Being at this league fixture in 1995?

Re. Neil Fairbrother and the rivalry between the sides at the time - don't really know where this topic belongs - the Lancs forum admit he was a character often surrounded in controversy.

We had met in four finals - Refuge Assurance Cup 88, B&H Cup 90, B&H Cup 91 and the Refuge Assurance Cup 91, winning the last two, with the RAC win coming at Old Trafford, and we knocked them out of the Natwest Trophy QF at home in 1989. In 1991 (Tom's debut season) he was seeing the ball as big as a football - a huge season aggregate and silly number of destructive tons - and all the homegrown players of the golden era were at the height of their powers.

Five days before this AXA league fixture we had narrowly lost the B&H Cup Semi Final to them at New Road and three days before this game we had beaten them by an innings and 50 runs in the CC at New Road after losing the toss with GAH & TMM both gettting tons. A very packed schedule of meetings and plenty of opportunity for antagonism. As it was the sunday league was very close with the top 4 reshuffled from the previous year and Lancs the perennial bridesmaids...

I don't know who bowled the final AXA League over 'to orders', and the scorecard doesn't record extras against the bowlers, but according to the Lancs site there had been some needle involving Neil Fairbrother (and presumably Tom) and when it was obvious the result was a foregone conclusion, we apparently deliberately bowled a wide to end the game, so that Fairbrother would be denied a century. Although he wasn't playing the Atherton declaration in the Ashes had been in the January of that year although I doubt Graeme would have held any enmity.

In the 90's - during Toms playing days and particulalry during Tim Curtis' captaincy '92-'95 - we seemed to be continually playing Lancashire - 12 meeting in the CC winning 4 and losing 2 and 17 one day meetings winning 6 and losing 9 but probably holding the upper hand in knock-out competitions. Everbody was up for this fixture - Tom averaged 79.45 in the CC against Lancashire and hit more 50's and 100's against them than any other county and his one day average of 48.55 wasn't too shabby either. One of the great rivalries of the era...

Any idea why Radders did not bowl more than three overs in this match? Was he injured?

I remember the wide at the end of the Sunday game, and I think there had been some animosity in the Championship game immediately before it, as Atherton was injured (back?), and batted 8 in the first innings, and didn't bat in the 2nd. I seem to remember that we denied them a substitute fielder, as we claimed that his injury was sustained in a recent Test match, which obviously caused friction. I was there on the Friday, when we scored most of our runs, and I'm sure they only had 10 fielders....

Aha, Wisden 1996 confirms that "Atherton was prevented from batting until No8 by his recurrent back complaint. He lasted six balls and took no further part; Moody did not allow a substitute, as Atherton entered the match unfit"

On the Sunday game it says "Fairbrother.....was denied a century when Hick delivered a no ball to end the match"


Our Yearbook is blandness personified on both matches....

No idea about Radford however

Radders didn't play in the CC game on the 15th sandwiched between the two one day games on the 13th and 18th. Nor did he play in the CC game on the 22nd in Southampton, but he was playing for the second xi at Bromsgrove on the 23rd so whatever it was couldn't have been too serious. His first team comeback was an amazing (and pretty rare) tied AXA league game on the 25th in Southampton when all the bowlers got murdered.

He'd had a good April and May with a few 4 and 5 wicket hauls so it couldn't have been loss of form - injury management and Paul Thomas gradually taking his CC berth? 1995 was his benefit and final season so what ever injury he was playing with that summer effectively ended his WCCC career. Still very effective but he only had about half the workload in 1995 that he had in 1994.

Only 32 overs were bowled so it could be as simple as Neil being held in reserve too long after his first spell with Crawley and Fairbrother then taking a liking to the spinners. A conspiracy theorist might come to a conclusion like he was hurt by a Lancashire delivery i.e. a Wasim Akram bouncer while batting or there was a collision in the field which lead to the antagonism. Of course Radders was ex-Lancs as well.

We may have to wait for Graemes autobiography to find out if there was anything afoot

Not surprised he had a back problem - carrying dirt around in your pockets can weigh heavy.