Far from Bon Accord
John Inverdale in his excellent Daily Telegraph column ponders some other moments of sporting ignominy in the light of Bermuda women's losing inside four balls on Monday
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
John Inverdale in his excellent Daily Telegraph column ponders some other moments of sporting ignominy in the light of Bermuda women's losing inside four balls on Monday. He highlights the game which every stats-obsessed schoolboy football fanatic should recall – Bon Accord’s record 36-0 defeat by Arbroath in the Scottish FA Cup – and offers a new insight … they were actually a cricket club.
The invitation back then should have been sent to Orion FC in Aberdeen, but in a heartening reminder that misdirected post is not an invention of the recent past, it was sent inadvertently to the Orion Cricket Club. Obviously eyeing a spot as a trivial pursuit question in perpetuity, they decided to accept the offer of an away trip to Arbroath, called themselves Bon Accord FC, and arrived without kit or, as history recounts, much talent.
Reading about the match, an enduring image is of the Arbroath goalkeeper called James Milne, who clearly served as an inspiration for Steve McLaren all those years later, because he borrowed an umbrella from a spectator and sheltered beneath it during the match as the rain lashed down on his penalty area while all the action took place at the other end.
Martin Williamson is executive editor of ESPNcricinfo and managing editor of ESPN Digital Media in Europe, the Middle East and Africa