Elvaston CC’s fourth XI have claimed an unwanted footnote in cricket history after they scored just nine runs in a Derbyshire league defeat to Risley CC’s second XI.
To make matters worse, seven of Elvaston’s runs came from extras – five leg-byes and two wides – with only their opener, Will Hobbs, actually getting on the board by scoring two runs. Nine of his teammates were out for a duck, with Blake Hall preserving his wicket but failing to score a run.
According to a match scorecard posted online, Elvaston held on for 10 overs despite their low scoring in the Division 8 South fixture. Andrew Halford took four wickets, finishing with storybook figures of 4-3-3-4, with Daniel Johnson claiming another two dismissals and figures of 4-1-3-2.
Taking the field for the reply and an inevitable defeat, Elvaston kept it tight in the first over, with Hobbs allowing just one run. In the next, however, Nick Buckthorpe struck two boundaries to carry the hosts over the line at Risley cricket club, situated midway between Derby and Nottingham.
Elvaston, who sit bottom of their league, at least avoided matching the record feat of Huish and Langport, who scored zero when they played Glastonbury in 1913. In 2006, Goldsborough’s second XI were bowled out for just five by Dishforth in a Yorkshire village match.
On a weekend of football where Liverpool and Celtic both scored nine goals, they can now accurately claim to have won by a cricket score.
