sport news The surreal day George Best and Bobby Charlton lost to Man City… at CRICKET! trends now
Ronaldo, caught De Bruyne, bowled Haaland. As peculiar as that may sound, the prospect of Sunday’s 188th Manchester derby being settled on a cricket pitch was not so outlandish for two of the greatest teams United and City have ever produced.
It was July 21, 1968 when the reigning champions of Europe and England swapped their famous red and blue jerseys for cricket whites just three weeks before the start of the new season.
United had lifted the European Cup at Wembley under Matt Busby two months earlier. City, managed by Joe Mercer, had pipped their neighbours to the First Division title by two points on the final day.
George Best (L) opened the batting for Man United alongside trainer Jack Crompton
Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton only managed to score four runs before he was out
Yet here they were, lining up at the other Old Trafford in front of 15,000 fans who were considerably more boisterous than the famous old cricket ground was used to.
The spectre of hooliganism was looming large at the end of the 1960s, and what was meant to be a friendly encounter ended with police arresting fans who invaded the pitch hurling bottles.
They had paid four shillings each to get in, raising more than £2,000 for the testimonial fund of Ken Higgs, the former Lancashire and England cricketer. This was in the days when Manchester’s vibrant social scene brought together players of different sports as well as clubs.
The United team would join City at their favourite hangout, the Sandpiper in Fallowfield, and welcome them to the Sands nightclub in Stretford.
No one was closer to Mike Summerbee than George Best, who was his best friend and best man. It didn’t stop the United icon from bowling out Summerbee for six that day.
‘Mike may have been generous there,’ Paddy Crerand, who was playing for United that day, tells Sportsmail this week. ‘Those two were as thick as thieves. You wouldn’t believe it coming from different sides of Manchester.’
Best was the star name in the match, but the former United forward wasn't a huge cricket fan
Best was the star attraction, of course, as he opened the batting alongside Jack Crompton, United’s trainer and former goalkeeper who was one of only two players to reach double figures in reply to City’s total of 168 from 16 overs.
‘George was there just to get the crowd in, he was never a real cricket man,’ recalls Summerbee.
‘It was very much a social situation. When the players were off the football field there were some great relationships. We socialised before the game, never mind after — or in the middle of the pitch.’
Indeed, there is a lovely picture of the two men joking about the fact Summerbee turned out in a pair of black socks.
Best wasn’t quite the novice some may think. Former City and United winger Peter Barnes has fond memories of playing cricket with him in the street in Aycliffe Avenue, Chorlton, where the Northern Irishman lived in digs with his landlady Mrs Fullaway.
As amazing as that seems in comparison to today’s football stars, Barnes and his friends would knock on the door of the terrace