer from Tiverton Park, arrives at the wicket wearing one pad. Down goes the ball. It bounces 6 inches of the middle stump to safety – and Mexborough, once 44 for 4 and later 80 for six have saved the day.

There was every prospect earlier in the game that Swinton would record a “double.” Cadman who bowled like a Trojan for 24 overs, kept a very tight hand of the Mexborough batsmen and the visitors, who lost their opening pair at 17, looked to be in dire straits until W Smith was joined by G Hutchinson.

These two pushed up the score from 80 to 127 for the seventh wicket and C E Bayes carried on the good work. Smith batted with grim determination, and his grand 50 earned the applause of both Swinton and Mexborough supporters.

We had a little barracking for the umpire who no balled Harvey on five occasions in almost as many deliveries, but that was just part of the game, and we reached the highlights of the match during Smelt’s and Palmer’s fifth wicket partnership for Swinton.

Settled Down

Swinton lost Parker at 25, Senior at 34 and Will Broadhead at 42, all to Bayes, but Smelt and Palmer quickly settled down together. Smelt had been missed when he was six by Richards on the boundary – Richards partially stopped the ball, but it fell to the ground before he could gather it completely – and he had a second escape in the slips at 40.

He punished the young Yorkshire “colt,” Fretwell, however with a couple of fours off successive balls, and, in the same over, took a single which might well have gone to the boundary, but when Hutchinson joined Bayes there was a most perceptible decline in the rate of scoring.

Palmer got a four off Bayes to send up the 80 and Smelt took a short single to get his 50 out of 89 in just over an hour’s batting, but nine runs later Hutchinson took his off stump with a delivery which had the batsmen beaten all the way.

Burton carried on the good work delightfully, however. He obtained his 33 in quick time, and he and Palmer (25 not out) added 42 for the fifth wicket before Burton was well held on the boundary by Smith. Thereafter Swinton lost the initiative, but we had just one further lively incident in virtually Swindon’s last scoring  stroke. Robinson had scored a single and Hutchinson, who was bowling, ran out to field the ball. There was an overthrow and Swinton were able to secure what might have been two further vital runs.

Bowling: CE Bayes 3 for 40, Hutchinson 2 for 28, Hydes 2 for 30,