CRICKET: THEY say that rain is only good for the garden, but its appearance on Saturday confirmed that Dorridges’ first and third teams have won promotion this season.
After relegation from the Premier Division of the Birmingham League last year, captain Dave Ball was determined to bounce back at the first opportunity and he has achieved this with two games to spare.
Dorridge have picked up 309 points from their 20 matches this season and they still have two games to add to that tally away at Old Hill this Saturday and they finish the season off at home to Sutton Coldfield on September 17.
“It’s been a great season so far and it is all down to the boys hard work and commitment,” said Ball.
“We set out to play our cricket this season with enjoyment and have a laugh both on and off the field and the guys have done just this.
“They have been a pleasure to captain and the promotion makes it all worthwhile.
We are all looking forward to playing next year in the Premier but are aware that we will have to play even better to compete at the highest level. We are now concentrating on trying to win the last two games to go up as champions.”
The third team, having already made sure of promotion two weeks ago, made certain they went up as champions of the Cotswold Hills Division Four.
In their last game, they were due to play Stratford Bards who had also gained promotion, to decide who took the honours, but the rain put paid to what could have been a thriller.
The team only lost one game all year, at Blockley in what turned out to be their last game as they lost the chance to be the only team in the whole League to go through the season undefeated. Skipper Don Baker reiterated what Dave Ball said, in that it had been a truly team effort with everyone contributing to the success.
