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1984 Season

It would be good to have a report on the inaugural season from someone who was actually there, but the chances of anyone's memory surviving intact from that period are slim.

The fixture list was pretty much as shown below, though the scorebook contains a few extra games; a couple of single-wicket competitions, and some practice matches (Red Bat v Red Stripe for example) which are excluded from the averages.  The game against Goldsmiths Academicals also has the look of an internecine contest - maybe Statto can rule on whether this match is official or not.

There are plenty of entertaining features here.  The opening fixture against Lloyd's XI has a pair of entries which have doubtless provided a deal of innocent pleasure ever since.

M.Redfern b O'Connor 0
P.O'Connor lbw b Redfern 0

The ELRC match saw RedBat, chasing 111 to win, subside from a comfortable-looking 61-4 to 66 all out, thus beginning an unbroken habit of inexplicable collapses.

In the second encounter with Lloyd's team, the eponymous skipper again lost his stumps to Phil Solomon, while RedBat surprisingly defended a total of only 81, owing much to the bowling of Bill Gill (7-6-4-3) and Phil Solomon (7-3-13-3)

The season by numbers

• P 7, W 3, D 0, L 4

• Highest total: 114 a/o (RBCC v Wylam)

• Most runs: P Solomon, 63

• Highest innings: R Butterworth, 37* (RBCC v Lloyd Peters Showbusiness XI, 9 June)

• Most wickets: P Solomon & P O'Connor, 11

• Best bowling: G Gummer, 4-24 (RBCC v ELRC)

• Highest partnership: R Butterworth & P O'Connor, 74*, 7th wicket (RBCC v Goldsmiths Academicals)

For anyone who still has room in their brain for some more facts, the unofficial 1984 averages are here.

1984 Fixture List