Dad's Army tells the remarkable story of how the cricketers of a little Scottish village marched all the way to Lord's and won the National Village Cup in 1985. Despite their tiny population of 1476, Freuchie captured the nation's imagination with a starling victory, against all the odds. 639 clubs began the campaign with hopes of reaching cricket's spiritual home, but the Scots ultimately lifted the trophy after a nail-biting success against Rowledge of Surrey, which saw kilts, bagpipes and whisky galore invade north west London.
'Dad' was, and is, Dave Christie, the Freuchie captain, who has cemented his place in sporting history and has spent the last 50 years preaching cricket's gospel across his homeland, where the sport is remarkably vibrant as Scotland's secret game. Dad's Army features interviews with all the leading personnel in the Freuchie triumph, and includes contributions from the likes of Sir Ian Botham, who became the club's honorary patron, Andy Gorum and other leading personalities who were caught up in the Freuchie frenzy.
Dad's Army relates another side to cricket, and Sir Ian Botham tells of how he celebrated Freuchie's win with the Fifers in the midst of a Test match against Australia. It is an inspiring, poignant, funny tale of small-town players bursting into the limelight.
Neil Drysdale has been involved in journalism since the mid-1980s and has been praised for the quality of his writing across a wide range of sports. He was an award-winning writer with the Scotland on Sunday for 15 years, but now works freelance, mostly for the Herald and the Sunday Times. He is the author of two sports autobiographies – of Alan Rough and, most recently, of Walter Smith, entitled Silver Smith. He is married and lives in Falkirk.
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