Day a Scottish village team gave Lord’s a masterclass

Freuchie became the first and only team from Scotland to win the National Village Cup 35 years ago. Neil Drysdale charts the journey to Lord’s for the Fifers who would shake the world of cricket.

It was an unforgettable afternoon in Scottish sport and one which will probably never be repeated. In the summer of 1985, Freuchie’s cricketers prevailed against all manner of opponents and dank conditions to reach the final of the National Village Cup against Surrey-based Rowledge at Lord’s, prompting an exodus out of the little Fife community.

The lure of a trip to London emptied the place and the hundreds of people who journeyed south left behind just a sprinkling of essential workers.

From the moment that Pipe Major Alistair Pirnie led Dave Christie and his compatriots through the Grace Gates at the home of cricket – to the accompaniment of th especially composed Freuchie’s March To Lord’s – there was something both surreal and uplifting in the air as the Scots prepared to meet their Surrey rivals.

It wasn’t merely the size of the travelling support which prompted a few of the citizenry in London to wonder whether the world had gone mad but also the passion of the Freuchie faithful that brought surprise among many of the English.

“It was quite humbling and there were many times in the build-up to the match where I had to rub my eyes and ask myself ‘Is this really happening?’” said the captain, Dave Christie, who had steered his side 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.

“It was breathtaking and, although I was initially happy just to be involved in a game at Lord’s, I soon changed my mind when I looked out at the ground.

“I remember thinking ‘Stuff this, we are not here to make up the numbers, let’s win it’.

“You could hardly believe otherwise when you spotted all the Scots in the crowd.”

The crowd – on an overcast but tranquil afternoon – was certainly partisan. One couldn’t miss the woman with a yard-high top hat bearing the slogan “Freuchie of Scotland”.

Or the bearded chap carrying a banner, proclaiming “Remember Bannockburn”.

Or the fellow whose T-shirt conveyed the message to the English observers in the members’ stand “Mi Lords, it’s Freuchie, not Frookie”.

Robert Smith, a 35-year-old glazier from the village, had brought his own trophy, a haggis-shaped glass model of a Scottish cricketer called Hamish.

Also at the party was nine-monthold Callum Glasgow from Glenrothes, who was escorted to Lord’s despite his father’s protest.

“I banned the family from taking the wee lad to the game, but my wife pointed out to me that she had brought him along to every other match in the tournament, and there was no way in the world he was missing the final,” said Tom Glasgow, the brother-in-law of the Freuchie wicket-keeper, Alan Duncan.

As for the match itself, what might have turned into an anti-climax instead provided more twists and fluctuating fortunes than any film noir, before Freuchie triumphed.

Christie recalled: “The adrenaline was coursing through our veins and, while there were a few butterflies in our stomachs, we realised the pressure was heaped on Rowledge.

“They were the favourites and one or two of their boys had gone on record as declaring that the match would be over in 90 minutes, which wasn’t the smartest tactic.

“I stressed to the lads that we had to make them work for every run, and we had to remember all the lessons we had absorbed in practice, but really, the notion that I would have to motivate or fire up my players was absurd.

“We were at Lord’s, for heaven’s sake, we could hear hundreds of our own folk yelling their support outside and we had been gearing up for this moment for years.”

That Sunday night brought unprecedented scenes.

Thirty-five years later, their success remains one of the most heart-warming tales in Scotland’s sporting firmament.

“I had read about all the wonderful cricketers who had played there, and suddenly here were 11 Scots lads striding into the same arena