Tamworth(H).FA Cup First Round.15/11/69.

Tamworth's Ian Hall was a decent cricketer. An opening batsman for Derbyshire, he scored centuries in both innings (101 and 101) against Kent in 1965 but along with Derby's Ian Buxton he left the county side to take up his football duties every August because their football came first.

The last Derbyshire cricketer to play League football as well was Chris Marples, wicketkeeper in 1985 and 1986 who was also, more successfully, Chesterfield's goalkeeper.

48 runs scored and one over bowled, eh, Jon? I hope Wally was more renowned for his football.

Here's another Chesterfield goalie who wasn't bad with a cricket ball in his hand

cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/34/34766/34766.html

That's how I remember it too. The defeat at Tamworth was big news at the time because we had a very good team. Just like losing to New Brighton in the mid 1950s I'd imagine.

Tamworth were members of the West Midlands (Regional) League which, for whatever reason, has always featured that parentheses. It's a rather diminished competition these days - at the same level as the Peninsula - but punched far higher in the late 1960s. Nonetheless there were at least half-a-dozen of the better non-league clubs from that area playing in more prestigious competitions. Take a look through the clubs in membership and you'll see some which have gone on to greater things whilst others have fallen by the wayside. As for Tamworth, they've done well in recent years and a Torquay defeat there now would go largely unnoticed.

"Football on the Lamb", rather than "football at the Lamb" is one of those endearing speech variations you occasionally encounter. There's something of that in Lancashire. For instance, to ask "how many were on?" is the Prestonian way of enquiring of the attendance at a football match.