South Yorkshire Times May 27, 1967

Wath’s Fine Initiative

Wath 123 for 7 dec          Hallam 80 for 7

Most cricket teams would have settled for the Cup Final on Saturday especially with their ground waterlogged, but not Wath Athletic. Secretary Phil Staves phoned around to local clubs during the week asking for the loan of a vacant ground for their home fixture with Hallam in the Yorkshire Council. He was rewarded for his efforts by the hospitality of the Sheffield League club Rotherham Co-op.

Although the players were driven back into the pavillion by rain after only a hour’s play, the game almost ended in a victory for Wath instead of the inevitable draw.

Fine aggressive batting by F. Peace (40) and a restrained innings of 29 by B. Heaney saw the Wath total reach 123 for seven dec. The visitors were then left 90 minutes to knock off the runs, required for victory, and to their credit attacked the bowling from the start. This attack was not maintained for long, however, against accurate bowling and exceptionally good ground fielding in difficult conditions.

When D. Russell (32) was bowled by Staves (3-19) who continued to take a further two wickets in three balls Wath were in with a chance of victory. with the score at 80-7 However the batsmen ‘shut-up shop’ and the teams shared the points of an interesting game.