LUCKY ESCAPE FOR THREE CLUBS

Memories have been re-kindled by Neil Simpson's super in-depth input from the past - but I bet no-one at their club knows what a lucky escape they had. For 'yours truly' could very well have ended up playing for Broughton, rather than Brigg.
A few years before the present Brigg club was formed in 1974, I was friendly with a number of the Broughton players, while attending Brigg Grammar. They included Neil Fisher, with whom I sometimes opened the school batting, presenting obvious difficulties for the scorers (two boys called N Fisher batting at the same time).
More than once - I presume at Neil's suggestion - they picked me to fill in for Broughton's intermediate team, only for the games to be rained off, or cancelled. One night, having been selected, I cycled to Broughton but didn't even get changed.
Later, after starting work in the public relations department of British Steel in Scunthorpe and joining the Athletic Club (which oversaw sports and social events) there were opportunities to play for the lowest sides of Appleby-Frodingham and Normanby Park Works. Both were declined, resulting in 30 very happy, if rollercoaster, years with Brigg.
There might well have been tangible benefits to playing for App-Frod 3rds - for one of their opening bowlers, back in the late 1970s, was Nev Holloway, the works catering manager, whose canteen I visited regularly.
I am under no illusions A-F and NPW could see the benefits of signing me were to get better press coverage, rather than any contributions on the field.
One season I remember bowling for Brigg against App-Frod 3rds, at Cemetery Road, when the then veteran ex-Redbourn CC batsman "Bull" Jackson hit me for the biggest six I ever conceded. And, believe me, that's saying something! It was during a dry-pitch season when I switched, briefly, from off-spin to leg-spin. Perhaps the record hot summer of 1976 - or was it 1977?.
After that I didn't dare dabble with the back-of-the-hand stuff!
Keith Wetherall, who these days phones through the scores of App-Frod 2nds' home matches in Lincs div one, was a young seam bowler in the A-F 3rds team of the late 1970s.
I recall playing them at Brigg Rec when our star all-rounder, Dave Foster, scored 120, which stood as the highest Lincs League knock by one of our club batsmen for many years.