Members of The Den(ver) of the Secret Nine, Doctor Watson’s Neglected Patients (DWNP), the Denver-Boulder region of the Jane Austen Society of North America and the English Speaking Union watched the Littleton Cricket Club defeat the Colorado Springs C.C. at Cornerstone Park in Littleton, Colo. this past Saturday (Aug. 23).
It was a glorious summer day, not appreciably marred by a light shower and strong winds (that played havoc on our tent and patio umbrella), with temperatures in the 80s. Anglophiles of every stripe watched the game, with varying levels of comprehension, as we tried to follow the rules and the play and spot the distant scoreboard.
We pitched our tent on the east side of the cricket field, just outside the boundary and were warned we might have our tea interrupted by a fly ball. Fortunately, no lives were lost although we did interrupt game play once to chase airborne food packaging. Although the game began at 2 p.m., we gathered early so member Mike could explain the rules of cricket and we were able to inspect the pitch and the wicket. Later, we were met by Dan Ruperal with the Colorado Cricket League and also a Littleton team member who gave us a quick talk about the history of cricket in America and some more information about Twenty20 cricket, the quick-form of cricket that is played in about three and a half hours.
We planned our tea sandwiches and dessert break to more or less coincide with the inning break of the game, and enjoyed Branston pickle (surprisingly good, I thought) and cheese, egg salad, cucumber, roast beef and chicken salad sandwiches, paired with scones, chocolate madeleines, lemon bars and other delectables provided by the Serendipi-TEA Shoppe in Olde Towne Littleton. Many thanks to Jean Labo and her hard-working staff.
Member Mike gave this description of the game play:
“Littleton won rather handily. They batted first and were all out after 19.4 overs ( just 2 balls short of the 20 overs ) for about 123 runs. Colorado Springs were all out for about 70 runs after something like 15 overs.”
Many thanks to Secret Nine member Larry, who’s also the coordinator of the Outpatients Group of DWNP, for getting so many Sherlockians to attend. And, of course, Mike, who’s a member of all four groups. This may well become an annual event and next year we hope to attract people from even more groups (about 20 attended this time).
The Denver of the Secret Nine 