Yesterday 60 under-11 Clitheroe Cobras, their parents and organisers enjoyed the sun on the last day of the summer holidays, played four hours of competitive Kwik Cricket and raised nearly £2000 for the DEC’s Pakistan Floods Appeal.
Arranged in under two weeks by the dynamic Farouk Hussein, the community of this small market town in Lancashire came together around the game of cricket and reminded everyone what it’s really all about – getting together and having fun.
Ten teams of six, each sponsored by a local firm or organisation, did battle across the ground on five pitches. A separate tournament took place for the tinniest. A bar-b-que sizzled all afternoon and valiant volunteer, Sarah Dewhurst, staffed the bar, missing one of the best afternoon’s of the year.
Each young cricketer went away with a bright red tee-shirt, a certificate and a medal with carefully chosen white and green ribbon.
A red tee shirt, a certificate, a medal ... was there something else that they'd forgotten to present?
But they all knew that there was a more serious purpose to this day. They were raising funds and reaching out to fellow young people whose lives have been turned upside down by raging flood waters.
As the crowd broke up and made their way home, someone remembered that a large silver cup glinting in the sunlight hadn’t been presented to the winning side. It was one of those days; winning didn’t matter.
Down At Third Man 