On 20 July 1968 a slim, dark-haired teenager called Roger Stead made his debut for the Lightcliffe first team, in a first division game at home to Bowling Old Lane. He was deputising for myself, on holiday in Scotland with my girlfriend. His colleagues that day were Martin Radcliffe, Alan Warren, Bruce Deadman, Stuart Nichols, Brian Whitham, Donald Garside, Dennis Schofield, Gordon Ormondroyd, Rodney Heywood and Chris Pickles. In the Old Lane team were former England opening bowler Harold Rhodes and Brian Clough, the latter already a veteran. When rain stopped play Lightcliffe were 120 for 6, chasing 164 for victory. Roger didn’t bat, and wasn’t given the chance to bowl. In those days he was a bit sharp, especially down the hill from the tennis court end (now the Wakefield Road end).

On 26 June 2011, 43 years later, this same player played for the first team against Great Horton. Again, he didn’t bat, and wasn’t given an over, despite the boundary advice offered to his captain by the Brains Trust down at Critics Corner. Silver-haired, perhaps carrying slightly more weight than he did in that swinging decade, he showed enough pace in the field to remind everyone of the fine athlete he has always been, one diving stop at third man, from his son Alex’s bowling, being especially memorable.

It is an astonishing achievement to play Bradford League first team cricket in each of six decades; not even Cloughie managed that. The only other father and son to play in the same Lightcliffe first team were Eric and Richard Whiteoak in the final game of the 1982 season. Roger and Alex have played together before, in 1995 when Roger was captain. However, can anyone have ever played in the same team as both his son and his son-in-law, with Chris Taylor another member of the table-topping team? And has any Lightcliffe first team player ever kissed his granddaughter goodnight while he was fielding?

Well done Silver Fox, modest champion of LCC.