62: The Nutters

THE FRIENDLY NU

ricketing glossary has been expanded blue, light blue, and yellow. on 12th September, 1850. with some unseemly terms in recent It’s just a small part of the traditional village “We have records of games being played every Cyears. cricket ethos that likes to portray, the season right through to the 1880s. Grand Spot fixing, arguing with an umpire, ball biting, most important being a commitment to Sunday matches were played on the Common in slapping, match fixing, and players who refuse matches. , with the son of the local to walk have called into question cricket’s When a league format was launched on vicar inviting teams primarily made up of reputation as ‘the gentleman’s game.’ Saturdays, the Nutters refused to play ball, and gentleman bankers from London. But Nuthurst Cricket Club is more traditional in ever since have upheld the time-honoured “Then in 1891, it dropped off a cliff. The team its approach... principles of the game against touring teams were being given a hard time in the local press We meet The Nutters as they casually arrive at from London and the south of . for playing teams of ‘ringers’ basically. Village Mannings , the team’s home David Boorman, who has written a book on teams would come to the Common and be ground for at least 164 years, to prepare for a the history of Nuthurst Cricket Club, said: “The stuffed by players from , with the match against President’s XI. club’s first recorded cricket match was against team having little connection to Nuthurst. The mood is relaxed; Kevin Barnes is scrubbing Brighton Junior Club at the old Royal Ground “It was bad form, and that might be the reason the barbeque, Emmerdale actor and village in Brighton in 1830. why there are no records of any matches from resident Bhasker Patel – playing for the visitors “The first match that we can trace on the 1891 to 1904, when the Nutters appeared – is making the tea and there’s no great urgency Common was in 1850, although almost once more with the local vicar at the helm. The for players to get ready. certainly there were matches beforehand. team has played ever since, aside from the war Players are wearing cloth caps, made by MS John Chart, licensee at The Dun Horse, ran the years.” Michael of Chatham. The Nutters once sported team at that time, and thanks to a poster in Games are friendly but competitive. Nuthurst a quarter-patterned cap, but now they have a The Foresters Arms in Horsham we know of a did play in a short-lived Horsham and District hooped style with the club colours of dark match between Nuthurst and League, against teams including , 63

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orsham Trinity, Roffey, , , + '(!#&&) &C""'"&&"2 and Crawley Working Men’s Club. But it was the formation of Saturday league cricket in the 1970’s that changed the dynamic of Nuthurst. &&!-&##(&&'#"'#&+'#&((&! """$$ "$$ (#"' ## (#"(' Everyone rushed to join league cricket, but The Nutters didn’t. #+"!&('2'(+-(# ## (('''!"'(#" David said: “The club opted to play old-fashioned village games. People "2' "&'+ "&("(-#"(,(&#)(8#+ stick with what they know, so many players joined The Nutters as they + (-((&!#"- 59"(-+  +-'"''(#" liked friendly but competitive non-league cricket. "&!"(""$ &#!(&(#" !#&( “In league cricket, the idea is to win, and if that means using the same "&(#$&#*!#&(/(*"(!"#""- two bowlers all the way through, then teams will do that. But on Sundays, &%)&!"('*") C 2 everyone is involved, and whilst we all like to win, it is about playing in the right spirit of the game.” #"((# 1 Johnny Willis, batsman and deputy chairman of the club, believes that Sunday cricket not only upholds the ethics of the gentleman’s game, but ;=B=A=@ also social traditions too. He said: “After each home match, we take the opposition team down to +++2(#! (2#2) The Dun Horse, and after our away games, we go to a pub of our host’s '&*:(#! (2#2) choice. =?&,/#&'!/<=< “You’ll see that for a lot of teams with younger players, that’s just not       part of their culture. They play their game and then go home. That’s not the way we were brought up to play cricket.  -$'# #&(' (8# 9'"$$#"(&$&'"((*#"3 "&("&'$ (+')(#&'"&) (-("" #")()(#&(- “In league cricket, your own team can become very intense if catches are           dropped or a bowler is off line or a batsman is playing ridiculous shots. 64: The Nutters

Nutters players hail an extra special shot; Richard Walter - who runs Mannings Heath Village Store with wife Ann - takes to the crease;

There is a strong onus on rising up the table. Plain, and . at Horsham Cricket and Sports Club. “For us, it’s all about the spirit of the game. We “We have a core of seven or eight players and The Nutters also play Harry Baldwin’s XI, and run a system of fines, so if you drop a catch you then the rest of the team is made up of people one of the more memorable games at the put 50p in the tin - or £1 if it’s a real howler! who, mainly due to family commitments, can Common came against this side, when an “That builds up, and if there’s a direct hit run only play a handful of games each year.” Academy Award winning director secured out at some point during the season, the funds There are enough Sunday sides to provide The victory for the visitors. go to that person, on the condition that they Nutters with a fixture every weekend from April David recalls: “The original Harry Baldwin was a buy the beers! through to September, including The Royal rather rotund off-spinner who played county “It brings us together as a side, and eases the National Theatre, Parham Park, Forest Green, cricket for Hampshire. A chap called Michael pressure on people. We play 26 games a year Angmering, , Ifield, BBC Bushman, Simkins, an actor and author, captained a team and we draw from over 40 players for 11 spots. Bolney, and London Theatres. and named it after Harry Baldwin as that was We have a strong parish contingent, as well as The club recently triumphed in The Gullick Cup , the spirit they wanted to capture. players from Colgate, Ifield, Horsham, Plummers beating Muntham House in the final by 72 runs “Sam Mendes (director of American Beauty , 65

Bob Samways and Graham Prior have a serious discussion on tactics; Kevin Barnes and (right) Bob Samways outside the dilapidated pavilion

Skyfall and Road to Perdition ) is a good cricketer who played to a decent standard in Oxfordshire. He would occasionally play for Harry Baldwin’s XI when in the country. 01403 211133 “Michael rang me up and said ‘We’ve got an extra man who wants to play, can we make it 66 North Street, 12-a-side?’ He didn’t tell me who this extra man was, so I said it was fine and roped in my Horsham, 12-year-old son to play for us! RH12 1RD “So Michael rocks up with Sam Mendes. He www.shawsglass.co.uk was a lovely bloke and they won the match largely through his efforts. ‘Kate Winslet never Shaws Glass For over 15 years, we’ve been turned up here, but a leading installer of Windows, Conservatories and Garage Sam Mendes did Doors in Shaws Glass is now proud to and he claimed a be an of(cial outlet for Ultraframe, renowned as a half century and world-leader in Conservatories.

five wickets’ Conservatories Double Glazing Front Doors Back Doors Composite Doors Fascias and Sof+ts Replacement Hinges “Michael later wrote a book and related the Cat Flaps Table Tops Shop Fronts Cut Glass story of the match. In this book, I’m described Toughened Safety Glass Supply only windows Glass as being furious at being stuffed in such a Balustrades for staircases Acoustic Glass manner and wanting to sort it all out behind the bike shed! That is until Kate Winslet Shaws Glass has been part of the business landscape in for supposedly turned up in a sports car and it over 15 years and is now (rmly established as the region’s independent all ended harmlessly! choice for all things glass. Our showroom in North Street, Horsham hosts a “I called Michael and said ‘What’s this all wide selection of products from a single sheet of glass to glazed windows about?’ He told me he had actually put two stories together. The part about Sam Mendes and doors. We also have a range of conservatories or garage doors, with turning up was true of course, and so is the help and advice you need from experienced, friendly staff. part about Kate Winslet, but that happened at another match in Surrey. She never turned SPECIALLY TRAINED ULTRAFRAME INSTALLERS up in Mannings Heath, but Sam Mendes did and he claimed a half century and five wickets against us!” Touring sides like to visit Mannings Heath as it is a quintessentially English cricket ground, but the club’s reputation as a ‘must visit’ amongst the Sunday cricketing fraternity is being hampered by its dilapidated club pavilion. 66: The Nutters

The building stood on the army plains outside Aldershot possibly even before the First World War. In the early 60s, the MoD was selling off old army sheds, and The Nutters snapped one up. They erected it on the Common in time for the 1964 season. Half a century later, it is still there. David said: “The pavilion hinders where we want to be as a club. In the early 1990s, before the pavilion became really bad, we had entered an interesting period of our history. We staged a junior international, with Sussex Under-21s playing New South Wales on the Common, and regularly hosted junior County games. “Everyone loved it here, as it was nice to come to a village ground. But you cannot invite anyone when you have such a wreck for a pavilion, so the club’s progression has halted. ‘The club needs to raise £120,000 for a new pavilion. So far, The Nutters have raised £53,000’

“It has become an embarrassment and we feel the need to apologise to visiting teams. When we were preparing the pavilion at the start of Club Chairman Kevin Barnes said: “If we can two coaches gaining Level Two accreditation. the season, one of the players was sweeping up continue at the current rate of fundraising Club Captain Bob Samways said: “We just and his foot went through the floorboards. we are hoping we can raise the money we want to provide opportunities for children in “It’s that bad, and I think the village residents are need for a new pavilion by 2016. the Parish, and a new pavilion will make a getting tired of what is a dilapidated eyesore.” “Once we have reached the half way stage, huge difference. The club has embarked on a fundraising drive in and we are nearly there, we will apply for “It’ll give the village a centrepiece, attract a bid to raise £120,000 for a new building. So far, grants, as often they will match what has new players and will allow us to expand on The Nutters have raised £53,000 thanks to been raised through a club’s own efforts.” our Colts section. events such as golf days and The 49ers Club, A growing Colts section is another reason “It would just complete the package here as based on the Lottery Bonus Ball. why a new pavilion is essential for the club to it’s a very friendly team, a lovely ground in a Local artist Jo Willis, wife of Jonny Willis, has move forward. picturesque village, but with a pavilion that produced an oil painting called ‘ Cricket on the The Colts section started slowly in 2008, and is falling apart!” Common.’ Framed limited edition prints, as well Friday night sessions have steadily grown in as a series of cards, are for sale, with all proceeds popularity. This year, up to 40 young players Report: Ben Morris going towards The Pavilion Fund. are signed on, and Nuthurst have invested in Pictures: Toby Phillips

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AAHALL ABOUT HORSHAM MAGAZINE Horsham: The Paterson family, Andrew Price, Trish Fuller, organisations, community centres and waiting rooms August 2014 Sophie Guile, Charlotte Aylett, Alex Bland, Cara Cocoracchio , across town. You can also pick up a copy from our spring- Eleanor and Jemima Delgado-Holland , Toby Phillips, Liam loaded stands across the district. They can be found at... Palmer, George Voisey, Lauren Maddock and Dominic Horsham: Sakakini (Carfax), Artisan Patisserie (Market Baxter. And now, Geoff Valentine again! Square), Pavilions in the Park, Horsham Museum, Horsham Billingshurst: Anna Laker and family, Ben Morris, ROUND Rail Station, Roffey Post Office, New House Farm AVAILABLE ON PENFOLD GRANGE ESTATE Southwater: Tom Bourne, Shaun Bacon and Eddie Robinson Village Stands: CoCo’s salon (Southwater); Billingshurst Villages: Molly Barnett (Monks Gate/Mannings Heath) Leisure Centre, Barns Green Village Store, Traditions Tea Bayley Reed () Joe West (Ashington), Reece Elvin Room in , Hutching’s Butchers in Partridge (), Ben Morris (Tower Hill, Rookwood, ), Green, Cowfold Post Office, Village Stores, Dave Tidey (West Grinstead) , Ben’s Grandma (Wisborough Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre, One Stop at Green), Mike Hoare (Nuthurst), George Brown (Partridge Broadbridge Heath, Slinfold Village Stores, Bluecoat Sports Green), The Oak Tree Team (Maplehurst & ). Centre (Christ’s Hospital), Village Store, Swains Garden Centre (Henfield), Shoots and Village You can read the magazine in full, as well as archive editions Larder (Washington) and many more. and features dating back to 2011 at aahorsham.co.uk