Tag: amateur

The Beautiful Devon Village of Kentisbeare - 1947!

UK: Yorkshire Puddings Are Made of It – Dead Fish Are Covered in It – On Why the MCC is “Wrong”!

My Dad learned cricket from the rich-boys who played on pristine pitches in the overwise bombed-out city of Leicester. These were Grammar School (posh) boys and my Dad was definitely not allowed to play. He was from an averagely poor working-class background. What he did was cleverly make himself useful to these privileged fools – so that they would slowly let him into a little bit of their affluent world. This is how he learned to play cricket. Many years later, when I was a child, the BBC would screen six-hours of cricket on a Sunday – I think BBC 2 – and my Dad would explain the game to me. This is how I learned to understand the rules of cricket. My Dad went on to found Tiverton Cricket Club as a player-manager – and I used to go with him as a child to roll the pitch a day before each match. On occasion, I would be at the game – mingling with the players – as I was young – I did not grasp “opposing sides” thing too well.

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A video of a wicket during Saltburn's win over Norton in the North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League has gone viral for an alleged incident of cheating

UK: Weird News from England – Saltburn Cricket Club ‘Clicking’ Scandal Goes Viral! (29.7.2026)

Anyone who knows cricket – will understand that there is a lot going when the ball is being bowled. Add to this the players talking, shouting, running about, and the noise from the crowd and the general environment, as well as the weather conditions – I would say it is impossible to a) make a loud enough noise to fool the Umpire (simulating a leather ball is hitting a wooden bat), whilst b) doing this so as not to make it obvious you are attempting to cheat. There is now a viral investigation where cricket enthusiasts are watching past videos of Saltburn CC games – to see if the alleged fielder is regularly doing this. A recent video can be seen on the BBC coverage of this story – and it looks to me like a mannerism – but I could be wrong. More evidence is needed. Apparently, despite being local cricket, numerous videos are available of Saltburn CC playing matches – but failing that (the situation may not be obvious whilst filming at a distance) – the players might have to be interviewed and a confession extracted if this matter is to be resolved. There is another possibility. As Saltburn CC seems to be doing rather well for itself – has it fallen victim to malicious intent from an unknown cause?

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Real Football is Non-League!

Mexico: Schools for Chiapas – What Football Has United – Let No State Divide! (16.7.2026)

As the count of disappeared already surpasses 133,000, in a show of the Mexican state’s indifference, current President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo mocked, questioned, and criminalized these families’ struggle, at press conferences accusing some of these collectives of receiving funding and answering to the interests of opposition political parties.

While there is no exact figure, organizations like Amnesty International cite more than 200 collectives across the country. In this context, alleging that the movement has been co-opted functions less as fact and more as a vile tactic of delegitimization. President Sheinbaum Pardo seeks to mask a painful reality with the supposed joy that comes from soccer as a capitalist spectacle.

The sheer scope of the violence behind the disappearance crisis can be seen in the range of its victims — among them civilians disappeared by the military alongside members of the armed forces themselves; people presumably linked to the criminal economy, and many more who simply refused to pay extortion fees. “Collateral damage,” a former president once called it. All are searched for equally; no disappearance is justified, and no one deserves to disappear.

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