Freuchie Cricket Club to relive Lord's glory of 1985
Freuchie Cricket Club will relive its moment of glory as it celebrates its famous victory at Lord's in 1985.
The Freuchie XIII before leaving for Lord's. Back: N McNaughton, S Irvine, P Hepplewhite, G Wilson, D Cowan, M Wilkie, B Christie, F Irvine. Front: G Crichton, A Duncan, D Christie, A Crichton, T Trewartha.
- By Cheryl Peebles
- Published in the Courier : 02.09.10
- Published online : 02.09.10 @ 09.50pm
It was 25 years ago this week that the small club achieved a victory its members thought they could only dream of when they beat Surrey side Rowledge to win the National Village Championship.
During what is being billed as Freuchie's Glorious Weekend this Saturday and Sunday a series of events will be held to mark the special anniversary.
On September 1, 1985, the small club became the first from Scotland to win the competition, beating off 700 teams. More than 3000 fans had travelled to London and saw captain Dave Christie lift the trophy.
At 134 for eight, with Mr Christie batting, the win was sealed by his son Brian and George Crichton and there was jubilation among the Fife spectators.
On the anniversary of the historic win, Mr Christie (73), who still lives in Freuchie, told The Courier, "It was the greatest moment of my life as far as sport goes.
"We never imagined we'd ever get there. We wanted just to play at Lord's — the thought of actually winning never entered our heads until we won the semi-final.
"It was then that we decided we wanted to win the cup. The celebrations afterwards were terrific and went on for ages. I had two years of attending dinners and making speeches."
The other team members were Andy Crichton, vice-captain David Cowan, Alan Duncan, Pete Hepplewhite, Fraser Irvine, Stewart Irvine, Niven McNaughton, Terry Trewartha, Mark Wilkie and George Wilson.
Out of the 13, nine were born in Freuchie and 11 went to school in the village, so they were all great friends as well as team-mates — a bond Mr Christie reckons contributed to their success that day.
He said, "I think that close relationship was what helped us get through the competition. Many of the Lords squad still live in the local area and see each other from time to time.
Mr Christie, a retired decorator, continued to play cricket until 1995 and remains groundsman for the club.
On Sunday, he hopes to be reunited with his 1985 team-mates to watch Freuchie play a celebratory Twenty20 match against neighbours Falkland Cricket Club.
He will also help plant 13 trees in the grounds of Freuchie Primary School to honour each of the players.
MP Sir Menzies Campbell will open the match at 2pm.
A family fun day will be held on Saturday and organisers hope to inspire a new generation of Freuchie cricketers with taster sessions at the school.
A family disco is to be held in the clubhouse and photographs and television footage of the Lord's match will be shown over the weekend.
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