An optimistic end to the 2026 season at Tynemouth Cricket Club...
The Tynemouth CC end of season do in September 2025 was a bit of a sombre affair. While the 2s had done alright, both the 1s and 3s had been relegated; the former unluckily, but the latter ignominiously. Having played for the 3s in 14 of our 18 games (we conceded 4 being unable to raise a team), I’d experienced our sole win (by 1 wicket) and lone abandonment (when we had Anfield Plain 61/9 before the heavens opened), as well as the cancelled game at Monkseaton. Other than that, I’d also been part of a side, sometimes with only 10 players, that was crushed 15 times. It wasn’t fun, but I was still proud to represent my club and felt keen to continue playing in 2026, if at all possible.
Last Saturday, we had our 2026 end of season soiree, where the mood was a lot better than 12 months previous. The 1s had done well, finishing 3rd to cement a place in the middle tier of the new NEPL structure for 2027, while the 2s had managed to avoid the drop on the final day. Best of all perhaps, the 3s had stormed to the NTCL Division 6 title by over 100 points. With a game to go, against tailenders Whitley Bay at the natural amphitheatre on Hillheads Road, the team had reached the semi-final of the cup, losing to eventual winners Benwell & Walbottle, but shone in the league. At the time of writing, we have won 18 games and lost 2. In total, I appeared in 2 cup games and the grand total of 2 Saturday fixtures. I didn’t bat and I only bowled a single over (1-0-3-1), but you know what? I’m elated and honoured to have featured at all. Under skipper Martin Pollard, TCC 3s have been transformed from a bunch of habitual losers to a side that knows how to dig deep and win ugly, as 2-wicket victories over Stocksfield and Benwell & Walbottle have shown. The old guard of willing hands and pressed men, who turned out from a sense of duty rather than in any expectation of being able to compete, have been supplanted by the maturing lads of the dads, who have made this season a memorable one for all the right reasons.
I last blogged about cricket (https://payaso-de-mierda.blogspot.com/2026/07/decreased.html) in the middle of July. At that time, I was struggling to accept my time had passed as a player. It wasn’t just the not playing that got to me, it was the slackening of the social ties that had been such a massive part of my life for more than a decade. I’d found it impossible to go and watch the 3s play, or any of the other TCC teams, because I felt a fraud and a failure. Yet, thankfully, I got over this enduring, self-inflicted misery to the extent that I am not only here sitting typing this in a Tynemouth shirt but also made it to the end of season do, chatting with just about everyone in the room and applauding lustily each award announcement. Even better, I made probably my farewell appearance for TCC 3s, save for utter emergencies, at Percy Main on September 6th. I did nowt while we won by 6 wickets, but Christ it was so good to be out there one last time, even if I did feel I’d been thrown out of a second storey window next morning. Kudos those young’uns, such as 49 year old Poll, who managed to turn out on the Sunday as well and to beat Kirkley. You have both my admiration and insane jealousy at your youth and health.
So, how did we get to this point? The first game after my last blog was Percy Main CC 2s at home. I’d been to watch Percy Main Amateurs down the road in a friendly against North Shields Athletic at John Spence High School, but I turned up after this to see the 3s complete an 8-wicket win. I’m not pretending it wasn’t hard to walk through the gate and onto the back field, but I did it. Nobody questioned my presence or previous absences, not because I don’t matter (I don’t really), but because I’d inflated this minor issue of my incompetence and decrepitude into something far more existentially serious than it needed to be. I was genuinely overjoyed to see them win and I knew it hadn’t any rejection of me, just a sensible decision for the good of the team and the club as a whole.
In the football season, not playing cricket isn’t so bad really, as there’s always something else to do. On July 25th, TCC 3s beat Monkseaton 2s by 83 runs, but I was otherwise engaged at Seaton Carew 0 Newbiggin 3 in Northern League Division 2. The Northern Alliance kicked off on August 1st, and I was on duty at Percy Main 3 Whitley Bay Sporting Club 0, while the 3s were pulling off an absolutely crucial 2 wicket win over Stocksfield 3s. The week after, the 3s beat Lintz 2s by 43 runs while I did a bit of groundhopping in Alliance D3 at Westgate 4 Hadrian 2. August 15th saw me back at Purvis Park, seeing Percy Main despatch Haltwhistle Jubilee 3-0, while TCC won in equally emphatic terms, beating Whitley Bay 2s by 93 runs. The week after was a blank one for TCC 3s (hence the Sunday game against Kirkley 2s on September 6th), so I was able to see the Main dispose of Stobswood Welfare 3-1 with a clear conscience. The 3s achieved promotion on August 29th with a 60 run victory over Monkseaton 2s, while I watched Percy Main lose 4-2 at Hexham.
The following Monday, I received a message from Poll, who had previously promised me one last hurrah, if at all possible, telling me not to make any other plans for Saturday. It was Percy Main 2s away, taking place while Percy Main Amateurs would be hosting Wallsend Boys Club Reserves on the other side of the hedge, Simply put, this was sporting perfection for me, and I could have kissed him. I didn’t obviously, but I took him at his word when he told me, “just enjoy it.” I did, in the main (no pun intended), but what was very clear to me, 25 days after I’d turned 62, is that parts of my body I didn’t think had worn worn out, are actually starting to let me down.
The aches and pains in my shoulders, lumbar region, calves, knees and ankles aren’t the worst of it. The main problem is my eyesight. I was told back in May that I’ve got cataracts, with the one in my right eye significantly worse than the one in my left. Crucially though, it isn’t bad enough to require laser removal as yet. What happens is, most days, I wake up with blurred vision in my right eye, that makes it look like there’s mist around. Not a peasouper or a sea fret, but just early morning obscurity. It doesn’t stop me reading, watching telly or anything else, but it makes things in the distance slightly indistinct. This is a problem when the object in question is a red cricket ball coming out of a background made up of a thicket of trees. On the ground, allowing for age and infirmity, that isn’t an issue, but in the air on my right hand side, it is difficult to see it properly. Is this a health and safety issue? Possibly, and others had apparently mentioned it after I’d failed to pick the ball out in the Monkseaton 2s cup win back in June. That night I was foolishly wearing sunglasses. Against Percy Main 2s, I dispensed with them entirely, despite it being a very sunny day. This certainly helped. As regards my cataracts, I’ll just have to wait for my annual sight check to see what the next moves are in terms of treatment or management.
The vision issue didn’t stop me standing in our innings, as I enjoyed Tom Rayner clubbing a delightful 39* as we made the 86 required in 18 overs. This win made us Champions, and I felt so proud and so honoured to be part of things on that special day, especially as the Main beat Wallsend 1-0 as well. As I said though, I couldn’t move properly enough to come down and cheer the 3s on for their 33 run victory over Kirkley the next day. This brings us up to September 12th, and a trip to rustic Gallagher Park for a Northumberland FA Minor Cup Round 1 tie that finished Bedlington United 1 Percy Main 5. Scrounging a lift back, I arrived just after TCC 3s lost our first wicket for 22 in pursuit of 153 against Benwell & Walbottle. By the start of the next over, I was on umpiring duties and stayed there until the game was done as we scrambled home by 2 wickets with 9 balls to spare.
My lower back was throbbing by the time we hit the clubhouse. It was a great evening. I resolved to keep the ties with TCC tight, to the extent that I’ll be back watching every week next Summer, football commitments allowing. And, if required, I’ll start writing the weekly reports again that I didn’t do this year, even if nobody seems to have noticed their absence. Also, and this is where it gets interesting, we’re thinking of starting up a midweek social side for all of us too aged, infirm and incapable to get into the 3s. Never say never eh? I’ll certainly be keeping my eyes peeled….
