Premature inspections

Peter Skuse: game call too elrly

CRICKET:

WAS it too early to make a Saturday morning call on the state of grounds in the Saddleworth and District Cricket League after the previous day’s heavy rain?

Heyside captain Nick Campbell and experienced Saddleworth professional Peter Skuse thought so.

A team of half a dozen umpires inspected grounds before lunch and only three hosting fixtures in Division One — Micklehurst, Shaw and Uppermill — were given the green light. The matches at Droylsden, Heyside, Friarmere and Stayley weren’t so lucky.

Normally it is left to the match umpires to decide whether play should go ahead or not. They arrive at grounds at least half-an-hour before the start at 1.45pm.

Due to the volume of rain on Friday, the league felt it necessary to take a look on Saturday morning.

Skuse, who was due to play at Droylsden, said: “I was in the area of the ground, so I checked it out and there was nothing wrong with it. It was definitely fit and I couldn’t see any reason why the game could not have gone ahead.

“The area in front of the clubhouse has a history of getting really wet, but it was fine. The only cause for concern was as you walked in.

“I thought it was a bit silly to make a decision so early. After training hard on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the blokes are eager to play and we’ve already had enough games lost to the weather this season.”

The league wanted to save clubs from forking out money if there was no chance of action.

Saddleworth League secretary Trevor Harrison said: “We felt it was the common sense approach after the rain we had on Friday. We wanted to do the best for the clubs, but you can’t please all of the people, all of the time.”








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