Lowest run record belongs in the Fens

A FENLAND grandmother says a Yorkshire cricket team's claim to have got the lowest score ever is rubbish and can easily be beaten by a team from the Fens.

Her response comes after Goldsborough Seconds, who play in North Yorkshire's Nidderdale Amateur League, were dismissed for five runs on July 22, a feat resulting in considerable coverage in the national media.

But Rita Leonard remembers being at Welney in 1923 when a visiting Friday Bridge team was bowled out without a single run being scored.

She was only two years old when her father and uncle, Walter and Wilfred 'Ford' Carter, were part of the Friday Bridge team dismissed for a duck by Welney in 1923.

A combined effort from brothers Ernie and John Blows finished them off in just 28 deliveries during an Upwell League match. They bowled out every Friday Bridge player except for 'Ford', who was caught.

Needing just one to win, Welney went on to score 83 all out.

Mrs Leonard, 85, of Hallcroft Road, Whittlesey, said: "I am sorry but I am afraid they cannot hold the record as this is unbeatable. My dad's record is not going to be ousted by Goldsborough."

"It is a record that cannot be beaten because there was not a run scored - no extras, nothing."

All 10 wickets fell for a duck, just like Friday Bridge's had 83 years earlier, but Goldsborough scored runs from a leg-bye and four byes.

But some records say the lowest score in history is four, scored in 1931 when Midlands team Shepstone were all out for only four extras.

But Mrs Leonard, formerly of Friday Bridge, said: "I am afraid they are mistaken because our team did not get any extras, not one run.

"I thought that could not be right because my dad always talked about it. People of Welney all say they hold the record for getting out a cricket team with no runs - and they do.