'the follow on' review of 2004
by Alan Rowley, 31st December 2004

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, we take a look back at the first year of 'the follow on'. Formed at the beginning of the year from the remnants of 'Outlawed' and 'Sting In The Tail', 'the follow on' has increased its readership and continued to grow throughout the year. With our first year almost over, we look back at the highlights of the last twelve months.

January – New Year, new website

The decision to leave the comparative comfort of SportNetwork and set up an independent site was always going to be a risk. Would the existing user base take to the new design and move over from the defunct 'Outlawed' and 'Sting In The Tail' sites? Alternatively, would they become bored with switching from network to network and seek their online cricket entertainment elsewhere? So, 'the follow on' moved nervously through the first few days before it became apparent that many of the old site regulars had made the move over.

Despite January being a quiet month, viewing figures were encouraging with over 1,300 users visiting the site and viewing over 73,000 pages in over 8,000 visits. This figure was to set the standard for the site until the cricket action started in April.

February – A tale of two counties

The biggest gossip in the month was of Kevin Pietersen (pictured below) and whether he would leave Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club at the end of the season. With opinion divided on the forums, the Nottingham Evening Post picked up on the comments of site readers and printed an article about KP's possible departure and the fans' opinions.

The County players reported back to different atmospheres. At Trent Bridge, there was an air of uncertainty with the Pietersen situation over-shadowing all other developments close season. His end of season argument with Jason Gallian was threatening to split the club and worse was to come from India where up and coming Notts star Bilal Shafayat was in hot water after a 'foul-mouthed outburst' at an umpire during an England A game. Manager Mick Newell was not impressed.

Meanwhile, at the County Ground, the arrival of David Houghton and the departure of former skipper Dominic Cork left an air of optimism as the players reported back for pre-season training. All was looking promising, with the new academy and indoor school now nearing completion and dominating the skyline.

Following complaints from all sides, the South Notts League committee withdrew their re-structure plans and replaced them with a revised document. According to spokesman Joe Mitchell, “15 teams had been put into wrong divisions, some higher and some lower than should be the case.” Despite causing uproar at the time, teams readily accepted the change and the committee emerged with some credit for acknowledging their original error.

March – Rum company back club championship as Tuffers dons his hiking boots

The last non-cricketing month before the start of the season focused on Lord’s, with news that Cockspur Rum were to renew sponsorship of the National Club Championship held by Sandiacre Town. The 2004 event was launched in the Warner Restaurant at Lord’s on the 12th with a West Indian theme bash. Members of last season’s finalists were in attendance, along with former England spinner Min Patel, West Indian Carlos Remy and PCA media manager Jimmy Hindson.

Meanwhile, Phil Tufnell (pictured left) and npower were launching a 500 mile walk around the cricket grounds of England in aid of Macmillan Cancer Relief. The event was due to last over four weeks, visiting several grounds in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, before finishing at the Trent Bridge Test match on June 12th.

April – Sunshine greets start of season

As the indoor season reached a climax with an England Test match against the Sri Lankans at Willows, the action moved outdoors mid-month. All the major leagues got off to a rain-free start with little surprises along the way. In Derbyshire, Sandiacre kicked off with a thrashing of Chesterfield at Longmoor Lane, whilst in Notts, Cavs started where they left off with a victory over Clifton.

In the Bassetlaw, Mansfield Hosiery Mills got off to a hard-fought success against Farnsfield thanks to Sri Lankan import Asela Jayasinghe. The Mills were set to dominate the Bassetlaw throughout the season.

May – Wright gets it right but embarrassed Bowen scores an unwanted first

The month opened in style for County League club Duffield who opened their new nets. Former Derbyshire and England star Devon Malcolm performed the honours on a rain-drenched Friday night which dragged on into the following Saturday to decimate the cricket programme.

The weather picked up in the middle of the month, but the gloom clouds were hanging heavily over Hundall as their six year grip on the Yorkshire and Derbyshire League seemed to be slipping.

High drama occurred in the South Notts clash between Radcliffe on Trent and Long Eaton when Long Eaton were penalised five runs for ‘ball tampering’. Stapleford’s Mike Bowen, had the dubious honour of becoming the first player in the South Notts League’s history to be timed out.

South Notts press officer Dennis Wright made the news as well as reported on it in the final weekend of the season. Wright, batting for Toton Sycamore 2nds, scored a personal best unbeaten 83 after he and Dileepa De Silva (42) put on 112 for the first wicket against Nottingham 3rds. In his match report, a modest Wright wrote: “Dennis Wright stood firm in his own style as he saw off all the bowlers before finishing the innings undefeated on a personnel best 83*.”

The Spring Bank Holiday saw Dunstall host a hugely successful Caribbean Festival with special guests Sir Richard Hadlee and Sir Garfield Sobers (pictured right). The event was to raise funds for a second ground so that the club can develop youth cricket, and the hundreds of guests weren’t afraid to empty their wallets in support. Test and County players galore turned out and autograph hunters went home with smiles on their faces.

June – A grand day for Macmillans and Ashford.

The Cat was still purring as Phil Tufnell and his entourage breezed into Parwich and Hathersage on their 500 mile trek for charity. Despite the blisters, the’King of the Jungle’ and his troop were in fine voice as they sang their way through the Derbyshire hills and dales.

By the time he reached Wirksworth, the end was almost in sight, but the highlight of his visit was still to come. Readers of the site had formed two teams, one representing Nottinghamshire and one representing Derbyshire, and the two rivals clashed at Eastwood Town Cricket Club as Phil’s party arrived.

In front of a crowd of several hundred, Sting In The Tail narrowly defeated Outlawed, but it was Nottinghamshire lads, David Adams and Nigel Birkett who did the damage. Birkett’s innings was the best seen at the Breach ground for many a year.

The event raised over £1,000 for Macmillans. – a day to be proud of! The following day, Tufnell completed the walk with a stroll down to Trent Bridge to loud cheers from the packed Test match crowd.

Ashford in the Water hosted one of the summer’s social highlights as the full Derbyshire side descended on the small Dales ground and tore apart the home attack. It wasn’t about winning and losing, however, it was more about raising much-needed funds to improve the picturesque Dales ground.

July – O&B fly the flag as Warriner flies to hospital

The halfway point in the 2004 season soon came and went as the all too short seasons get overrun by the ever lengthening football season. The Twenty20 was a huge success, though not for our sides. This recent innovation could prove to be the saviour of County cricket in years to come.

Hosiery Mills were cruising into the lead in the Bassetlaw, Plumtree were looking invincible in the South Notts, Sandiacre were strolling in the Derbyshire Premier and the Cavaliers were clear of the pack in the Notts Premier. In the Cockspur Cup, Sandiacre bit the dust early, but it was local rivals Ockbrook and Borrowash who were flying the flag for Derbyshire in 2004.

Caunton skipper Phil Warriner took an unexpected free trip in a helicopter during the game against Woodborough. This wasn’t a surprise event laid on by his colleagues, it was a trip in the air ambulance to hospital after Warriner top edged a ball into his face. A broken gum and badly damaged lips was the result. Don’t forget that helmet lads!

The second highest individual league score ever in the South Notts was achieved by Chris Wright of Lowdham, who hit a staggering unbeaten 231 at home to Gotham Village. Although Wright missed out on the overall record, Ellerslie II managed to hit the biggest team score of 398 for 5 with Richard Renwick hitting 198, the team scoring at a massive 8.8 runs an over.

August – Hosiery Mills clinch Bassetlaw but Plumtree falter under pressure

Sri Lankan overseas Indigah Gallage started the month in style with a staggering 8 wickets for one run as Long Eaton crashed to 30 all out against Balderton.

In the Yorkshire and Derbyshire, De La Salle were heading the field, with Sheffield Works Department and Old Edwardians / Collegiate breathing down their necks. Winners for the last six years, Hundall, were quietly creeping into the hunt in fourth place. Could they make it seven from seven after looking out of it a month earlier?

Plumtree were still cruising to victory in the South Notts, with only Gedling Colliery and Long Eaton still hanging in, hoping the leaders would slip up. As pressure mounted and media speculation suggested that Plumtree didn’t want promotion, they started to falter and Colliery overtook them in a dramatic final weekend.

Huge crowds at Victoria Avenue for the Cockspur Cup semi-final

Meanwhile, over at Trent Bridge, Pietersen was offered a new three year contract and most thought his future at the club was assured. A few shrewdies with inside information insisted on the site forum that KP was to go – but not many wanted to listen!

Hosiery Mills finally clinched the Bassetlaw on Bank Holiday Monday after totally dominating the league over the second half of the season. Paul Barker’s League report read: “The Bank Holiday Monday fixtures finally brought about what most people have known for weeks that Mansfield Hosiery Mills are the champions of the Bassetlaw Cricket League in its Centenary year 2004. They clinched the title with a comprehensive six wicket win at Cuckney and nobody can begrudge them their success which has come about quite simply because they have been far and away the best side in the league this season.” You can’t argue with that!

Hundall put themselves back into the Yorkshire and Derbyshire title hunt by defeating fellow challengers Old Edwardians / Collegiate. They now needed 25 points from their final two games to clinch an unlikely seventh title success.

September – Lord’s disappointment for O&B, but Cavs do the double

Ockbrook and Borrowash headed to Lord’s for the Cockspur Cup final, hoping to emulate Sandiacre Town’s 2003 success. Leicestershire Premier side Kibworth provided the opposition and they were to prove far too strong for the Derbyshire outfit, running out five wicket victors.

West Indian Cavaliers romped home in the Notts Premier and completed the league and cup double by beating Sawley and Long Eaton Park by two wickets, despite a Bilal Shafayat century.

Sandiacre Town took the Derbyshire Premier by a massive 64 points and Hundall scraped home in the Yorkshire and Derbyshire to record a seventh successive title win. Dunstall won the County League, also by a large margin, and they will return to the Premier in 2005.

Gedling Colliery surprisingly took the Champion of Champions, defeating Mansfield Hosiery Mills by 43 runs at picturesque Papplewick. Meanwhile, over at Station Road, Langley Mill, ‘the follow on’ XI lost their first ever game, against the Millers. Everyone had a great time, the beer flowed, and profiteroles in chicken curry was invented. A memorable day!

'the follow on' XI in their first game against Langley Mill

Notts gained promotion in the totesport League division 2 and were promoted as champions in the County Championship. For Derbyshire, it was the same old story of disappointment and failure, but at least they didn’t finish bottom!

October to December – KP off to Hants, Fleming recruited

Kevin Pietersen finally ended months of uncertainty and packed his bags, turning down a lucrative deal in favour of Hampshire. Notts immediately replaced him with New Zealand star Stephen Fleming, a move which was widely approved by the press and supporters.

The usual round of AGMs, presentations and awards nights followed as players and officials celebrated the successes of the summer. For ‘the follow on’ it was a hugely successful first year. We played our first game, raised over £1,000 for charity and created a well-regarded forum for local cricket.

Here's to 2005!