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On an early English summer’s day in 1994, Matthew Mott turned up for a home game at Porthill Park Cricket Club clutching a brown cardboard box.
He’d arrived at the North Staffordshire club a month or so before as a quiet, fresh-faced Queenslander looking to enhance his fledgling cricket aspirations with a stint as an overseas professional in the UK.
Mott had quickly won the affection of his new team-mates with the manner in which he scored his runs – attritional, gritty and frequently batting through – along with a willingness to muck in with club life.
Landing a job at Newcastle-under-Lyme’s most popular bar, ensuring they all got served on a Friday night before the rest of the punters, also helped. On this particular Saturday, though, the Australian opened the box and attempted to undo a century of Porthill’s cricket history.
“For as long as anyone could remember, the club colours had been maroon and…
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