Strathmore Cricket Union: the first 90 years a history 1928-2018

52 the SCU for assistance on this point. The habit had always been to continue the game until the scheduled close of play, for fear of being accused of cheating the public. But once a decision had been reached, crowds tended to drift away in any case (especially if the home team were on the wrong end of a defeat) and also in the middle, things became a littlemore light-heartedwith “joke” bowlers being brought on to bowl full tosses and donkey drops. On the other hand, it was tough on a batsman who had scored 80 not out when the result was reached, for it was felt that he deserved a chance to reach his three figures. February 1947 was possibly the worst ever winter, certainly in the Angus area. Everyone who was alive then talks in hushed tones about roads being blocked, country people being cut off for days and even a somewhat macabre incident in Forfar when an icicle fell from a roof and killed a pedestrian on the pavement below. But, as we have noted, the intrepid cricketers of the area managed to come to Jarman’s Hotel to present the trophy to Strathmore, and also to hear the reply from the SCU to their question about the scorebooks. The answer was that the scorebooks should be closed whenever a decision was reached, although each individual club could, if it wished, continue to record the game. The same meeting, held with snow several feet deep outside in North Street and Market Street, agreed to resurrect the Three Counties Cup and the 2nd Division Championship in 1947. Cricket had started again in England. India had played 3 Test Matches in England in 1946, England winning 2-1, and then England had sailed to Australia to take on the home side for the first Ashes battle since the war. Amazingly, the sides still had the same two captains who had faced each other in 1938, Wally Hammond and Don Bradman, but it was a convincing series win for the Australians. Nevertheless even the defeat was a perfect tonic for ration-strapped Britain, struggling with fuel shortages and the bad winter, to get up in the morning and listen to the score on the wireless on the 7.00 am News, before a fuller report at 8.10 am. They could then read more about it when newspapers like the Evening Telegraph churned out their first editions soon after mid-day. England’s batting with Hammond, Edrich, Compton and Hutton was probably good enough, but the bowling was woeful and Australia won 3-0, although England then went to New Zealand (by seaplane!) where they were more successful.