Coastshire County Cricket League
And it was in the late 1970s since I last played a Subbuteo cricket league. I didn't even have a pitch, but played on a brown table cloth on the dining room table! As with my football leagues, I played solo, controlling the bat with my right hand, and bowling with my left. I played a 12 team County Championship. It only lasted one season, as once again, I made the error of trying to play every fixture instead of playing one and simulating the others.
In that season, Nottinghamshire were the Champions, while Kent and Yorkshire were relegated. I used coloured felt pens in my little exercise book to make the whole thing more appealing. I started a new season, but by then, my interest had begun to wane.
Fast forward to May 2020 and I've decided to relaunch my Subbuteo Cricket hobby by forming a brand new, three division league. Again, I will only play one game per week and simulate the rest.
Teams will get 10 points for a win, and none for a loss. Additionally, if the team wins by five wickets, they will receive five bonus points, while a team winning by eight wickets or more will receive eight bonus points. Three consecutive wickets by the bowling team will earn them three bonus points.
Here are the final league tables after seven weeks of matches.
Final League Tables
Division 1
Crullfield.......................7.....5.....2.......60
Accreton.......................7.....4....3.......56
Iyesgarth.....................7......4....3.......53
Stawhead...................7.......5....2......48
Grey Hallows..............7......4....3.....45
Mornport.......................7.....3......4.....41
Broken Shield.............7......2.....5.....20
Westwood...................7.......2.....5.....20
Congratulations to Crullfield as the inaugural champions! Broken Shield and Westwood are relegated to Division 2.
Division 2
Hillstop..........................7.......6.......1.......65
Dornwich.....................7.......5.......2......55
Torrine...........................7.......3.......4......43
Parvinshaw................7.......3.......4......43
Oar's Rest.....................7.......4......3......40
Kentwell........................7........3......4.....33
Nant Cove...................7........2......5.....31
Long Rock....................7........2......5......20
Hillstop and Dornwich both earned themselves promotion to Division 1, while Nant Cove and Long Rock dropped to Division 3.
Division 3
Middlemells...................7.......5......2.......0.......69
Oldcastle.........................7.......5......2......0........63
Marren's Point...............7.......4.....3.......0.......48
Castle Rose....................7........3.....3......1........45
Guthsea............................7.......4......3.....0........43
Wavesmeet....................7........3.....3.....1.........35
Skythorpe.........................7........2.....5.....0........28
Thorpe Ness....................7........1.....6......0........18
Middlemells and Oldcastle gained promotion. Thorpe Ness had the dubious honour not only of finishing bottom of the three divisions, but also gaining the least number of league points. The only drawn match for the entire season was between Castle Rose and Wavesmeet.
This was a totally experimental league to see if the game had the same appeal for me as it had all those years ago, and to see if I got as much joy out of it as I do with the football game. I don't know whether the league was played in bright sunshine and warm Summer days, or whether I hit on a winning combination, but I really did enjoy the games, so much so that a second season was planned.
The second season has got underway with a Division 4 added. Division 4 was devised so that if I played a game in Week 1 but I fancied playing a second game, I could either play another game in the league, or play a Division 4 game instead. This is a contrived excuse to get a fourth division of teams involved!!!!!
The Division 4 teams are :
Bridgefield St Margarets (named after my Mum, Margaret), Walmington (named after the seaside town in Dad's Army), Crimpton (named after the seaside resort in Hi-de-hi), Saltcreek, Black Horse, Chapelford, Easttoft and Brightcliff.
