It is one of the most remarkable stories in Scottish sport; Freuchie’s surge to glory at Lord’s in the 1985 National Village Cup competition.
The Fifers started out as one of 639 sides across the UK who were striving to lift the prestigious trophy and, led by their veteran skipper, Dave Christie, the team nicknamed “Dad’s Army” were involved in an incident-packed, ultimately successful campaign.
And now, their exploits are being celebrated in a new two-part radio documentary, which will be aired on BBC Scotland over the Easter period.
The programmes include the memories of Christie and wicket-keeper Alan Duncan; the BBC’s cricket correspondent, Jonathan Agnew; and it is being narrated by Andrew Cotter, who has become one of the most sought-after broadcasters of his age.
How did it all come about?
The documentary’s producer, Gus Beattie, talked to the club’s players and other figures in the sport and I spent an enjoyable couple of hours with him in Aberdeen in February, where we discussed my book about the Fifers’ unprecedented achievement.
He said: “I was reminded of the incredible Freuchie story when I was chatting to my colleague and comedy writer Philip Differ [who formerly worked on ‘Only an Excuse’].
“He told me he’d been commissioned to write a film script about Freuchie’s 1985 victory called ‘All Out’ and I loved the idea of the Freuchie tale making it to the big screen.
“I also had a keen interest in cricket as my mum’s family are from England and whenever we visited Derbyshire I always found myself playing cricket with my cousins.
“By chance, I had a meeting scheduled with Radio Scotland commissioner Gareth Hydes the week after my chat with Philip, and I relayed the Freuchie story to Gareth and he also recalled what a wonderful story it was and was enthusiastic about potentially making a documentary about it.
“Then, after reading the brilliant book ‘Dad’s Army’ which really captures the spirit of it all, I pitched it as a two-part sports documentary called ‘Freuchie Fever: When The Scots Beat The English At The Home Of Cricket’ which was happily commissioned.
“Getting Andrew Cotter on board as presenter was fantastic, because he is one of the most recognisable Scottish voices in sports broadcasting and, to use cricket parlance, is a brilliant all-rounder who passionately covers many sports.
“I thought his dry sense of humour would also brilliantly convey Phil Differ’s witty and thoughtful script. Andrew was really busy when I approached him as he was working on the Six Nations Championship coverage at the time, but he loves the Freuchie story as well and was keen to be involved, so we managed to work it all out.
“Neil’s involvement in the project was key as someone who knows the story so well, and I have to say our Freuchie contributors, Dave Christie and wicketkeeper Alan Duncan, were also superb. I spent a magical morning in Alan’s Freuchie home reminiscing with them both and their memories and sheer passion for the game shone through.
“We also managed to get Jonathan Agnew involved in the programme to talk about the Village Cup and the experience of playing at Lord’s for the first time.”
The programmes capture the drama of the Scots’ march to the final and how they entered the famous London ground in their kilts to a heroes’ welcome from their fans.
“It was quite humbling and there were many times in the build-up to the match against Rowledge where I had to rub my eyes and ask myself is this really happening?”, said Christie, who had steered his side masterfully to their date with destiny.
“I had seen the pictures of Lord’s on my television screen and read about all the wonderful cricketers who had played there, and suddenly, here were 11 Scots lads striding into the same arena and gaining the chance to walk where legends had walked.”
Out in the middle, as the congregation of banner-waving Scots raised the decibel level from the stands, Christie and his colleagues luxuriated in the chance to stroll round cricket’s cathedral and soak in the atmosphere and realise this was the one time in their lives where they would perform on the same stage as W G Grace, Don Bradman, Denis Compton, Garry Sobers, Ian Botham….and so many other legends.
As for the match itself, which went the distance and was briefly interrupted by a late pitch invasion, Freuchie and Rowledge actually finished on the same score – 134 – but the Scots triumphed because they had lost fewer wickets than their rivals.
It was like a Hollywood movie
Amid the hubbub, Christie recalled: “I gazed down from the balcony and there was this canvas of Scotsmen and Scotswomen going completely bonkers, united in joy.
“Then I was presented with the trophy and Stewart Irvine collected the ‘Man of the Match’ award – a cricket bat – and there were tears streaming down his cheeks.
“If anybody ever doubts whether Scotland can’t be passionate about cricket, they should have been there during the ceremony, because some of the lads were crying, others were dashing around like dervishes and it all felt like the end of a Hollywood movie.”
Freuchie Fever is on Radio Scotland at noon on Friday April 7 and Monday April 10.
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