The Village Fete of Cricket (16 May 1999)

16 May 1999

The Village Fete of Cricket

Alex Balfour in Worcester

Spectators at today's clash between Australia and Scotland were treated to bit of everything: gung-ho batting, haphazard fielding, wayward bowling and raucous cheering. Everything, that is, that you'd expect from a village cricket match. And the surprise was that it was the Australians, not the Scots, who were responsible for most of the shoddy work and lapses of concentration on the field.

But it was the Scots who got the better of the tussle in the stands. The marauding hordes from Scotland, most of whom had come not on foot from North of the border but by car from London, taking a day off from jobs in the city, took delight in introducing followers of the English game to Scottish music, Scottish humour and bared Scottish backsides. A slightly bemused Worcestershire crowd was treated to repeated renditions of 'Flower of Scotland', Scotland's adopted national anthem, and torrents of Scottish abuse directed at the Australian team.

David Boon has allegedly been telling the Scottish team how to cope with Australian sledging. The team could have taken a cheaper and probably more effective lesson from their own support, which picked out Warne, McGrath, Fleming and the hapless Dale as favoured targets. Every McGrath delivery was announced with a loud call of 'wide', and McGrath, hot headed as usual, responded sympathetically by adding to the extras total on more than one occasion. Warne's weight was also a subject of loud comment, inviting unfavourable comparison with various sea-borne mammals. For the Scots fans it was all a bit of fun. For some, who were loudly expressing confusion about what the numbers on the scoreboard signified, it was a lot more fun that working out what was going on on the field.

For once the Australian supporters, though highly visible in their yellow shirts, were outgunned. Young Scots children made light work of the earnest West Midland lads dutifully demonstrating Kwik Cricket in the interval by invading the pitch and playing impromptu games of touch rugby. In case there was any doubt which section of the crowd had won the day two Scots streakers delivered the coup de gras at the end of play.

This game may not have been the shot in the arm the Scottish Cricket Union is hoping for. If nothing else the Scots have at least livened up the atmosphere of the World Cup. For some time we've been waiting on the 'carnival' atmosphere that the World Cup organisers promised. Today's game, a sheepdog trial and a couple of traction engines short of the atmosphere of a village fete, was a step forward, but probably not in the direction the organisers would have hoped.

Source :: CricInfo