The Story of Wivenhoe Cricket

THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Jon Wiseman

Oxford Publishing Services

Published in 2011 by Oxford Publishing Services 34 Warnborough Road, Oxford, OX2 6JA www.oxfordpublishingservices.com

The right of Jon Wiseman to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

ISBN: 978 0 9550031 3 4

Typeset in Berkeley Oldstyle Cover design by Meaden Creative Printed by Antony Rowe Limited

Contents

List of Illustrations and List of Scorecards vii Acknowledgements xi Foreword xiii Introduction xv

Part One – The Story of Wivenhoe Cricket 1. 1765 to 1855: Gamesters, Gambling, Purses and Prizes 1 2. 1856 to 1868: The First Gentleman Patrons of Wivenhoe Cricket 9 3. 1869 to 1908: Growth of the Club at the Tenacres Cricket Ground 20 4. 1909 to 1921: The Wilderness Years and the First World War 45 5. 1922 to 1945: A Permanent Home at Rectory Road 49 6. 1946 to 1976: Postwar Growth at Rectory Road 75 7. 1977 to 1989: Transformation from Village to Club Cricket 102 8. 1990 to 2011: The Modern Era of Coaching and Club Cricket 126

Part Two – Records and Registers Registers of Key Personnel and Trophy Winners 159 Notes to the Registers 159 Senior Officers of the Club 160 Captains of the Teams 170 Vice-Presidents, Life Members and Trustees of the Club 174 The Trophy Winners 175 Club Records 185 Notes to the Records 185 Individual Batting Records 188 Individual Bowling Records 191 All-Rounder Records 194 All Matches Team Records 198 Two-Counties First Eleven League Matches 199

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Two-Counties First Eleven Sunday Challenge and Senior Cup Matches 200 Two-Counties Second Eleven Matches 201 Two-Counties Second Eleven Junior Cup Matches 202 Two-Counties Third Eleven Matches 203 North Essex Cricket League First Eleven Matches 204 North Essex Cricket League Second Eleven Matches 205

Part Three – The 271 Capped Wivenhoe Cricketers Notes to the List 209 The 271 Capped Wivenhoe Cricketers 211

Illustrations

Images appear by kind permission of the following: Bill Loveless, 30; Essex County Newspapers, 6, 18, 26, 32, 34, 35, 37, 40, 45, 46, 48, 55, 58; East Anglican Daily Times, 63; David Frith collection, 2, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16; Glendower Jackson, 27; Ray Watsham, 39; Charles Scofield, 41; Gerry Lucking, 49; Sue Halsey, 56; Julia Brinkley, 61; British Library Board, 6, © Essex Standard, edn. 20/6/1908, p. 71. All other images are from the archive of Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club, some of which have been supplied by club members and are reproduced on the understanding that permission was granted when the images were supplied.

1. The 1765 match 1 2. A cricket match in the 1760s 3 3. The 1770 match 4 4. The 1771 match 5 5. The 1772 match 6 6. Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny (4th Bart.) 17 7. The author at Toorak House 22 8. Concert for club funds 23 9. Wivenhoe c.1896 26 10. Extracts from a nineteenth-century cricket club cashbook 27–9 11. Second eleven, 1902 30 12. Richard Prescott Keigwin 32 13. Digby Jephson hits to leg 33 14. Digby Jephson, 1902 34 15. Henry Dawes Swan 36 16. Gentlemen XI v Players, Lords, 1899 44 17. Wivenhoe c.1921 47 18. First eleven, 1924 52 19. First eleven, 1928 55 20. First eleven, 1929 56 21. The newly-built pavilion, 1932 57 22. The new pavilion by Cumberworth, 1932 58

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23. The historic cricket grounds of Wivenhoe 59 24. W.G. Loveless by Cumberworth, 1932 60 25. Charles Ashley 61 26. Second eleven, 1934 63 27. Wivenhoe players in fancy dress, 1935 66 28. Blueprint of the Rectory Road ground, 1936 68 29. Purchase of Rectory Road, 1936 69 30. W.G. Loveless, his son Bill with Denis Compton in 1951 72 31. George Slaughter 76 32. The four elder statesmen of Wivenhoe cricket, 1962 77 33. Ron Woods 81 34. First eleven, 1949 83 35. Annual awards ceremony, 1948 84 36. Cricket club fête, c.1950 85 37. Opening the cricket club fête, 1960 87 38. Essex cricketer Ray Smith at annual dinner, 1951 88 39. A cricket club wedding, 1954 91 40. Annual dinner, 1959 91 41. Dr Walter Radcliffe 93 42. First eleven, 1960 94 43. The Scofield clock unveiled, 1966 95 44. Second eleven, 1965 95 45. First eleven, 1976 98 46. The victorious six-a-side team, 1970 99 47. Neil Foster 103 48. Second eleven, 1975 105 49. Mike Lucking 108 50. Second eleven, 1985 113 51. Wivenhoe on tour in Corfu, 1983 115 52. Sticky Wicket, the resident club band, c. 1985 116 53. Wivenhoe v Old Boys, 1985 117 54. Building the kitchen and bar extension, 1986 118 55. The opening of the bar and kitchen by Neil Foster, 1987 118 56. Andy Halsey 119 57. Development of the cricket club pavilion from 1932 to 1992 122–3 58. Opening the latest extension with Don Topley, 1994 124

viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND LIST OF SCORECARDS

59. First eleven, 1990 132 60. First eleven, c.1996 139 61. Second eleven, 1995 140 62. The proposals for a new ground, 1998 143 63. First eleven, 2000 145 64. President’s Day, 2003 147 65. First eleven in fancy dress, 2010 150 66. Third eleven, 2002 152 67. President’s Day, 2010 154 68. First eleven, 2011 155 69. The trophies, 2009 175 Scorecards

Rev. E.T. Waters’s XI v Sir Claude de Crespigny’s XI, 1858 10 Mr Daniels’ XI v Sir Claude de Crespigny’s XI, 1859 12 Wivenhoe Men’s XI v Wivenhoe Boys’ XI, 1863 15 Wivenhoe v Essex Club & Ground, 1907 40 Rowhedge v Wivenhoe, 1924 53 Harwich British Legion v Wivenhoe, 1928 54 Royal Army Medical Corps v Wivenhoe, 1952 89 Wivenhoe v Abberton, 1960 92 Wivenhoe v Great Bentley, 1983 112 Wivenhoe v Clacton Ramblers, 1987 128 Cressing v Wivenhoe, 1988 130 Wivenhoe v Essex Second Eleven, 1990 137 Wivenhoe v Boxted, 2004 148

Acknowledgements

The author gratefully records his thanks to a large number of people without whom this project would simply have stumbled and fallen. First, thanks to my informal management team, consisting of Tony Forsgate, Sue Halsey, John Stacey, Peter Bather, Mike Lucking and Nik Lucking, each of whom brought a special skill to this endeavour; to the friends of Wivenhoe cricket who have generously helped to fund the enterprise; to the committee of Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club, particularly Simon Lucking and Gerry Dunstan; to the people who encouraged me to get started, such as Mark Britton, Steve Tasker, Dave Craze and all the retired players and officers assembled by Sue Halsey in the spring of 2010; to club archivists from all around Essex and Suffolk who found many of the missing match stats; to Richard Wilby for wading through hundreds of old scorebooks with me. Thanks to cricket writer David Frith, my good friend and for many years my fellow slip fielder at Guildford who found time, whenever I asked, to give me advice and dig out old pictures. He also pointed me in the direction of the libraries at Lord’s and at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where globe-trotting librarian Neil Robinson helped me on both occasions. Thanks to the writers of the most valuable of the books, magazines and papers I consulted, who were Richard Cooper, The Gentleman Cricketers of Maldon, David Lemmon and Mike Marshall, The Official History of Essex County Cricket Club, Bill Loveless, Destiny Delayed, David Frith, Pageant of Cricket, Anthony Meredith, The Demon and the Lobster, Paul Thompson, Sea Change, Wivenhoe Remembered, George Dewar, Memoirs of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny, Dick Barton, Wivenhoe; to the many authors of The Cricketer magazine and Wisden Cricketers Almanack, and particularly to Nicholas Butler, The Story of Wivenhoe, whose meticulously quoted references are world class. Thanks also to the providers of those remarkable web-based instant research resources Cricinfo and Cricket Archive. Special gratitude is extended to the local historians of Wivenhoe, particularly Peter Kay, Pat Marsden, Glendower Jackson and John Stewart, whose old photographs, maps and knowledge were freely given; to the staff of Wivenhoe Town Council for more maps and

xi THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET advice; to the staff of Colchester Library and the Essex Records Office at Chelmsford. Other good people who have helped in many different ways are as follows, and to each of them my grateful thanks: Roger Bacon, Andy Buckley, Paul Coverley, David Craze, Don Curtis, Gill Denny, Len Drinkell, Ian and Jenny Durrell, Jimmy Dutton, Paul Evans, Ian Evans, Phillipe Faucheux, Alan Foster, Graham Francis, Brian French, Ernie Frost, Nick Garnham, Andrew Golding, Simon Green, Richard Hemstedt, Kevin Hewes, John and Jessie Holden, Nigel Howlett, Glendower Jackson, Arfon and Lindsay Jones, Bill Kempster, Mick Kettle, Gerry Lucking, Robin Mills, Fred Minikin, Peter Napper, Geoff Newman, Pat Patel, Mel Phair, Nigel and Terri Philp, Chris Punchard, Brian Richardson, Ian Robinson, Charlie Scofield, Mark Shuttleworth, Kevin Sparling, John Stuck, David Studham, Malcolm Turner, Ray Watsham, Graham Wheeler, Richard Whiteside, Bill Wilson and Clive Woods. Finally, the greatest thanks of all must be to my family who, by their unfaltering patience in putting up with me “going on about it all the time”, have all reluctantly become experts on the history of Wivenhoe cricket. In particular, I am grateful to my wife, Susan and daughter Sarah, for their proofreading and to my daughter Amy for her “photo- shopping” skills, her poster art work and data inputting accuracy. In return for these talents, Amy’s life has become enriched by her discovery of that heroic nineteenth-century Wivenhoe cricketer, Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny.

Jon A. Wiseman Beaumont, Essex April 2011

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Foreword

Almost forty years ago, Jon Wiseman was the first captain under whom I ever played; not necessarily the best, but the first, and I have happy memories of those days. While I have managed only a loose continued association with the club, Jon has stayed true and has now put together this definitive history of Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. Wivenhoe cricket club will mean many differing things to all of us who have passed through its ranks. To me, it represents long sunny summer days spending endless time in the nets through the school holidays, getting extremely excited at the next match and disappointed with rain or failure. Wivenhoe encompassed the beginnings of maturity, the growth from boy to man, moving from colts to senior teams and the first, pitiful attempts at alcohol. This comprehensive history encapsulates the value of the club to us all and to our community in general.

Neil Alan Foster East Bergholt, Suffolk March 2011

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Introduction

It was at some point in my forties that I finally realised the true worth of Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. Since I was a 13 year-old I had spent time playing, practising, gang-mowing, wicket-rolling and (from age 18 onwards) drinking in moderation at the ground, but until I reached a certain level of maturity I did not see the big picture. By that I mean the circle of life that revolves around the club as successive generations and social groups arrive, settle in, add some value, have some fun and move on without ever really leaving for good, and the heartfelt loyalty that forms among teammates as a result of countless hours of dressing room banter and toil in the sun. Growing older and having realised the value of the club and by then having invested so much of my life in the place, it was only natural that I would want to find out more about the past and, being an engineer by profession, to analyse and record it somehow. My appetite for the club history had been whetted by Mark Britton, Dave Craze and Tony Forsgate among others, but, I am glad to say, no-one had attempted the proper job. So here it is. I thought it would be a simple research exercise lasting a few months followed by a few hours of drafting and a couple of meetings with a publisher resulting in a perfect product. How wrong I was on all counts. It was easily five times more challenging than I thought, and ten times more time consuming. Little comfort that David Frith assured me on more than one occasion that if I ever do write another book it will be a lot easier! Well, I won’t. Enough moaning about how hard it was. It was great fun. I discovered things about my cricket club that I never could have imagined. There are Wivenhoe associations all over the place; for example, to W.G. Grace, Compton and Edrich, MCC tourists, Essex County Cricket Club and of course, through Neil Foster, there is the England connection. Also, there was the bonus of talking about the club history to so many enthusiastic retired players and officers. My only lingering regrets are in the imperfec- tions of the finished product. Two in particular frustrate me. I could not find any evidence at all of the first founding of the club in 1840 and I could not pin down the statistics from around 100 missing matches out of over 2,000 that are in the averages that I have compiled for the last 41

xv THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET years. Never again will our record keeping fall below A-star – at least not while I am around. I have written the book in three parts. The first is the chronological history of cricket in Wivenhoe. The last 250 years have been divided up into eight logical chapters, and each chapter has been subdivided into the stories that need to be told. I am anticipating that readers will dip in and out of the book rather than read it from cover to cover; therefore, I have given each story a subtitle, and attached a date to it, so that the reader can easily be reminded of where they are on the timeline of history. Also, I have tried to make each story stand alone by retelling important snippets of context. I hope I have not repeated myself too much. The second part is the statistical bit. I have recorded officers and trophy winners back to 1879 as far as I can, and recreated club records based on player statistics from the last 41 years. Where I have not been able to find out the names of elected officers with a reasonable degree of certainty I have simply entered the words “no record”. The player performance records are as accurate as they can be, given the absence of some matches. If the missing stats ever turn up, I will update the club records accordingly. I am sorry if you scored a double hundred in one of the missing matches! The third part is the list of “capped” players. I have explained the qualification levels in the notes to Part Three. In 2010 there was a lot of support among the membership for the concept of “capped players” and I hope that the support is sustained so that it becomes a matter of pride in future for new players to enter the list. The final total of around 270 capped players out of a total of over 1,200 in the master database seemed about right to me. On a couple of points of detail, I have used the spelling “Wivenhoe”, rather than “Wyvenhoe”, throughout the book. The use of the spelling with a “y” in local newspapers seems to have been heavily in fashion only temporarily, between about 1880 and 1910. Therefore I have ignored it completely. Also I have used the same definitions of “first-class cricket” as used by the website www.cricketarchive.com. There is not universal agreement amongst historians on this point, but I found it convenient to adopt this particular definition. Finally, I should say that I am aware that there will inevitably be errors discovered in the book – small I hope – and I apologise in

xvi INTRODUCTION advance. However, there is enough detail of which I am confident, to feel certain that I have filled a rather narrow niche in the social history of Wivenhoe. Thank you so much for buying the book.

Jon A. Wiseman Beaumont, Essex March 2011

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Part One

The Story of Wivenhoe Cricket

Chapter 1 1765 to 1855: Gamesters, Gambling, Purses and Prizes

A period of intermittent activity, occasional challenges involving gamblers and purses, prizes of wigs and waistcoats, early form of game, strange wickets and curved bats, unfamiliar laws, underarm bowling, no protective equipment, large crowds, ladies races.

1765: The First Evidence of Cricket in Wivenhoe The first ever reference to the playing of cricket in Wivenhoe appeared in an edition of the Ipswich Journal dated Saturday 22 June 1765. At that time, cricket was played mainly in the south of England, and was still in its formative years and evolving steadily towards the game we recognise today. Some aspects of the modern game were already present and others would not be resolved for many decades. For example, the usual number of players in a team had been set at 11, although that did not stop frequent 12-a-side games taking place. The pitch was 1. The 1765 match. This announcement for set at 22 yards long, umpires the 1765 match (sandwiched between a personal ad for the auction of a sloop and a were used and the laws of vacancy for a waiter of good character) is the the game had been written first evidence of cricket in Wivenhoe.

1 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET down. Other aspects of the game were less familiar. The bat used was more like a cross between a hockey stick and a hurling stick. The wicket consisted of only two low stumps with a long bail across the top. Bowling was underarm and there were generally four balls per over. There was no such thing as lbw. There were no scorecards, only sticks upon which notches were cut. Players used no protective equipment and injuries were common. Possibly the most important thing to understand about eighteenth- century cricket is that while it was certainly played as a form of exercise and amusement, it was also played to satisfy gamblers and bookmakers. It was common for matches to be set up by promoters for profit, the players charged entry fees (or for big games, players were paid appearance money), a purse or prize provided for the winning team and bets taken on the outcome. Needless to say, there were plenty of arguments, and often violent confrontations would result. The short entry in the Ipswich Journal of June 1765 refers to a match to be played at Wivenhoe on Wednesday 3 July starting at one o’clock. The match was clearly intended to be eleven-a-side as “any twenty-two Men” were invited to put in five shillings and three pence each and the winning team was to receive “Eleven Wigs of Eleven Guineas Value”. It is not clear from the newspaper who the promoter of the match was and where it was played, but the mathematics of the commercial prop- osition is very interesting. If 22 men paid five shillings and three pence each, that makes a gross income of £5 15s 6d (or £5.77 in decimal currency). The prize of 11 wigs is valued at 11 guineas, or £11 11s 0d (£11.55). In short, the cost of the prize is exactly twice the sum of the entry fees. The promoter must have therefore had another source of revenue to make a profit. The obvious candidates are gate money, sales of alcohol or bookmaker profits – or, more likely, all three! Picture the probable scene. Somewhere in Wivenhoe, possibly on Wivenhoe Heath, north of the Flag Inn, a group of 22 excited young men, probably clad in waistcoats, breeches and wigs or hats, meets on a Wednesday lunchtime in early July. In an open and flat area of the heath, two wickets have been pitched 22 yards apart. The pitch is set on rough pasture, with the grass kept short by livestock grazing. The promoters of the match have provided umpires. A healthy crowd of well- to-do gentlemen, tradesmen and shopkeepers has turned up to watch and all have been charged a modest entry fee. The Flag Inn is doing good

2 1765 TO 1856: GAMESTERS, GAMBLING, PURSES AND PRIZES business and bookmakers are offering odds and taking bets on the two sides. There are no boundaries marked, but two trusted souls are sat on the edge of the match ready to notch the runs scored on sticks. Play begins soon after one o’clock to the sound of a cheer and happy expectant chatter from the onlookers. The bowling is underarm and the bowlers employ a variety of lobs, fast low balls and heavy wrist spin on the rough pitch. The batsmen play an attacking game. Most shots involve a big swing of the bat in an attempt to hit the ball over mid-wicket or through the covers. It is a low scoring game and clean hits are not easy unless the bowler happens to bowl a full toss. There are no boundary hits and everything has to be all-run. It is a two innings match and after the first innings scores are close and both sides have made less than 50. The authority of the umpires has already been questioned a few times. One close run out decision has angered one set of supporters and the crowd are baying loudly as the second innings begins. The bookmakers have continued to take bets and the amount of money at stake is large and still growing. If things turn ugly, there will be no police force to call upon for almost another 100 years!

2. A cricket match in the 1760s. This woodcut depicts a typical cricket match from around the time that the first ever recorded match was played at Wivenhoe. There are 11 fielders, two batsmen and two umpires and the pitch is 22 yards in length. Less familiar is the fact that the bowler has just released the ball underarm and the fielding team has positioned a customary long-stop behind the wicketkeeper. Cricket historians are unable to agree on why the umpires should each be holding a spare bat.

3 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Of course, nobody really knows what happened in the end. The afternoon may have passed off successfully. We hope it was an exciting match that satisfied the onlookers, with plenty of encouragement for the players towards the finish. We also hope that all bets were agreeably concluded and, finally, that a marvellous set of 11 brand new wigs were handed out to the winning team. It may not have been like that. There are no records of what actually happened. The main thing to understand though is that cricket had arrived in Wivenhoe and the public had been introduced to pitches, wickets, bats, umpires, runs, catches, scorers and a match result. The seeds of cricket in Wivenhoe had forever been sown.

1770: The Regular Pattern is Set The next reference to Wivenhoe cricket occurred five years later, again in the Ipswich Journal. This time it was in the edition dated Saturday 11 August 1770. Similar to the 1765 entry, this is a short announcement of a match to take place involving “any 22 men, each man putting in five shillings and three pence” with the winning team receiving “11 silk waistcoats of 14 shillings each”. The announcement concludes by saying that “a dinner will be provided at the sign of the Sun”. The commercial propo- sition is similar to the 1765 match. The promoter would have received £5 15s 6d (or £5.77) in revenue, which is the same sum as before. The cost of the waistcoats would have been £7 14s 0d (or £7.70). Therefore, the revenue margin to be closed by gate 3. The 1770 match. money, bar sales or book- making profits is less than before. It is interesting to note that the entry fee is exactly the same for both matches. Could it be that the same person acted as promoter for both matches? Could it also be that he made a loss on the wigs handed out after the 1765 match and therefore lowered his costs by offering the cheaper option of waistcoats as prizes by the time of the 1770 match? The “sign of the Sun”, where dinner was served, is a reference to the Sun public house, which existed at that time

4 1765 TO 1856: GAMESTERS, GAMBLING, PURSES AND PRIZES just off Brook Street, close to the rear of the current Black Buoy pub. The provision of dinner at the Sun suggests the match was unlikely to have been played on the heath at the north end of the village, and more likely to have been played on the pasture land, known as “the Saltings”, close to the present-day sailing club. The following year, on Saturday 20 July, the Ipswich Journal carried yet another announcement for a match to be played on Wednesday 31 July 1771. The prize this time was “11 hats of the value of 12s” and “each player to put in 12s each”. The announcement adds that “cockades will be given gratis”. Cockades, being circular or oval shaped knots of coloured ribbons, were probably pinned to players’ clothing to distinguish one team from the other. The entry 4. The 1771 match. The match advertisement fee was payable at the appeared next to a personal ad offering a reward of five guineas for information about Falcon or Sun Inn and the the theft of cable and rope from a ship in match was probably played Harwich Harbour. at the lower end of the village. The entry fee was once again five shillings and three pence each, and the value of the prizes marginally less than it had been the previous year. Another sign of the growing social importance of these matches was that after the cricket game there was, “to be run for by women, a Holland smock valued at 14s, the best of three heats and to the 2nd a silk handkerchief”. Smock races were common in eighteenth-century England. The races were often restricted to young and single women. Sometimes only virgins were allowed to compete. Smocks were basic linen undergarments worn by women of all classes under their dresses by day, and at night in bed. The type of linen produced in Holland was

5 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET the very best quality, and the chance to win a smock made from such linen would have been an immense attraction. The format of three heats was common and the rules were usually sparse. The rougher and baw- dier the race the more the crowd would have enjoyed it. The bookmakers would have taken bets on the race and the winner would often have been carried aloft on the shoulders of the men, waving her smock in a victory salute on a lap of honour. The running of the smock race was certainly not the result of an altruistic desire on the part of the promoter to enhance the wardrobe of the younger women of the community. It was a fairly cynical attempt to provide a titillating spectacle for the benefit of the men who had come to watch and play in the cricket match. It would have helped to increase the size of the gate, made the whole event into a great day out and guaranteed a good attendance at the next match. And so the pattern of Wivenhoe cricket was set for a number of years. In 1772, a similar advertisement to the one in the previous year appeared in the Ipswich Journal. This time the promoter was offering hats, wigs or waistcoats to the winners with a range of entrance fees to suit the requirements of each individual entrant. Similar matches were being advertised at other local villages in the 1770s, although Wivenhoe seems to have had more than its fair share. As cricket grew more and more popular, these events required less advertisement and became more frequent. The Ipswich Journal carried increasingly fewer announce- ments about cricket in Wivenhoe, though records of matches in the latter part of 5. The 1772 match. the eighteenth century across the whole of England, for purses and prizes detailing heroic deeds, arguments and injuries, are plentiful in the literature of cricket history.

1800: Cricket in England at the Turn of the Century By the turn of the century, cricket had become so accepted and normal a part of village life that matches did not warrant any special

6 1765 TO 1856: GAMESTERS, GAMBLING, PURSES AND PRIZES announcement in the press. The practice of reporting match results did not start until much later in the nineteenth century. References to Wivenhoe cricket in the local newspapers are frustratingly rare from the late 1700s until the 1850s when a new breed of gentleman patron arrived in the village and cricket matches became classier and more reportable affairs. Elsewhere in the cricket world, changes were taking place that made cricket more and more like the game we know today. By 1800, the third stump had been introduced and there were two bails, the bat had adopted a more conventional shape and was limited to a width of 4½ inches (as it still is today), and the MCC had been formed. The Duke family had begun manufacturing standard-size, seamed cricket balls, county cricket was well established and Thomas Lord had opened his first cricket ground in North West London (though it was subsequently to move twice before settling at the famous St John’s Wood site where Lord’s now stands). Across the length and breadth of England, cricket was growing very fast in popularity.

1840: The First Founding of Wivenhoe Cricket Club By the end of the 1840s, cricket had moved on again. The MCC had legalised round-arm bowling; batting pads and wicket-keeping gloves had been invented; ladies’ county cricket existed; the first genuine international match had taken place (Canada v United States); an All- England XI of touring stars had begun playing for money all over the country; and The Oval cricket ground had opened in South London. Meanwhile, in Wivenhoe, the playing of cricket had become more organised and, at some point around 1840, a strong enough following had been built up to allow the formation of the first ever cricket club in the village. This must have been the case because in 1846 a match between an invitation team from Colchester and the already established Wivenhoe club was played in the grounds of Wivenhoe Hall. The Hall was a grand house situated near the site of the current council offices, the grounds of which included the current King George V playing fields. The match was a more genteel affair than the betting matches of the 1700s, and was promoted by Stephen Brown, the resident of the Hall about whom Wivenhoe historians know very little. The newspaper report of the match describes how the grounds of the Hall were “thrown open and a large number of inhabitants of the village assembled and

7 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET joined in different amusements suited to their age and inclination”. Brown himself did not play, but generously treated 60 people to an “elegant luncheon between innings”. The match was played over two innings and Colchester won by 74 runs. The scorecard was not published in full, but the names of the Wivenhoe team were listed. Many of the family names reappear later in the club’s history. There is other evidence of the club’s formation in the report of a match in 1858 to commemorate the re-formation of the cricket club, during which the then secretary of the club referred to the “flourishing … Wivenhoe club in days of yore”. Unfortunately, there are no records of just how flourishing the club was or when exactly “the days of yore” were. In 1965, the elders of the club must have believed, with some confidence, that the Wivenhoe cricket club was first founded in 1840 because they wholeheartedly celebrated its 125th anniversary in that year (and from that year onwards, the date of 1840 was incorporated into the flag that still flies over the Rectory Road ground today). Assuming that the formation date of 1840 is correct, the club must have grown, flourished, won plaudits and fallen into decline over a period of only 20 years. Between 1840 and 1858, the only known reference to cricket in Wivenhoe, apart from the 1846 match at the Hall, is on a newspaper advertisement for a Grand Gala and Rural Fête in 1852 to be held in Wivenhoe Park in aid of the Colchester Mechanics Institution. Among the attractions listed are cricket, football, quoits, archery and “rustic sports”. Other, somewhat more exciting sounding, attractions on the same bill are an “Electric Kite” and “Chemical Experiments”. The mind boggles! Cricket matches elsewhere in the Tendring area were played at the time, with matches at Great Bentley, St Osyth, Coggeshall and a dozen other places all reported in the local newspaper throughout the 1840s; but sadly, there were none at Wivenhoe. In conclusion, unable to find any clear evidence of the exact date of the club’s first formation (but there is no doubt that a cricket club was indeed “flourishing” in Wivenhoe some time before 1846), one is left to acknowledge the commonly accepted date of 1840. This is purely because the men who believed it in 1965 might, at that time, have had access to the personal testimony of individuals who have long since departed.

Chapter 2 1856 to 1868: The First Gentleman Patrons of Wivenhoe Cricket

Period of organisation, gentler matches, wealth and enthusiasm of the de Crespigny and Gurdon-Rebow families, availability of grounds at the Park, Hall and Mill Field, grand festival matches, gentlemen, tradesmen and boys playing, speeches, bands, repasts.

1856: The Arrival of the de Crespignys One of the first wealthy gentleman patrons of Wivenhoe cricket was Sir Claude William Champion de Crespigny (3rd Baronet). Sir Claude and his wife Mary had moved into Wivenhoe Hall as tenants in the summer of 1856. Sir Claude loved sport, and showed a particular talent for cricket, having gained first-class cricketer status playing for the MCC against Cambridge University in 1843, albeit with limited success (the match was 12-a-side, with four balls per over and Sir Claude contributed only three runs in his two innings). His interests were wide and his contributions to the community freely given, which quickly gained him great respect in the surrounding towns and villages. When they moved to Wivenhoe, he and Mary already had a large family and another four children would be born in the village. Eventually, they had 11 children – three boys and eight girls. By far the most remarkable of the de Crespigny children was the eldest boy, also called Claude Champion, who will feature later in the story.

1858: The Second Founding of Wivenhoe Cricket Club Sir Claude’s name did not appear in the cricket section of the local newspaper until two years after he had moved to Wivenhoe. In 1858 he formed a side to play against a team lead by the Rev. Edward Thomas

9 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

REV. E.T. WATERS’S XI V SIR CLAUDE DE CRESPIGNY’S XI The earliest known full match scorecard At the Mill Field Wivenhoe, 17 August 1858. Rev. E.T. Waters’s XI won by 14 runs. The match was held to commemorate the formation of the cricket club at Wivenhoe in 1858. This was the second date in history when a club was relaunched and would not be the last.

Rev. E.T. Waters’s XI

Waters b Harvey...... 17 – run out……...... 5 W. Goodwin b Harvey...... 1 – b Summers, sen ...... 5 W. Ridgley, jun b Harvey ...... 0 – b Summers, sen ...... 7 G. Chamberlain not out...... 0 – c Summers, sen...... 0 C.G. Firmin run out ...... 2 – c Master Gurdon-Rebow ...... 3 J. Cook b Summers...... 2 – lbw ...... 2 W. Browne, sen c Summers...... 3 – run out ...... 10 J. Moore run out...... 3 – b Harvey ...... 35 Master de Crespigny b Summers ...... 2 – run out……...... 2 J. Summers b Harvey...... 3 – c Sainty...... 17 H. Firmin, jun c Sir C. de Crespigny.... 0 – c Harvey……...... 0 L. Harris, jun c Summers...... 3 – not out...... 2 Extras...... 3

36 91

Sir Claude de Crespigny’s XI

Sir Claude de Crespigny b Waters...... 6 – b Waters ...... 28 J. Summers, sen c H. Firmin, jun...... 11 – b Waters ...... 9 J. Harvey b Waters...... 0 – b Goodwin...... 4 Tiffin c Master de Crespigny...... 0 – not out...... 1 H. J. Firmin, sen st Waters...... 4 – st Goodwin ...... 7 C. Cook b Goodwin ...... 0 – b Goodwin...... 2 B. Sainty not out...... 0 – lbw ...... 0 Ling c Ridgley...... 2 – st Goodwin ...... 0 Master Gurdon-Rebow c Waters...... 1 – c Ridgley...... 0 I. Harris, sen b Waters...... 3 – b Waters ...... 3 P. Havens, jun c Goodwin ...... 0 – c Goodwin ...... 1 J. Summers, jun b Goodwin ...... 2 – b Goodwin...... 29 Extras...... 0

29 84

10 1856 TO 1868: THE FIRST GENTLEMAN PATRONS OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Waters, who had by then been the rector at St Mary’s for more than ten years. The match was played on the Mill Field on Tuesday 17 August 1858 and was won by Rev. Waters’s team. The scores in the match were unremarkable and rather less significant than the players who took part and the celebrations that followed. The teams were chosen to pit fathers against sons, with two representatives each from the Harris, Summers, Cook and Firmin families. Playing for Rev. Waters were Sir Claude’s eldest son, Master Claude Champion de Crespigny and, for the opposition, Master Hector Gurdon-Rebow; both boys were 11 years old. Between innings, a handsome repast was enjoyed courtesy of Sir Claude with another of the club’s patrons, John Gurdon-Rebow MP acting as chairman for the day. The speeches “commemorated” the formation of a new cricket club in Wivenhoe. This was the second occasion on which a cricket club was founded in the village. Although Sir Claude must have been one of the better players on the day, he did not do particularly well with the bat. He must also have been a modest sort of chap because he invited his friend, John Gurdon-Rebow, to take the chair for the day, did not insist on the match being played at the Hall, yet still paid for the refreshments. The next significant match in the history of the club took place the following year on Thursday 14 July 1859. It was again a match involving Sir Claude’s XI. This time they played Mr Daniel’s XI. Sir Claude’s team included a couple of regulars who had played in his team the year before against the cricket-loving clergyman, Rev. Waters’s XI. This time, however, Sir Claude picked young Claude, his eldest son, now aged 12, to play for his side rather than for the opposition. The match was again at the Mill Field and Sir Claude’s team easily won by an innings and 11 runs. There was a large crowd watching, including Rev. Waters, who was chairman for the day’s proceedings. The celebrations between innings included a “capital luncheon, tastefully arranged in a tent decorated with flags and flowers”, courtesy of Rev. Waters and Sir Claude. During lunch, Rev. Waters proposed a toast to the “success of the Wivenhoe club”. Sir Claude replied, toasting his absent friend John Gurdon-Rebow. Then Mr C.G. Firmin, secretary of the club spoke on behalf of the club. In his heartfelt speech, he demonstrated the great debt of gratitude Wivenhoe cricketers felt to Sir Claude. He proposed “the health of Sir Claude de Crespigny, a gentleman whom we all ought to be proud of; for to him not only are we in great measure indebted for

11 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

MR DANIELS’ XI V SIR CLAUDE DE CRESPIGNY’S XI A celebration of Sir Claude’s patronage of the club

At the Mill Field Wivenhoe, 14 July, 1859. Sir Claude de Crespigny’s side won by an innings and 11 runs.

Mr Daniels’ XI

Daniels b Wilkins ...... 4 – c Moore b Sir Claude ...... 0 W. Goodwin b Sir Claude...... 2 – b Wilkins ...... 0 W. Ridgley b Sir Claude...... 0 – b Sir Claude ...... 0 R. Tiffin lbw b Wilkins ...... 1 – st C.G. Firman ...... 3 Seagars c Turpin b Sir Claude...... 0 – b Sir Claude ...... 0 J. Smith b Wilkins ...... 0 – b Master C. de Crespigny...... 1 H.B. Firman b Sir Claude...... 32 – b Master C. de Crespigny...... 2 G. Chamberlain c Sir Claude b Wilkins. 0 – b Wilkins ...... 20 P. Havens b Wilkins ...... 1 – c J. Cook b Sir Claude...... 1 A. Brown run out...... 2 – not out...... 1 J. Husk b Wilkins ...... 2 – b Sir Claude ...... 0 R. Everard not out ...... 2 – run out...... 2 Byes ...... 2 B 1, w 4 ...... 5

48 35

Sir Claude de Crespigny’s XI

Sir Claude de Crespigny b Goodwin..... 25 H.J. Firman d Daniels ...... 14 C.G. Firman b Goodwin ...... 2 Cookson b Goodwin...... 0 J. Moore b Daniels ...... 5 Swainson b Firman...... 24 J. Turpin b Daniels ...... 1 Master C. de Crespigny b Daniels ...... 1 J. Cook b Ridgeley ...... 12 W. Madden not out ...... 1 Wilkins b Daniels ...... 0 J. Blyth run out...... 0 Byes ...... 9

12 1856 TO 1868: THE FIRST GENTLEMAN PATRONS OF WIVENHOE CRICKET this day’s amusement, but also for the formation of our club, which, I am proud to say, is progressing very favourably; and I trust the day is not far distant when it will be as flourishing and reap as many laurels as the Wivenhoe club in days of yore.” After the match, tea was taken in the “club house”. Wivenhoe cricketers used the term “club house” in the late 1800s to mean the Park Hotel, the favoured HQ of the club. In his speech, Firmin was almost certainly referring to that period in the early 1840s when the first club had been formed and then lapsed some years later.

1859: Early Matches against Local Villages As well as the grand festival matches such as those involving Sir Claude’s XI, Wivenhoe cricketers were playing increasingly regular matches against local clubs. The seriousness of the cricket should not be doubted. In August 1859, while playing away against Colchester in a two innings match (as most matches were at that time), a dispute took place over who had actually won. Colchester batted first and had set Wivenhoe 71 to win in the 4th innings of the match. The match was a normal declaration match and stumps were to be drawn at 6.30 p.m. However, the umpire omitted to call time until a few minutes after half past six, by which time Wivenhoe had hit the winning runs. A debate then ensued about whether the second innings of each team should be null and void and the match decided on the first innings scores, in which case Colchester would have won. Wivenhoe must have prevailed in the argument because they kept the match ball as the victor’s prize. That was not the end of it. The following day, a scorebook error was discovered and the match had in fact been tied. Wivenhoe still kept the ball. The match was the club’s first ever recorded tie, and the whole episode proves two things – that cricket was played with as much passion then as it is now, and that scorebook errors existed then as they do now.

1863: Cricket at Wivenhoe Park As if the excellent patronage of Sir Claude was not enough, Wivenhoe cricket also enjoyed the support of John Gurdon-Rebow who lived at Wivenhoe Park. He also loved the game and records show that he too hosted cricket matches in the mid-1860s. His son Hector represented

13 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Essex in 1866, ten years before the formal founding of the county club. On Monday 31 August 1863, an interesting match took place at Wivenhoe Park between Wivenhoe Boys and Wivenhoe Men. Sir Claude did not play in the match although his son, Claude jun., did. The boys won the match handsomely by an innings and 2 runs. The match was notable because of the bowling of Sir Claude’s second son Philip Augustus, who went on to play for Hampshire in the 1880s, and that of Hector Gurdon-Rebow (who between them took 17 wickets), and the batting of James Round (who made 57 out of the winning total of 100 in the boys first and only innings). James Round, however, would go on to make the greatest contribution of all. In 1876, he was a co-founder and the first ever chairman and captain of Essex County Cricket Club. In January of that year, the following article appeared in the Chelmsford Chronicle:

“A public meeting will be held at the Shire Hall, Chelmsford on Friday, 14th January, 1876, at three o’clock, to consider the desirability of forming a county cricket club with a ground at Brentwood. Signed I.E. Perry-Wallington and James Round.”

The meeting duly took place with James Round in the chair, and as a result of his energy and enthusiasm, the Essex club was formed. The annual subscription was one guinea and Round captained the side until 1883. He eventually played 22 first-class matches for Oxford University, Essex and the MCC and would undoubtedly have played many more had his duties as a barrister and a member of parliament not prevented him from doing so. The next significant match took place the following year, on Monday 22 August 1864. Sir Claude’s XI played a match against his good friend John Gurdon-Rebow’s XI at Wivenhoe Park. The match is significant because it involves the two great patrons of Wivenhoe cricket playing against each other. The match was typically low scoring and John Gurdon-Rebow’s team won.

1866: Spoilt For Choice: The Three Cricket Grounds of the 1860s During the 1860s, Wivenhoe cricketers enjoyed playing at three different grounds in the village – the Mill Field, Tenacres in the grounds of Wivenhoe Hall and at Wivenhoe Park.

14 1856 TO 1868: THE FIRST GENTLEMAN PATRONS OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

WIVENHOE MEN’S XI V WIVENHOE BOYS’ XI Some impressive performances from the boys

At Wivenhoe Park, 31 August 1863. Wivenhoe Boys’ XI won by an innings and two runs. The match winning bowlers for the Boys’ XI were Philip de Crespigny and Hector Gurdon-Rebow. The match-winning batsman was James Round who would go on to become, in 1876, a co-founder and the first ever captain of Essex County Cricket Club.

Wivenhoe Men’s XI

C.C. De Crespigny c Havens...... 0 – b P. De Crespigny ...... 2 W. Cockerell b H. Toler...... 7 – b P. De Crespigny ...... 3 Denton b H. Gurdon-Rebow...... 2 – b H. Gurdon-Rebow ...... 0 O.G. Green b H. Gurdon-Rebow ...... 1 – b H. Gurdon-Rebow ...... 0 Aungien not out...... 1 – run out...... 0 J. Harvey c P. De Crespigny ...... 16 – b P. De Crespigny ...... 9 G. Green b P. De Crespigny...... 6 – b H. Gurdon-Rebow ...... 1 Woodward b P. De Crespigny...... 3 – b H. Gurdon-Rebow ...... 2 Pettit b P. De Crespigny...... 3 – b P. De Crespigny ...... 17 W. Browne b P. De Crespigny...... 1 – b H. Gurdon-Rebow ...... 0 C. Browne b P. De Crespigny...... 0 – not out...... 0 Byes ...... 16 Byes ...... 8

56 42

Wivenhoe Boys’ XI

P. De Crespigny c W. Cockerell...... 6 H. Gurdon-Rebow b C.C. De Crespigny 0 H. Toler b C.C. De Crespigny ...... 5 J. Toler c G. Green...... 0 J. Ward not out...... 1 J. Round c W. Cockerell ...... 57 E.T. Waters b C.C. De Crespigny...... 0 A. Cockerell c and b Woodward ...... 8 C. Cockerell c G. Green ...... 2 P. Havens c W. Browne ...... 8 Swainson run out...... 2 Byes ...... 11

100

15 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

By 1860, the playing of cricket was already well established at the Mill Field. The Mill Field appears on the 1844 tithe award map of Elmstead as plot no. 594 owned by Nicholas Caesar Corsellis, uncle of Nicholas Caesar Corsellis Lawton who would become the first president of the cricket club in 1879. At its north end, it has a wide, flattish area near the top of Rectory Hill at a spot where the Millfields School now stands (see map on page 59). It has been used extensively in Wivenhoe’s history as an area for sports, military encampments and fireworks displays. The most likely position of the cricket pitch was the clear, flat area where Bowes Road runs today. Sir John Gurdon-Rebow had enthusiastically introduced cricket to the second of the grounds, at Wivenhoe Park, in the early 1860s. There is plenty of flat ground at the park upon which to play cricket. Almost anywhere on the area between the Boundary Road and the big house would have made a good pitch. On the map (page 59) the pitch is shown, for illustrative purposes, in the same location as the main pitch the University of Essex cricketers use today. A little later, in the 1860s, Sir Claude introduced cricket to his paddock at Tenacres, which was part of the estate of the Hall. The date of the first formal match at Tenacres is uncertain, although Sir Claude (4th Baronet), eldest son of Sir Claude (3rd Baronet), wrote a charming letter to the Wivenhoe club in 1930 in which he recalled playing near “the Lodge” with “the Daniels family” in the 1850s. The Lodge still stands and is located on the corner of the current De Vere Lane and the Avenue and would have been near the boundary of the cricket ground at Tenacres. Several personal reflections and contemporary reports in newspaper articles refer to the “beauty” of Tenacres. Through the trees that surrounded the pitch, there would have been a marvellous view of the Hall and, beyond that, of the rooftops of the village and across the river towards Rowhedge. The village of Wivenhoe approached the end of the 1860s with a very healthy cricket club, three grounds upon which to host matches, a keen and enthusiastic patronage and a healthy membership. The weakness, if there was one, was that the club still depended very heavily on its gentlemen patrons and had not yet put in place a formal set of rules and a full committee of officers. Sir Claude (3rd Bart.) died in 1868. By then his work as the catalyst that relaunched Wivenhoe cricket was done.

16 1856 TO 1868: THE FIRST GENTLEMAN PATRONS OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny (4th Bart.) (1847–1935) Sir Claude (4th Baronet) was the eldest son of Sir Claude William Champion de Crespigny (3rd Baronet) who was the first gentleman patron of Wivenhoe cricket and to whom must go much of the credit for the formation of a club in Wivenhoe in 1858. The noble French ancestors of Sir Claude had arrived in England in the late seventeenth century after having fled France during the persecution of the Huguenot Protestants by Louis XIV. George III granted the de Crespigny family the British baronetcy (which is similar to a knighthood but is heredi- tary and bestows on a commoner the right to use the title “Sir”) in 1805. Sir Claude, the head of the family that arrived in Wivenhoe in 1856 was the 3rd Baronet. He and his son played cricket in Wivenhoe in the 1860s, and when the 3rd Baronet (usually abbreviated to Bart.) 6. Sir Claude Champion de died in 1868 Sir Claude became 4th Bart. He Crespigny (4th Bart.). was a truly remarkable man. The younger Sir Claude was a gifted sportsman and fearless adven- turer. In his life he would serve as an officer in the Royal Navy and the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, become the leading amateur steeplechase jockey in England (and still be competing at the age of 62), and take up the new and dangerous hobby of hot air ballooning in the latter part of his life. He would take part in many military campaigns at sea and on land and in his civilian life he would get embroiled in many fist fights where he believed honour was at stake or a lesson in manners had to be taught. He once offered his services as a guest picador while travelling in Cuba. He tried to get a place on Stanley’s expedition to Africa and, on another occasion, somehow found himself an assistant to the hangman at Chelmsford Gaol. He rode with the Essex & Suffolk Hounds from the age of seven and went on to hunt big game in India and Africa, filling his home with hunting trophies. Throughout his life, he kept himself fit and, in his words, “as hard as nails” by taking regular 20-mile walks or spending many hours pushing the heavy roller on the cricket pitch at his home.

17 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

He was born in Chelsea in 1847 and the family moved out to Essex around 1854. By 1856, his parents were resident at Wivenhoe Hall where he and his father played cricket together. His mother decided to leave Wivenhoe in 1868 when her husband died, although by then the teenage Claude had left home to join the Royal Navy. After leaving Wivenhoe, the family moved to a large house (called “Champion Lodge”) at Wickham Bishops near Maldon. When his mother died in 1876, Sir Claude and his wife Georgiana stayed in Champion Lodge and raised a family of nine children, including five boys, all of whom they named Claude. He published his memoirs in 1896 (and updated them in 1910). The 1896 book is freely available to download from the Internet and is a fascinating and recommended read. In 1908 a photograph of Sir Claude looking sharp in top hat and tails appeared in the local newspaper (see Figure 6). The hilarious caption beneath the picture sums up his life. It reads “Sir Claude de Crespigny (Bart.) who is arranging a balloon race between the Valkyrie and the Lotus. It is understood that this race, if arranged, may probably be started at Maldon. Sir Claude, despite the fact that he has passed his sixtieth year, and undeterred by his many accidents, will probably travel in one of the balloons. He has had two leg bones broken while ballooning, three arm bones smashed while hunting, three ribs fractured while steeplechasing, one rib broken in a cab accident, one finger broken while riding, and two fingers fractured on a ‘rough’, in addition to having been partially scalped by a favourite monkey.” What a man! His affection for Wivenhoe where he spent his formative years and learnt to play cricket is not in doubt. He wrote a short letter to the club in 1930 in response to a query from George Slaughter asking what he could remember from his childhood. The letter, written in Sir Claude’s own hand, is a treasured part of the club’s archive. He and Lady Georgiana returned to Wivenhoe twice in 1934, a year before they both died, to celebrate his 87th birthday and then later in the year, their 64th wedding anniversary at the Falcon Hotel. The report of the birthday celebration in the local newspaper describes it as a “happy and remarkable” gathering and makes it clear that even then, he was still in good form. Apparently, many toasts were drunk, many old friends were present and a number more “were sent for”. They probably turned up if they knew what was good for them!

18 1856 TO 1868: THE FIRST GENTLEMAN PATRONS OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Regardless of what one might think about his seemingly insatiable appetite for adventure and fighting, his memoirs make it clear that he thought very hard about the morality of all that he did in his very privileged life. His preparedness to rise to almost any sporting challenge and the fact that he wrote so generously about his friends and colleagues leaves no doubt that he would have been a popular member of the cricket club if he had stayed around Wivenhoe a little longer. It is a great shame that he did not.

Chapter 3 1869 to 1908: Growth of the Club at the Tenacres Cricket Ground

First recognisable club as we know it today, full committee, AGMs, league entry, large fixture list, smokers and concerts, growth and ambition, beauty of Tenacres, arrival of Henry Swan, great players and promise, cricket weeks, bands and crowds, all dashed by Alexander Barlow, sharp decline, near collapse.

1879: The Third Founding of Wivenhoe Cricket Club Although cricket in Wivenhoe had been left in a healthy state when Sir Claude William de Crespigny died in 1868, it was not until 1879 that the club formalised its existence with the appointment of its first full committee including a president, chairman, secretary, treasurer and first eleven captain. The first president was Nicholas Caesar Corsellis Lawton, the Lord of the Manor of Wivenhoe and owner of a significant part of the land in the parishes of Wivenhoe and Elmstead. Lawton had recently moved back into the area and was by then resident at Wivenhoe Hall. He had allowed cricket to carry on being played at Tenacres on the Wivenhoe Hall estate after the departure of the de Crespignys and was the natural choice for the first president of the club. The first full secretary of the club was Dick Ham. He was a popular and hard working secretary who placed the club affairs and finances on a firm footing. A measure of the members’ appreciation of his secretarial services appeared in the report of the 1882 AGM at the Park Hotel. The members of the AGM presented him with an engraved silver biscuit jar and marmalade jar to match, which had been “cheerfully subscribed for amongst the members”. He thanked them in true Victorian style that

20 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND evening and spoke from the heart by saying “when I look back on what I have done as secretary of the club, I feel it insignificant when I compare it with your feelings to me this evening. However long I might remain secretary of Wivenhoe cricket club, or however far I might happen to be from it, I shall always value highly this evening’s presentation.” The first captain was Joseph Harvey, a shipbuilder by trade who had played for the club as a young man in the de Crespigny years of the 1850s. When he took on the captaincy, he was already in his forties and played on until he reached 50.

1882: The First Australian Influence at the Club Nicholas Lawton died in 1882 and a new president was elected. The second ever president of the club, from 1882 to 1886, was an Australian and Old Etonian called James Jackson who moved into Wivenhoe Hall after Lawton died. Jackson was born in 1845, the son of a successful Australian merchant. His place of birth is recorded as Government House, in the Toorak district of Melbourne. He arrived at Eton College in 1858 as a 12-year old and went straight on from there in 1864 to Trinity College, Cambridge as a Pensioner (fee-paying student). He graduated in 1868 and later became the director of a waterworks company in Kimberley, South Africa, before retiring to Wivenhoe in 1881. The engineering knowledge he acquired at the waterworks was to stand him in good stead. Apart from being the first recorded of a very long and happy tradition of Australians at the cricket club, Jackson’s most important contribution to the village of Wivenhoe started at 9.18 on the morning of Tuesday 22 April 1884 when the great earthquake struck and caused major damage to homes and businesses. Jackson led the disaster recovery arrangements and oversaw the programme of repair works. The year 1882, which was the first of Jackson’s presidency, is a very significant one in the history of English and Australian cricket, for it is the year in which the battle for the Ashes began. It was the Oval Test of August 1882, which Australia won after a very tight finish, to record their first ever victory over England. The famous mock obituary to English cricket appeared a few days later, on 2 September, in the Sporting Times and a group of Melbourne women presented the symbolic urn to the touring English team during the winter of 1882/3 as they fought to recover “the Ashes of English cricket”.

21 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

7. The author at Toorak House, Melbourne, the birthplace, in 1845, of James Jackson, the second president of Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. Toorak is a fashionable suburb of Melbourne, and James Jackson’s father, also called James, who was a successful merchant at the time, built Toorak House. When the Jackson family moved out in the 1850s, the building was sold to the state of Victoria and renamed Government House. The picture was taken in December 2010 on the eve of England retaining the Ashes at the Boxing Day Test during the 2010/11 series.

There are no records of how much James Jackson enjoyed the Australian victory in the late summer of 1882. It has to be hoped for the sake of Ham, Harvey and the other Wivenhoe cricketers that their club president was a model of modesty and discretion as he strolled around the outfield at Tenacres basking in the reflected glory of an Australian victory – as many of his fellow countrymen have done since!

1894: The Smokers! The cricket club had been raising funds by holding occasional whist drives and genteel musical concerts and poetry readings since the 1860s. However, tastes developed and, in 1894, the club held the first recorded Smoker. The term “Smoker”, short for Smoking Concert, was first used around 1883 to describe the late evening, gentlemen only, comedy sketches and song shows at which club members would sit around smoking, discussing politics and

22 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND listening to performances, usually by club members. The practice caught on in Victorian society and many clubs and societies hosted Smokers towards the end of the century. The local newspaper described the 1894 Smoker as a “very harmonious” event. After drinking loyal toasts, around eight club members presented their musical offerings, which Fred Lax accompanied on the piano. The evening’s proceedings were inter- rupted by a special presentation of a silver cigarette case to Charles Gibson Scofield, who had “performed the hat trick on no fewer than three occasions during the season”. 8. Concert for club funds. This programme for a concert at the old boys’ school, which was In the following year, situated where the library now stands, is typical of 1895, a Smoker took place fund raising events of the 1880s. Australian James after a cricket match earlier Jackson, club president from 1882 to 1886, was in the day between the master of ceremonies. The Victorian typesetter who produced the programme appears to have Wivenhoe Yachtsmen and been on a veritable tour de force, managing to get the Wivenhoe Cricketers, 11 different fonts into one small handbill. which, embarrassingly, the yachtsmen won. The ritual of the cricketers playing against the sailing club was still alive 100 years later, with the winners of the match still traditionally presented with the Ducks Cup. (The Ducks Cup is a rather unattractive bronze trophy, made at the Rowhedge shipyard in the early 1950s during the presidency of Donald Oxton, the MD of the shipyard. The trophy still sits in the cricket club pavilion.) The event took place at the Park Hotel and was another successful occasion. A slight damper on

23 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET the evening occurred when Dr Pender-Smith, a respected member of the community and accomplished cricketer, set off to give three friends a lift home at 11 p.m. in his horse and trap. The party was thrown into the road when the shafts of the trap broke as they set off. They must have been in a relaxed physical state because no one was seriously injured. What a wretched coincidence it was that an accident caused by such a random event as a mechanical failure of the trap shafts should occur late one Saturday evening as the party were leaving the Park Hotel after a night of drinking and merriment! By 1897, the Smoker had become an annual event. The 1897 Smoker was also a particular success and the Victorian newspaper report of the event evokes very well the tone of the evening. Quoting heavily from that source, the Smoker took place on 25 November at the club HQ, the Park Hotel, with club chairman Henry Rice presiding over “an influential gathering. The programme was opened by a pianoforte solo by Mr F.J. Lax”. Fred Lax was the leader of the Wivenhoe Brass Band, so no doubt was a hard act to follow. “Mr H. Chamberlain then sang ‘The little hero’ in a very creditable style, while Mr W. Cole’s selection on the whistle showed great talent in the manipulation of that instrument. Mr T. Fale elicited loud applause for ‘I’ve got a lot of ‘em at home’ and ‘Why, yes, to be sure’, singing as an encore ‘My old Dutch’. Mr J. Maskell fairly brought the house down with ‘Oh, let it be soon’, and Mr P. Chamberlain next sang ‘The wooden leg’d parson’. The programme was brought to a close with ‘Old King Cole’ and ‘Not that I wish to say anything wrong’ sung by Messrs J. Youngs and W. Hollins respectively. The toast of Queen and Royal Family was proposed by the chairman. After the singing of the National Anthem and Auld Lang Syne a very pleasant evening was brought to a close.” The highlight must surely have been Mr Cole’s whistle and his talented manipulation of that instrument! Cricket club Smokers resumed after the war and carried on until the mid-1920s. By 1930, they had stopped altogether and social events seemed to get a little more formal, almost as if a new era of reverence and temperance was dawning. For example, the annual dinner of 1929 was branded “The First Annual Dinner” of the club, even though annual dinners in various forms had taken place on many occasions since the late 1800s. It was almost certainly the rather puritanical approach of W.G. Loveless, who became president in 1930, that had influenced proceedings and ushered in a period of formality to Wivenhoe cricket.

24 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND

1895: Wivenhoe Cricket in the 1890s (The Arrival of League Cricket) In the early 1880s, the Wivenhoe club settled at Tenacres. Under the watchful eye of its treasurer, James Moore, it had no financial worries and, as it moved towards the end of the nineteenth century, its future looked rosy. The fixture card was stable and regular opponents included Clacton, Walton, Brightlingsea, Colchester, Birch, Layer, Kelvedon, Harwich Defences and the curiously named 48 High Street and Waterloo House. The matches were all friendlies, although disputes continued to occur from time to time. On one occasion while playing at Kelvedon in 1885, the Wivenhoe captain John Goodwin led his players from the field after the fall of the fifth Wivenhoe wicket. The Kelvedon umpire had just given two Wivenhoe batsmen out, both lbw to underhand balls, bowled around the wicket, which pitched over two feet outside the leg stump. Two weeks after the event, the local press was still hotly debating the dispute and, in the end, Goodwin felt moved to write a public letter to set the record straight. By 1896, the club felt confident enough to enter the Colchester & District Cricket League. This is the first recorded occasion of league cricket being played at Wivenhoe. In its first season the club finished in a creditable mid-table position having played 12, won five, lost five and drawn two in a league that included six other teams – Colchester, Colchester United, Culver Street Iron Works, Brantham, Manningtree Institute and West Mersea. West Mersea won the league that year. Matches were single innings declaration games, rearranged in the event of postponement through bad weather. The local newspaper gave the league ample coverage. Some ugly scenes of crowd disturbance spoilt the away match against Colchester United after the disputed run out of a Wivenhoe batsman. Similar unpleasantness occurred again at the August bank holiday friendly match in 1902 when a strong team, calling itself the “London XI”, visited Tenacres and during the match, which the visitors won easily, local hero Charles Scofield was repeatedly no-balled for throwing.

1897: The Book-keeping of Thomas Williamson and James Moore sen. James Moore sen., the first elected treasurer, and later his son James Moore jun., would be the club treasurers for most of the next 48 years.

25 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

9. Wivenhoe, c.1896. Back Row: H. Barker, H. Bird, H. Cook, J. Turner, Mr Street (umpire). Middle Row: J. Nicholls, Charles Scofield, Dr Pender-Smith, H. Adams (captain), O. Goodwin. Front Row Seated: C. Heath, J. Blake. The date of this picture is subject to debate. The framed copy of the picture, which has hung on the pavilion wall for many years, is titled “1897”. On the other hand, Dick Barton, Wivenhoe historian, who published a book on Wivenhoe in the 1970s, believes the date is 1895. The available evidence is inconclusive. In no single year in the nineteenth-century membership book are all these players registered as paid-up members of the club. The score on the scoreboard (151 for 2, which is an unusually high score for a nineteenth-century village cricket match) offers no clues. Therefore, “c.1896” is the best that can be concluded.

For many years, they were also the local correspondents for district news features in the Essex Standard. Father and son supported the club through some difficult times, including the First World War, until 1930 when James junior finally handed responsibility for the club’s finances to Charles Ashley. One of the most important legacies from the first ever formally elected club committee is the fine old cashbook. William Goodwin, the club secretary, started it in 1885 and passed it on to Thomas Williamson and James Moore sen. In it these men recorded the names and subscriptions paid by club members, income from match

26 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND fees, donations, gate money and general club expenditure. Now almost 130 years old, the cashbook resides in the club archive and offers a fascinating insight into the running of the club. Extracts from the cashbook for the season of 1897 are reproduced below. The modern day equivalent of the money (that is allowing for inflation and quoted in metric currency) involved in each transaction is shown in brackets after each of the sums in pounds, shillings and pence. The total cost of running the cricket club for the 1897 season was £38 16s 10d (= £3,529). This compares with the cost of running the club in 2010, which was around £70,000. The main conclusion, therefore, is that it is 20 times more expensive to run the club today than it was 120 years ago, though surprisingly the annual player subscription has only gone up by an equivalent factor of around five, from £14 to £75.

10. Extracts from a nineteenth-century cricket club cashbook. “Year 1897” The handwriting of J.T. Williamson, Hon. Secretary of the club.

“Receipts. Feb 12 Balance from late Secretary 13s 6d” (= £61). The cash that W.J. Carrington, the previous secretary of the club, handed over to J.T. Williamson. In 1897, the secretary rather than the treasurer was responsible for day-to-day book- keeping.

“Feb 12 Gross proceeds of Concert £8 4s 6d” (= £747). The concert was held on 12 February at the Old Board School (where the library now stands) and, judging by the profit, was a great success

27 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

“Feb 20 Jas Round MP Donation 5s” (= £23). A donation to club funds from James Round MP (for Harwich until 1906). Round had played cricket at Wivenhoe as a boy in 1863 and went on to become a founder, and the first ever captain, of Essex County Cricket Club in 1876.

“Apr 7 A.K. Barlow Esq. Subs £5” (= £405). The annual subscription paid by A.K. Barlow, president of the club, almost 30 times the going rate of 3s 6d for an annual subscription.

“Mar 10 N.C.C. Lawton Donation 10s 6d” (= £43). A donation by the son of former (and first) president of the club, Nicholas Caesar Corsellis Lawton.

“June 7 Share of Gate on Whit Monday £5 16s 11d” (= £453). A share, probably half (after expenses) of the gate money collected on Whit Monday when a Cricket Club XI played against a Tradesmen’s XVIII at Tenacres. The match was won by a margin of 4 runs by the 18 strong Tradesmen’s team. A brass band played during the match and a dance was held in the evening. The total takings for the day were £13 5s 11d (= £1,077). If the cost of a ticket was, say 1s (= £4), then well over 200 people must have paid to watch the match.

“July 1 O.S. Goodwin Subs 3s 6d” (= £14). The annual subscription to the club as paid by all members, including juniors. Ock Goodwin was clearly a late payer as he did not pay until July and almost all other subs had been collected by the end of April. Around 60 people had paid membership subs by the end of summer.

Aug 31 Band concert re. £1 2s 2d” (= £89). The receipts from the open-air dance held on the last day of cricket week. The sum of just over £1 was disappointing and was the result of a rainy evening and a late night theatre special train.

28 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND

“Expenditure. Feb 15 Voucher 1 Use of Room for Concert 10s” (= £40). The hire charge from the Old Board School for the use of the hall for the concert on 12 February.

“Mar 3 Voucher 20 Clapshaw & Cleeve, Bats £1 4s 3d” (= £98). Purchase of bats from Clapshaw & Cleave, a well respected supplier of high quality golf clubs and cricket bats. There is no record of how many bats (presumably not many) were supplied for the price paid. The club supplied kit for the use of members right up until 1991.

“June 7 Hewitt Gate attendance (Whit Monday) 5s” (= £20) and “Police Officer ditto 5s” (= £20). The cost of manning the gate for the Whit Monday match against the Tradesmen’s XVIII. The event also required the attendance of a policeman for some reason!

“Aug 14 Turner in match v Institute made 50 runs. I gave him 5s” (= £20). Money given as a reward to J. Turner, the Wivenhoe opening batsman, who made exactly 50, out of a winning total of 112, against the Soldiers Institute on the first Saturday of cricket week.

“Balance £1 4s 6½d” (= £99). The auditor has corrected the balance of cash in hand to make the income and expenditure tally.

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1897: The First Recorded Cricket Week The first recorded Cricket Week ran from Saturday 14 August to Saturday 21 August 1897. During the week, the club played five matches at Tenacres against the Soldiers’ Institute, Great Bentley, Thorpe, Mr A.F.G. Wardell’s XI and the Culver Street Ironworks. Wivenhoe won all five. On the last day, a band played music during the match and, in the evening, there was an open-air dance. Unfortunately, the showery weather and a special late train laid on for theatre-goers kept attendance numbers down. Overall, the week was well attended and deemed a great success.

11. Second eleven, 1902. Back Row: E. Tabor, Charles Scofield, P. Chaney, P. Barr. Middle Row: A. Smith, E. Heath, Cliff Scofield, B. Dann, T. Cuthbert. Front Row Seated: S. Street, C. Heath, C. Cole, R. Lax. The names of the players in this picture are very different from those of the first eleven, which were extensively reported in the local newspaper in 1902. Therefore, this must indeed be the second eleven. Two of the Scofield brothers appear in the picture; young Cliff (or, more correctly, Harold Clifford) who appears to be keeping- wicket and his older brother Charles Gibson Scofield, still looking fresh faced in his early thirties, but nearing the end of his Wivenhoe playing days.

30 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND

1905: The Last Happy Seasons before the Great War In 1904, the club began to struggle a bit for playing membership. They finished at the bottom of the Colchester & District League and on one occasion took the field with only eight men. To lift the standard of cricket and levels of membership during the summer of 1905, the club secretary, Dr Pender-Smith, invited a new young member of the club called Henry Dawes Swan to consider taking on the captaincy of the club. Swan had arrived in Wivenhoe in 1904, via Uppingham and Exeter College Oxford, to become chairman of Messrs Forrestt & Co., Ship- builders, a struggling local business and a gift from his father. Swan accepted the offer of captaincy and was appointed for the seasons of 1906 and 1907. They were remarkable seasons because of the high quality players he managed to attract to the club for the historic summer of 1907 and because, unbeknown to the players, sadly, it would be the last truly happy season that any Wivenhoe cricketer would enjoy until after the First World War. Before the start of the 1906 season, as newly appointed captain, Swan was chosen to make the regular annual representations to the occupant of Wivenhoe Hall, who at the time was Alexander Kay Barlow, to secure permission to carry on playing at Tenacres. Barlow was an unpredictable man. As chairman of the Town Council, he was inclined to paint poli- tical slogans on the long brick wall of the Hall that ran down the side of the High Street. One of the preconditions that Barlow set for the use of Tenacres was that Swan should bring in some new blood. In the absence of an effective colts system to provide gifted youngsters, Swan turned to a number of older county cricketers whom he believed would enjoy playing at Wivenhoe but whom Swan admitted “had not exactly birth qualifications”. Among the first-class players who subsequently joined Wivenhoe in the summer of 1907 at Swan’s invitation were Digby Loder Armroid Jephson, of Surrey and the Gentlemen of England, one of the last celebrated underarm lob bowlers and popularly known as “the Lobster” in cricketing circles. He also recruited brothers Henry David and Richard Prescott Keigwin, who had already played for Essex. R.P. Keigwin, a world authority on the writing of Hans Christian Andersen, would subsequently play for Gloucestershire and score heavily against the mighty 1921 Australians. Miles Townsend, another Gloucestershire player, also joined and, according to Swan, young George Challenor

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played, still in his teens in 1907 but later regarded by some as the finest West Indian batsman of his day. Jephson, Townsend and the Keig- wins all definitely played their part in Wivenhoe’s successful season of 1907. The club cashbook from that year carries entries that prove beyond doubt that they were fully paid-up members of the club. Newspaper reports too confirm that they played. We cannot say the same of George Challenor, for sadly no records exist to confirm that he ever played at Wivenhoe. It would have been wonderful if he had, but one final note on this matter. In a speech to the sixth annual club dinner in Decem- ber 1934, the Essex all-rounder Peter Smith, who appeared for England 12. Richard Prescott Keigwin immediately after the war and often was a fully paid-up member of the club during the remarkable season visited friends in Wivenhoe during the of 1907. Besides being a respected Colchester cricket week, referred to academic and decorated naval “the old days when Percy Perrin and officer, he must surely have been the best all-round sportsman ever other Essex giants played at the old to play for Wivenhoe. Hall ground”. There is no record of Perrin ever playing for Wivenhoe, and Swan never suggested that he did. Perrin was one of Essex’s truly great players and if Swan had believed he had played for Wivenhoe, then he would surely have mentioned it. We must assume, until evidence to the contrary turns up, that Perrin never played for, although he may possibly have played against, Wivenhoe. Reports of D.L.A. Jephson’s exploits confirm that he took plenty of wickets and batted aggressively in the name of Wivenhoe. He was certainly the most successful cricketer among the influx of 1907. His Cambridge University and Surrey first-class career had ended around three years earlier by which time he had represented the Gents of England alongside W.G. Grace, captained his county, taken almost 300 first-class wickets and scored almost 8,000 runs. According to his

32 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND

13. Digby Jephson hits to leg. An undated picture taken from a series of photos of the player in his prime demonstrating a range of cricket shots. Note the sparse leg protection and complete absence of protection on the top hand. biographer, he was a cricketer, stockbroker and poet. Most interesting of all was his bowling style. He had started out as a quick overarm bowler, but later developed his underarm action. Underarm bowling was quickly going out of fashion in 1907 and, even in his last days at Surrey, he had become something of a curiosity. Anthony Meredith, Jephson’s biographer, eloquently describes his bowling style as follows: “There was much amusement at his bowling action whereby, with a few crab-like steps, body bent double and with knuckles scraping the turf, the ball was sent on its spinning flight. Quick runs or quick wickets would usually result, for Digby’s lobs seemed to elicit a belligerent response from the most pacific of batsmen. As the ball was struck, raucous encouragement and laughter would echo round the ring. And if a wicket fell – to a catch on the leg-side boundary or the stumping of a stranded charger – the cheerful abuse would transfer from the perspiring bowler to the retreating batsman. Digby Jephson was rapidly becoming one of The Oval’s ornaments and pleasures.”

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14. Digby Jephson, 1902. A popular print of the Surrey, and later Wivenhoe, bowler, by cartoonist Spy, which appeared in 1902 in Vanity Fair magazine. It captures his distinctive appearance and bowling action well. The notes that accompanied the cartoon read: “He is a most dependable person, who scores best on a slow wicket, though he can generally make runs when they are most wanted. He is a nice looking boy who has contributed entertainingly to cricket literature. He has also confessed to missing a player through sleeping at extra-slip; yet there is no risk of the depreciation of Surrey cricket while he is the Surrey Captain.”

The Lobster had been born with one leg shorter than the other and walked with a rolling gait. His Victorian centre-parted hairstyle and drooping moustache complemented well his Roman nose and high brow. Although always an amateur, Jephson never enjoyed the comfort of an assured income, and struggled to make ends meet for much of his later life. He died in 1926 aged 55 years old. Apart from his feats as a player, he left behind a legacy of poetry about the game of cricket, most of which was written while he was still playing. Although some of his short stories and poetry were published during his lifetime, his writing did not enjoy universally favourable reviews from the critics, but one particularly well observed verse, Fascination, will strike a chord with ageing cricketers everywhere.

34 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND

Fascination

Strange fascination of a wooden bat! Weird magic hidden in a leathern ball! Ye clutch the heart as bands of hardened steel When baby summer calls us once again To close-trimmed turf; we say we will not go, But yet we go.

Strange fascination of those all brave hours Through which we strive to hold the twin-bailed sticks Intact! Strange fascination when we hurl The ball with grim exactitude until We drop. Some laugh, they cannot understand, But yet we do.

Strange fascinations these, that force the feet Of age to crawl between the triple pegs Once more! Strange fascination, when the jest Of tactless youth turns on our bulk, our years, Our childish joy, they cannot understand, But yet we do.

Strange fascinations these, in serried ranks We see men sit throughout the live-long day Content! Strange fascinations, that do build A very world of fellowship, for those That play. Fools laugh, they cannot understand; Are we fools too?

D.L.A. Jephson, 1871–1926 Cambridge University, Surrey and Wivenhoe

Henry Dawes Swan (1879–1941) Henry Dawes Swan was captain of Wivenhoe cricket club in 1906 and 1907 and president from 1909 to 1922, when the club was relaunched after the First World War. He was a first-class cricketer – but only just. He played in one first-class match, in November 1922 while managing the 1922/3 MCC tour to Australia and New Zealand. The match in which he played was against Western Australia at Perth and he batted number eleven, was dismissed for nought, did not take a catch and did

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not bowl. No matter, that still qualifies him as a first-class cricketer! Swan was born in 1879 in Newcastle- upon-Tyne. His family moved south early in his life and he was educated at Eastbourne, Uppingham College and then Exeter College, Oxford. His father was very wealthy and a gift to his son in 1904 was the chairmanship of Messrs Forrestt & Co., a struggling shipbuilder in Wivenhoe. Unfortunately, young Henry was never able to turn the business around, perhaps because for him work was a distraction from cricket, which was more than just a hobby; it was his first love and became his life. He was never a great player, but 15. Henry Dawes Swan. This he never allowed that to dampen his informal picture shows off the cheerful personality and lack of enthusiasm. athleticism that made him so When he resigned from the captaincy popular and so well recognised of Wivenhoe in early 1908, it was for the in cricket circles the world over! very good reason that, at short notice, the owner had just taken away and ploughed up the club’s home ground at Tenacres. Coincidentally, at that time Colchester Corporation had just been gifted Lower Castle Park and was all set to open it as another recreation ground before Swan intervened and persuaded them that it was perfect for a cricket ground. He must have given a convincing sales pitch to the corporation, as well as to the Colchester members, because not only did they dedicate Lower Castle Park as a cricket ground, but they also erected a pavilion there and invited him to captain the club. Wivenhoe’s loss was Colchester’s gain. The consolation prize was that he became president of the Wivenhoe club. Significantly, 25 years later, he would say that “the two years in which I had the honour of captaining the Wivenhoe club were the two happiest years of my cricketing life.” He was a very dedicated supporter of all forms of cricket and, throughout his life, he did great things for cricket in Wivenhoe, Colchester, Essex and at the MCC. His best work of all was for Essex County Cricket Club where he would go on to become chairman from 1915 to 1925. Swan was

36 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND largely responsible for introducing county cricket festival weeks around the county to increase membership, raise funds and make county cricket more accessible. The county club, based at that time at Leyton had discovered Swan’s interest in cricket after the Essex Club & Ground team, led by Oswell Robert Borradaile, the Essex secretary, paid a visit to Tenacres in 1907. Soon after the visit, Henry Swan became a committee member of the county club and chairman of the special Organisation Committee, set up to take cricket to the people. As Swan put it, “in the non-metropolitan districts people are out of touch with the County Club and look upon it more as a Leyton institution.” By the time the Great War ended, Swan’s engaging personality and convivial nature had got him noticed in the MCC. His leadership and diplomatic skills earned him the job of managing the 1922/3 MCC tour to Australia and New Zealand. Apart from the very serious matter of an MCC tour, Swan organised countless other tours all over the test-playing world. His annual MCC tours to Yorkshire and the Channel Islands were especially popular, largely because of Swan’s personality. For many years in the 1930s, he brought the MCC team to Frinton for the annual fixture and the ex- Wivenhoe captain appears several times in the large photographs of the MCC teams on the pavilion walls of the Essex coast club. E.W. Swanton, the celebrated cricket writer and commentator, provided a good illus- tration of his playing ability when he wrote: “‘Swannie’, a large and heavy man, used to field at mid-on very straight, so that he was almost behind the bowler’s umpire. There was no question of his running after the ball and he used to convey the impression that it was well out of reach even when it was whistling past his boots. He went in, when he had to, at No. 11, and I never heard or read of his making double figures.” He was by no means solely a figure of fun. As Swanton’s words above suggest, there are many reports of the affection in which he was held and of the good deeds he did for many clubs and for cricket in general. Henry Swan returned to Wivenhoe 25 years later to speak at the fifth annual dinner in January 1934. Other guests that evening included Sir John Pybus, the local MP and Brian Castor, the secretary of Essex County Cricket Club. Swan had been promising to attend the dinner for a number of years and finally travelled up from Eastbourne for the dinner on 20 January at the British Legion Hall. Giving a sense of the formality of the occasion, the local newspaper reported that “during the repast –

37 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET excellently served by Messrs Wright Bros, under the guidance of Mr Victor Nash – members of the Manhattan Orchestra rendered selections.” In his speech, he spoke in complimentary terms about the Wivenhoe players from the turn of the century. He singled out for special praise, all- rounders H.J. Bird, Donald Durrell and Jack Turner. He recalled Walter Oxton’s excellent wicket keeping and Charles Gibson Scofield’s fast bowling. Of the latter, Swan said, “had he engaged in leg-theory he would have had a lot of batsmen running away from him” (the term “leg-theory” is a reference to the Bodyline controversy in Anglo–Australian cricket relations that occurred in the winter of 1932/3 and would have been fresh in the minds of all cricket lovers in 1934). Swan went on to recall the arrival in 1907 of the first-class players whom he had invited to Tenacres to raise standards. He mentioned Digby Jephson, the Surrey underarm lob bowler, the Keigwin brothers, Miles Townsend and Douglas Robinson both of Gloucestershire, all of whom played at Wivenhoe that year. He finished his speech by complimenting the Essex club on its new policy of taking all its matches into the county proper (for which much of the credit lay with Swan). In his reply, Castor, Essex secretary, complimented the Wivenhoe club. He said that “with intra-Empire cricket menaced by the schism on ‘bodyline bowling’ and with county clubs so financially distressed that they can scarcely carry on, it is a source of pride and comfort to all lovers of the game to know that village cricket is as strong and vigorous as ever.” When Henry Swan of Wivenhoe, Colchester and MCC, died in December 1941 his obituary in Wisden said “he had no pretensions to being a great cricketer, but his happy disposition made him an acquisition on all grounds … he was well known in Australia, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand.” He lived and died a very popular, cricket-loving man. Cricket lovers across northeast Essex should remember with gratitude the legacy left by this ex-Wivenhoe skipper when the county cricket week comes around every year to the Castle Park, Colchester.

1907: The Most Celebrated Season in Club History The 1907 season was a great success from start to finish. During the winter months, the pitch at Tenacres had been relaid and enlarged, with the outfield smoothed and its drainage improved. The fixture card listed 40 matches, including games for the newly formed “A” eleven (the term “A eleven”, meaning second eleven, would remain popular with the Wivenhoe

38 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND club for the next 40 years, more so than with any other local club apparently). The 1907 fixture list included matches against new and fashionable opponents such as Mistley, the Grammar School and Frinton (against which the club had not played for a decade). The match of the season however, was against Essex Club & Ground. It was a measure of the respect Henry Swan commanded that the fixture was granted by the Essex club, though he would go on to repay the favour many times over in later years. Inspired by their new captain, and knowing how tough the fixture card was going to be, the Wivenhoe players practised for several weeks before the season began. Their practice wicket was an area of hard asphalt (a by-product from the gasworks that had opened in 1861, thanks largely to the patronage of Sir Claude and his friend John Gurdon-Rebow) near the Ballast Quay. Even H.J. Bird, the former popular leading light of the club, who had not played for several seasons, agreed to come out of retirement for the summer of 1907. The season started well at Tenacres on 11 May with victory against Frinton (Frinton 62, Wivenhoe 88. Wivenhoe won by 26 runs). The next important matches were the Whit Monday game against the King’s Own Lancaster Regiment (King’s Own Lancasters 127 and 27–5, Wivenhoe 61 and 134. Match drawn.) and on the following day a 12-a- side match against a scratch team from the garrison brought down by Captain Lovett (Wivenhoe 71, Capt. Lovett’s XI 75. Capt. Lovett’s XI won by 4 runs). According to the local newspaper, both matches took place in fine weather and were watched by a good “gate”. The big match against Essex Club and Ground took place on Saturday 27 July (this would be the first of only three occasions in Wivenhoe history when the Essex club has sent a representative side to Wivenhoe; the other occasions were 1974 when Essex young amateurs visited and 1990 when the Essex second eleven came to Rectory Road). The 1907 Essex team included regular first eleven players C.E. Benham, A.E. Russell, E.J. Freeman (cousin of Tich Freeman of Kent, still the only man ever to take 300 wickets in an English first-class season) as well as former first-teamer and current Essex secretary, Oswell Borradaile. The local players were keen to appear in this most auspicious of matches and, with the exception of Miles Townsend, the Wivenhoe team did not include any of the big names that Swan had imported that summer. The Essex team duly thrashed the locals. However, the day was a big success and another page in the club’s history had been written.

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WIVENHOE V ESSEX CLUB & GROUND The biggest match in the history of the club?

At Tenacres, Wivenhoe, 27 July 1907. Essex Club & Ground won by 194 runs. The fact that this strong Essex team came to Tenacres demonstrates that county cricketers respected the young club captain, Henry Swan. The Essex team included three regular first team players, E.J. Freeman, Edward Russell and Charles Benham. The meeting of the two captains, Swan and O.R. Borradaile would be a fruitful one for Essex because Swan soon became a committee member and eventually chairman of the Essex club, and was largely responsible for the introduction of cricket festivals around the county.

Essex Club & Ground

A.E. Russell b Stedman...... 63 H. Archer not out ...... 46 J.R. Freeman b Turner ...... 3 E.F. Heath not out...... 6 A.C. Pearce b Durrell...... 8 Extras ...... 19 C.E. Benham b Turner...... 17 Bidmead c Oxton b Bird ...... 76 (7 wkts dec) 257 O.R. Borradaile b Whiting ...... 19 H.A. Cooper c Lax b Stedman ...... 0

M. Kemp-Welch and C. Cole did not bat.

Wivenhoe

B.U. Dent c Kemp-Welch b Benham.... 0 D. Durrell c Bidmead b Russell 6 M. Townsend c Freeman b Kemp-Welch 9 H.D. Swan lbw Kemp-Welch. 1 M.F. Whiting b Benham ...... 3 W. Oxton not out...... 3 H.J. Bird c Pearce b Kemp-Welch ...... 3 Extras ...... 2 V.J. Lewis c Freeman b Kemp-Welch... 1 J. Turner st Freeman b Russell...... 30 63 J.E. Stedman c Borradaile b Kemp-Welch 0 R.J. Lax run out ...... 5

40 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND

The next big event that summer was the cricket week that started on Bank Holiday Monday, 5 August (at that time the bank holiday was on the first Monday of August, rather than the last). First eleven matches were played during the week against Mistley, Langham Park and Donyland Druids and the “A” eleven played against Mr J. Cooper-Bland’s XI on the Thursday. The ground at Tenacres looked beautiful; the weather was mostly kind and the matches were well attended. Wivenhoe beat Langham Park, drew a rain affected match with Donyland and allowed Mistley to play out a losing draw. Digby Jephson was on particularly good form taking 6 for 31 on the Monday and 6 for 45 with his lobs on the Tuesday, before “delighting the spectators with some dashing hitting”. Even club captain Henry Swan had a good week with the bat; he made a rare foray into double figures against Mistley, finishing with 12 not out! The season finished with a match between a Wivenhoe club side and H.D. Swan’s XI. This was the first record of a club versus captain’s eleven match at Wivenhoe. The club side won easily and the scorecard shows that the match carried on after the team batting second had won (H.D. Swan’s XI 94, Wivenhoe 193–4. Wivenhoe won by 99 runs and 6 wickets!). What a season it was! What a pity it was all about to end!

1908: Eviction from the Ground at Tenacres At the end of the 1907 season, Wivenhoe cricket was on the up and looking set for a long run of good seasons. However, a mighty blow was just around the corner. In early 1908, A.K. Barlow was voted out of the chairmanship of Wivenhoe Town Council and a new leader, Henry Rice, chairman of the cricket club, took his place. To say that the deposed chairman took it badly would be an understatement. Part of his revenge against the village was to expel the cricketers from his pitch at Tenacres. Henry Swan was sent to ask him to reconsider. When Swan returned to Wivenhoe in 1934 to address the annual dinner, he recounted the meeting with Barlow. According to the former skipper, Barlow was “aggressively cutting an apple tree” as they spoke in the spring of 1908. That did not bode well for the outcome of the meeting. True to form, Barlow refused to change his mind. To prove his point, in case there was any doubt, Barlow had the ground at Tenacres ploughed up before the start of the season.

41 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

The effect on Wivenhoe cricket was disastrous. Although farmer Fred Watsham (a friend of the club and grandfather of 1950s Wivenhoe cricketer Ray Watsham), stepped up and offered the players use of a field on the Vine Farm behind the Flag Inn, nothing compared with the beauty or quality of the ground at Tenacres. The ex-first-class players whom Swan had imported left Wivenhoe before the start of 1908. R.P. Keigwin went off and joined Hadleigh and later Tendring Park (where, in 1953, he appeared in the local newspaper having scored a 50 in his seventieth year, and in 1959 had rejoined Hadleigh and was still playing aged 79!). Swan played one last game for the club at the makeshift Vine Farm ground, and then accepted the captaincy of Colchester & East Essex. As if the eviction from Tenacres was not enough of a blow to Wivenhoe cricket, the advent of the First World War was only a few years away and it too would take its toll. The great days of 1907 would soon seem a long way off.

The Final Innings of Dr W.G. Grace In the Easter of 1908, while still a paid-up member of Wivenhoe cricket club, Henry David Keigwin had the honour of opening the batting with Dr W.G. Grace at The Oval for the Gentlemen of England against Surrey. The match was hugely significant because it was the last first- class match that the great doctor ever played. The report of the match in Wisden omits to mention Keigwin’s Wivenhoe membership but describes a bleak scene at The Oval. On the first day of the match, it snowed heavily and a cold wind blew. W.G. Grace was by then long past his best and his powers were in sharp decline. When he and Keigwin opened the batting in the first innings, the first seven overs were maidens. When W.G. was finally out for 15, he had batted for 90 minutes. Clearly, he was in a circumspect mood that day and seeking to preserve his wicket at all costs. It seems the great doctor’s last innings may well have been the inspiration for one or two Wivenhoe batsmen of the modern era! No pictures exist of W.G. walking out to bat that day with his Wivenhoe partner (because no one knew at the time that it was his last ever first-class match), although a picture of the Gentlemen of England taken in 1899 shows W.G. in a team that also includes D.L.A. Jephson (of Surrey and Wivenhoe).

42 1869 TO 1907: GROWTH OF THE CLUB AT THE TENACRES CRICKET GROUND

Henry Keigwin died in action during the First World War in 1916, aged 35 near Thiepval in France.

***

There are three interesting connections to Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club in the fine old team shown overleaf. The picture shows the Gentlemen XI who took on the Players at Lord’s in 1899. It includes, first, Digby Jephson, the celebrated underarm lob bowler, who would become a Wivenhoe player in 1906 and 1907; second, the great Dr W.G. Grace whose final first class match would be at The Oval in 1908 when his opening partner would be H.D. Keigwin, who was at the time of the match, a Wivenhoe player; and third, a young Archie MacLaren who would make his last appearance for the MCC, 23 years later, as captain of the 1922/3 tourists to Australia and New Zealand with Henry Swan, former Wivenhoe captain and president, as the tour manager.

son. son. ph e J . A . L . D , y r F . B . C son, son, k ac J . S . F

ow R

t ron F . oore P . M . R race, G . G . Sherwin (umpire), W.M. Bradley, A.C. MacLaren, C.L. Townsend, West W , hji n i s jit an R . S . K or, or, g re g ac M . G Players, Lords, 1899. Lords, Back Row Players,

V ow R e Middl . ) re pi 16. Gentlemen XI XI Gentlemen 16. um (

Chapter 4 1909 to 1921: The Wilderness Years and the First World War

No ground, few members and a war, refusal to lay down and die, Scofield family fortitude, makeshift ground at Vine Farm, no league, few reports, matches on the Saltings, moves to hire council ground, new resurgence in committee and rules, arrival at Rectory Road.

1909: The Slow Homeless Decline Evicted at short notice in 1908 from its beautiful ground at Tenacres and having lost its captain and greatest players, the club faced an uncertain future. The first couple of years after 1908 were a struggle, but the club survived by playing mostly away matches and a few home matches at the ground offered by Fred Watsham behind the Flag Inn. In all, it played 17 matches in 1908. By 1909, the rot had begun to set in. The club by then had only 25 members. By 1911, there were 19 members and, by 1913, there were only four paid-up members recorded in the cashbook. Throughout this period, Charles Scofield and his sons Gibson and Cliff Scofield remained very loyal to the club. With the situation con- tinually deteriorating, Gibson Scofield chaired an extraordinary general meeting in 1912 to discuss the parlous state of the club’s affairs. It is unclear what special measures were agreed, other than to keep on playing at Vine Farm, which by then Fred Watsham was offering free of charge, and to make one last approach to Alexander Barlow, who had been re-elected as chairman of the council, for use of Tenacres. The president, who was by then Henry Swan, and the club captain, H.E. Jones, paid him a visit, but to no avail. Barlow would not budge. The following year entries in the cashbook tail off. Only one item of expenditure appears in 1913 – in May, rather ominously for “goods

45 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET removed from Vine Farm”. John Hawkins granted permission to play a couple of matches at Mill Fields that summer, but to all intents and purposes that appears to be the rather sad end of Wivenhoe cricket before the onset of the Great War.

1913: Wivenhoe Cricketers in the Great War In 1913, the club managed to play a few games. These were mostly away games. Records suggest that although there were only a handful of paid-up playing members in the cashbook, around 20 players represented the club during that last full season before Britain entered the war on 4 August 1914. For most of these cricketers, 1913 was the last recorded summer in which they ever played for Wivenhoe. Only a very few played on after the war. The players who took part in their last recorded matches in 1913 were W.W. Brown, C. Brown, L. Butcher, R. Collins, J. Conacher, M. Davison, J. Macarter, Charles Middleton, E.A. Myes, G. Orr, H. Stephens, M. Turnbull and C. Wyatt. No doubt, to a greater or lesser extent, the war affected the lives of all of these players, although none of their names appears on the war memorial in St Mary’s churchyard. Records show that four players made it through the war years and played for Wivenhoe both before and after the conflict. These were Cliff Scofield, Don Durrell, Joseph Crosby and Henry Chidwick.

1919: A Slow Start after the War The first evidence of Wivenhoe cricket resurfacing after the war does not appear until 1920. That is hardly surprising considering the effects of the conflict and the fact that the club had no ground. In 1920, permission was granted to play cricket on a grazing field near the lower shipyard. The field is shown as plot 597 on the Elmstead tithe award map of 1844 and is known as “Park Field”. Nicholas Caesar Corsellis originally owned it, but the passage of the Great Eastern Rail- way subsequently cut the field in half. The lower half of the field, commonly known among cricketers as “The Saltings” or “The Marshes”, would be the club’s home ground for a few short seasons. The first recorded postwar match occurred in July 1920 when a team called Wivenhoe Rovers played away at Elmstead. The name suggests that this was an itinerant Wivenhoe team without a real home. Playing

tain), J. Henson, H. Scofield. Scofield. H. J. Henson, tain), p ate (ca ate g , Tom Fors y E. Govan, Bally Green, H. Shores, not known, W. Ham, A.D. Clarke, C. Collison. C. Ashle C. Back Row Front Row 1921. 1921. 17. Wivenhoe,17. c.

THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET for Elmstead that day was a young man, recently arrived from London, called William George Loveless who would, some years later, go on to become Wivenhoe’s longest serving president. The revival continued into 1921 when the club played Elmstead twice, home and away, and played at Dedham on August Bank Holiday Monday in front of an unusually large crowd. Wivenhoe were dismissed that day for 78, Cliff Scofield making 45, and lost by 122 runs. By 1921, a young Tom Forsgate had joined the club. He appears in the only known picture of the Wivenhoe team taken (probably in 1921) on the marshes (known as “The Saltings” at the time). See Figure 17 on the previous page. In the background of the photograph, the fence line of the Brightlingsea branch of the Great Eastern Railway can be seen as well as the cattle creep under the railway and the original signal post. By careful triangulation on site it is possible to work out from exactly where the picture was taken, and on the blurry horizon one can just make out the tower of Brightlingsea church. Tom Forsgate would not have to play cricket on the marshes for long. By the summer of 1922, Wivenhoe cricketers had once again got their own ground, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the secretary George Slaughter, the longest serving officer in the history of the club.

Chapter 5 1922 to 1945: A Permanent Home at Rectory Road

Growing organisation and stability, changing hut, pavilion and ground purchase, great ambition again, speeches and enthusiasm, league cricket, extra teams, big fixture list, formality and sportsmanship, William Loveless presidency, Compton connection, George Slaughter administration, onset of Second World War.

1922: The Arrival at Rectory Road In common with many other cricket clubs, the relaunch after the First World War of the homeless Wivenhoe club had been difficult. In a speech in the 1930s, George Slaughter looked back and described the club in 1919 as “scarcely fit to call itself a cricket club”. Until Wivenhoe had its own ground, there would be no momentum to rebuild the club to its former standing. The breakthrough the club needed came in 1922 when the town council granted it permission to play cricket on a piece of ground known to the council as “surplus housing land” and described in the club minutes as “behind the new council houses” in Rectory Road. The council charged around 5s a year for the lease of the ground and laid on water. The town council’s 1922–25 minute book makes interesting reading. At one point, the council considered renting the land from the Ministry of Health for £15 a year, but the deal fell through because of the conditions the ministry wished to impose. However, this did not seem to prevent the council renting the same piece of ground to the football and cricket clubs. Though this is not clear from the council’s accounts, it seems likely that the council was acting as the ministry’s agent and duly passing the rent it collected from the clubs on to the Ministry of Health.

49 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

To mark the beginning of a new era, with George Slaughter as secretary, the club made a great effort to improve the quality of its governance. The chairman that year was Cliff Scofield and the captain was Tom Forsgate. Both men were great servants of the club and, apart from Tom Forsgate’s two years as president in 1970 and 1971, both held formal office that year for the one and only time in their lives. This suggests some reluctance on their part, but, in the absence of alternative candidates, they felt that if there was no one else to do it, they would. The Greyhound public house became the club HQ in 1922. Vice- presidents were re-elected, a new set of minute books was launched (very successfully, for a full set, bar one that has been lost, exists from that point onwards for every year up to the start of the 1988 season). The committee must have been very confident of success at its new home because its members straightaway decided to relaunch the second eleven and to enter the first eleven into the Tendring Hundred Cricket League for the 1922 season. The general committee also decided to take responsibility for team selection, based on the captains’ recommen- dations. The teams selected for the next few years were recorded in the minute books and always included one or two reserves. The ground at Rectory Road was nothing more than a stubble field when the club moved in for the 1922 season. In the early days, they played cricket on a wicket of rolled mud, overlaid with coconut matting. They played no matches against other clubs until after a “test match” took place on Thursday 11 May to prove that the new wicket was ready. Unfortunately, for the first few seasons, they shared the ground with Wivenhoe Rovers Football Club; and hockey was also played there in winter. The relationship with the football club was never easy. The two clubs, however, did manage to cooperate to build a shed in the southeastern corner of the ground around 1923, which they used as a rather spartan changing facility and storeroom. The football and cricket clubs jointly funded the shed and the agreement was that whichever club defaulted first on repayments would lose the right to its eventual outright ownership. In 1925, the football club defaulted and the shed became the property of the cricket club. It may well be that the loss of an interest in the shed was what caused the football club eventually to go elsewhere, which left the way open to the cricket club to carry on improving the ground and eventually, from 1928, to rent it exclusively for use as a cricket ground.

50 1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD

1925: Wivenhoe Cricket in the 1920s (the First League Honours) Not surprisingly, the outfield was poor in 1922 and was cut and rolled as well as it could be by horsepower. Despite the problems the club faced at the time, at its first attempt the first eleven finished a creditable third in the Tendring Hundred Cricket League. Spurred on by early success at Rectory Road, the club decided to withdraw from the Tendring Hundred League (as others must have done because it folded in 1925) and instead to enter the Colchester and District League for the 1923 season. This turned out to be a good move as more success for the club was to follow very quickly. In 1924, the first eleven won Division B of the Colchester & District Cricket League in a close fought final against Rowhedge at Land Lane, Colchester. Star players in the 1924 side included captain Ernie Mayes, fast bowlers Donald Durrell (who took a hat-trick against Colchester Ordnance Depot that season) and Cliff Scofield. Scofield, like Durrell, was by then nearing the end of a long and distinguished playing career. There was also the young wicketkeeper/batsman Archie Turner, who was to play on for 34 more years into his sixties before suffering a non-fatal heart attack on the pitch. The final was a low scoring affair with Rowhedge all out for 69 batting first. For Wivenhoe, Cliff Scofield took four wickets and Don Durrell, two. In reply, Wivenhoe won by three wickets with Archie Turner holding the batting together in the middle order while scoring 21 and Jimmy Henson hitting a six to win the match. Curiously, E. Hall is missing from the victorious team photo. Presumably, he either had to leave early for some reason or else he is the photographer. The Wivenhoe team took a large contingent of smartly dressed supporters to the match and the list of those assembled for the photograph reads like a Who’s Who of prewar Wivenhoe cricketers. (See photo and scorecard on following pages.) In 1928, Wivenhoe played an all-day two-innings match away at Dovercourt against the Harwich British Legion. (See scorecard and team photo (Figure 19) on later pages.) Wivenhoe won the match by a comfortable margin. Harwich batted first and in its two innings managed a total of only 93 runs. Wivenhoe passed that score easily and curiously the game finished with Wivenhoe on 54 for 8 in the second innings having already passed the winning total by 23 runs.

Tom Forsgate, Front Row Charles Scofield (moustache), . shoes)

black

and

tie - (neck

Round . P , cap) c

(flat

Barton . W Cliff Scofield, E. Munson, J. Chiswick, J. Henson, H. Tabor, J. Wisbey. : F. Byles (bow-tie), F. Lee, R. Lax, J. Oakley, R. Sawers, F. Maddison, P. Cracknell, R. Tabor, W. Forsgate, Back Henry Scofield, E. Mayes (captain), D. Durrell, Archie Turner, E. Cook. Left Standing on the C. Mason (bowler hat). Row Middle 18. First eleven,18. 1924.

1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD

COLCHESTER AND DISTRICT LEAGUE 1924, DIVISION B FINAL

ROWHEDGE V WIVENHOE The first league honours

At the St George’s Club sports ground, Land Lane, Colchester. Wivenhoe won by three wickets.

Rowhedge

Lansdowne c Tabor b Durrell ...... 0 Ellis b Scofield...... 1 Cobbold run out...... 10 Hempstead c Chiswick Earp b Scofield ...... 3 b Durrell . 4 Clarke c Durrell b Scofield...... 19 Purvey c Tabor b Cook...... 0 Bloomfield b Scofield...... 0 Extras ...... 0 Butcher run out ...... 17 Percival not out ...... 13 69 Redmond b Forsgate...... 2

Wivenhoe

E. Hall b Clark...... 13 J. Henson not out ...... 9 D. Durrell b Lansdowne ...... 2 E. Cook not out...... 12 Tom Forsgate c Earp b Clarke ...... 9 Extras ...... 4 Cliff Scofield b Earp...... 0 H. Tabor lbw Clarke...... 2 (7 wickets) 74 Archie Turner b Cobbold ...... 21 E. Mayes c Cobbold b Earp...... 2

J. Chiswick and H. Scofield did not bat

53 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

HARWICH BRITISH LEGION V WIVENHOE

A comfortable bank holiday win and a team picture!

At Dovercourt on Whit Monday, 28 May 1928. Wivenhoe won by two wickets.

Harwich British Legion

R. Johnstone b Earp...... 27 – b Clarke...... 9 E. Clarke c Tabor b Mayes...... 9 – st Tabor b Mayes...... 0 A.H. Bonsor b Mayes...... 0 – b Mayes...... 0 C. Ainscombe b Mayes...... 0 – run out...... 0 J. Hunt b Clarke...... 7 – b Clarke...... 0 T. West lbw Clarke...... 0 – b Earp...... 15 F. Knight b Clarke...... 3 – run out...... 0 S. Dore not out...... 2 – c Mumford b Earp...... 1 A. Muirson c Tabor b Clarke...... 0 – b Earp...... 1 P. Good b Clarke...... 0 – not out...... 9 A. Baker b Earp...... 3 – b Earp...... 0 Extras ...... 3 Extras...... 4

54 39

Wivenhoe

H. Tabor b Ainscombe...... 2 – b Johnstone...... 3 E. Hall c Johnstone b Hunt ...... 0 – b Hunt ...... 1 L. Mumford c Muirson b Hunt ...... 1 – b Hunt ...... 0 A. Clarke c Johnstone b Ainscombe ...... 0 – c Bonsor b Hunt...... 11 E. Earp c Bonsor b Hunt ...... 8 – b Hunt ...... 8 W. Tabor b Johnstone...... 19 – not out...... 7 E. Mayes b Hunt ...... 0 Henry Scofield b Hunt...... 0 John Scofield b Hunt ...... 4 – b Hunt ...... 4 Tom Forsgate c Knight b Hunt ...... 20 – c Clarke b Johnstone...... 12 F. Salter not out...... 0 – c Johnstone b Ainscombe...... 3 Extras ...... 8 Extras...... 5

62 (8 wickets) 54

54 1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD

19. First eleven, 1928. Back Row: E. Earp, E. Hall, H. Tabor, Cliff Scofield (umpire), John Scofield. Middle Row: W. Tabor, E. Mayes, L. Mumford, A.D. Clarke (captain). Front Row: Henry Scofield (kneeling), F. Salter, Tom Forsgate, R. Hatch (scorer).

Doug Clarke was captain for the 1928 match against the Harwich British Legion. Although Ernie Mayes won the election for captain at the AGM for 1928, he refused to accept the position, at least until the playing membership had given its approval, because there were so few players at the meeting. The stand-in wicketkeeper was Harold Tabor, uncle of 1960s first eleven batsman Peter Napper. If Archie Turner had played, he would undoubtedly have kept wicket. In the photograph of the first eleven from 1929 (see Figure 20), George Slaughter is seen making a rare appearance as a player for Wivenhoe. Although George was one of the greatest ever servants of the club and spent over 50 years as secretary, chairman, president and committee member, his poor eyesight meant that he was not a great favourite of the selection committee. The picture also shows a very young Stan Scofield, around 13 years old, in his début year. The wicketkeeper is Archie Turner who would play on for almost 30 more years after this picture was taken.

55 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

20. First eleven, 1929. Back Row: Archie Turner, Stan Scofield, W. Terry, not known, E. Mayes, Tom Forsgate, not known. Front Row: not known, G. Slaughter, E. Earp (captain), not known.

1932: The Construction of the Pavilion By 1932, the club was well enough established at Rectory Road and confident enough of its long-term future for the committee to decide to lay 500 new turves in the spring, and to construct a wooden pavilion to complement the changing shed that already existed in the corner of the ground. It was decided that the pavilion should be built using directly employed labour rather than by contract. Donald Durrell, by then 46 years old, and Mr Pittuck from the established Wivenhoe building family of the same name would carry out the work. Durrell was, by trade, a ship’s joiner and would have been quite comfortable with plans for a wooden pavilion. The club paid the men 1s 4½d per hour. They built the pavilion during the winter of 1931/2 and completed it at a cost of £65. Later that year, they added a kitchen to the back at a cost of £7 and insured the whole building for £100. The wooden pavilion built in 1932 remains standing to this day at the heart of the current pavilion, which is now roughly five times its size. W.G. Loveless, who became president in 1930, and his wife Dorothy opened the new pavilion on Whit Monday 1932. A blurry photograph exists in the club archives of two proud men standing in front of the newly built pavilion (see Figure 21 on following page). We do not know who exactly the men are, but judging by his attire and posture, one of

56 1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD

21. The newly-built pavilion. A picture believed to be the newly built pavilion in 1932, with the two men who built it. They are cricketer and joiner, Don Durrell (left) and Mr Pittuck. The picket fence is clearly a lot older than the pavilion and was probably erected around 1923, at the same time as the original changing shed, long since demolished, in the southeast corner of the ground. the men could well be Durrell. It would be entirely appropriate if this were a picture of the two builders in front of their recently completed crowning glory. Donald Durrell, twins Matt and Tom Durrell (who now play for the first eleven), as well as members Chris, Simon and Andy Green are all descended from David Martin Durrell, born in 1817. Matt and Tom are particularly proud to find that they are so closely associated with the building of the pavilion and they are apparently happy to honour the 100-year warranty on the building. So, if any repairs are needed, talk to the twins!

1932: The Visit of an England Cricket Captain to Rectory Road News of the new pavilion at Wivenhoe and a cricket club in the ascendancy did not go unreported in high places. The good news was spread in London by Henry Swan, the former Wivenhoe captain who was at that time resident in Eastbourne and in regular correspondence with the club. He had by then successfully managed an MCC tour to Australia and New Zealand and was a former chairman of Essex CCC, so had plenty of contacts in the highest of places.

57 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

As a result, in 1932, the club received a visit from former England captain, Arthur Edward Robert Gilligan, who was just beginning a career in radio com- mentary and jour- nalism. Throughout most of the 1920s Gilligan had been a successful Sussex 22. The new pavilion by Cumberworth, “nestling and England fast against the vicarage wall” at the head of Arthur Gilligan’s bowler who had article published in the News Chronicle in July 1932. captained England in the 1924 series against South Africa and then again in Australia the following winter. Unfortunately, a blow above the heart, received while batting for Sussex in 1924, cut short his England career in its prime. He never truly recovered. His last game for Sussex was in 1932. Imagine then the excitement at Rectory Road when a letter from the News Chronicle, a national daily newspaper, arrived stating that the former England captain would visit Wivenhoe on Saturday 23 July 1932 for the match against Brightlingsea. F.H. Cumberworth, a well-known New Zealand cartoonist whom the paper employed, accompanied Gilligan that day. The ensuing newspaper article appeared in the News Chronicle the following week and was part of a series about village cricket. The report, accompanied by some cartoons by Cumberworth, is a generous account of what Gilligan would have regarded as a very gentle match. His original sketch of W.G. Loveless still hangs on the pavilion wall. Gilligan’s amusing article pokes gentle fun at the game and the players but does so with great respect and, at the same time, he is very kind in some of the compliments he pays. In his report he says, “ten years ago it was a ploughed field. Thanks to the splendid spirit which is a predominant feature of Wivenhoe cricket, an excellent wicket and good outfield have now materialised.” His comments apply equally well today to “the spirit of the ‘Hoe”.

58 1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD

23. The historic cricket grounds of Wivenhoe. Since 1858 there have been six grounds used regularly for playing cricket in Wivenhoe. The map above shows approximately where the pitches were, superimposed on the relevant parts of Wivenhoe as they look today. The map shows a pitch of around 100m diameter at each of the six places where cricket was played. The pitches in chronological order are; 1. Mill Field (c.1858–c.1913), 2. Wivenhoe Park (see inset) (c.1859–present day), 3. Tenacres (c.1862–1907), 4. Vine Farm (1908–14), 5. The Saltings (1919–c.22), 6. Rectory Road (1922–present day).

59 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

24. W.G. Loveless by Cumberworth, 1932. William Loveless holds onto a stinging catch at square leg, at Rectory Road, against Brightlingsea, watched by England captain Arthur Gilligan, and drawn by New Zealand cartoonist Cumberworth.

Unfortunately, Wivenhoe lost the match by five wickets, though the highlights included a half-century for club captain Edgar Earp, four wickets for Les Wright and a stinging catch held (phew!) by W.G. Loveless at square leg. Once again, the match continued for a while after the winning runs were scored.

Charles Ashley (1898–1986) Charles Ashley was club treasurer for only five years. However, they were some of the most crucial years in the club’s history. Most significantly, he saw through the raising of the funds for the purchase of

60 1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD the ground and even stood as a personal guarantor for the mortgage debt. Like many good club treasurers, he was careful with club funds. According to club minutes, his initial response to most proposals for expenditure discussed at committee was “no”. Sometimes he appeared to frustrate the rest of the committee on purpose, being the sole voice voting against a perfectly reasonable proposal that would otherwise have received unanimous support. However, he was clearly a popular club member and his nick- 25. Charles Ashley whose career names were “Capers”, because of the started immediately after the first many moneymaking schemes he pro- war and finished with the outbreak posed, and, for unknown reasons, of the second. An original trustee of the club, treasurer and true “Grimmet”. He started playing character. immediately after the Great War and stopped 19 years later with the arrival of the Second World War. When Arthur Gilligan visited the club in 1932 he wrote that Charles “raced to the pavilion and within a minute of being dismissed, was selling icecreams to several small boys who were extraordinarily good clients”. This was typical of Charles Ashley. After the war, he would still be the ice-cream salesman and affectionately remembered as the organiser of tennis ball cricket on the outfield during the tea interval. An amusing Charles Ashley story involves the water supply to the ground. Every season since the club moved to Rectory Road, the square and outfield became parched by late summer because of the lack of an effective water supply. The supply to the changing shed in the southeast corner of the ground was insufficient to use on the square and outfield. The problem is not so great today but cannot honestly claim to have been solved completely. The ambitious solution in 1934 devised by treasurer Charles Ashley, according to club legend, was to hire the services of a water diviner to locate an underground supply and then sink a well. The water diviner had convinced Charles that an underground supply would be found beneath the outfield near the site of the tractor shed. That

61 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET summer, with a band of enthusiastic helpers, Charles set about digging the well. He was ultimately unsuccessful, but not before he had dug a pit deeper than his own height all without mechanised equipment or temporary support of any kind. The digging stopped when the hole hit hard stony ground. The whole story was reported in the local press under the heading “treasurer’s subterranean adventure”. Alas, the water diviner was wrong and no source was ever found.

1934: The Swan Song of W.G. Loveless, the Bowler In the summer of 1934, W.G. Loveless was nearing the end of his playing days. He was, at that time, the recently appointed president of the club and was setting about instilling the discipline and formality that would become the mark of his time in office and his legacy to the club. In that season, he was a bowler of right-arm slow flighted off-breaks playing for the second, or “A”, team. On Saturday 12 May, while playing away at Kirby, he returned figures of six wickets for three runs in an eight over spell as Wivenhoe dismissed their hosts for 56, thereby securing a 44-run victory. W.G. was certainly pleased with his performance that day; and, along with the current president, he is not alone in attaching great personal merit to his own perceived prowess as a bowler! To mark the occasion, and mindful that W.G was nearing the end of his playing career, Arthur Turner, a wealthy non-playing patron of the club (who in 1932 donated a fine silver cup that is now the oldest of the 14 trophies awarded annually) arranged to mount the ball W.G. Loveless used on a silver plinth with three silver stumps. He had it engraved with the words: “To W.G.L. A memento of the cricket match, Wivenhoe v Kirby, May 1934, overs 8, wickets 6, runs 3, all bowled, from A.G.T.” The trophy was formally presented to W.G. on 16 June during the tea interval of the second eleven match against Canler’s Sports Club. The chairman of the sports club, Mr Ralph Canler, made the presentation. In response, Charles Ashley, captain of the home side, spoke of the “splendid services that the recipient had always rendered”. A photograph of both teams, taken during the tea interval in which one can see W.G. holding the trophy in the middle of the front row, marked the occasion. However, the most important point about the picture is that it is the only known photograph showing W.G.s’ nephew, Leslie, in cricket kit at Rectory Road as part of a Wivenhoe team. Les Compton appears on the

. ( (scorer)

Faucheux . F , known

first four unknown, J. Sparling, not known, R. Hatch. not

t known, not known, A. Jackson, D. Gray, not known, Ground

Seated . Foster . M , Archie Turner (captain), not known, C. Rogers, not known, W.G. Loveless, E. Green, Ashley . C Front Row , T Turner

Wivenhoe Players (and T. G. Grinter) only. Back Row Back only. G. Grinter) T. (and Players Wivenhoe

Arthur first three (including umpire) unknown, T.G. Grinter, no Middle Row Middle L. Compton., T. Forsgate (umpire). 26. Second eleven, 1934. Second26. eleven,

THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET right of the middle row. He was at that time already an Arsenal footballer, though not yet a Middlesex cricketer. His appearance would have been a source of great pride to his Uncle William. Also in the picture are Arthur Turner (who donated the trophy) and Trayton (Tray) Golding Grinter, who played for Canlers that day and who, despite having a withered arm played six first-class games for Essex and scored over 100 centuries for Frinton. On his death, W.G.’s godson, Tony Forsgate, son of Tom Forsgate, inherited the trophy presented to W.G. that day and he still has it in his house opposite the ground in Rectory Road. After his celebrated 1934 swan song, W.G. settled into his role as president. He captained the second eleven one last season in 1936 and did not play again after that.

1935: Wivenhoe Cricket in the 1930s (Sportsmanship and Respect) Throughout the 1930s, the first eleven was in the hands of two stalwarts of Wivenhoe cricket – Ernie Mayes and Edgar Earp. These two men captained the first eleven from 1924 until the outbreak of the Second World War. During those 16 seasons, Mayes was in charge for five seasons, then Earp for four years, then Mayes again until the war. Mayes, a printer by trade, was a spin bowler and useful batsman; Earp was a tall serious looking opening batsman. Neither man played on after the war, though by 1939 both had completed first eleven playing careers of around 15 years each. At the start of the 1930s, the first eleven included several of the household family names of Wivenhoe cricket. For example, there was Tom Forsgate, who played on until a knee injury forced him out in 1933. There were also Stan Scofield and his cousin Bernard, and their uncle Henry Scofield, who played up to, and in the case of the two cousins, after the war. Les Cuthbert, son-in-law of Cliff Scofield, who trialled as a fast bowler for Essex, was another. Don Durrell finished his playing career soon after 1930 as did the Tabor brothers, Bob and Harold, who were uncles of Peter Napper, the 1964 club captain. After their playing careers were over, many of these men continued to support the club. For example, Tom Forsgate took up bowls, but returned to the club after the war and then spent countless hours with Tom Denton and George Slaughter looking after the ground. Stan Scofield took up umpiring (until he was so disgusted one day in 1960, when the first eleven were all out for 23 against Abberton, that he quit

64 1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD and never came back to it, whereupon Archie Turner took over the job). Henry Scofield stayed in touch with the club and, when he died in 1986, he expressed a wish in his will for his ashes to be scattered on the ground. His wish was duly fulfilled. Other players of note were Walter Terry, who played throughout the decade and became club chairman in 1963. Archie Turner’s playing career eventually spanned 36 years before he suffered a heart attack on the pitch. Charles Ashley, one of the great characters in the club’s history, was also treasurer (before being outvoted in 1935 in favour of newsagent Jack Barrell, who would do the job for 15 years). Neil Binks was a very successful bowler who made his début in 1936. Although Alf Jackson, the landlord of the Grosvenor Hotel, only played at Wivenhoe for five years, he made a lot of runs; and then there was George Sibley, who captained the first eleven in the last three years before 1942, when the war took over the ground at Wivenhoe. The second eleven enjoyed its first sustained run in existence in the 1930s. Leading players were Les Wright, the local scoutmaster, Eric Green, a big hitter of the ball and chauffeur to popular Wivenhoe physician Dr Walter Radcliffe, and Jack Weston, father of 1952 secretary, Peter Weston. Since 1930 Wivenhoe had been building a solid reputation for sportsmanship and fair play, which would last for several decades and of which the committee was clearly very proud. Winning was less important than the enjoyment of the game and results in the 1930s were not particularly good, largely because availability was often a problem. Towards the end of the decade, the club discussed the possibility of disbanding the second eleven, and would probably have done so if the war had not intervened. In the season of 1935, the first ever colts programme appeared with schoolteacher Cliff Rogers in charge. The initiative did not really get off the ground and, in 1938, the younger members were criticised in club minutes as simply “not being interested”. It would not be until well after the war that the colts built up a momentum, which continues to the present day. Off the pitch, things were good. The club provided a happy distraction from the difficulties of the depression years and camaraderie was strong. For example, in 1935 the club took an active part in the celebrations for the silver jubilee of King George V. To mark the occasion all of the committee members, along with the first and second eleven

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Mr , l Barrell 27. Wivenhoe players in fancy dress, 1935. fancy dress, in Wivenhoe players 27. occasion of the silver occasion of of Kingjubilee the silver V on 6 George May 1935. Fred Payne (no hat), George Brooks, John Child, Ernie Mayes, Bill

1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD players, toured the village in fancy dress. In that same year the cricketers played in a comic football match against Wivenhoe Rangers and for the August Bank Holiday match 500 programmes were printed for paying spectators.

1936: The Purchase of the Rectory Road Ground The spirit of Wivenhoe, which the ex-England captain Arthur Gilligan had spotted and written about in 1932, carried the club onwards and upwards. By 1933, the club was confident enough of its long-term future to attempt to purchase the ground from the Ministry of Health. The purchase was ultimately successful but not without difficulty. For a start, Wivenhoe at that time was suffering the consequences of the great depression and the need for social housing in the village was great. To use land owned by the Ministry of Health for cricket was politically difficult to justify. A number of deputations were sent and letters written to Wivenhoe Urban District Council (WUDC) pointing out that for the past decade the ground had been used for cricket and had previously been a stubble field into which a great deal of cash and human endeavour had been invested. During the negotiations, relation- ships were sometimes strained and, in 1934, the WUDC engaged lawyers and put in writing a threat to take libel action against the club. The council’s accusation was that a member of the cricket club committee had suggested that it, the council, had told the club to “do a bit of wangling” to acquire the land. The council felt so strongly incensed that only a bit of quick-footed explanation by the club got them out of trouble. The council dropped the matter, but it undoubtedly delayed the eventual sale by at least a year. The Ministry of Health eventually offered the club the four-acre ground for the total price of £100. Before the purchase was possible, the club rules had to be rewritten and four trustees were appointed. These were the first ever trustees of Wivenhoe cricket club and were W.G. Loveless (president), George Slaughter (secretary), Ernie Mayes (captain) and Charles Ashley (treasurer). The money to buy the ground was made up of a deposit of £10 from club funds, a mortgage loan of £80 made by a well-to-do follower of the cricket club, Mrs Ada Francetta Oakley, and a balance of £10 from members’ own funds. The trustees were also personal guarantors of the mortgage loan. The deal was successfully closed in the summer of 1936 and W.G. Loveless called an extraordinary

67 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

28. Blueprint of the Rectory Road ground, 1936. The original blueprint, which accompanied the deeds to the Rectory Road ground. The vendor was the Ministry of Health and the ground, described by the council as “surplus housing land”, was sold for £100 to the cricket club. The northern boundary was fenced in the wrong place by treasurer Charles Ashley because he decided that it would be easier to maintain only that amount needed for cricket, than to take the full amount shown on the plan. The discrepancy was corrected in 1976. general meeting at the Park Hotel in August to present the deeds of sale, deeds of mortgage and deeds of trust to the members. The following February, at the 1937 AGM, George Slaughter rose to address the assembled membership and started with the following words: “the report that I have to make is to my mind the most welcome one in the history of Wivenhoe cricket club – past or present”. On the subject of the purchase of the ground, he concluded by saying that “the four acres of land recently purchased from WUDC will be used for all time as a private sports ground for cricket and, if found necessary, for tennis and bowls … under no circumstances must this land be used for building or other purposes.” The words were then set down in an AGM resolution and subsequently put in writing to the WUDC, with a

68 1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD

29. Purchase of Rectory Road, 1936. The most important letter in the club’s history. Dated 11 May 1936 from the club to Wivenhoe Urban District Council, the text reads: “Dear Sir, I beg to acknowledge your letter of May 5th, concerning the offer by the Wivenhoe Urban District Council to sell the cricket ground (as marked on Blue Print) for the sum of £100, excluding the provisions of fencing, as referred to. On behalf of my committee I have pleasure in accepting those terms, yours faithfully, George Slaughter.” footnote inviting the WUDC to pass on the comments, if it wished, to the Ministry of Health. The first main gates to the ground were erected in 1937 as befitted a proud ground-owning cricket club and would remain in place until 1967 when they were replaced by a new set of gates, donated by

69 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

George Slaughter, in memory of his wife, soon after his retirement as chairman. The mortgage lender, Mrs Ada Oakley died the following year, 1938, and the mortgage passed to her son, William Oakley. The club quickly discharged the mortgage and, in 1938, the debt was fully paid off and the deeds were returned to the club for permanent ownership.

W.G. Loveless (1890–1969) (and the Compton Connection) The story, debated from time to time at Wivenhoe cricket club, is that Denis and Leslie Compton both once played at Rectory Road. There is no known surviving hard evidence to prove that Denis ever played, but there is absolute proof that Les played, and that both of the brothers visited Wivenhoe regularly in their youth. The connection to the Comptons comes via their mother, Jessie who was the elder sister of Dorothy, the wife of W.G. Loveless. In other words, W.G. was the uncle of the Compton boys. Both W.G. and Dorothy were of working-class origin and had moved from London out to Essex after the Great War in pursuit of a better life. They had bought into the sand and gravel business, at first taking a stake in a modest sand pit at Frating and, subsequently, a much bigger pit at Wivenhoe. By the early 1920s they were living in a large rented farmhouse on the outskirts of Great Bentley called Heckfords. They had one son, called Bill, who remembers very well growing up there. In 2003, he published an autobiography in which he speaks very fondly of his time at Heckfords. More specifically, he recalls visits from his happy cockney cousins, “Les, Hilda and Den” with their “penchant for fun and gift for affection”. “Les and Den” of course grew up to be truly great all- round professional sportsmen. Touchingly, Bill Loveless adds that “their later greatness did not one whit diminish either quality”. At the time of those visits in the mid-1920s, Les and Denis were 13 and 7 years old respectively, and growing up in Hendon, North London. For them the fields and farms of rural Essex were paradise. When W.G. played garden cricket and football with the boys at Heckfords in the early 1920s he would have been astounded had he known that they would both go on to play football for Arsenal and England, and cricket for Middlesex and that Denis would become a household name as one of England’s greatest ever Test batsmen. By 1926 W.G.’s business was growing fast as it benefited from the

70 1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD postwar construction boom and he found that he needed to be on hand at Wivenhoe all the time. So the family moved to Belle Vue Road. Bill does not speak favourably of the move. He found Wivenhoe at that time to be suffering badly from the decline in the shipbuilding industry and says that, for the inhabitants of the town, “the party was over”. However, the members of the Loveless family drew contentment from their heavy involvement with the church, their successful business, the fact that they now owned their own house, and, of course, cricket. W.G. had played cricket for Elmstead in the 1920s. In 1928, two years after the move, he was still playing for Elmstead, although he also played that season for Wivenhoe. By 1930, he had severed ties with Elmstead and in that year he was elected president of the Wivenhoe club. So began a period of their lives during which he and his wife would both become veritable pillars of Wivenhoe society. Dorothy worked hard for the church, W.G. became chairman of the town council, and a governor of both Colchester grammar school and of Brightlingsea school. He was a successful and benevolent employer and together they raised standards, particularly off the pitch, at the cricket club. In around 1935, the Loveless family set about building a new house next door to the one they owned and, when it was finished, the family moved in to what is now no. 29 Belle Vue Road. The Comptons would still come and visit their country cousins and the back garden cricket with their uncle continued. Only now, with things getting more serious, W.G. erected a proper cricket net on the back lawn. Peter Napper, first eleven captain in 1964, who lived next door in the 1950s, recalls very well seeing the Comptons practising over the fence, and when the old summer house at the end of the garden was taken down many years later, a number of old cricket balls were recovered from underneath. By the mid-1930s, Denis was a teenager on the verge of making his footballing début for Arsenal and his first-class cricketing début for Middlesex, which would be quickly followed by his England Test début in 1937 against New Zealand. Elder brother Leslie was in his mid- twenties, already a regular Arsenal player, but still awaiting his first-class cricket début, which finally came in 1938. Les represented Wivenhoe at least once, in 1934, when he guested for the second eleven with his uncle, on the same day that W.G. was presented with the match ball for his bowling exploits earlier in the season against Kirby.

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30. W.G. Loveless, his son Bill with Denis Compton (centre) in 1951, in Wivenhoe, after the England batsman had recently returning from Australia. Denis Compton was vice captain on the tour (and was the first professional ever to be given that honour) but had a torrid time with the bat and England lost the series 4-1.

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, it is inconceivable that the boys and their uncle did not wander round the corner from Belle Vue Road to the cricket ground for a hit. It is perhaps the sight of the teenage brothers practising at Rectory Road that those who believe that they both played occasionally for Wivenhoe like to remember. It is a nice story, but there is no hard evidence to prove that they did. In conclusion, what is certain is that the Comptons spent many happy childhood days playing back garden cricket and facing their uncle’s “flighted offies” at the farmhouse in Great Bentley and at the houses in Belle Vue Road; and that Les, at least, played for Wivenhoe.

1939: The Outbreak of the War The year of 1939 started with a very gloomy AGM at the Park Hotel on a cold Wednesday evening in February. The 1938 season had been very unsuccessful; the first eleven had played 19 matches and lost 13 of them. The second eleven had done almost as badly and, to make matters

72 1922 TO 1945: A PERMANENT HOME AT RECTORY ROAD worse, the second team had taken the field with only nine players on four occasions during the season. However, there must have been some cause for optimism. The committee decided to purchase 24 maroon county style caps, to remain the property of the club for use by the first and second eleven players. The first set of club rules to specify the colour of the club cap is dated 1930 and clearly states that maroon is the Wivenhoe colour (although at some point thereafter, probably after the war, the word maroon has been crossed out and green inserted by hand). Thus, maroon was the chosen club colour in 1939, then green, and dark blue would only replace it in 1965. Also in 1939, another cause for optimism was the first eleven début of a talented 16-year-old batsman called Ron Woods. The 1939 season drew to a premature close in early September with the outbreak of war. A committee resolution passed on 10 September directed that “the affairs of the club be conducted by the club’s Trustees” until further notice. In 1940, the club tried to keep it “business as usual”. Team captains were elected with George Sibley as first eleven captain. Matches continued to be played using additional sports club rations for tea. To keep things going, the committee urged club members to give “whatever assistance they could to maintain the club”. However, by 1941 the pressure on the cricketers was intolerable. It looked like the war was going to be a long hard-fought affair. It was no longer deemed acceptable to use rations for something so frivolous as cricket teas. The club was expected to turn its ground over as allotments to grow food for the war effort. In the event, W.G. Loveless, who bought some sheep and put them out to graze on the pitch, saved the ground from the plough. Slit trenches had to be dug and barbed wire erected to discourage paratrooper landings. Pillboxes were built near the corners of the ground opposite the main gates and by the tractor shed. Somewhat optimistically, and for obvious reasons, the committee recommended that the club played only away matches during the summer of 1941. A few matches were played in 1941, although no records exist of opponents or scores. A number of matches were reported in the local newspaper, but none involved Wivenhoe. An AGM was held at the start of 1942 at which the winners of the 1941 averages were announced, but their names were not recorded in the minute book, and no cups were presented. By the start of the summer of 1942, the club had ceased

73 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET playing and no more committee meetings appear in the minute books until July 1944. The only matches available to Wivenhoe cricketers after 1941 were in the Colne Shipbuilders Challenge Cup, a long-standing tournament that carried on at Brightlingsea’s ground throughout the war in which Donald Oxton and Stan Scofield starred for the Rowhedge Ironworks Company.

1942: Wivenhoe Cricketers in the War Many Wivenhoe cricket club members saw active service during the war. W.G. Loveless and the older members did their bit at home. W.G. joined the home guard and gave employment to some of the younger club members, who, barely out of school, worked on his farmland or in his pits alongside prisoners of war. In the summer of 1939, 40 cricketers played for Wivenhoe and 25 of them saw active service. Sixteen of the 40 played again after the war. Some players, such as Charlie Ashley, Edgar Earp, Ernie Mayes, Henry Scofield, Bob Hatch and Percy Street, all of whom had given excellent service to the club, ended their careers in 1939 for various reasons. The 16 prewar players who played on after the war were Jack Barrell, Neil Binks, John Cadogan, Felix Faucheux, Eric Green, B. Herbert, Fred Kerry, Ray Loveless, Stan Scofield, Bernard Scofield, George Sibley, Jim Sparling, Walter Terry, Archie Turner, Ron Woods and Les Wright. In 1944, an American Thunderbolt plane crash-landed just north of the ground behind where the tractor shed stands. The pilot was killed and young Roger Bacon recalls being the first on site and recovering the pilot’s “dog tag” before being shooed away by a police officer. The next episode in the history of Wivenhoe cricket started on the evening of Friday 1 February 1946. At the Park Hotel secretary George Slaughter presented his 24th annual report to the AGM in which, according to the minutes, he “welcomed back the members who had served in His Majesty’s Forces; 25 members had seen service all over the world and, he was pleased to say, every one had come through safely.”

Chapter 6 1946 to 1976: Postwar Growth at Rectory Road

Resurgence after war, new young players, Ron Woods captaincy, no league cricket, early colts organisation, formality of William Loveless presidency, big dinners, fête growth, battle for Sunday cricket, stable fixture list, expansion of pavilion.

1946: The Postwar Restart The glorious words of George Slaughter to the effect that 25 Wivenhoe cricketers had seen active service in the war and all had returned home safely gave Wivenhoe cricket a happier start to the postwar era than was the case for many other clubs. In addition, the club was still enjoying having only recently finished paying for its ground and had a strong committee of men who were resolved to carrying on where they had left off in 1942. In 1946 W.G. Loveless and George Slaughter, still president and secretary, continued to be the guiding minds of the club, supported by Les Wright and Jack Barrell as chairman and treasurer. That summer, Wright reluctantly took on first eleven captaincy for the first and only time in his career (much as Tom Forsgate had done after the first war). The club’s first task in the postwar years was to make reparations to the ground. Not surprisingly, immediately after the war the ground was in no state for cricket. A flurry of correspondence between the club and the War Department brought funding for repairs. The first act was to remove the barbed wire and backfill the slit trenches installed during the war. Then the pavilion received a free coat of paint courtesy of the second SAS Regiment. Slowly but surely the rest of the ground was brought back to its prewar standard with Charles Ashley in charge, often assisted by W.G.’s men from the sand and gravel pits.

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George Alfred Slaughter (1901–74) George Slaughter died in 1974. By then he had been the club secretary for 26 years from 1922 to 1947, chairman for 15 years from 1948 to 1962 and a committee member for nine years from 1963 to 1971. Overall, he had served the club tirelessly for 50 years. George was a popular and highly respected man. He loved the game dearly, but in all that time, he played only a handful of games. He was only allowed to play a few games because he suf-

fered from very poor eyesight and, 31. George Slaughter. sadly, the selection committee rarely picked him. He seemed to be a per- petual twelfth man. That never diminished his commitment, indeed it emphasises the unselfish nature of his contribution. He spent as much time as he could at the ground on match days, but, being the owner of the village newsagent (opposite the church), he had to juggle his time between the two. His administrative skills were second to none and his leadership impressive. To relaunch a cricket club after a world war takes a commit- ted leader. To relaunch a cricket club after two world wars takes an even bigger man. George delivered some great speeches at key times. His words in 1937 after the purchase of the Rectory Road ground, in 1946 after the safe return of all 25 Wivenhoe cricketers from the war, and in 1948 on the occasion of his resignation after 29 years as secretary, were perfectly chosen. He was also the subject of some amusing stories. George liked things done properly and he disliked matches to start late. Worse still, he abhorred teams that turned up late. One afternoon in the 1960s, Wivenhoe was due to entertain an opposing team that was still relatively new on the fixture list. Around an hour after the appointed start time, George emerged from the pavilion having concluded some club business and, clearly irritated, announced that, since the opposition had still not arrived, we should drop them forever from the fixture list.

76 1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD

32. The four elder statesmen of Wivenhoe cricket, 1962. This wonderful picture is of (left to right) Cliff Scofield, Tom Forsgate, George Slaughter and Archie Turner. Between them these four gentlemen gave over 200 years of service to the club and laid the foundation upon which much of the club’s recent success has been built.

Unfortunately, for George, his failing eyesight had got the better of him. One of the Wivenhoe players quietly pointed out that the match was already well underway in the middle, had started on time and that the opposition was guilty of nothing! He presented the flagpole to the club in 1966 and a new set of wrought iron gates. On the pavilion wall is a wonderful photograph taken in the early 1960s of George with three other grandees of Wivenhoe cricket – Tom Forsgate, Archie Turner and Cliff Scofield. The four elderly gentlemen look wonderfully relaxed and satisfied with their life’s work. George particularly, wearing a sharp double breasted suit with impressive lapels, looks at peace with the world as he and his three good friends examine a presentation bat.

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When George died in 1974, the club president read aloud a moving and richly deserved tribute to him at the following AGM. This was the very least that the club could do, and it remains, to this day, heavily in his debt.

1946: The Sunday Cricket Debate By the summer of 1946, the club was well and truly up and running again, although that season saw the first dissatisfied rumblings of the “Sunday cricket” lobby. A group of younger members wanted to play cricket on Sundays. However, W.G. Loveless was a fierce traditionalist and fundamentally against it, mainly on religious grounds. A special meeting was held on 8 July 1946 to discuss the matter at the end of which a vote was taken, and by a majority of 12 to 4, a decision not to play Sunday cricket was made. At the meeting, W.G. enjoyed the support of his fellow committee members Les Wright, Jack Barrell and George Slaughter, each of whom spoke to confirm that neither the square nor the club funds could stand two days of cricket every weekend. Speaking for the “pro- Sunday cricket camp” were Cliff and Bernard Scofield, who could see no real objection. However, W.G had other powerful weaponry in his arsenal, namely his wife. Dorothy was leader of the bible class in the village church and had been trying hard to instil greater reverence and respect for the sabbath in the young Wivenhoe cricketers. She had offered to trade attendance at bible class for a visit to Lord’s in 1946 to watch her nephew, Denis Compton, in action against the Indian tourists. So it was that the road to Lord’s became “the road to Damascus” for a flock of young Wivenhoe cricketers who all appeared at St Mary’s church the following Sunday. The visit to the Test match duly took place and several Wivenhoe youngsters walked through the gates of Lord’s on the morning of 22 June 1946 in the company of D.C.S. Compton. Unfortunately, it was not quite a perfect day for the youngsters as Compton was bowled by Amarnath for a duck just before the close of play. The main advocate of Sunday cricket was Len Drinkell, a cricketer of first-eleven standard who, at that time, was an auctioneer working every Saturday in Colchester and who, without Sunday cricket, would have been at a loss. The debate about whether or not Sunday cricket was desirable or acceptable would run for several years. Compromises

78 1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD were tried. For example, a number of extra evening games were arranged in 1950. The matter was finally concluded, rather unsatis- factorily, when W.G. lost a vote against Sunday cricket at the 1951 AGM held in the Old Board School (where the library now stands) and sadly, as a result, he resigned his presidency after a 21-year spell. In 1951, Len Drinkell was the first appointed Sunday eleven captain. The first time a list of “Sunday XI” fixtures appeared in the fixture card was 1952.

1946: New Younger Players at the Club Although all the Wivenhoe cricketers who saw active service had survived the war, the membership of the club was much changed. Of 40 players who took part regularly in the prewar years only 16 continued after the war. The conflict had aged players and, after it, national service accounted for many more who were taken away from Wivenhoe, some temporarily and some forever. Those few who played either side of the war included the young Ron Woods who had made his first eleven début in 1939 and who had by then left the grammar school, spent the war on active service, and afterwards, started work as a clerk at the Town Hall legal department. All his fellow cricketers held him in great esteem throughout his playing days, especially his contemporaries who had looked up to him at school. Coaching was not available at the Wivenhoe club in those days and very few schools included cricket on the curriculum. Among the new influx of grammar school cricketers in the 1940s were Tony Forsgate, Roger Bacon, Peter Napper, Len Drinkell, Tony Hammond, Frank Pike, David Denyer, Dick Butcher and John Braithwaite. With the exception of Dick Butcher, who left to join Clacton in 1948 after scoring (against Frinton) the first postwar hundred by a Wivenhoe batsman, these players would form the nucleus of the first eleven until well into the 1960s. The first-eleven captain in 1947 was Ken Dodswell-Hunt, a flam- boyant and stylish cricketer who sported a cravat with a colourful cap and stripped blazer. Unfortunately, he only played at Wivenhoe for two years before moving on. That left the way clear for Ron Woods to become first eleven captain in 1948; a position he held for 13 of the next 15 years, making him the longest ever serving Wivenhoe captain.

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Ronald William Woods (1923–96) The facts speak for themselves. Ron Woods was the longest-ever serving captain of a Wivenhoe cricket team. He was elected first-eleven captain in 1948 and remained in that post for 12 consecutive years, opening the batting and keeping wicket until 1959. He captained the first eleven for one more season in 1962 and the second eleven in the twilight of his career for one season in 1978. He made his début as a 16 year old in 1939 and played his last game in 1983 aged 60. During this long and distinguished career Ron won the first eleven batting trophy on nine occasions, including five consecutive years between 1956 and 1960. The first time he won the batting trophy was in 1947 and the last, an incred- ible 23 years later, in 1970. Ron’s placid nature may well have been a function of his upbringing, which saw its fair share of hardship. The Woods family lived originally in Great Bentley but moved to the Hythe area of Colchester soon after the earthquake of 1884 because Ron’s grandfather, and later his father, were plasterers by trade and there was much work to be had doing earthquake damage repairs in and around the east end of the town. Ron was born in 1923, while the family still lived in the Hythe area and they moved to Rowhedge when he was two years old. He attended the Royal Grammar School during the depression years of the 1930s and it was there that he was formally coached as a cricketer. As the school’s first eleven opening batsman in 1939, he set a long- standing record for the highest single-innings score. He left school in 1939 and joined the Clerk of the Justice department at Colchester Borough Council. With the outbreak of war, Ron first worked as an aircraft spotter on the roof of the Town Hall until he was enlisted into the Royal Signals, aged 18. During the war, he served in various parts of Europe and Egypt as a Morse-code operator based for much of that time with a tank regiment. He suffered shrapnel wounds when the tank he was in was hit by a shell. Several months in hospital followed and some of the shrapnel was never removed from his body. Towards the end of the war he took part in the June 1944 D-day landings on Gold Beach, wading ashore with rifle held high during the second wave of the invasion. After the war, Ron returned to his work as an accountant with the council. His financial skills came in useful in his role as treasurer of the

80 1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD cricket club from 1956 to 1964 and as a trustee of the club from 1981 until the day he died in 1996. Ron might have gone to play cricket in the late 1930s for his local club, Rowhedge, were it not for his school friend Dick Butcher, whose father was a business associate of Walter Oxton, a Wivenhoe cricketer in 1908 and co-founder of Rowhedge Ironworks. Dick Butcher’s father persuaded his son to play cricket at Wivenhoe and, thankfully, with him came his chum Ron Woods. Walter Oxton’s son, who eventually took 33. Ron Woods. Universally regar- over the ironworks, was Donald ded as a true gentleman in life as well as on the cricket pitch. Oxton, who also played cricket for Wivenhoe and became club president in 1951. Ron and his wife Maureen had two children, Hilary and Clive, both of whom acted as scorers for the first eleven in the 1960s. Clive remembers the normal family Saturday afternoon journey from Rowhedge by the ferry across to Wivenhoe for a home game where his mother, sister and he would watch his father, play on the outfield, score or help with the teas. For away games, or when the family were not with him, Ron would usually cycle to the ground with his kit on the handlebars of his bike. As Clive grew older, he was drafted into the team as an emergency fielder at increasingly regular intervals until he made his batting début aged 14 in 1968. Over the next few seasons, Ron and Clive represented the club several times together and, in 1973, they were both first eleven regulars. Close examination of the first eleven scorebook from that year suggests that they only ever batted together once, on 12 July 1973 against Little Clacton. After 1973 Ron played increasingly for the second eleven while Clive went on to become, like his father, one of Wivenhoe’s most reliable batsmen and for most of the last 40 years, and until very recently, Clive was the club’s highest-ever recorded run scorer. Ron Woods’s calm captaincy characterised two decades of settled postwar cricket at Wivenhoe. Just as remarkable as his batting career is

81 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET the testimony of his fellow team mates. Those who played with him during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s describe him as the nicest most gentlemanly cricketer you could ever wish to meet and do not ever recall an angry word from him during all that time.

1947: Postwar Expansion The postwar expansion continued apace and the second eleven reformed in 1947 as the “A” XI under Walter Terry’s captaincy. Around 1948 water and gas mains were installed to provide water to the square and heating and lighting in the pavilion. Also around that time, an outside lavatory was built. The lavatory was never a particularly pleasant place and only ever drained into a soakaway, the base of which was allegedly illegally perforated to avoid the need for frequent pumping out. It was finally demolished, with no regrets, in the 1980s. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the original shed in the southeast corner of the ground remained in use as a “visitor’s changing room”. Eventually, it was partitioned (rather unfairly off-centre thus favouring the away team) so that both sides could change there, leaving the pavilion free for tea on match days and as a club meeting room all year round.

1947: Saturday Afternoons at Rectory Road W.G. Loveless had already been president for 16 years by the time cricket resumed after the war. His traditionalist approach had stood the club in good stead during the 1930s and ensured that Wivenhoe built an excellent reputation on and off the field for sportsmanship and gentlemanly behaviour. In 1946, the committee directed that the enclosure in front of the pavilion, marked by a neat white picket fence, should be reserved exclusively for members and a sign said so – in clear black letters on a white background. W.G. Loveless liked to be in charge. He had stopped playing by then and he and his wife, Dorothy, could be seen every Saturday afternoon in the members’ enclosure entertaining players and guests and making sure that the opposition felt welcome. Members and their families sat in deck chairs neatly laid out on the grass behind the picket fence. Non-members sat on benches around the boundary. The children were expected to play nicely during the

82 1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD

34. First eleven, 1949. Back Row: J. Sparling, R. Loveless, F. Kerry, J. Braithwaite, J. Seadon, N. Binks. Front Row: J. Taylor, D. Parker, R. Woods (captain), D. Carter, J. Carter. In 1949 the first eleven was an even mix of prewar players who were nearing the end of their careers, such as Jim Sparling, Neil Binks, Fred Kerry and Ray Loveless, and younger men, some of whom would be stalwarts throughout the 1950s, such as John Seadon, John Braithwaite (described by some as “the best quick bowler Wivenhoe ever had”) and the immensely popular Ron Woods who would remain captain of the side until 1959. In the front row is Derek Parker who at that time was a regular West Ham United footballer, who moved to Colchester United in 1957. match and were only allowed to run around on the outfield during the tea interval. For many years, Mrs Turner and Mrs Tabor prepared tea by using kettles of water obtained from the standpipe on the square and orders for tea were placed during the afternoon. Players took tea first and then the families and guests were invited into the pavilion. No alcohol was served on the ground because Mrs Loveless’s religious beliefs forbade it. W.G. encouraged a sober and genteel atmosphere for his cricket club and he admired the formality of clubs such as Frinton, with its cricket weeks, visits from the MCC and match day traditions.

83 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

35. Annual awards ceremony, 1948. The picture shows Jack Barrell (treasurer), Jack Taylor (second eleven batting cup winner), Mrs G. Slaughter, W.G. Loveless (president), George Slaughter (secretary), Mrs Betty Loveless (wife of Bill Loveless jun.) and Fred Kerry (winner of both the first eleven batting and bowling awards).

1948: The Grand Annual Dinners In 1948, as part of the postwar revival, the club restarted the tradition of the grand annual dinner. The first postwar dinner was held at the Red Lion, Colchester and was well attended by around 80 members; the guests included council members and a number of players from local clubs such as Arnold Quick, the Essex batsman and Clacton captain. The grand dinners of the 1940s and 1950s were traditional affairs, as one might expect with W.G. Loveless and George Slaughter in charge. The formal dinner invitation would set out a series of speakers and toasts and would always include a toast to the reigning king or queen.

1950: The Cricket Club Fêtes A Saturday afternoon fête in mid-summer on an English village green was, and still is, a common enough occurrence. However, in Wivenhoe, for many years, the highlight of the summer fête season was the cricket club fête. The first recorded reference to a fête appears in the cashbook in 1897.

84 1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD

36. Cricket club fête, c.1950. President W.G. Loveless, always keen to appear in public and take a high profile role, encourages a small boy to take part in the children’s races.

It is not clear whether the expenditure incurred by the cricket club thaat year was for its own fund-raising fête or, as seems more likely, a contribution towards the village fête with “tea for the children and poor people” held on Thursday 24 June to commemorate the diamond jubilee (60 years) of Queen Victoria’s reign. John Goodwin chaired the 1897 village fête committee and Alexander Barlow was its president. Both were members of the cricket club, and the membership was drawn variously from the Parish Council, the Old Board School, the cycling club and the cricket club. The first official cricket club fête occurred in 1937, as a fund-raising exercise to help repay the mortgage taken out the previous year on the ground. It was a great success and repeated in 1938 and 1939. Those prewar fêtes at Rectory Road included stalls such as the human target, bowls, clock golf, treasure island, darts, coconut shy, smash alley and skittle alley as well as games and races for the children. For the 1938 fête, a rather embarrassing faux pas was made when the fête committee decided to ask Mr Gooch, the resident of Wivenhoe Park, to open the event. W.G. Loveless, who rather thought that he, as club president, should open the fête, did not receive this decision at all well.

85 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

In 1939, the matter was put right and W.G. and Dorothy duly opened the last prewar fête. The first postwar fête, in 1950, owed much of its success to Len Drinkell. Len would carry on as the heroic chairman of the fête committee to organise another 20 cricket club fêtes before finally stepping down in 1971. Every year the club devoted countless committee hours to fête arrangements. In the week before the event, on the day, and in the days immediately afterwards, many hours of work were required. Every year a local (or better still a minor national) celebrity had to be found to open the fête. During the 1960s these celebrities included Ipswich town footballer, Ted Phillips and TV actress, Beryl Cooke. There were stalls to be organised and manned, prizes bought, the press to be invited and children’s sports and art competitions to be arranged. Favourite postwar stalls included many of the prewar favourites plus the rifle range, the goldfish stall, bowling for the pig and the turkey roll barbeque run by club chairman and farmer, Jimmy Dutton. Another popular attraction at the fête was the regular inter-pub darts competition, cunningly held in the beer tent, thus guaranteeing strong patronage and a healthy bar take. Sometimes there would be a special feature such as some marching majorettes, a beautiful-baby competition, a judo exhibition or a six-a- side football tournament. At the height of their popularity, the fêtes were a major highlight in the Wivenhoe community calendar, the crowds flooded in all afternoon and the funds they raised were the very lifeblood of the club. However, the workload was growing intolerable. By 1969 the writing was on the wall for the fête. A special report the committee com- missioned that year into “the future of the club and the fête” cast doubt on whether the effort would be justified for much longer. Len Drinkell stepped down in 1971 and in 1972 the fête simply did not happen because the vacuum left by Len remained unfilled. Nevertheless, the fête struggled on for a few more years; the last one occurred in 1980. The fête equipment was eventually sold to Broomgrove School in 1982. A brief and brave attempt at reviving the fête for a couple of years was made around ten years later, and the events raised good money for the club, but the effort was so disproportionately large for the financial return that the revival was abandoned. The end of an era had been reached.

86 1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD

37. Opening the cricket club fête, 1960. The opening of another successful Wivenhoe cricket club fête organised by Len Drinkell. This picture shows Harold Dutton, in his one and only year as club president, with Roger Bacon on the microphone and Hilary Woods, daughter of Ron Woods, performing the opening ceremony.

The fête had played a vital part in the club’s development and equally as importantly in the well-being of the Wivenhoe community. If you ask any local boy or girl who grew up in Wivenhoe in the 1960s and 1970s, they will speak with great affection about the last Saturday afternoon in June every year spent at the cricket club fête.

1955: Wivenhoe Cricket in the 1950s (Stability On and Off the Field) The 1950s was another period of stability for Wivenhoe cricketers. The committee, many of the players and the fixture list remained constant throughout. There was no need for change. In any case, this was still at a time when transport was not easy. Not everyone had cars and players rarely changed clubs without good reason. The legacy of W.G. Loveless had placed the club on an even keel and, by the middle of the decade, there was a committee of men who would remain in post for many years

87 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

38. Essex cricketer Ray Smith at annual dinner, 1951. Essex all-rounder Ray Smith examines a bat at the 1951 annual dinner. Also in the picture are (left to right) fast bowler, club secretary and winner of the bowling cup that year, John Braithwaite, president Donald Oxton, chairman George Slaughter and a young Tony Forsgate. to come. The president, chairman, secretary and treasurer – Donald Oxton, George Slaughter, Tony Forsgate and Ron Woods respectively – were good honest servants of the club, content with the status quo and not inclined to change things without good reason. On the pitch, Ron Woods and Archie Turner captained the first and second elevens respectively for most of the decade. Including the war years, these two men have the two longest continuous playing careers in the history of the club and both played on into their sixties. The decade started while many of the prewar stalwarts were still playing. Men like Walter Terry, Les Wright, Neil Binks, Jack Barrell, Eric Green, Jim Sparling, Felix Faucheux and the Scofield cousins carried on long after the war. However, slowly, one by one, they retired and the mix of local youngsters and former grammar school boys took over. The grammar school boys had all arrived at the club within a few years of each other around 1949, inspired by Ron Woods and Tony Forsgate who already had strong connections. By the start of the 1960s, the first eleven regularly included a group of nine Old Colcestrians – Ron Woods,

88 1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS V WIVENHOE

The lowest total ever recorded against Wivenhoe

At Garrison C Ground, Colchester 10 August 1952. Wivenhoe won by 64 runs. This strong Wivenhoe side was the recently formed Sunday XI and the score of 10 all out by the RAMC is the equal lowest total ever recorded against Wivenhoe (the other score of 10 all out was by West Mersea in 1902). The RAMC match appeared in the fixture list as a home game, but was switched, for a reason unknown, to the garrison ground. It was played on a difficult pitch that favoured the bowlers. Wivenhoe had set a target of 75 to win. In reply, the opposition managed only seven singles, a two and a bye. Most remarkable of all was the bowling of Les Green who returned figures of 8 overs, 7 maidens, 4 wickets for 1 run; a single was scored off the second ball of his 5th over to spoil his near perfect figures.

Wivenhoe

R. Watsham c Freeman b Harrison ...... 0 B. Green c Binney b Kaball .... 21 A. Hammond c Ball b Harrison...... 0 D. Taylor lbw Kaball...... 12 A. Foster b Harrison ...... 15 A. Springett c Binney b Davies 0 F. Pike st Freeman b Kaball ...... 3 R. Few not out...... 0 G. Scutt c Ball b Harrison ...... 0 B 2, l-b 3, n-b 1 …...... 6 J. Watson c Nendick b Harrison ...... 17 1/1 2/4 3/8 4/22 5/22 L. Green b Harrison...... 0 6/49 7/58 8/73 9/74 74

Bowling: Harrison 11-4-18-6; Hutton 2-0-6-0; Binney 6-1-15-0; Davies 6.4-1-19-1; Kaball 4-2-9-3

Royal Army Medical Corps

Hutton b Taylor...... 0 Cable b L. Green...... 0 Davies c Few b Taylor...... 1 Harrison c Scutt b Taylor ...... 2 Freeman c B. Green b L. Green...... 2 Milne c Scutt b Taylor ...... 0 Nendick lbw Taylor...... 1 Butcher c Scutt b Taylor ...... 0 Binney not out...... 3 B 1...... 1 Ball c Few b L. Green...... 0 1/0 2/3 3/5 4/7 5/7 6/7 10 Monk c Springett b L. Green ...... 0 7/7 8/10 9/10

Bowling: L. Green 8-7-1-4; D. Taylor 7.4-4-8-6

89 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Tony Forsgate, Len Drinkell, Peter Napper, Roger Bacon, Frank Pike, Tony Hammond, John Braithwaite and David Denyer. The second eleven included talented local youngsters such as Alan Foster, father of Neil; John Watson, a man who never held senior office but who is remembered for his gentle and wise council; Jimmy Dutton, who would become chairman in 1969 and new arrival Geoff Scutt, father of 1970s cricketer Peter Scutt. The leading batsmen of the decade were, of course, Ron Woods, supported by Peter Napper, Geoff Scutt, Peter Sainty and Tony Hammond, a footballer good enough to be on the books of Colchester United. The leading bowlers were John Seadon, son of a haulier and provider of match day transport; John Braithwaite, whom his contemporaries described as “the best fast bowler Wivenhoe ever had” until he suffered a mysterious loss of confidence that meant he could barely pitch the ball on the wicket and, by the end of the 1960s, Ray Bailey, who won the first eleven bowling cup for five years out of six. Looking back, the separation of ex-grammar school boys into the first eleven and other players into the seconds may look a little divisive. How- ever, in practice, there were very few tensions because all the grammar school boys, with the exception of Ron Woods, were Wivenhoe people, and had simply been fortunate to receive formal coaching at school, which was unavailable to others at that time. That changed over time and, by the end of the 1960s, the grammar school influence had been replaced by a more even spread of youngsters who had all been coached at Wivenhoe.

1961: The Birth of Postwar Colts Cricket Pressure to formalise a colts’ section at the club had been growing through the 1950s. There had been informal evening net sessions for youngsters led by Eric Green and Jack Millington for a number of years. Apart from the odd specially arranged match, there were no regular colt fixtures and Wivenhoe youngsters would have to go and play for the “Brightlingsea Extras” if they wanted match practice. The first official postwar Wivenhoe Colts team played in 1961, though the colts got no mention in the fixture card until 1965. Towards the end of the 1960s, the colts were allowed to practise, largely unsupervised, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. No formal coaches existed until 1972, when Bob Smith and Ernie Frost were appointed to do the job.

90 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

39. A cricket club wedding, 1954. The wedding of former treasurer, Ray Watsham to Ann, at St Mary’s Wivenhoe in 1954. The cricketer’s guard of honour is provided by (left to right) Archie Turner, Tony Forsgate, Roger Bacon, John Braithwaite, Peter Napper, Ted Westlake, Charlie Ashley and Peter Sainty.

40. Annual dinner, 1959. The trophy ceremony at the 1959 annual dinner. Ron Woods won the batting cup for the 1958 season and John Seadon the bowling cup. In the picture are (left to right), Mrs Forsgate, Tony Forsgate (secretary), Donald Oxton (president), George Slaughter (secretary), John Seadon, Mrs Oxton, Ron Woods and Mrs Woods. 91 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

WIVENHOE V ABBERTON

The match that cost Wivenhoe an umpire!

At Rectory Road, Wivenhoe, 9 July 1960. Abberton won by ten wickets. This was Wivenhoe stalwart Stan Scofield’s last ever match as umpire for the club. The weak batting performance by what should have been a strong first eleven so disgusted him that he resigned and never returned to the job. Edgar Rumney’s tricky leg-cutters undid the Wivenhoe team which was all out for 23, the equal sixth lowest total in club history. As if to rub salt in the wound, Rumney returned to knock off the winning runs before tea.

Wivenhoe

J. Dutton b Rumney...... 1 G. Barker lbw Rumney ...... 0 F. Pike b Rumney ...... 2 R. Bacon b Taylor ...... 10 B. Green b Rumney ...... 0 R. Bailey not out ...... 0 Cole lbw Rumney ...... 8 Extras ...... 2 P. Napper b Rumney ...... 0 J. Bishop c Pearman b Taylor...... 0 23 Tony Forsgate b Rumney...... 0 J. Watson b Rumney...... 0

Bowling: E. Rumney 8-6; F. Taylor 2-15

Abberton

Butcher not out ...... 7 Rumney not out...... 19 Extras ...... 0

(for 0 wkt) 27

92 1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD

1965: The 125th Anniversary Dinner and the Cap Badge As 1965 approached, the committee became convinced that the club was originally founded in 1840. It therefore decided to make the 1965 season its official 125th anniversary. A grand dinner at the public hall marked the occasion. The guest speaker was Ian Prior, captain of the Suffolk county club. Gary Richardson, a leading batsman from Brightlingsea cricket club, proposed the main toast to Wivenhoe. This was an appropriate choice because, since the third formation of the club in 1879, Brightlingsea has been the team 41. Dr Walter Radcliffe, against which Wivenhoe has designer of the current club badge. played most often. To mark the occasion further, the committee sought suggestions for a new design of cap badge. A number of designs were given serious consideration, but the winner was the now familiar “gold Wyvern carrying off a bail on a blue background”, designed by Dr Walter Radcliffe. Dr Radcliffe was a popular local GP who lived at Tenacres, the large house on the same spot that had been the club’s home ground around the turn of the century. He was also a keen and competent sailor and, in 1935, designed the highly successful Wivenhoe One Design class of dinghy. Dr Radcliffe’s design is still on the club letterhead, flag, website, cap and sweater.

1965: Wivenhoe Cricket in the 1960s and Early 1970s (The Grammar School Boys and the Locals) The 1950s had been a period of postwar consolidation after the end of W.G.’s presidency and was characterised by Ron Woods’s consistent batting and gentlemanly captaincy. The decade of the 1960s was a natural extension of the 1950s and another happy period in the history of Wivenhoe cricket, punctuated only by the explosive arrival of one or two

. ll e k n i r D . L , k ar Cl . N apper, N . P , ) n i a t cap ( e Pik . F urner, urner, T . M enyer, enyer, D . D e, e, t S. Scofield (umpire), R. Woods, A. Hammond, R. Bailey, R.C. Bacon, G. Wadley (scorer). orsga F Back Row ony ony

ow R

t ron F 42. First eleven,42. 1960.

1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD

43. The Scofield clock unveiled, 1966. The pavilion clock, in memory of Cliff Scofield, being unveiled in 1966 by his daughter Olive and son Stan. Harry Clifford Scofield had been associated with the club for over 65 years from around 1900 until he died in 1965. Former president W.G. Loveless described him as “one of the club’s finest ever members and a wonderful character who was admired and respected”. Also present, to dedicate the clock, was Rev. Gosney, who had been rector of St Mary’s during much of Cliff’s playing career. In the picture are (left to right) Olive Cuthbert, William Loveless,

Stan Scofield and Reverend Gosney.

44. Second eleven, 1966. Back Row: E. Westlake, R. Bristow, M. Hatch, A. Halsey, G. Wadley, S. Trickett. Front Row: L. Creed, A. Foster, O. Joyce, E. Osbourn, D. Woods.

95 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET larger than life cricketers, about whom more later. Meanwhile, the postwar influx of stalwarts played on and a new generation of local youngsters came to the fore. The main pavilion was extended in 1960 when two new changing rooms, funded by fête profits and an anonymous interest-free loan of £100, were built on to the east end at a cost of £300. Rather embarrassingly, an entire rack of cricket bats mounted on the inside of the pavilion was sawn off at the handles by the builder’s first cut as he set about demolishing the end wall from the outside! The structure of the teams remained unchanged; there was a first eleven, a second eleven and a Sunday eleven. The captaincy of the teams was shared among the players; seven different players captained the firsts in the 1960s and seven captained the seconds. The club’s fixture list remained stable and a number of long-term opponents would become established and remain in place until league cricket finally consumed the whole of the fixture card in the mid-1980s. The leading batsmen of the time included Peter Napper and Nobby Clark, a chippy Londoner and successful all-rounder who played through most of the 1960s before emigrating to Canada; Alan Foster and Malcolm Turner, both local lads who were among Wivenhoe’s best ever all-rounders; the reliable opener, Stuart Trickett; and Richard Gregory, a technically correct and gentlemanly cricketer in the Ron Woods mould. The most successful bowlers of the period included several locals from the ever-strengthening colts section of the club. They were Andy Halsey, Barry Lock, Mick Kettle and Peter Scutt, another of the club’s most successful ever all-rounders who appeared, at times, a tortured soul who could have done even better than his own impressive career record suggests. In 1967, a larger than life cricketer called Fred Minikin took a job as a schoolteacher in Wivenhoe. Persuaded by fellow Old Colcestrian and schoolteacher Tony Forsgate, he left Clacton cricket club and joined Wivenhoe, where Fred spent two very happy and successful years. In that time, he built a fearsome reputation as a batsman-hating fast bowler who prided himself on the nastiness of his “special occasion” bouncer, which, according to Fred, “pitched short and wide of the off-stump and came back off the seam through the throat area”. Fred’s bowling and drinking partner was Graham Peck. On one memorable occasion in 1969, Graham Peck was struck above the heart by a fearsome return

96 1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD drive from John Stuck, Clacton and Suffolk’s record-breaking batsman. The Clacton batsman refused to apologise or show any concern, and helpfully pointed out that there is “nothing in the laws to say I must apologise!” Fred bowled the next over with John Stuck at the non- strikers end. The batsman accidentally walked out of his crease as Fred entered his delivery stride. Fred stopped and broke the wicket. The Clacton umpire suggested that he should have warned the batsman first, but Fred replied “nothing in the laws to say I must warn him!” Both batsman and bowler have since written that there were no hard feelings after the incident. Whether you believe that or not, it was a rare moment of unpleasantness in a time of very gentlemanly cricket, and John Stuck and Fred Minikin remain good friends to this day. Another great bowler who did not stay long enough at Wivenhoe was a university student called Steve Wilkerson who joined the club in 1971. He was a talented slow left arm bowler who speared the ball in at the batsman’s feet in the style of Derek Underwood, the great England bowler of the 1960s. In eight seasons at the club he would take 451 wickets, including 139 in the season of 1973 – an all-time Wivenhoe record. Figure 45 (overleaf) shows the first eleven 1976, which played against Great Bromley, away, on Saturday 31 July, in the last season before the advent of league cricket. Wivenhoe won the match comfortably with the main batting contributions coming from David Hemstedt, Stuart Trickett and Richard Gregory. In the Bromley reply, Malcolm Turner took 4 wickets for 23 runs. Unusually, Clive Woods and Steve Wilkerson did not star with bat and ball respectively. In the summer of 1970, a six-a-side tournament for village teams in Essex was held. The tournament was won by the Wivenhoe team comprised of Alan Foster, Len Miles, Stuart Trickett, Barry Lock, Malcolm Turner, Mick Kettle and Peter Scutt (see Figure 46). At the height of their playing careers, this was a formidable group of cricketers. With the exception of Alan Foster, who left the club in 1973, they formed the nucleus of the first eleven for most of the 1970s.

1972: Encroachment from the Allotment Holders The northern boundary of the ground had been fenced before the war using some ex-MoD chestnut paling provided, somehow free of charge, by army ranger and first eleven captain Edgar Earp. Charlie Ashley had positioned the fence to suit the requirements of a cricket pitch, some

. tt e k c i r T . S s, s, Wilk . S , ith m S . R erson, Wilk . S urner, urner, C. Woods, K. Sparling, D. Hemstedt, B. Lock, R. Gregory, M. Robson. T . M

ow R Back Row

t ron F 45. First eleven,45. 1976.

1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD

46. The victorious six-a-side team, 1970. The Wivenhoe squad, which won the finals of the Essex club six-a-side tournament played at Coggeshall on Tuesday 23 June 1970. The players are (left to right) Alan Foster, Mike Kettle, Peter Scutt, Len Miles, Stuart Trickett, and Barry Lock. The Wivenhoe victory was largely built on the opening batting of Alan Foster and Stuart Trickett who, in the semi-final and final matches of the tournament against Burnham and Danbury, hit 17 sixes between them. Each of the winning squad received a miniature bat signed by Mickey Bear, the Essex batsman whom Wisden accredited in his obituary as being a “stunning athlete” and the “pioneer of modern fielding techniques”. distance inside the legally defined boundary. After the war, and for the next 25 years, unbeknown to the cricketers, the fence was never moved to its proper position, and the Rectory Road ground was significantly smaller than its legally intended size. A gentleman by the name of Sidney Gladwin, who was a vociferous and obstinate critic of local cricket, occupied a large part of the ground that should have been part of the playing area but was in fact an allotment. He would regularly bury any cricket balls that landed on his allotment and make threats of physical violence against anyone who tried to recover them. The situation would possibly have gone undetected for another 25 years were it not for a dispute that arose in 1972 between the cricket club and the allotments association over rights of way for allotment holders to and from the cricket ground. During the resolution of the dispute, Charles Ashley recalled the positioning of the original fence line, the original deeds were checked in detail and the discrepancy came to light. The cricket club

99 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET agreed not to retake the land until 1976, and Mr Gladwin lost his allotment. This was clearly an unhappy ending but the irony of the final resolution did not go unnoticed.

1972: The Loss of the Mighty Elms Up until 1972, a row of around two dozen mighty elm trees that stood over 30 metres high marked the eastern boundary of the Rectory Road ground where it adjoins the former quarry. They made an imposing backdrop to cricket matches and provided a degree of shelter from easterly winds. During the winter of 1972/3, an aggressive and fatal fungal disease known as Dutch elm disease, spread by the elm bark beetle, swept over the whole of southeast England. Although the disease had been in Britain since 1927, a new and more virulent strain had arrived on a shipment of elm logs from America in 1967. Inspectors from Essex County Council examined the Wivenhoe elms in late 1972 and confirmed the cricketers’ fears – the whole row of trees was infected. The club received a compulsory order to fell the trees and burn them within a few weeks. Because the eastern boundary is legally the responsibility of the quarry landowner, the quarry company duly carried out the work at no cost to the cricket club. The same fate eventually befell over 25 million elms throughout England and the disease is still travelling north through Scotland. It was a sad day and the eastern side of the ground has never looked the same since.

1972: NEECA and the Possibility of League Cricket In early 1972, the first invitation came to join a newly created group called the North East Essex Cricket Association (NEECA). It was the brainchild of a number of established players and administrators in the area including Roger Bayes, cricket master at the grammar school, and former Suffolk player Martin Crannis. The association aroused suspicion at first and Wivenhoe did not rush to join. For a start, there were membership fees to be paid and rules to be adhered to, and, worse still, NEECA seemed to be keen on evening competitions and league cricket. For the time being, Wivenhoe remained steadfastly against league cricket as it had done in the 1950s when a number of local clubs proposed re-forming the prewar Colchester & District League. In 1972 Len Miles, first eleven captain, said that “only 10 to 12 league games

100 1946 TO 1976: POSTWAR GROWTH AT RECTORY ROAD should ever be played in a season and none at second eleven level”. Brian Richardson, secretary at the time, said it would be “some time before league cricket is played at Wivenhoe, if ever”. Both men were highly respected servants of the club and would simply have been reflecting the groundswell of opinion among members at the time who believed that league cricket would destroy the gentlemanly nature of Wivenhoe village cricket and bring aggressive newcomers to the club. That Wivenhoe had already enjoyed many happy years of league cricket with a fair degree of success in the 1890s and 1920s seemed to have been forgotten. Wivenhoe did agree to join NEECA in 1973, benefited from coaching programmes and competed in the evening 20-over cricket competitions. The NEECA influence on local clubs grew stronger and was the catalyst that launched the first postwar village cricket league in 1976. The existence of NEECA and its progressive ideas strengthened the pro- league cricket lobby at Wivenhoe and, by 1975, the arrival of league cricket was inevitable; the only question was when? The answer to that question turned out to be 1977; and that marks the start of the next chapter in the story of Wivenhoe cricket.

101

Chapter 7 1977 to 1989: Transformation from Village to Club Cricket

Battle for league cricket won, early successes, arrival of the 1980s’ building and funding boom, Arts Club effect, Two-Counties League, large social membership, Lucking family arrival, cricket week growth, quarry changes, Neil Foster Test career.

1977: Wivenhoe Cricket in the Late 1970s (Early Success in League Cricket) The 1976 season had seen the last stand of the “no league cricket” lobby in the club. By the end of that summer, all the objections to league cricket had been disproved, argued away or simply ignored and in 1977 the club entered division two of the North Essex Cricket League (which was sponsored at that time by Greene King). The club enjoyed immediate success in the league and suffered no apparent detriment in the enjoyment of matches and no loss of sportsmanship on the field. No players left in disgust and no officers of the club resigned. To give the “no league cricket” lobby due credit, its concerns had been clearly stated and the players had been forced to think long and hard before commit- ting to league cricket. That may well be the reason why Wivenhoe was ready for league cricket when it finally arrived and why it enjoyed so much early success. In 1977, at the first attempt, Wivenhoe won the division two championship and was promoted. The following year it won division one also at the first attempt. The club had not enjoyed such demonstrable success on the field since the Colchester & District League division B victory of 1924. These successes were built largely upon the batting performances of Clive Woods, the captain and first ever Wivenhoe batsman to score

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1,000 runs in a season. Also important were the up-and-coming wicketkeeper/batsman Mick Hemstedt, the bowling of Kevin Sparling, Richard Hemstedt and Ray Sidaway and the reliable all-round performances of Richard Gregory and, in the twilight of his Wivenhoe career, Malcolm Turner. In a space of two years, the club had become one of the best village sides in northeast Essex alongside Abberton, Copford and Earls Colne and it would stay that way for many years to come. Wivenhoe finished top or second in the first division every season bar one from 1977 to 1983. These successful years would give the club confidence to raise its ambitions and join the stronger Two-Counties League in 1984, thereby completing the transition from aspirational village cricket to serious club cricket. The arrival of league cricket helped raise standards in all playing departments, not least of which was the fielding. The importance of restricting opponents’ scores when faced with a limited number of overs meant that every run counted that little bit more than in the days of declaration cricket. In the early days, Clive Woods stood out as one of the very best fielders and he set the standard that other exceptional fielders such as David Wilcockson and Tom Allison would follow. The most outstanding of all recent fielders must surely be Darren Selley, whose unforgettable “party piece” was to catch the ball in the outfield one-handed behind his back, and then throw it in over the stumps the same way! However, the Two-Counties League would generally bring far greater playing challenges than the North Essex Cricket League had brought, and there would be some difficult seasons ahead.

Neil Alan Foster (1962– ) Neil Foster is the most celebrated of the many Wivenhoe club players who has played first-class cricket. He is the only Wivenhoe cricketer ever to have played Test cricket for England. During his celebrated career for Essex, which spanned from 1980 to 1993, Neil played 230 first-class matches and 29 Tests. 47. Neil Foster. Wivenhoe’s He also played in 48 one-day internationals only ever Test cricketer.

103 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET and 215 one-day matches for Essex. In all forms of first-class and one- day cricket, he took 1,347 wickets and scored 6,186 runs, including 57 five-wicket hauls and two centuries. Neil’s “finest hour” for England was in the 4th Test in Madras in January 1985 when he took 11 for 163, including Sunil Gavaskar twice, in a performance that is one of only four occasions when an England bowler has taken ten or more wickets in India. Neil was born in Colchester in May 1962 and brought up in Wivenhoe as part of a talented sporting family. He lived in Ernest Road with his mother Jean, father Alan, sister Julie and brother Danny. Neil played his colts’ cricket at Wivenhoe and attended Philip Morant School where he was originally regarded as more of a footballer than a cricketer. The biggest influence on his early cricketing career was undoubtedly his father. Alan Foster was a Wivenhoe cricketer between 1951 and 1973. His career stats after 1970 place him second in the club’s all-time all- rounder records. By his own admission, Alan was frustrated by having to bat low down in the order and preferred to play for the second eleven when he was clearly of first eleven standard. This and other tensions eventually persuaded him to leave the club and join Mistley. Brother Danny also played at Wivenhoe, from 1979 to 2004, and scored over 5,000 runs, making him the fourteenth highest ever run scorer. Neil joined the club in 1973 and played in the colts’ team from the age of 11, and at the AGM of 1976, upstairs at the Greyhound pub, he was elected colts’ captain. A popular and enthusiastic youngster, he made his senior team début for Wivenhoe second eleven in 1974 and played a handful of games in each of 1975 and 1976, taking four wickets and 11 wickets respectively. His performances in those early days hinted at great things, but no one at Wivenhoe could have predicted the success he would go on to achieve. With the benefit of hindsight, he probably should have played sooner and possibly for the first eleven. His father may have realised more than most, because in 1977 Neil moved to Mistley to join his father who had been playing there since 1974. Neil’s Essex career took off in 1980 in spectacular fashion, while he was still at school, with a call-up on his eighteenth birthday to an injury hit Essex side due to play against Kent at Ilford the following day. Wearing borrowed Essex kit, because he had not yet qualified for his county second eleven cap, his first ball in first-class cricket was four wides as a result of lost footing. Fortunately, things improved from there

104 1977 TO 1989: TRANSFORMATION FROM VILLAGE TO CLUB CRICKET onwards and his county career had started. His England début occurred in August 1983 against New Zealand at Lord’s. Neil’s action was described as “high and upright” when he became a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1988 and writer Rob Smythe has subsequently called it “beautiful”. However, too much bowling as a youngster may have contributed to a stress fracture of the spine that plagued his early career and eventually led to the insertion of two six-inch metal plates in his back. This injury, and a number of similar injuries to other young professionals in the 1970s, led eventually to limits on overs bowled being applied to junior fast bowlers in modern men’s cricket. In spite of his success at first-class and international level, Neil has always been pleased to chat with his former Wivenhoe colleagues wherever he happened to be playing, and during his international career he returned to play at Wivenhoe from time to time. He appeared for the Old Boys alongside his father in 1983 and again in 1985. In 1987 he

48. Second eleven, 1975. Back Row: B. Lock, N. Philp, C. Trueman, T. Wix, P. Bather, B. Richardson, M. Kettle. Front Row: J. Watson, E. Frost, D. Hemstedt (captain), N. Foster, M. Weldon (scorer). This important, but disappointingly blurred, team picture is the only known photograph of a Wivenhoe team including young Neil Foster. Neil took 11 wickets in 1976, which was to be his last season with the club before joining Mistley. He confesses that he remembers his début for Wivenhoe second eleven in 1974 with greater clarity than the entirety of his successful season as captain of Wivenhoe first eleven in 2000.

105 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET formally opened the new bar and kitchen extension on the west end of the pavilion (16 years after Alan, a carpenter by trade, had built the original wooden bar extension on the back of the pavilion). In 1999 he returned to play one match in the first eleven, and the following year became the Wivenhoe club captain and coach, playing throughout the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Wivenhoe cricketers, particularly from the 1970s, remain very proud of their association with Neil Alan Foster and, despite his early departure, regard him as Wivenhoe first, before Mistley, Essex and even England for that matter!

1980: A New Breed of Committee for a New Decade The 1980s was undoubtedly one of the most successful ever decades in the development of the club and must rank alongside the 1860s (when the club was first truly founded and built itself a fine reputation while playing at Tenacres) and the 1930s (when the club built its pavilion and bought its own ground at Rectory Road). At the start of the 1980s there were, for no obvious reasons, an abnor- mally large number of changes in the officers of the club. In 1980, there was a new president, chairman and secretary. The new president was Bob Bristow and the new secretary was Mrs Terri Philp, the first female senior officer of the club, who took the job on simply because she “fancied a challenge” at the time. In 1983, there was a new treasurer, Ernie Frost, an electrician by trade, who would steer the club through some complex financial arrangements. The old committee, led by Len Drinkell, Jimmy Dutton and Roger Bacon, had successfully taken the club from the end of the era that finished with the death of George Slaughter in 1969 to the start of league cricket. Now it was time for change. A new chairman, Peter Bather, was elected in 1980 and with that begun a period of around 14 years of ambitious, hectic and sustained growth that would threaten to get out of control on more than one occasion but that ultimately was hugely successful. Steve Tasker took over as chairman in 1986 and kept the early momentum going. A member taking stock of the club in the mid-1990s, with its extended pavilion, coaching staff, new bar and kitchen, car park, artificial wicket, sightscreens and tractor shed would have been very impressed and would have concluded, looking back over the last decade and a half, that the ends had well and truly justified the means.

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However, the success of the 1980s was not achieved without difficulties. The almost insoluble problem that Peter Bather, as chairman, and his committee had to reconcile was the difference between the members who wanted to see the pace of change speeded up and those who wanted to take it more steadily. On one hand, there were the old-school members who were suspicious of the immense voting rights of a rapidly growing non-playing membership, many attracted by the social scene rather than the cricket on show. These traditionalists feared that too much change too soon would destroy the spirit of the club, or even cost it some of its precious building and land assets. On the other hand, the new breed of members was confident and optimistic that a new vision for the club, fully inclusive of the needs of the cricketers, could quickly be achieved. They wanted to move fast and were happy to borrow money and rely on increased bar takings to fund loan repayments. It was impossible for the committee to please all the people all the time and tensions mounted as a result. Looking back, some would say they were constructive tensions; others would say that they were destructive. Those tensions eventually led to the change of committee in 1986. While the ends had undeniably justified the means by the end of the decade, at least one regrettable side effect remains a stain on the club’s fine history. During the handover from one committee to the next, Bob Bristow, a steadying influence in the club, who had been president for the five years since Len Drinkell retired in 1979, was voted out of office at the 1986 AGM. He left the club that evening forever and wrote later that he “felt humiliated”. When he died in 1989, he had still not been reconciled with the club. Although the legacy left to the club by Peter Bather, Steve Tasker and their respective committees speaks for itself, to this day both men remain troubled by the matter. As Mark Britton would observe some years later, borrowing a quote from Charles Dickens, the 1980s were “the best of times and the worst of times”. Fortunately, this example of “the worst of times” was very rare. The 1980s, for the most part, were the very best of times.

Michael Lucking, sen. (1941–88) Mike was 37 years old when he and his wife Gerry arrived with their young family of three sons, Michael, Simon and Nicholas, each of whom would also go on to make major contributions to the development of the club. He gave the club ten hard years of unfaltering support and

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encouragement before he died tragically young and with much more to give. He had played his early cricket at Westcliff, near Southend, and later at Elstree cricket club, near Watford, before his work commit- ments caused him to move to Wivenhoe. He had gained MCC membership a few years earlier (through the playing route) and whenever he played for Wivenhoe he wore his over-long, over- stretched MCC sweater with pride. Mike’s attitude to playing cricket could best be summed up by the Shakespearean quote: “do as adversaries do at law, strive 49. Mike Lucking. mightily but eat and drink as friends.” “Strive mightily” to Mike meant play hard to win and sledge a little, “eat and drink as friends” meant befriend and talk to the opposition, congratulate those who had done well and encourage the youngsters. Mike bowled slow left arm and in his first season at Wivenhoe finished top of the bowling averages. He never attained that level again, although, in 1987, he was the first ever Wivenhoe bowler to get mentioned in the “best performances” table of the Two-Counties League handbook. In the season of 1986, all four Luckings represented senior teams at the club and all four appeared in the end of season averages for that year. Sadly, they never all played together in the same senior Wivenhoe team, though records show that all four played at Rectory Road on the weekend of 9/10 August 1986. On Saturday, the two Mikes played for the first eleven in a league match against Harwich, while Simon and Nicholas played for the Sunday eleven in a friendly match against Stutton. Mike preferred not to take senior office as chairman, secretary or treasurer of the club although, in the absence of any other viable candidates, he took on captaincy of the first eleven in 1986 and 1987.

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Mike’s biggest contribution to Wivenhoe cricket was as a visionary and driver for change in the club. He understood very well that dealing with the minutiae of club rules and licensing laws were not his strong point, but that his good business sense and preparedness to tell people the simple truths they did not always want to hear were essential for progress. In short, he knew that his sometimes abrasive style would work better from the floor of a committee meeting than from the top table. There is no doubt that fate had timed his arrival at Wivenhoe cricket club to perfection – just in time for the hectic 1980s. When Mike died suddenly on 1 July 1988, having suffered an initial heart attack while rolling the square on Easter Monday, the club went into a period of deep shock and mourning. Two summers later, on Friday 27 July 1990, the first memorial cricket match took place between the club and the Lucking XI, a team comprised almost entirely of family members. The match was played annually for a number of years for the Lucking Cup with honours finishing marginally in favour of the Lucking XI. As time passed, the day of the Lucking XI match became a day of remembrance for others besides Mike and, in recent years, a toast to absent friends has replaced this act of remembrance on President’s Day. One final word on the matter – it is perhaps symbolic that the last formal entry in the official minute books of the club, which started back in 1922 and ran for 66 years, is dated 6 April 1988 and includes the report by secretary Mark Britton of Mike’s first heart attack. No further formal entries were ever made.

1981: The First Major Building Project of the 1980s A number of small improvements were made to the ground in 1979. A new water main was laid and a large number of trees were donated by the Drinkell, Forsgate, Bristow and Pike families and by Julian Ridsdale MP. The MP had recently visited the ground with a Japanese business- man who had assured him that Japanese elms were resistant to the dreaded disease and that is what he supplied, two of which still thrive on the northern fence line. Most of the other trees were used to soften the appearance of the eastern boundary, which had at that time a sheer vertical drop, only ten yards from the playing area, into a very deep sand and ballast quarry. Fortunately, it was adequately fenced and no one ever fell over the edge.

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The first significant building project of the 1980s was the construction of a new changing room, shower and toilet extension on the east end of the pavilion (see figure 57 page 122). Randalls of Brightlingsea provided the design and drawings in 1981 and support for the plans from club members was quickly gained. Funding for the works was rather more problematic. A loan of £6,000 from Scottish and Allied brewery was first sought. The brewery quickly offered the loan but required the ground and pavilion as security. The trustees were not prepared to agree to this. Another proposal, from Mike Lucking sen., was that he would take over and run the bar as a business, retaining a share of the profits in return for which he would personally guarantee the loan repayments. This proposal foundered on legal grounds. The final solution was a £5,000 unsecured loan from the brewery and a £1,000 interest-free loan from generous vice-president, George Milton. Randalls, the same firm that produced the drawings, carried out the main construction work, which was completed in the winter of 1981/2 – with the bar open throughout, even when snow blew in under the tarpaulins. The final fixtures and fittings were finished by the tradesmen and gifted DIY-ers in the club. The new pavilion was ready for the summer of 1982, just in time for another splendid North Essex Cricket League win.

1982: The First Postwar Cricket Week By the summer of 1982 the club was enjoying another period of growing self-confidence and had by then built up a momentum that would carry on for another ten years. The new committee had shown a preparedness to change with the times and, perhaps symbolically, that year sold the paraphernalia from the Wivenhoe cricket club fête at a knockdown price to Broomgrove School. The new way of funding development was through bar takings, social events, loans and donations. There would no longer be weeks, sometimes months, of committee discussions and long evenings spent preparing for the annual fête. A sad loss for Wivenhoe as a community, but as far as the cricket club was concerned, a blessed relief and time to move on. Another winning innovation by the new order was the reintroduction of Wivenhoe cricket weeks. The first postwar cricket week was held in 1982. It was a huge success and would become an annual event, continuing to this day.

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1983: The Eastern Boundary Extended By 1983 the Tilbury Roadstone Company, which owned the mineral rights to the quarry, had exhausted the reserves beneath the field next to the eastern boundary of the cricket club. The planning laws governing the backfilling of quarries were less stringent then than now and the hole was backfilled with domestic waste and a random assortment of other rubble and rubbish. No longer was there a frightening vertical drop waiting to catch a sprinting fielder with his eye on a steepling six hit! In theory, the field was available once again for farming. However, it had been backfilled so badly that, despite Jimmy Dutton’s best efforts, it proved useless for farming. It was no surprise then when the club was offered, at no cost, some land from the former quarry site to straighten the eastern boundary where the mighty elms had once been. The fence line duly moved back and the Rectory Road ground grew a little larger that year.

1984: The Arts Club Effect In 1984, the Wivenhoe Arts Club folded. The rented premises where the club had existed happily for many years were lost, and no reasonable alternative was found. The Arts Club had been at the epicentre of the village social scene for almost 20 years. Many of its members were highly sociable, multi-talented, Wivenhoe-loving, party animals who needed a focus for their community activities and a welcoming bar in which to drink and socialise. The cricket club was perfect for them; and they were perfect for the cricket club. It was a match made in heaven, and so it was that membership of the cricket club shot up from 81 (excluding vice-presidents and life members) in 1982 to 250 in 1987. Along the way, in 1984, the committee had toyed with the idea of temporarily suspending membership at 150, so as not to upset the balance of cricketers to non-cricketers. However, this was never necessary because the introduction of family membership with limited voting rights resolved the problem. Meanwhile, the profit from the bar increased more than fivefold, from £2,000 in 1982 to £11,000 in 1988. The social scene at the cricket club had been growing steadily stronger since the early 1980s when Gerry Lucking joined her good friends Sue Halsey and Terri Philp and took responsibility for the social committee. The women well remember the atmosphere at the club in the

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WIVENHOE V GREAT BENTLEY An all-time club record eighth wicket partnership At Rectory Road, Wivenhoe, 6 August 1983. Wivenhoe won by 85 runs. This North Essex Cricket League division one match is remarkable because of the unbroken stand of 158 for the eighth wicket between Martin Robson and Mike Lucking jun. The club does not retain formal records for batting partnerships; however, there can be no doubt that this was an all-time club record. Even more remarkable than the size of the partnership is the fact that the two batsmen came together with the score at 31 for 8 in the 21st over, after the failure of a strong top and middle order batting line-up. The pitch was soft and it was difficult to play proper shots, and the afternoon was cold and damp; so there were disappointingly few witnesses to the feat. Mike and Martin started slowly with scampered singles and then began taking chances with big shots towards the short allotments side boundary. As time went by, the Bentley heads went down and fortune began to favour the brave. The moral of the tale is “who dares, wins” or something like that!

Wivenhoe M. Hemstedt c G. Morton b Cross ...... 9 S. Britton b Wright...... 11 D. Foster c Lawrence b Scott ...... 0 M. Robson not out ...... 79 C. Woods c Jordan b Cross ...... 2 M. Lucking, jun. not out ...... 62 M. Lucking, sen. c Jordan b Scott...... 4 B 18, l-b 2, w 1, n-b 1 ...... 22 A. Rosier b C. Scott ...... 0 D.J. Fox b Scott ...... 0 1/9 2/9 3/13 4/15 5/15 (8 wkts) 189 K. Sparling c Wastling b Scott ...... 0 6/15 7/15 8/31 R. Hemstedt did not bat Bowling: Scott 10-4-15-5; Cross 10-6-13-2; Wright 10-3-45-1; R.D. Morton 10-2-63-0; Soar 2-0-14-0; R.I. Morton 3-0-17-0

Great Bentley N. Wastling c M. Hemstedt b Sparling 4 G. Gardiner c M. Hemstedt T. Jordan c M. Hemstedt b Robson..... 11 b R. Hemstedt... 0 G. Lawrence c M. Hemstedt b Sparling 1 G. Morton not out ...... 10 C. Scott c Rosier b Sparling ...... 6 R.O. Morton c Robson R.I. Morton b Lucking, jun...... 28 b R. Hemstedt... 5 C. Wright c M. Hemstedt b Sparling... 1 L-b 2, w 4 ...... 6 M. Soar c Fox b Robson...... 4 K. Cross c R. Hemstedt 1/4 2/8 3/14 4/27 5/28 6/40 104 b Lucking, sen...... 28 7/74 8/81 9/93 Bowling: K. Sparling 7-2-21-4; M. Robson 10-3-23-2; M. Lucking, jun 7-1-20-1; R. Hemstedt 7.2-0-23-2; M. Lucking, sen 4-0-11-1

112 1977 TO 1989: TRANSFORMATION FROM VILLAGE TO CLUB CRICKET

50. Second eleven, 1985. Back Row: M. Britton, S. Tasker sen., T. Cannings, B. Vaughan, P. Lidierth, K. Tasker, R. Page (umpire). Front Row: R. Bird, P. Bather, S. Britton (captain), E.J. Frost, A. Charnock. The second eleven, which drew with Brantham on 13 July 1985. Wivenhoe posted a total of 156–9; the main run scorers were Peter Bather and Ernie Frost. Brantham replied with 140–8; the main wicket takers were Brian Vaughan and Kevin Tasker. The 1985 team was full of experience and included Mark Britton, Steve Tasker, Peter Bather, Terry Cannings and Ernie Frost, all of whom had been, or were, senior officers of the club, as had Mick Kettle, the normal captain, for whom Simon Britton was standing in on the day. mid-1970s when they sensed a preoccupation with cricket, to the exclusion of all else, which made them feel unwelcome in the pavilion. Over the following two decades, largely because of the efforts of the women, many hugely successful events were held and many social traditions formed. Particular social highlights from that era included the New Year’s Eve fancy dress parties that changed over time into talent shows. Those present will never forget the ‘allo ‘allo evening, or the surprisingly competent performances of a hastily assembled popular music combo named “Sticky Wicket” consisting of the Selley family, Tom Oakley and Andy Halsey on guitar (see Figure 52). Then there were the celebrations of St Andrew’s night, St George’s night and Burns night

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– each one accompanied by a marvellous repast; in the case of Burns night, professional Scotsman Billy Gillespie performed the ceremony of bringing in the haggis. Besides these events, there were Christmas parties for the children, bonfire parties, Sunday lunches and Saturday night suppers. The annual dinners grew increasingly more ambitious with venues around the county including the Officers Club, Wivenhoe Park, Kingsford Park Hotel and the Embassy Suite. The vibrant social scene carried on well into the 1990s with a new group of women, led by Sue Whitfield, Barbara Connelly and Lindsey Jones taking over responsibility for the social committee and doing most of the work. Meanwhile, the building projects carried on consuming the funds and the new club members carried on consuming the alcohol. The social members of the club, including those who had arrived from the Arts Club, partied hard alongside the cricketers throughout the 1980s. In the end, the club dropped the term “social member” because it had become divisive. By 1990, all that remained was a single large membership, an active social calendar and a rapidly dwindling list of building projects that still needed doing. The expanded membership introduced many good, hard-working, people into the cricket club. These were people such as the Richardsons, the Coverleys, the Bostocks, the Footrings, the Dixons, the Parsons, the Scotts and Carol Alcock to name but a few. However, no account of the Arts Club effect would be complete without a special mention of John Holden who, with the support of his wife Jessie, contributed a huge amount to the betterment of the cricket club. The Holdens also instigated the one and only overseas tour in the history of the club. In 1983, a party of 32 tourists, including around 20 cricketers, spent two weeks in Corfu playing three matches against local teams. The matches were played in hot weather on a gravelly pitch with a concrete wicket that more closely resembled a car park than a cricket ground. That is mainly because, when it was not being used as a cricket ground, it was in fact, a car park. The Wivenhoe tourists acquitted themselves well against the local teams, each of which, curiously, seemed to select from the same pool of players! John Holden’s biggest contribution though, was as project manager of so much of the building work that went on. A professional builder and a popular and practical man in the club, he took his instructions from the main committee, enlisted help from those around him and simply got on

114

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51. Wivenhoe on tour in Corfu, 1983. 1983. Corfu, Wivenhoe on tour in 51. sen., front fromMike row, 2nd Lucking left, jun., Danny Foster, Richard Hemstedt, Simon Graham Bell, Britton and Barry Lucking from 1983 tour. The Wivenhoe players are, back row, 6th from left, Ni left, from 6th row, back are, players The Wivenhoe 1983 tour.

1977 TO 1989: TRANSFORMATION FROM VILLAGE TO CLUB CRICKET

52. Sticky Wicket, the resident club band c.1985, consisting of (left to right) Andy Halsey, Marilyn Selly, Alec Selly and Tom Oakley. with it. When John finally moved on, Arfon Jones, another construction professional, stepped in and took over the chairmanship of the building subcommittee, and kept up the good work.

1986: The Second Major Building Project of the 1980s Building and development work never really stopped in the 1980s. In 1983, the car park was built and the security alarm fitted to the pavilion. In 1984 a Second World War prefabricated bungalow (located next to the main gates and due to be demolished to make way for permanent housing) was “obtained” somehow from the council and re- erected on the ground, by John Watson and Robbie Page, for use as a tractor shed. Also in 1984, the pavilion roof was refelted and retiled. In 1985, a new net facility was built between the tractor shed and the eastern boundary. Apart from these smaller projects, the second major building project of the 1980s was the construction of a new bar and kitchen extension, with the old bar and kitchen being refurbished to form part of a much larger main clubroom. Drawings were tabled in 1985 and the work was carried out in 1986/7 with no interruption to the normal business of

116

m Turner m Turner d a few decidedly ite the fact that he receive r Danny hit 62 for the club desp M. Lucking sen., E.J. Frost, A. Foster, R. Hemstedt, P. Bather, D. Sanders, M.Barnard, Back Row R. Bristow, S. Britton, S. Tasker sen., D. Foster, B. Lock, M. Britton, R. Springett, A. Mullins, M. Kettle. Front Row D.J. Fox, R. Sidaway, P. Scutt, M. Lucking jun., J. Wiseman, J. Warner, C. Trueman, N. Foster, R. Woods, M. Turner. 53. Wivenhoe v53. Old Boys, 1985. sharp, short pitched deliveries from his older brother! This is the second occasion Foster returned when Neil during internationalhis to play career In thisat the club. match Malcol smashed 85 all round the ground for the Old Boys, and Neil’s brothe

1977 TO 1989: TRANSFORMATION FROM VILLAGE TO CLUB CRICKET

54. Building the kitchen and bar extension, 1986. The second of the three major building projects of the decade. This example of Nigel Philp’s block work is part of the extension to the bar and kitchen, built in 1986 by club members, under the management of John Holden, who was the hard-working chairman of the building subcommittee. Arfon Jones took over from John Holden at the end of the 1980s.

55. The opening of the bar and kitchen by Neil Foster, 1987. Former Wivenhoe cricketer Neil Foster opens the newly built bar and kitchen extension on 27 June 1987. The previous week Neil had played for England in the third Test against Pakistan at Headingley and, earlier in the day, he had helped Essex against Somerset at Chelmsford. Pictured clamouring for a pint are Mark Britton (secretary), Steve Tasker (chairman), Mike Lucking sen. (captain) and Andy Halsey (president).

118 1977 TO 1989: TRANSFORMATION FROM VILLAGE TO CLUB CRICKET running the club. The final cost was around £20,000 and funding was obtained by another loan from the brewery and a mixture of sponsorship, loans from club members and an extended overdraft facility from the bank, which Mike Lucking sen., Dave Fox, Steve Tasker and Ernie Frost personally guaranteed. Ernie Frost, with Andy Halsey, also did the electrical work for the building. Nigel Philp, John Watson, Tom Oakley and John Holden did the construction work, Simon Britton acted as surveyor, and Neil Foster, who by then was an established England cricketer, formally opened the now completed extension on 27 June 1987.

Andrew Ian Halsey (1948–98) Andy Halsey was one of the club’s most loyal servants. Like the Woods and the Forsgates, Andy had played cricket all his life, from age 11, at Wivenhoe, and would never ever have seriously considered playing anywhere else. He was an electrician by trade and a keen sailor in his spare time, which kept him physically fit enough to be a medium/fast bowler who played for over 30 years. During that time, he took 500 wickets for the club making him Wivenhoe’s seventh highest ever recorded wicket taker. He was a kind and popular member of the club who, with his wife Sue, would usually be at the centre of any laughter and merriment going on in the pavilion, and who showed the younger players, by example, how to compete on the field and how to behave off the field. In the last ten years of Andy’s playing career he was no longer fit enough to bowl long spells, but was happy just to play the game he loved as an occasional fill-in player, still capable of taking a few wickets and wielding the bat to good effect. Remarkably, in the season of 1990, he averaged over 50 with the bat, including an unlikely century, as part of a 166 run opening partnership with Peter Bather against

Hadleigh. He also took 18 wickets in 56. Andy Halsey. that season. He played his last game

119 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET for Wivenhoe in 1993. In 1986, he was the natural choice for the next and nineteenth president of the club and was duly elected at the AGM. Andy remained president of the club for 11 years until he died, too young, in 1998 after a battle against cancer. A grand memorial match took place in the summer after Andy died between a Wivenhoe team and a team comprised of his many friends from opposition clubs. The large bench in front of the changing rooms was donated by Andy’s wife Sue and is dedicated to this “gentleman player”.

1986: All Change on the Committee With the change of president came a change of chairman and, two years later, a new treasurer. The new chairman was Steve Tasker and he took over from Peter Bather, the legacy of whose chairmanship was two major building projects and countless smaller ones. With the handover from one chairman to the next, there was barely a break in the stride of the relentless forward march. The development plans kept going and the social scene grew stronger and stronger. The club in general, and Steve Tasker in particular, were well supported by Mark Britton as secretary. Mark’s quiet wisdom, gentle nature and considerable skills as a diplomat, meant that, for the ten years he served, he was a highly effective member of the committee. He also steadily amassed a career haul of 468 wickets making him the eighth highest wicket-taker in club records. Only by reading through the full club archives for the 1980s and 1990s does it become clear just how many “behind the scenes” tensions he defused using his considerable diplomatic and conciliation skills.

1989: The Third Major Building Project of the 1980s The arrival of a new chairman brought a change in the organisation of the committee. Steve Tasker and Mark Britton introduced four subcommittees for the management of the club. The ground, cricket, building and fund-raising subcommittees were created, each with its own sub- chairman. The arrangement worked well; minor issues were resolved outside the main committee and things ran even smoother as a result. The development work went on and on. In 1987, the car park lighting was installed. In 1988, the artificial wicket was laid and building design lecturer and cricketer, Dave Osborne, built the sightscreens. In 1989, the

120 1977 TO 1989: TRANSFORMATION FROM VILLAGE TO CLUB CRICKET beer store was built on the back of the bar. In 1990, the old cesspit was abandoned in favour of a modern, giant onion-shaped, sewage treatment tank made of fibreglass. The prefab tractor shed had been a victim of the great storm of October 1987 that swept the whole of the south of England and destroyed or damaged thousands of trees and buildings. After the night of the storm, much of the shed finished up in the next field and was beyond repair. Miraculously, the ground-keeping equipment survived and only the handle of one mower was damaged. Kevin Sparling and Colin Smith built a new shed in the winter of 1987/8 by using new materials and a more traditional design. The third and last major building project of the 1980s was the construction on the eastern end of the pavilion of a new toilet block, boiler room and improvements to the clubroom. Club members would once again carry out the work themselves. During the initial site investigation, it was discovered that the changing room extension built in 1960 was, and still is, founded solidly on the stump of a large old oak tree. Drawings appeared in 1989 and planning permission was obtained in 1990 for a grand extension, costed at £70,000, which included a new committee room to be named in memory of Mike Lucking sen. Funding was again tricky. In the end, insufficient funds were available to construct the whole project as planned, and, although the changing rooms and toilets were built, the committee room was omitted from the project. To fund the work, the club took a further loan of £13,000 from the brewery, sought sponsorship of £2,000 from Colchester Borough Council, raised bonds of £2,000 from among the members, and George Milton donated £1,000. During the funding discussions, the club consolidated all the outstanding loans into one single loan from the brewery, which it secured against the ground and pavilion. As had been the case in 1981, this troubled the trustees, who advised caution, although ultimately the wishes of the committee prevailed. The construction work by club members took longer than first envisaged but was finally completed during the winter of 1992/93. The internal finishes took a little longer and were funded via a “buy-a-plank” appeal. The extension was formally opened by Essex cricketer, Don Topley on 19 March 1994. Topley had played one game for Wivenhoe against Abberton in 1990 when the Abberton batsmen took a liking to his full-pitched county-length bowling on a rare Wivenhoe shirt-front!

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57. Development of the cricket club pavilion from 1932 to 1992

The original pavilion as built by Messrs. Durrell and Pittuck in 1932 and opened by W.G. Loveless and his wife, Dorothy, on Whit Monday, 1932. The kitchen was added soon afterwards.

The first changing rooms added in 1960 and the original bar built by Alan Foster in 1971.

The showers, original toilet block, new changing rooms and extended clubroom added in the winter of 1981/82.

The new bar, beer store and new kitchen extension built in 1986/87 and opened by Neil Foster on 27 June 1987.

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The big extension with committee room as proposed in 1989 but never actually built because the cost was deemed too prohibitive at the time.

The pavilion as it is today with new toilet block and main clubroom improvements built in 1992/3 and formally opened by Don Topley on 19 March 1994. The extension to the beer store behind the bar and kitchen was added in 1989. In 60 years, the pavilion had grown to around five times its original size and yet, even to this day, has retained its original character.

Key: A – Away team, B – Bar, Cl – Cloakroom, Co – Committee room G – Gents toilet, H – Home team, K – Kitchen L – Ladies Sh – Showers, St – Storeroom, U – Umpires’ room

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58. Opening the latest extension with Don Topley, 1994. The opening of the third of the three big building projects of the 1980s and early 1990s. A jovial Don Topley, former Essex all-rounder and Zimbabwean national coach who played for Wivenhoe on one occasion in 1990, performs the ceremony to open the clubroom enhancements and the new changing facilities and toilet block. He is seen above wearing his Zimbabwean Cricket Association blazer. Accompanying him are (left to right), Steve Tasker (retiring chairman), Mike Lucking jun. (chairman), Mark Britton (secretary) and Andy Halsey (president).

1989: What About the Standard of Cricket Being Played? The grand opening in 1994 of the third and final major building project of the 1980s brought to an end the greatest period of development in the modern history of the club. Credit for the legacy lies with a very large number of people and two distinct groups of officers of the club. The thorny issue of whether or not to offer the ground as security for a loan had raised its head at least twice during the 1980s and, if and when the issue arises again, it will again be a thorny one. The conclusions drawn from the 1980s are several in number. First, it takes a number of serendipitous occurrences to achieve great strides; the folding of the Arts Club, a chairman (or two) comfortable with change, the arrival of a strong personality to drive advancement, and the success of the league cricketers. Second, a period of rapid development cannot be sustained for more than about ten to fifteen years without the club outgrowing itself; a period of consolidation has to follow. Third, perhaps most obvious of all, is that it takes a supreme effort from a number of individuals prepared to make a near

124 1977 TO 1989: TRANSFORMATION FROM VILLAGE TO CLUB CRICKET unconditional commitment to the club to make such a transformation happen. An important footnote to all of the above is the fact that the club eventually paid off the final consolidated brewery loan around the end of the 1990s, during Terry Cannings’s chairmanship, with Des McCourt as treasurer following on after six years of prudent financial stewardship by accountant Bill Wilson. So, there was a successful conclusion to a great period of development; but what about the standard of the cricket being played? Well, as the following chapter demonstrates, the committee had thought about that too!

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Chapter 8 1990 to 2011: The Modern Era of Coaching and Club Cricket

Coaching growth, success of the Andrew Golding/Adrian Brown partnership, more good cricketers, colts’ development and organisation, opportunity to move the ground, overseas players.

1985: Wivenhoe Cricket in the 1980s (Early Struggles in the Two- Counties League) While the great building spree of the 1980s had proceeded apace, the standard of cricket being played had also been the focus of committee attention. The decision to enter division two of the Two-Counties League in 1984 was a bold one because it pitched Wivenhoe cricketers into competition against club sides that for many years had been undeniably stronger than Wivenhoe, such as Frinton, Mistley, Brightlingsea and Braintree. The early year results in the Two-Counties League reflected the difficulty of the challenge. In 1984, the club finished fourth from bottom in division two; and fourth from bottom would be about as good as it got until 1989. Before the start of the 1988 season Mick Hemstedt, who had by then overtaken Clive Woods as Wivenhoe’s leading batsman, and his brother Richard, had decided to leave Wivenhoe. Mick joined Colchester & East Essex where he had a successful career playing Essex League cricket. Richard joined Elmstead, but quickly returned to Wivenhoe after only one season and eventually became the highest wicket taker in club history. With the two Hemstedt brothers having left and Mike Lucking sen. having died, the 1988 season was always going to be tough. However, with Clive Woods taking over the captaincy for one last season and the arrival at the

126 1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET club of Graeme Spong, and Mike Lucking jun., whose batting was going from strength to strength, the season was a relative success. In fact, the first eleven won nine games that year – more than ever before. However, encouraging though the season of 1988 was, there would not be a significant improvement until 1990 with the arrival at Wivenhoe of two talented former Essex cricketers, Andrew Golding and Adrian Brown, of whom much more later.

1987: League Cricket for the Second and Third Elevens When the first eleven made its initial tentative steps into the world of club cricket by entering the Two-Counties League in 1984, it decided to remain also in the more familiar world of village cricket by staying in the North Essex Cricket League (which had by then changed its sponsor from Greene King to Lancaster Garages). Through being in two leagues at once, the fixture list became very congested. Meanwhile, the second eleven carried on playing friendly matches only. In fact, there were enough playing members in 1984 and opponents keen to carry on playing friendly matches to start up a Sunday second eleven for the first time in club history. W.G. Loveless must have turned in his grave! The next 15 or so seasons following 1984 would see the club constantly searching for the perfect combination of leagues entered, teams run and captains elected. A large number of different formats were tried. For example, in 1985 and 1986, the second eleven represented the club in many of the Lancaster Garages matches, but that led to an inconsistency in performances that was rather unfair on opponents. In 1987, the second eleven entered the second team section of the Two-Counties League. With two leagues to compete in, that left too much pressure on the first eleven fixture list and caused the loss of a number of long-standing friendly opponents. During that period of trial and error, the first eleven tried having a single captain for both days, then a Saturday captain and a Sunday captain, then they tried having a Two-Counties League captain and a North Essex Cricket League captain. Nothing worked perfectly. However, the club was still growing. In 1987, for the first time in the club’s history, a third eleven was formed, largely because of lobbying by Terry Cannings who saw that there were enough keen senior players and colts in the club who were not getting regular cricket to justify a new team and a new fixture list comprised mainly of friendly matches. The club was slowly but surely becoming more and more comfortable with

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WIVENHOE V CLACTON RAMBLERS

The only ever ten wicket haul by a Wivenhoe bowler

At Rectory Road, Wivenhoe, 5 September, 1987. Wivenhoe won by 57 runs. All other aspects of this match were overshadowed by the excellent bowling of Wivenhoe’s Brian Vaughan. Opening the attack and bowling mostly in-swing to the right-handed batsman, he captured all ten of the opponents’ wickets at a personal cost of 40 runs. His performance is unique in the Club’s history.

Wivenhoe

P. Bather c Young b J. Davidson ...... 11 N. Philp c Beechener b J. M. Thorpe c Hill b R Davidson ...... 4 Davidson .... 4 R. Whiteaker c J. Davidson b Beechener 12 A. Halsey not out...... 1 S. Britton c K Hamilton b Chapman .... 8 B 3, l-b 4, w 8...... 15 P. Lidierth st Hill b Chapman...... 51 (7 wkts dec ) 137 S. Tasker b Downing ...... 8 1/12 2/25 3/36 4/51 5/78 N. Lucking not out ...... 23 6/125 7/130 B. Vaughan and G. Thorpe did not bat

Bowling: R. Davidson 9-2-20-1; J. Davidson 14-4-28-2; Beechener 7-2-17-1; Chapman 14-1-48-2; Downing 4-0-17-1

Clacton Ramblers

T. Chapman c Philp b Vaughan...... 16 K. Hamilton b Vaughan...... 2 R. Davidson c Whiteaker b Vaughan ... 5 K. Hill not out ...... 5 J. Davidson b Vaughan ...... 12 S. Beechener c Halsey b C. Downing c Britton b Vaughan...... 25 Vaughan ..... 3 K. Young c Bather b Vaughan ...... 3 B 5, l-b 2, w 1...... 8 I. Hamilton c Philp b Vaughan ...... 0 S. Storey b Vaughan ...... 1 1/10 2/31 3/37 4/51 5/52 6/57 80 G. Hipkin b Vaughan ...... 0 7/57 8/70 9/72

Bowling: Vaughan 14.3-3-40-10; Halsey 7-2-14-0; G. Thorpe 7-2-19-0

128 1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET league cricket and soon it had completed a full U-turn from the “no league cricket” attitudes of the early 1970s. In 1991, even the third eleven entered division five of the North Essex Cricket League. For four hectic seasons from 1987, the club ran five distinct sides – Saturday firsts, Saturday seconds, Sunday firsts, Sunday seconds and the thirds. (Ironically, this caused the club regularly to hire the cricket pitch at Wivenhoe Park where Wivenhoe cricketers had played in the late 1800s.) Over the next few seasons, things would get simpler. Slowly but surely the first eleven would play more Two-Counties games on a Saturday and more North Essex Cricket League matches on a Sunday, the separate Sunday second eleven disappeared from the fixture list, the club pulled out of the North Essex Cricket League altogether and the third eleven grew strong enough to enter division C of the Two-Counties League. The modern, and mercifully simple, format of four teams each competing in its own league and each with a dedicated captain emerged in 2000. The only change in format since 2000 occurred when the Sunday first eleven withdrew from the rather uninspiring Two-Counties Sunday Challenge and re-entered the North Essex Cricket League (by now sponsored by Osborne Garages, soon to change to PDQ Car Hire and today sponsored by PiriPiri), and was forced to start at the very bottom. The undesirable effect of that was that many Wivenhoe cricketers were playing well below their standard for a few seasons, unavoidably spoiling matches for the opposition, while the team very quickly rose up through the divisions of the league. Wivenhoe is now in the premier division, having set an all-time league record for consecutive home wins (29 games spread over three seasons), as well as setting a number of individual and team batting records, with suspicious ease, along the way. The final piece in this rather complex jigsaw is that after several years of calling the senior Sunday team the “third eleven” and the more junior Sunday team the “fourth eleven”, common sense has prevailed and the more traditional title of “Sunday eleven” has returned leaving the more junior Sunday team to resume the title of “third eleven”.

1989: The Arrival of the Coaches Since the winter of 1987/8, several Wivenhoe colts had been receiving indoor coaching at the Royal Grammar School during the winter months from Andrew Golding, an Essex and Cambridge University cricketer, who had already captained England Schools and taken five wickets in an

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CRESSING V WIVENHOE The highest ever score by a Wivenhoe batsman

At Cressing, 18 September 1988. Wivenhoe won by 130 runs. In this match, Mike Lucking jun. hit the highest ever recorded innings by a Wivenhoe batsman. He went in with the score on 26 for one, in the eighth over, and was the fourth man out with the score on 286, having batted for 28 overs and scored 188 of the 260 runs scored. He faced 97 balls and hit ten sixes and 19 fours. This was a remarkable innings by any standard, although Mike has freely admitted that he was helped by the fact that the Cressing ground is small and that he was using a brand new Duncan Fearnley bat weighing 3lb 5oz on a hard flat surface on a ferociously hot afternoon. The Cressing bowlers stuck to a full length throughout the onslaught and most of the runs were scored through, or over, mid-on and mid-off.

Wivenhoe S. Britton c Hart b Lawrence...... 49 D. Maiden run out...... 0 D. Wilcockson b Shakes ...... 8 K. Tasker not out...... 0 M. Lucking c Crabb b Lawrence .... 188 R. Few not out...... 0 D. Osborne c and b Butler...... 16 B 2, l-b 12, w 6...... 20 J. Taylor c Scales b Connelius...... 16 (8 wkts, 45 overs) 315 N. Lucking not out...... 6 1/26 2/159 3/233 4/286 R. Humm b Crabb...... 8 5/302 6/315 7/315 8/315 D. Sanders b Crabb ...... 0 N. Philp did not bat

Bowling: Butler 10-1-71-1; Shakes 10-2-52-1; Connelius 8-1-51-1; Melson 5-0-47-0; Lawrence 10-0-69-2; Crabb 2-0-9-2

Cressing M. Connelius lbw Philp...... 25 J. Gibson c M. Lucking b Sanders 0 G. Warner c Sanders b Philp ...... 35 D. Tilbury not out ...... 18 A. Lawrence c Philp b Humm...... 29 P. Scales not out ...... 15 M. Hart c Maiden b Philp ...... 7 B 10 l-b 8 w 9...... 27 G. Butler c Philp b Humm...... 10 L. Crabb c Taylor b Humm...... 18 (8 wkts, 45 overs) 185 C. Shakes c and b Humm ...... 1 1/64 2/75 3/86 4/113 P. Melson did not bat 5/143 6/144 7/145 8/153

Bowling: Maiden 10-1-45-0; Philp 10-0-48-3; Tasker 8-0-24-0; Humm 8-2-15-4; Sanders 5-0-14-1; N. Lucking 4-0-18-0

130 1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET innings at Lord’s. Through the coaching sessions, Andrew struck up a friendship with several Wivenhoe cricketers, particularly Mike sen. and Nik Lucking. Mike Lucking in turn had proposed to the committee the possibility of employing Andrew as a player/coach for the 1988 season. The chairman Steve Tasker supported the proposal and the committee received it favourably, but there was not enough support from the wider membership to gain acceptance at first. The deal to bring Andrew to the club eventually happened in time for the 1989 season. In the event, not only was Andrew Golding employed but so too was Adrian Brown, a former Essex and Cambridge University wicketkeeper. Adrian played his last game for Essex at the county ground Colchester, after a late call-up while still a Wivenhoe player, in the County Championship winning side of 1992, taking three catches and a very sharp leg-side stumping to dismiss England batsman, Derek Randall. The arrival of these two great club cricketers, both still on Essex’s books at the time, did not go unnoticed by other Two-Counties clubs. A number of accusations were levelled at the Wivenhoe club, some in writing to the local newspaper, to the effect that Wivenhoe was paying players, which was expressly against the league rules. The club issued firm rebuttals, although Wivenhoe clearly expected the coaches to play for the club, but their coaching competence, and with it the likelihood of other good players joining the club, was what Wivenhoe needed most to improve its long-term future. Looking back over the 21 seasons since the coaches first came, it is inconceivable that the standard of cricket played at Wivenhoe today would be as high as it is had the coaches not been employed. Although Wivenhoe relied heavily on Andrew and Adrian during the 1990s, it is almost ten years since either of them played directly for the first eleven – case proven. One result of the 1990s’ coaching initiative was that it provided coaching on a Sunday morning and during winter nets to a whole generation of Wivenhoe youngsters who learnt how to bowl straight and play cover drives with their heads down and, perhaps even more importantly, they gained a love of, and loyalty to, the game. This is not an attempt to decry the efforts of the colts’ coaches during the 1960s and 1970s, who paved the way, but this was coaching in a different class. The long-term legacy of that investment by the club can be seen in the colts coaching of today. Effectively, what was made available to a

131

he nd Willie a mixture of the and youngsters (Dave Wilcockson Thorpe).and youngsters (Dave Also and Graham t in acted by the standards improving Edrich, Graeme Spong (Justin a dly, died young young died Drtician, Rick Blake, a former second captain eleven who, sa dly, s of the new era of improved coaching Thisat Wivenhoe. team is e of Wivenhoe’s first eleven umpires. longest serving G. Thorpe, D. Wilcockson, C. Woods, N. Lucking, J. Wiseman, W. Doe. M. Rigg (umpire), G. Spong, J. Edrich, A. Brown, R. Hemstedt, A. Golding (captain), R. Blake (scorer). Front Row Back Row 59. First eleven, 1990. 1990. eleven, First 59. Doe); older hands (Clive Woods, Richard Hemstedt and Jon Wiseman) picture are the are picture popular scorer andstatis ever Wivenhoe’s greatest after many years of many years alcohol after anddependency, on Mike Rigg coaching staff (Andrew staff (Andrew coaching andGolding Adrian Brown); newcomers attr A mixed bag of first eleven cricketers during the first stirring

1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET privileged few in the immediate pre- and postwar years of the 1940s, courtesy of the grammar school, is now available to all, only more so.

1990: Social Cricket at Wivenhoe Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club Social XI, known as the social team, received formal recognition for the first time in the annual report of 1990. A midweek team had existed before that for many years, but the transformation from being a mixture of weekend cricketers and occasional players fulfilling a few midweek evening matches, to being a well-organised separate entity with a regular fixture list, captain and squad to choose from, was not complete until the late 1980s. Among the large influx of social members who joined the club in the 1980s, were a number of aspiring cricketers who enjoyed the game and probably had enough ability to play at weekends. Many did turn out occasionally at weekends in the senior teams, but they preferred to play a shorter, more relaxed form of the game on a Wednesday evening. This suited the club well because its growing reputation as a fun place to be, generated many offers of fixtures from all manner of pubs, clubs and societies to play friendly or charity matches. The club rules do not clearly define the process of electing the social team captain, but it seems to have happened perfectly amicably over the years. In the early days, Steve Tasker, chairman at the time, took on the responsibility of captaincy. In the intervening years between then and now, Bob Whitfield, Clive Howlett, Paul Connelly, Steve Warner and Ben Mitchell have done the job. The team plays around 17 matches every summer, usually on a Wed- nesday evening (although it tried switching to Friday evenings). Unfortu- nately, no record of individual or team performances are available. Indeed, in the early days it was customary to score the matches in the back of any old scorebook lying around the pavilion. In any case, tables of neatly laid out player statistics would hardly be appropriate; the purpose of social cricket is to raise money for the club and for charities, give everyone a go and, above all else, have a good time. A typical fixture list from the last 20 years would include matches against the Sailing Club, Fire Brigade, Church XI, Flag Inn, Station Hotel, Wivenhoe Allotment Growers Association (a team that traditionally seems to have included a suspiciously high number of regular weekend cricketers), the Gilbert & Sullivan Society, the Wivenhoe

133 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Society and, most important of all, the Town Council. This latter fixture was usually the first charity event of the mayoral calendar and proceeds went to the mayor’s charity. For many years, the club played midweek fixtures against the Sand Pit and Cooks Shipyard, although these fixtures have now lapsed. Most of these matches finished with an excellent supper, usually prepared by the wives, and a remarkably decent bar take. In the absence of any meaningful match statistics, an account of a couple of memorable individual contributions will have to suffice. One particularly amusing moment occurred during a tight last-ball finish against the Dave Whymark XI. This was usually one of the harder fought matches of the season and a win was to be cherished. The opposition needed four to win and all the Wivenhoe fielders were on the boundary. A great diving stop by Bob Whitfield meant that victory for the social team was surely in the bag and personal glory beckoned. However, the return throw from the boundary did not so much whistle into the keeper’s gloves, it more flipped out the back of Bob’s hand and over the boundary – match lost. The possibility of match fixing can be quickly discounted; this was pure fielding incompetence. Another vignette to recount involves the late and much respected village policeman Sid Cox. He was playing for the social team and bowling to Andy Halsey, president of Wivenhoe who was guesting that night for the opposition. Sid was possibly the worst social team bowler ever and usually required two bounces of the ball before it reached half way (a delivery that, according to the new law 24.6, should be signalled a no-ball). Andy stood in anticipation like a baseball player as the ball arrived. A “swing and a miss” later, the ball trickled onto middle stump and came to rest. A breathless hush descended on the ground as all eyes fixed on the bails. One quivered, one rose, and then fell – to much applause and cheering. Sid Cox had got his first ever clean-bowled, and against the club president! It was not exactly a spectacular cartwheeling off-stump ripped out by a Yorker, but as we often say in this game, “look in the book”. Very occasionally, senior teams get carried away with their own self- importance and temporarily forget about the importance of the social team. It is not personal. The social team certainly gives the club depth and character. A mark of its growing recognition is that in recent years the team has played a full afternoon match during cricket week. (Most recently, in 2010, a memorial match was played for Huw Bostock, founder

134 1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET of the Wivenhoe Gastronauts, a gentleman’s dining club that cooked for itself and ate regularly at the club for a period of around ten years.) There is no doubt that the social team remains in good order and is a very welcome part of the club.

1990: The 150th anniversary dinner and Essex second eleven match The 125th anniversary celebrations in 1965 had firmly established 1840 in the annals of Wivenhoe history as the most likely date of the first formation of the club. Whether that was true or not has never been proved, but in 1990 the committee did not let that get in the way of another anniversary celebration. This time it was the 150th. A formal pre-season dinner was arranged for Saturday 7 April, and later in the season, a grand match was played against Essex second eleven as a curtain raiser on cricket week. The pre-season dinner was held in the great house at Wivenhoe Park (which was most appropriate, having been the scene 125 years earlier of matches hosted by the Gurdon-Rebows). The toasts were given that night by Paul Coverley, Steve Tasker and Nik Lucking. The guest speaker was Geoff Miller, at that time an Essex and former-England off- spinner whose Test career had finished in the early 1980s at the time of the great West Indian fast bowlers. He spoke well, and from bitter experience, offering articulate insights into the mental torture of a middle-order batsman standing and waiting for the arrival at the bowling crease of Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Joel Garner or Andy Roberts. Two years earlier, in the summer of 1988, John Taylor, captain of the Wivenhoe North Essex Cricket League team and an MCC member, had written to Lord’s asking for a one-off fixture to be played at Rectory Road to celebrate the anniversary. The MCC declined because only 100 year anniversaries, or multiples thereof, could justify a visit from Lord’s. So instead, the Essex County Club was invited. Happily, they quickly accepted and the date was set for the first day of cricket week, Monday 6 August 1990. The team sent down from Chelmsford was a strong second eleven team led by former England captain Keith Fletcher. The match started at 11 a.m., was well supported by spectators, finished around 6 p.m. and included generous lunch and tea intervals during which Keith Fletcher spoke encouragingly (mirroring the words of Essex secretary Brian Castor spoken at the 1934 club dinner) about the important role in the development of youngsters played by clubs such as Wivenhoe.

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The cricket was serious enough to make a good spectacle, yet the Essex team controlled it skilfully to respect the festival spirit of the match. The scorecard is reproduced on the following page.

1991: Invitation to Join the Essex League A demonstration of how well regarded Wivenhoe cricket had become came in 1991 when the club was invited to join the full Essex League, sponsored at that time by Colour Assembly. This could have been seen as the final steps of a journey begun, after some difficult debates between the pro and anti-league cricket lobbies in the mid-1970s. The type of league cricket offered by the Essex League was different from that which Wivenhoe had enjoyed since entering the Two-Counties League. For a start, the cricket would have been declaration, not limited overs. Most of the away matches would have taken the club south down the A12 rather than north and west into Suffolk. After a number of meetings and a flurry of correspondence, Wivenhoe, like several other clubs invited to declare an interest, declined the offer.

1993: The Creation of the Role of Club Captain By the early 1990s, it had become clear that the challenge of competing in two local leagues and keeping up with off-the-pitch developments was too much for one single first eleven captain. The final solution, tried for the first time in 1994, was to create a separate role called club captain. The club captain was responsible for the general management of all cricket related matters other than on the field of play. The relationship between the club captain and first eleven captain was fundamental to the success of the arrangement and it took a few seasons to work out how best to make it work. The club captain’s title and responsibilities changed in 2005 to that of director of cricket, which was more in line with the emerging fashion in professional cricket and football clubs. It also acknowledged the need for highly proficient administrators to handle the increasing burden of the sport related health and safety legislation and child protection regu- lations that were creeping into amateur sport. The first formally elected club captain, Terry Cannings, did the job for two years. Nik Lucking was elected for eight years before Michael Pulford took over in 2005. Michael has been the director of cricket ever since.

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WIVENHOE V ESSEX SECOND ELEVEN The most-prestigious post-war match in the history of the club At Rectory Road, Wivenhoe, Monday 6 August 1990. Match drawn. The match was played to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first formation of the cricket club in 1840. The strong Essex team was captained by ex- England skipper, Keith Fletcher and included future England batsman Nick Knight and Essex first teamers Nadeem Shahid (later also Surrey), Jonathan Lewis (later also Durham where he scored a first class double hundred), Adam Seymour (later also Worcestershire) and Alastair Fraser (brother of England bowler Angus Fraser). The Wivenhoe team was captained by Andrew Golding and was made up of Wivenhoe first team players plus guests Chris Simmons from Clacton and Laurie Austin from Colchester. The game was played with honest intent (with the possible exception of the rather suspicious “hit wicket” dismissal of Nadeem Shahid and the fact that Keith Fletcher used an almost exclusively spin attack). Highlights of the Wivenhoe performance were the batting of Graeme Spong and Adrian Brown (who both fell just short of a century), and the bowling of Tom Allison which accounted for the Essex top order.

Essex Second Eleven N. Shahid hit wkt b Allison ...... 52 D.J.P. Boden b Simmons...... 4 A.C.H. Seymour c Brown b Allison...... 46 A. Johnson not out ...... 25 N.V. Knight b Simmons...... 70 B 3, l-b 1, nb 7 ...... 11 J.J.B. Lewis c Foster b Allison ...... 4 A.G.J. Fraser c Golding b Allison ...... 2 (7 wkts dec) 335 A. Van Lint b Simmons...... 96 1/102 2/111 3/119 4/124 C. Miller not out...... 25 5/264 6/285 7/293 W.G. Lovell and K.W.R. Fletcher did not bat.

Bowling: Allison 10-0-31-4; Bishop 4-0-63-0; Simmons 25-3-118-3; Doe 8-0-70-0; Austin 11-0-49-0

Wivenhoe D. Foster c Lewis b Lovell...... 4 L. Austin c Boden b Knight.... 9 G. Spong c Shahid b Fraser ...... 93 T. Allison st Johnson b Lovell . 15 J.A. Wiseman c Miller b Lovell ...... 0 W. Doe not out...... 2 A.K. Golding c Lewis b Shahid ...... 37 B 4, l-b 1, nb 7 ...... 12 A.D. Brown c Lewis b Lovell...... 94 1/15 2/15 3/89 4/155 (8 wkts) 289 M. Lucking c Fraser b Lovell ...... 23 5/236 6/263 7/279 8/289 C. Simmons and P. Bishop did not bat

Bowling: Miller 5-1-12-0; Boden 2-1-4-0; Lovell 22-1-136-5; Shahid 16-3-59-1; Fraser 9-1-62-1; Knight 4-0-11-1

137 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

1995: Wivenhoe Cricket in the 1990s (Success in the Two-Counties League) The spectacle of Andrew Golding bowling slow left arm on a dusty, turning, bouncing track with Adrian Brown standing up behind the stumps taking the ball flawlessly and silently with fast hands was a joy to behold and could be seen by members of the public, free of charge, at Rectory Road for 14 years. When these two were in action, it was club cricket of the highest standard, although inevitably, on some occasions, the quality of the fielding failed to keep up (as some members, to their personal embarrassment, will testify). Through this change of approach, Wivenhoe quickly won division 2 of the Two-Counties League and the first eleven has spent all but two of the last 20 seasons in the Two-Counties first division. During 1991, the club’s first season in Division 1, Andrew Golding took 98 wickets and, in so doing, set an all time league record that still stands today, for wickets taken in a single Two-Counties season. Andrew Golding captained the first eleven, with Adrian Brown his deputy, for most of the 1990s and around these two players came other talented players. For example, Justin Edrich, who was playing at that time alongside the Wivenhoe coaches for Suffolk, came to the club for eight happy seasons between 1990 and 1997. Justin is the son of former Middlesex and England batsman Bill Edrich and completes the local connection to the legendary pairing of “Compton and Edrich”. Julian Roach, an Essex University student and gifted Barbadian all-rounder who went on to become the Finnish national coach, played at Wivenhoe from 1990 to 1995 and records show that he remains the most successful all-rounder in club history. In 1994, another all-rounder, Andrew Ridley, joined from Leigh-on-Sea, and over six seasons he quietly accumulated the third highest ever career batting average of 37.43, before heading back to south Essex with Horndon-on-the Hill. The first of the modern Australians arrived in 1996 when fate directed two hugely popular Sydney cricketers, Brendan Ward and Paul Tonkinson, to Wivenhoe rather than Ipswich, on the toss of a coin. In 1999, Kieran Gilbert, also from Sydney, joined them and scored almost 700 runs in his first and, sadly, only season at the club. There were talented home-grown players too such as Tom Allison, Darren Selley, Mark Fairbrother and Andy Green, who had benefited from the coaching available.

138

ns to be ducts of ants of the club, less than half are pro A. Clark, T. Allison, G. Bowden, A.D. Green, W. Doe, A. Ridley, M. Felton. n would change over the next few years. of these players were undoubtedly loyal serv A.D. Brown, D. Selley, A.K. Golding, M. Lucking jun., N. Lucking. Back Row 1996. 1996. c. Front Row 60. First eleven,60. the Wivenhoe colts’ programme. That situatio The first eleven resplendent in club apparel and growing in confidence as the reliance on the coaches as the reliance confidence and club resplendent in and newcomers eleven apparel growing slowly in begi The first replaced by home-grown players. Whilst all

this picture was taken at Frinton The team 1995. on 27 May, lection, such as Darren Selley, Andy Green, Andy Clark and Andy Clark Andy Green, Selley, such as Darren lection, . out

all

170

L. L. P. Lockerbie, A.Grainger, Witham, J. Green, D. Selley, Clark. A. were

mfortably, yet somehow Wivenhoe managed to lose the match. Frinton batted first Back Row Wivenhoe

reply Simon Lucking, A. Cannings, J. Wiseman (captain), J. Rickman, G. McCartney.

176;

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total

61. Second61. eleven, 1995. posted

included several players who were close to regular 1st XI se 1st XI whoclose to were regular players several included Gareth McCartney and should have won co Looking quite the smartest Wivenhoe team ever photographed, Wivenhoe team ever the smartest Looking quite and

1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET

By the end of the decade, Wivenhoe had become accustomed to players of a generally higher standard than hitherto. Competition for first eleven places grew strong and the knock-on effect inevitably led to casualties among lesser players who had to settle for second and third team cricket. The committee somehow managed to keep the spirit of the club alive and well, and the conspicuous absence of a first eleven “clique” meant that, for the most part, people were happy to stay and play. Much of the credit for that must go to the club captains Terry Cannings (1995–96) and, even more so, Nik Lucking (1997–2004), whose sustained personal commitment to the good of Wivenhoe cricket must surely equal that of Cliff Scofield, Tom Forsgate, George Slaughter, Ron Woods or William Loveless. In 1999, the second eleven won the Two-Counties League knock-out competition plate final. The match was played at Halstead and the opponents were Coggeshall second eleven, with skipper Nik Lucking scoring 96 not out to set up the victory. A very happy end to the decade and a welcome, if modest, trophy for the club honours list!

1997: Ladies Cricket at Wivenhoe Besides the obvious off-the-pitch contributions to the club, ladies have been keen to play cricket at Wivenhoe since before 1900. The first reports in the local newspaper of men versus ladies’ matches are in 1888 and again in 1904. In these matches, the men batted left handed and with broomsticks while the ladies used bats. No doubt, the matches were light-hearted humorous affairs, although in 1904, the ladies won by six runs. During the match, which was played at Tenacres, Fred Lax conducted his brass band and a brand new flag, bearing the initials WCC, flew over the club headquarters at the Park Hotel. Remarkably, the complete scorecard for the match was reproduced in the local newspaper and it appears that the men must have found it particularly difficult to deal with the bowling of Miss Sale, who picked up a five-wicket haul. At various times since 1904, matches were played between teams described as “young ladies against single men” and, as recently as the early 1980s, for a few seasons the fixture card included a day set aside for a “ladies match”. These were more social than cricketing occasions. There is, however, evidence of more serious ladies cricket being played between the wars. For example, two matches were played in 1931 – home and away, between Wivenhoe Ladies and Rowhedge Ladies. Unfortunately, no results are recorded or published.

141 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

A far more sustained Wivenhoe ladies team was formed in the late 1990s and for seven years, from 1997 to 2003, the team competed in the North East Essex Women’s cricket league, which by 1999 was taken seriously enough to attract sponsorship and became the Beaumont- Seymour Cricket League. The team played on a Friday evening usually in front of a large good-natured crowd. The men provided coaching and the standard grew stronger year by year. The women took the cricket seriously and it is to their credit that the “sweep-slog”, as it later became known in the men’s modern professional game, was an early favourite with them. They used it extensively against any over-pitched flighted delivery. The ladies’ league still exists in northeast Essex, although Wivenhoe women currently do not enter a team. Close inspection of the database of more than 1,200 cricketers who have played for Wivenhoe since 1846 reveals that on only two recorded occasions has a woman represented the club as part of a men’s senior team. These were in 1997 and 1998 when Anne Lucking and Julia Brinkley respectively each played one match. Thankfully, the ladies at the club have managed to exert significant influence over the off-the-pitch development during the last few decades. The club owes a particular debt of gratitude to the ladies who have turned up regularly to watch and support the cricketers and prevent them getting too carried away with their own self-importance, those who have run social events, made teas, played the game and the ladies who have taken on senior officer roles. Those who first broke the mould were Terri Philp (the first female secretary), Helen Lucking (the first female treasurer) and Sue Halsey (the first female chairman). It will not be long, one hopes, before the ladies team is reformed and more women emerge from the colts coaching programme to play regularly for the senior teams.

1998: The Big Opportunity to Move to a New Ground In 1998, there arose what appeared to be a massive opportunity to develop the club further. The committee was invited to consider selling the ground at Rectory Road in return for a larger ground nearby, a new pavilion with indoor cricketing facility, ground maintenance equipment and running costs. The land on offer, which the quarry company Lafarge Redland Aggregates owned, was to the east of the Rectory Road ground.

142 1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET

62. The proposals for a new ground. In 1998 the committee was in negotiation with Lafarge, the owners of the former quarry, concerning the possibility of a new ground with road access from opposite Bowes Road. The proposal ultimately faltered on financial and practicality grounds.

The club formed a special subcommittee, consisting of Terry Cannings (chairman), Bill Wilson (treasurer), Kevin Sparling, Nik Lucking and Simon Lucking, to negotiate with Lafarge. The proposals went a long way beyond the discussion stage. The site was extensively surveyed, engineering feasibility studies were carried out, and some impressive looking plans were tabled in a glossy pack for

143 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET consultation purposes. In the end, after several meetings and exchanges of correspondence, the opportunity turned out to be flawed. The cost of bringing farmland, which had formerly been a quarry, up to modern cricket playing standards and then providing the pavilion and associated equipment, was too great. The interest Lafarge showed in the early days petered out and very little was heard beyond the end of 1998. The proposals did not enjoy unanimous and unconditional support among members and trustees. Some members believed that the short move away from Rectory Road to a site accessed via the Alresford end of Rectory Hill, would irretrievably damage the ambience of the ground and take it out of the Wivenhoe community to which it had, for 75 years, been such a part. When it became clear that the opportunity was flawed, it avoided a big problem. The committee would not have to deal with the issue of the 1936 promise (written by George Slaughter in a letter to the council for the benefit of the Ministry of Health) that Rectory Road would be used as a cricket ground for all time and never built on. One day in the future that problem will surely raise its head again!

2005: Wivenhoe Cricket in the 2000s (Overseas Coaches and Young Locals) The steady strengthening of the first eleven placed the club in a good position for the start of the new millennium. The artificial wicket on the square was relaid and the permanent net facility in the northwest corner of the ground was built during Sue Halsey’s chairmanship between 2000 and 2003. The club’s highest ever finishes in the Two-Counties League division one were achieved in 2000, when the club finished second (when Neil Foster returned to coach and captain the first eleven), and again in 2003 (with help from the newly arrived Australians, Gerard Dunstan and Michael Phillips). Based on these finishing positions, it could be reasonably argued that the first eleven squads of 2000 and 2003 were the most successful in the history of the club. Highly significantly, the captain in 2003 was Andy Green, a member of one of the extensive Wivenhoe families of that name, who had grown up playing for the club. This was the first time that a purely home coached player had captained the first eleven since Clive Woods at the end of the 1980s. It marked the end of the heavy reliance on paid coaches to lead the first eleven and shepherded in the latest phase in the

144

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M. Fairbrother, A. Green, A. Lawrence, N. Foster (captain), A. Brown, A. Lait, A. Golding. T. Allison, M. Felton, M. Pulford (scorer), P. Tonkinson, B. Ward. grown - home

Front Row as

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Was this the most successful ever Wivenhoe 1st XI? The side finished as runners-up in the Two-Counties Division One, which is t highest attainedequal position ever by a Wivenhoe side. The feat was repeatedwhich in 2003. An cricketer Neil Foster England andex-Essex cricketers included and

1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET development of the club. Since the captaincy of Andy Green in 2003 and 2004, Gerard Dunstan and Paul Tonkinson have each done the job for two years and, although they are overseas players, they are not paid coaches and both have made a welcome long-term commitment to the club. In 2009, another home-grown cricketer Will Morgan was elected as first eleven captain, at the age of 24, having proved his leadership skills in the Sunday eleven. He will captain the team again in 2011. The current first eleven squad is a young team of developing cricketers. They are mostly home grown, and while the coaching programmes of the Essex County Club and the North Essex Cricket Associations have played a welcome part, the team is largely a product of the long-term coaching programme that started with the arrival of Andrew Golding and Adrian Brown over 20 years ago. Current first eleven players Will and Oliver Morgan, Matt and Tom Durrell, Tom Harwood, Richard Pulford and Harry Burnett are all Wivenhoe youngsters and, although the last two seasons have been a fight for survival in the top division of the Two- Counties League, the future looks good. The first eleven is now almost as solidly a Wivenhoe team as it was just after the last war! The ever increasing standard of first eleven cricket has placed growing pressures on the other teams in the club and, particularly, the captains of the second and third elevens who have had to learn the complex alchemy of mixing match winning tactics with youth development, whilst satisfying the demands of senior players. The role of the groundsman too, has grown in importance. The current groundsman, Easton Harwood, the man who has walked out to bat for Wivenhoe more times than anyone else in the history of the club, requires all of his considerable resources of patience to deal with the unreasonable demands of an over-stuffed fixture list and the conflicting advice of an army of would-be experts, each of whom firmly believes that every false stroke played is simply a function of a flawed wicket-rolling or watering policy. The final details that bring the first eleven story up to date are the arrival at the club of Billy Godleman in 2010 and Nathan Rabnott in 2011. Billy Godleman, former Middlesex and current Essex opening batsman, is the son of Wivenhoe wicket-keeper John Godleman and has appeared for the club whenever free from his county duties. Nathan Rabnott, a 22-year-old batting all-rounder and qualified coach from Queensland, Australia, is the club’s overseas player for 2011. He has already scored a first-grade century for his home club and is tipped

146

ped the his wife his h in the of friends on the last the on L. Grainger, S. Lucking, M. Lucking jun., N. Lucking, D. Foster, P. Tonkinson, P. Tonkinson, D. Foster, Lucking, N. jun., Lucking M. Lucking, S. Grainger, L. D. Selley, R. Harwood, C. Kelly. C. Kelly. Harwood, R. Selley, D. Front Row R. Hemstedt, S. Gravensteyne, Mrs B. Connelly, R. Wilby, A. Cannings, J. Lockerbie, R. Barton, Barton, J.R. A. Cannings, Lockerbie, R. Wilby, Mrs Connelly, B. S. R. Hemstedt, Gravensteyne, Back Row . week

cricket

before

A. Green, P. Connelly, A. Ross, G. Primrose (Mayor), A. Woodcock, C. Dickinson, M. Triscott, D. Whymark, R. A. A. C. P. Woodcock, Ross, Hughes, (Mayor), Connelly, Witham, A. M. D. Whymark, G. Primrose Triscott, Green, Dickinson, uee during a first eleven league match on the Saturday. Before 2009 the President would traditionally select a side, consisting 64. President’s Day 2003. 2003. Day President’s 64. R. Llewellyn, B. Ball, W. Morgan, M. Britton. M. Britton. Morgan, W. B. Ball, Llewellyn, R. q and former players of the club, to play against a Wivenhoe team. In this picture are Paul Connelly, who was President in 2003, 2003, in President was who Connelly, Paul are picture this In team. Wivenhoe a against play to club, the of players former and Barbara, and local businessmen Alan Ross, Chris Dickinson and Dave Whymark, typical of the generous local sponsors who have hel club over the years. Since 2002 Paul Connelly has organised a very successful annual outdoor music concert at the cricket club Sunday mar This group from cricket week, 2003, typicalis of the format of President’s Day that was changed in 2009 to become a grand lunc

THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

WIVENHOE V BOXTED The highest ever total by a Wivenhoe team

At Rectory Road, Wivenhoe, 6 June 2004. Wivenhoe won by 364 runs. The total of 396-6 by Wivenhoe Sunday XI is the highest ever recorded in the club’s history. The winning margin is also the highest ever. The match, in division 4 of the North Essex Cricket League, was a gross mismatch between a mostly young and ruthless Wivenhoe team and a sporting 10-man Boxted second eleven which, despite the mismatch, saw it through to the bitter end. Every member of the Boxted team, except for the wicket-keeper, bowled, and six different bowlers each took a wicket. During the Wivenhoe innings, only one maiden over was bowled, which was the first over of the match, and Jon Taylor (not John Taylor, the former second eleven captain) needed to score a boundary off the last ball of the innings to reach 400 but was, alas, dismissed. The names of catchers and the Wivenhoe scores at the fall of each wicket were not recorded.

Wivenhoe W. Morgan caught b Gilbert...... 84 A. Cannings not out...... 21 G. Bowden caught b P. Dowd...... 68 J. Taylor caught b Wilson ...... 8 M. Pulford b Honey...... 78 B 13, l-b 7, n-b 3, w 15 .... 38 P. Tonkinson b McMillan ...... 58 A. Lait caught b Dell...... 41 (6 wkts) 396 R. Haines, R. Pulford, A. Smith, A.N. Other did not bat

Bowling: W. Stairman 4-1-19-0; P. Dowd 10-0-68-1; G. Dell 5-0-51-1; G. Sibbons 2-0-7-0; P. Gilbert 5-0-61-1; S. Sibbons 2-0-20-0; M. Wilson 8-0-76-1; C. Honey 6-0-41-1; T. McMillan 3-0-33-1

Boxted S. Sibbons caught b Haines...... 0 G. Sibbons not out ...... 0 C. Honey b Haines ...... 1 G. Dell caught b Smith ...... 0 J. Stairman b Haines ...... 2 A.N. Other absent...... 0 P. Gilbert caught b R. Pulford...... 2 B 6, l-b 1, n-b 1, w 2 ...... 10 M. Wilson lbw b R. Pulford ...... 1 12 T. McMillan caught b Smith ...... 1/0 2/1 3/5 4/6 5/16 6/27 32 W. Stairman b Smith ...... 5 7/32 8/32 9/32 P. Dowd b Taylor ...... 0

Bowling: R. Haines 7-4-5-3; R. Pulford 7-2-10-2; A. Smith 4.2-3-6-3; J. Taylor 4-3-4-1

148 1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET eventually to make his first-class debut for Queensland in the Australian Sheffield Shield competition. The runs he and Billy Godleman have scored for Wivenhoe and the confidence they instil have made a big difference to the young first eleven.

2005: Overseas Cricketers at Wivenhoe The tradition of young up-and-coming, actual and potential first-class cricketers going overseas to coach and play club cricket in the off season is not new. English cricketers have been going abroad for the winter, and cricketers from the main Test playing nations have been coming to England for the summer, for many years. The natural progression for Wivenhoe, having enjoyed such early success with paid coaches, was to take part in this seasonal trade. The domestic arrangements and contrac- tual terms and conditions for these players have varied over the years in form and formality, and the funding has always been a subject of (often- heated) debate at committee, but the experience has been a rewarding one for the club. No doubt, the debates at committee were very similar in 1906 when Henry Swan presented his proposals to invite some high profile first-class cricketers to join the club for the 1907 season. Wivenhoe has enjoyed the company of around 25 overseas players at the club between 1846 and the present day. Many of these cricketers played for only one or two seasons while they travelled, coached, visited friends or girlfriends or studied at the University of Essex. Most of the overseas players have been Australian, South African or Sri Lankan by birth, with one or two each from most of the other Test playing nations. The recruitment of overseas coaches for short-term contracts is a relatively modern practice that has undoubtedly raised standards. Just as much help, if not more, has come from the players who have not been hired to coach, but who have nevertheless played and stayed a while, and taken an active part in the club. Julian Roach, a charismatic West Indian who studied at Essex University, is the club’s all-time leading all-rounder. Michael Phillips from Melbourne was winner of the 2009 batting cup. Gerard Dunstan, from Perth, was a former club captain, chairman and treasurer who stayed and is raising a young family in Wivenhoe. Brendan Ward from Sydney was one of the most popular and naturally talented batsmen ever to play at the club. Paul Tonkinson, also from Sydney, is the longest serving of all the overseas players, whose individual all-round performances held the first eleven together for

149 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

65. First eleven in fancy dress, 2010. Taken almost exactly 75 years after the marvellous photo of the 1935 players in fancy dress, this picture shows the first eleven on President’s Day 2010 at Rectory Road. The players featured are (left to right) Harry Burnett, Patrick Dudman, Tom Hodges, Tom Durrell, Michael Phillips, Richard Pulford, Michael Pulford, Matt Durrell, Ollie Morgan (gorilla suit), Mumtaz Habib, Will Morgan and Anthony Alambrides (kneeling) and Tom Harwood (lying down). several years and who, in 2010, was the first ever winner of the All- Rounder of the Year trophy. Other notable overseas players passed through for only one or two seasons. Mark Tasker was a hard-hitting New Zealander. Kieran Gilbert from Sydney was the leading run scorer in 1999, which was his one and only season at Wivenhoe. Simon Greyvensteyn, a South African all- rounder, played in 2002, 2004 and 2005 and won the bowling cup on each occasion. Hennie de Wet was a young first-class bowler from the Western Cape of South Africa who took 69 wickets in 2008. And Dr Brendan Meagher, a steady and reliable opening batsman from Victoria, Australia, carefully compiled just short of 1,000 runs in 2007. In recent years, Wivenhoe has enjoyed the membership of a number of Sri Lankan players, most of whom have arrived as a result of friend- ships with Lasantha Bodaragama, an enthusiastic attacking batsman, from Colombo, now resident and raising a young family in Wivenhoe.

150 1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET

2006: Modern Colts Cricket The modern colts’ coaching programme at Wivenhoe is taken more seriously than ever. There has never been any doubt that a regular intake of young players is essential to the future of the club, but only in the last twenty or so years have the colts enjoyed a level of importance in the club that rivals that of the senior teams. Since the arrival of the first paid coaches in 1989, the colts have enjoyed the benefit of having several age groups playing suitably adapted forms of the game. They include kwik-cricket (a fast moving six-a-side game for the under-tens, using a light ball and blue plastic bats) and terrier cricket (a hard ball eight-a-side game for under- elevens, with batsmen batting in pairs for four overs each and losing runs for each dismissal). To run several teams takes a significant commitment from a number of team managers and coaches. The majority of them have to be qualified to at least level one (known as “coaching assistants”), or preferably level two (known as “coaches”) and all of them have to undergo checks from the Criminal Records Bureau to establish that they are fit and proper to work with young people. There is also a requirement for the club to nominate a suitably qualified child welfare officer to ensure that the coaching offered is appropriate in every respect and that any concerns raised by the colts themselves, parents or the coaches are treated confidentially and properly handled. A number of other practical issues make modern colts coaching an onerous responsibility. Players have to wear head and body protection when playing with a hard ball; there must be facilities for girls as well as boys; warm-ups and warm-downs must take place; drinks must be available on hot days; first aid kits and first aiders must be available, and so the list goes on. Generally, it works well. If coaches, parents and children are keen, sensible and wish to improve their play, then modern coaching sessions can be great fun. At Wivenhoe, the colts’ modern coaching programme is largely the work of Michael Pulford, himself a product of Wivenhoe colts, who is a physical education teacher by profession and regards his cricket club responsibilities as a natural extension of his day job at Colne College, Brightlingsea. He has built up around himself a growing group of

151 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

66. Third eleven, 2002. Back Row: R. Wilby, W. Morgan, R. Harwood, Mrs S. Halsey (chairman), A. Smith, P. Dudman, L. Grainger. Front Row: K. Welsh, R. Pulford, M. Pulford (captain), R. Stacey, A. Lait. The third eleven in 2002 consisted mostly of local youngsters who had benefited from the coaching programme of the 1990s. Many of the players in this picture have gone on the become stalwarts of the current senior teams. qualified assistant coaches, some of whom, such as Colin Kelly and Matt and Tom Durrell, are as vital to the club as is he. One can measure the success of the colts’ programme by the large number of youngsters practising on the outfield on a Sunday morning in the summer. The boxload of trophies won by Wivenhoe colts’ teams in the club house is another measure, as are the numbers of Wivenhoe coached colts gaining representative honours in their age group (as Tom Harwood and the Durrell brothers have in recent years at full Essex level, and Nicholas Mitchell, Jasper Trim and Jakob Kelly have done at district level from the most recent crop of under-11s) and the number of young players who have broken into senior teams. The latter measure is, of course, the most important. The final difficult jump for a young cricketer from being one of the best players among his peers to being a boy among men needs careful management. Many make the transition, but too many still fall at the last hurdle. There is room for improvement at Wivenhoe and the matter is acknowledged and in hand.

152 1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET

As the summer of 2011 approaches, the club is embarking on another round of training courses that will increase the number of qualified coaches, a building programme is underway to improve the net facilities and the colts’ sponsor is again ready to subsidise the youngsters’ kit. The days when the club placed a limit on the number of junior members allowed, or when the club secretary had to write to boys individually explaining to them that they were too small to join and should reapply in two years’ time seem a long way off.

2011: The Future of Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club The club in 2011 faces a series of challenges that would probably not surprise George Slaughter and his committee of 50 years ago, or even Henry Swan and his players of 100 years ago. The club has to continue improving its colts’ section by making more qualified coaches available, improving the practice facilities and getting more girls to play the game. It has to find a way to improve the playing area and will eventually have to “bite the bullet” and laser level the outfield and strengthen the water supply to the square. It has to refurbish the external timberwork of the clubhouse, renew the showers and replace the scoreboard and, one day, build the clubroom on the east end. It has to decide what interest, if any, to take in the old sand and gravel pits along the eastern boundary. The club has to decide if it has any aspirations to play 60-over all-day Premier League Saturday cricket, which would again lift the standard of cricket played at Rectory Road and with it would come the risk of another big change of culture. All this is taking place against a background of financial constraint in a world temporarily struggling with an economic downturn. There are, however, grants available from local government and sports councils and sponsorship from local firms. In the pursuit of grants, there is no doubt that Wivenhoe has some lost ground to recover over the next few years when compared with some other local cricket clubs. Then there are the constant day-to-day issues to manage – issues that have been around for over 150 years, which research for this book has (reassuringly) demonstrated. There are the ever-present problems of collecting subscriptions and match fees from reluctant payers. Decisions need to be made about what work to pay for and what to call on volunteers to do. Selection policies need to keep everyone happy and the

153

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Wivenhoe at its very finest. A picture taken in bright sunshine during the tea interval on President’s Day, Saturday, were

Ipswich . 62

31 July 2010. Around 2010. 31 July 150 guests had just enjoyed an excellent lunc 67. President’s Day, 2010. President’s 67. Day, entertaining Tendring. Wivenhoe first eleven had just batted against Ipswich & East Suffolkscore and posted of 199-7 with Captain a Will Mo

1990 TO 2010: THE MODERN ERA OF COACHING AND CLUB CRICKET

68. First eleven, 2011. Back row: J. Fowler, T. Allison (standing in for the injured O. Morgan), M. Phillips, R. Pulford, N. Rabnott, T. Durrell. Front row: M. Durrell, B. Godleman, W. Morgan (captain), T. Harwood, H. Burnett. sudden arrival of star players justified. Somebody has to keep accurate statistics, keep young players interested, find last minute replacements for cry-offs, deal with minor disagreements between individuals on and off the pitch and, most important of all, share the workload around so as to respect family responsibilities outside the cricket club. Of course, much does change. The cricket club today is doing very well in so many ways. To watch today’s first eleven, a side comprised of mainly young and local cricketers, usually alongside a coach of first-class (or near first-class) standard, playing good quality highly competitive league cricket on a warm, sunny afternoon at Rectory Road in front of a large cricket week audience, is a joy to behold. High summer 125 years ago at Tenacres could not have been any better. In some respects, it is the best it has ever been. The club today may lack the social scene or building programme of the 1980s, the formality and tradition of the 1930s and 1940s, the grand patronage of the 1850s and 1860s, and the array of first-class cricketers in 1907, but the

155 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET standard of cricket being played is better than ever and the colts’ section is stronger than ever. Youngsters who arrive at Rectory Road as pre-teens keen to play cricket, largely seem to grow into decent members of society, with an appropriately competitive instinct, an understanding of the importance of team spirit and a sense of humour. Where does the credit lie? Well it lies with all the officers and members over the last 150 to 200 years. Layer upon layer upon layer of hard work and affection have been ladled into the club by men and women who have come along, stayed a while (some for a few years, some for the rest of their lives), done their bit, moved on and left behind something better, ready for the next generation. That is exactly how it should be.

156

Part Two

Records and Registers

REGISTERS OF KEY PERSONNEL AND TROPHY WINNERS

Notes to the Registers

Definition of a Team • A team is deemed to have existed for a particular season if either (a) a captain was specifically appointed at an AGM or ACM for that team or (b) if a fixture list was published for that team. • If a fixture list was published but no captain was specifically appointed then “n/a” (not appointed) appears in the tables of captains.

Treatment of Lost Trophies • A number of other trophies besides the currently awarded 14 have been presented in the past. However these have all been discontin- ued for various reasons, usually because the trophy has been lost. • Lost trophies have normally been replaced, so that continuity can be maintained in the historical records of past winners.

Changed Award Criteria • The award criteria for some of the trophies have changed over time so that the names appearing in the list of previous winners can sometimes be misleading. The award criteria associated with each trophy in the list below are the criteria currently used.

Reference to Fourth Eleven Engraved on Trophies • The apparent discrepancy of the cups engraved with “fourth eleven” being presented to third eleven winners has arisen because, for a number of years, the senior Sunday team was known as the “third eleven”, and the junior Sunday team, the “fourth eleven”. This naming convention has now reverted to the more traditional practice of the third most senior team in the club being referred to as the “Sunday eleven”, and the fourth most senior as the “third eleven”.

159 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Senior Officers of the Club

President

Season President Season President

1879 N.C.C. Lawton 1912 H.D. Swan 1880 N.C.C. Lawton 1913 H.D. Swan 1881 N.C.C. Lawton 1914 H.D. Swan 1882 J. Jackson 1915 H.D. Swan 1883 J. Jackson 1916 H.D. Swan 1884 J. Jackson 1917 H.D. Swan 1885 J. Jackson 1918 H.D. Swan 1886 J. Jackson 1919 H.D. Swan 1887 C. Egerton-Green 1920 H.D. Swan 1888 C. Egerton-Green 1921 H.D. Swan 1889 No record 1922 H.D. Swan 1890 No record 1923 F.G. Pratt 1891 E. Round 1924 F.G. Pratt 1892 No record 1925 F.G. Pratt 1893 No record 1926 Sir F. Rice 1894 J.T. Watson 1927 Sir F. Rice 1895 J.T. Watson 1928 Sir F. Rice 1896 A.K. Barlow 1929 H.B. Mills 1897 A.K. Barlow 1930 W.G. Loveless 1898 A.K. Barlow 1931 W.G. Loveless 1899 A.K. Barlow 1932 W.G. Loveless 1900 A.K. Barlow 1933 W.G. Loveless 1901 A.K. Barlow 1934 W.G. Loveless 1902 A.K. Barlow 1935 W.G. Loveless 1903 A.K. Barlow 1936 W.G. Loveless 1904 A.K. Barlow 1937 W.G. Loveless 1905 A.K. Barlow 1938 W.G. Loveless 1906 A.K. Barlow 1939 W.G. Loveless 1907 A.K. Barlow 1940 W.G. Loveless 1908 H.D. Swan 1941 W.G. Loveless 1909 H.D. Swan 1942 W.G. Loveless 1910 H.D. Swan 1943 W.G. Loveless 1911 H.D. Swan 1944 W.G. Loveless

160 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

President (continued)

Season President Season President

1945 W.G. Loveless 1979 L.E.C. Drinkell 1946 W.G. Loveless 1980 R.J. Bristow 1947 W.G. Loveless 1981 R.J. Bristow 1948 W.G. Loveless 1982 R.J. Bristow 1949 W.G. Loveless 1983 R.J. Bristow 1950 W.G. Loveless 1984 R.J. Bristow 1951 D.T. Oxton 1985 R.J. Bristow 1952 D.T. Oxton 1986 A.I. Halsey 1953 D.T. Oxton 1987 A.I. Halsey 1954 D.T. Oxton 1988 A.I. Halsey 1955 D.T. Oxton 1989 A.I. Halsey 1956 D.T. Oxton 1990 A.I. Halsey 1957 D.T. Oxton 1991 A.I. Halsey 1958 D.T. Oxton 1992 A.I. Halsey 1959 D.T. Oxton 1993 A.I. Halsey 1960 H. Dutton 1994 A.I. Halsey 1961 D. Oakley 1995 A.I. Halsey 1962 D. Oakley 1996 A.I. Halsey 1963 D. Oakley 1997 R. Richardson 1964 D. Oakley 1998 R. Richardson 1965 D. Oakley 1999 R. Richardson 1966 D. Oakley 2000 R. Richardson 1967 G.A. Slaughter 2001 P.M. Connelly 1968 G.A. Slaughter 2002 P.M. Connelly 1969 G.A. Slaughter 2003 P.M. Connelly 1970 T.A. Forsgate sen. 2004 P.M. Connelly 1971 T.A. Forsgate sen. 2005 N.M. Philp 1972 L.E.C. Drinkell 2006 N.M. Philp 1973 L.E.C. Drinkell 2007 N.M. Philp 1974 L.E.C. Drinkell 2008 J.A. Wiseman 1975 L.E.C. Drinkell 2009 J.A. Wiseman 1976 L.E.C. Drinkell 2010 J.A. Wiseman 1977 L.E.C. Drinkell 2011 J.A. Wiseman 1978 L.E.C. Drinkell

161 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Chairman

Season Chairman Season Chairman

1879 No record 1913 H.O. Rice 1880 No record 1914 n/a 1881 Rev. W.E. Shaw 1915 n/a 1882 Rev. W.E. Shaw 1916 n/a 1883 Rev. W.E. Shaw 1917 n/a 1884 No record 1918 n/a 1885 No record 1919 No record 1886 No record 1920 No record 1887 No record 1921 No record 1888 No record 1922 C.G. Scofield 1889 No record 1923 E.G. Flux 1890 No record 1924 E.G. Flux 1891 No record 1925 E.G. Flux 1892 No record 1926 E.G. Flux 1893 No record 1927 E.G. Flux 1894 No record 1928 E.G. Flux 1895 No record 1929 E.G. Flux 1896 No record 1930 E.G. Flux 1897 H.O. Rice 1931 H. Cook 1898 H.O. Rice 1932 H. Cook 1899 H.O. Rice 1933 H. Cook 1900 H.O. Rice 1934 H. Cook 1901 H.O. Rice 1935 H. Cook 1902 H.O. Rice 1936 H. Cook 1903 No record 1937 H. Cook 1904 Dr G. Pender-Smith 1938 H. Cook 1905 H.O. Rice 1939 P.A. Street 1906 H.O. Rice 1940 P.A. Street 1907 H.O. Rice 1941 L.E.C. Wright 1908 H.O. Rice 1942 L.E.C. Wright 1909 H.O. Rice 1943 L.E.C. Wright 1910 H.O. Rice 1944 L.E.C. Wright 1911 H.O. Rice 1945 L.E.C. Wright 1912 H.O. Rice 1946 L.E.C. Wright

162 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

Chairman (continued)

Season Chairman Season Chairman

1947 L.E.C. Wright 1980 P.J. Bather 1948 G.A. Slaughter 1981 P.J. Bather 1949 G.A. Slaughter 1982 P.J. Bather 1950 G.A. Slaughter 1983 P.J. Bather 1951 G.A. Slaughter 1984 P.J. Bather 1952 G.A. Slaughter 1985 P.J. Bather 1953 G.A. Slaughter 1986 S.J. Tasker sen. 1954 G.A. Slaughter 1987 S.J. Tasker sen. 1955 G.A. Slaughter 1988 S.J. Tasker sen. 1956 G.A. Slaughter 1989 S.J. Tasker sen. 1957 G.A. Slaughter 1990 S.J. Tasker sen. 1958 G.A. Slaughter 1991 S.J. Tasker sen. 1959 G.A. Slaughter 1992 S.J. Tasker sen. 1960 G.A. Slaughter 1993 S.J. Tasker sen. 1961 G.A. Slaughter 1994 M.J. Lucking jun. 1962 G.A. Slaughter 1995 M.J. Lucking jun. 1963 W. Terry 1996 M.J. Lucking jun. 1964 W. Terry 1997 T.W. Cannings 1965 W. Terry 1998 T.W. Cannings 1966 W. Terry 1999 T.W. Cannings 1967 W. Terry 2000 T.W. Cannings 1968 W. Terry 2001 T.W. Cannings 1969 J.E. Dutton 2002 T.W. Cannings 1970 J.E. Dutton 2003 Mrs S. Halsey 1971 J.E. Dutton 2004 Mrs S. Halsey 1972 J.E. Dutton 2005 Mrs S. Halsey 1973 J.E. Dutton 2006 G.J. Dunstan 1974 J.E. Dutton 2007 G.J. Dunstan 1975 J.E. Dutton 2008 G.J. Dunstan 1976 J.E. Dutton 2009 M.J. Lucking 1977 J.E. Dutton 2010 M.J. Lucking 1978 J.E. Dutton 2011 M.J. Lucking 1979 J.E. Dutton

163 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

First Eleven Captain

Season Captain Season Captain

1879 No record 1915 n/a 1880 J. Harvey 1916 n/a 1881 J. Harvey 1917 n/a 1882 J.E. Heath 1918 No record 1883 J.E. Heath 1919 No record 1884 J.A. Goodwin 1920 No record 1885 J.A. Goodwin 1921 No record 1886 No record 1922 T.A. Forsgate sen. 1887 C. Egerton-Green 1923 D.C. Durrell 1888 C. Egerton-Green 1924 E.J.Mayes 1889 C. Egerton-Green 1925 E.J. Mayes 1890 C. Egerton-Green 1926 E.J. Mayes 1891 C. Egerton-Green 1927 E.J. Mayes 1892 No record 1928 E.J. Mayes 1893 No record 1929 E.G. Earp 1894 No record 1930 E.G. Earp 1895 No record 1931 E.G. Earp 1896 H. Adams 1932 E.G. Earp 1897 H. Adams 1933 E.J. Mayes 1898 H. Adams 1934 E.J. Mayes 1899 H. Adams 1935 E.J. Mayes 1900 H. Adams 1936 E.J. Mayes 1901 No record 1937 E.J. Mayes 1902 No record 1938 E.J. Mayes 1903 No record 1939 E.J. Mayes 1904 No record 1940 G. Sibley 1905 No record 1941 G. Sibley 1906 H.D. Swan 1942 G. Sibley 1907 H.D. Swan 1943 n/a 1908 W. Oxton 1944 n/a 1909 W. Oxton 1945 n/a 1910 W. Oxton 1946 L.E.C. Wright 1911 W. Oxton 1947 K.J. Dodswell-Hunt 1912 H.E. Jones 1948 R.W. Woods 1913 C. Middleton 1949 R.W. Woods 1914 n/a 1950 R.W. Woods

164 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

First Eleven Captain (continued)

Season Captain Season Captain

1951 R.W. Woods 1982 R. Sidaway 1952 R.W. Woods 1983 C.W. Woods 1953 R.W. Woods 1984 C.W. Woods 1954 R.W. Woods 1985 C.W. Woods 1955 R.W. Woods 1986 M. Lucking sen. 1956 R.W. Woods 1987 M. Lucking sen. 1957 R.W. Woods 1988 C.W. Woods 1958 R.W. Woods 1989 A.K. Golding 1959 R.W. Woods 1990 A.K. Golding 1960 F. Pike 1991 A.K. Golding 1961 F. Pike 1992 A.K. Golding 1962 R.W. Woods 1993 A.K. Golding 1963 F. Pike 1994 A.K. Golding 1964 P. Napper 1995 A.K. Golding 1965 N.G. Clark 1996 A.K. Golding 1966 F. Pike 1997 A.K. Golding 1967 A. Foster 1998 T. Allison 1968 R.C. Bacon 1999 T. Allison 1969 R.C. Bacon 2000 N.A. Foster 1970 L. Miles 2001 A.D. Brown 1971 L. Miles 2002 A.D. Brown 1972 L. Miles 2003 A.D. Green 1973 R.J. Gregory 2004 A.D. Green 1974 B. Lock 2005 G.J. Dunstan 1975 R.J. Gregory 2006 G.J.Dunstan 1976 R.J. Gregory 2007 P.M. Tonkinson 1977 C.W. Woods 2008 P.M. Tonkinson 1978 C.W. Woods 2009 W.J.Morgan 1979 R.J. Gregory 2010 W.J.Morgan 1980 M.J. Hemstedt 2011 W.J. Morgan 1981 R. Sidaway

Notes. In 1984, 1985 and 1986 the distinction between first eleven captain and other eleven captains was clouded by the appointment of “league” and “friendly” captains, and in 1988, 1995, 1996 and 1997 by the appointment of “Two- Counties” and “Lancaster Garages” captains. For the purposes of this table the closest match to traditional “first”, “second” and “Sunday” eleven captains has been assumed in these years.

165 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Treasurer

Season Treasurer Season Treasurer

1879 No record 1912 J.G. Moore sen. 1880 No record 1913 J.G. Moore sen. 1881 C.A.S. Ling 1914 n/a 1882 J.G. Moore sen. 1915 n/a 1883 J.G. Moore sen. 1916 n/a 1884 J.G. Moore sen. 1917 n/a 1885 J.G. Moore sen. 1918 n/a 1886 J.G. Moore sen. 1919 n/a 1887 J.G. Moore sen. 1920 n/a 1888 J.G. Moore sen. 1921 n/a 1889 J.G. Moore sen. 1922 J.G. Moore jun. 1890 J.G. Moore sen. 1923 J.G. Moore jun. 1891 J.G. Moore sen. 1924 J.G. Moore jun. 1892 J.G. Moore sen. 1925 J.G. Moore jun. 1893 J.G. Moore sen. 1926 J.G. Moore jun. 1894 J.G. Moore sen. 1927 J.G. Moore jun. 1895 J.G. Moore sen. 1928 J.G. Moore jun. 1896 J.G. Moore sen. 1929 J.G. Moore jun. 1897 J.G. Moore sen. 1930 C.J. Ashley 1898 J.G. Moore sen. 1931 C.J. Ashley 1899 J.G. Moore sen. 1932 C.J. Ashley 1900 J.G. Moore sen. 1933 C.J. Ashley 1901 J.G. Moore sen. 1934 C.J. Ashley 1902 J.G. Moore sen. 1935 J. Barrell 1903 J.G. Moore sen. 1936 J. Barrell 1904 J.G. Moore sen. 1937 J. Barrell 1905 J.G. Moore sen. 1938 J. Barrell 1906 J.G. Moore sen. 1939 J. Barrell 1907 J.G. Moore sen. 1940 J. Barrell 1908 J.G. Moore sen. 1941 J. Barrell 1909 J.G. Moore sen. 1942 J. Barrell 1910 J.G. Moore sen. 1943 J. Barrell 1911 J.G. Moore sen. 1944 J. Barrell

166 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

Treasurer (continued)

Season Treasurer Season Treasurer

1945 J. Barrell 1979 R.E. Hemstedt 1946 J. Barrell 1980 R.E. Hemstedt 1947 J. Barrell 1981 R.E. Hemstedt 1948 J. Barrell 1982 E.J. Frost 1949 J. Barrell 1983 E.J. Frost 1950 R.C. Watsham 1984 E.J. Frost 1951 R.C. Watsham 1985 E.J. Frost 1952 R.C. Watsham 1986 E.J. Frost 1953 F. Pike 1987 E.J. Frost 1954 F. Pike 1988 P.F. Evans 1955 F. Pike 1989 P.F. Evans 1956 R.W. Woods 1990 P.F. Evans 1957 R.W. Woods 1991 P.F. Evans 1958 R.W. Woods 1992 C. Dickinson 1959 R.W. Woods 1993 W.J. Wilson 1960 R.W. Woods 1994 W.J. Wilson 1961 R.W. Woods 1995 W.J. Wilson 1962 R.W. Woods 1996 W.J. Wilson 1963 R.W. Woods 1997 W.J. Wilson 1964 R.W. Woods 1998 W.J. Wilson 1965 R.C. Bacon 1999 D.F. McCourt 1966 R.C. Bacon 2000 D.F. McCourt 1967 R.C. Bacon 2001 D.F. McCourt 1968 R.C. Bacon 2002 D.F. McCourt 1969 R.C. Bacon 2003 D.F. McCourt 1970 R.C. Bacon 2004 Mrs H. Lucking 1971 R.C. Bacon 2005 Mrs H. Lucking 1972 R.C. Bacon 2006 Mrs H. Lucking 1973 R.C. Bacon 2007 Mrs H. Lucking 1974 R.C. Bacon 2008 M.S.F. Michael 1975 B.L. Richardson 2009 G.J. Dunstan 1976 B.L. Richardson 2010 G.J. Dunstan 1977 R.E. Hemstedt 2011 M. Wilson 1978 R.E. Hemstedt

167 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Secretary

Season Secretary Season Secretary

1879 R. Ham 1913 W.W. Brown 1880 R. Ham 1914 No record 1881 R. Ham 1915 No record 1882 R. Ham 1916 No record 1883 R. Ham 1917 No record 1884 W.F. Juby 1918 No record 1885 W. Goodwin 1919 G.A. Slaughter 1886 No record 1920 G.A. Slaughter 1887 No record 1921 G.A. Slaughter 1888 E. Brown 1922 G.A. Slaughter 1889 E. Brown 1923 G.A. Slaughter 1890 E. Brown 1924 G.A. Slaughter 1891 E. Brown 1925 G.A. Slaughter 1892 No record 1926 G.A. Slaughter 1893 No record 1927 G.A. Slaughter 1894 No record 1928 G.A. Slaughter 1895 No record 1929 G.A. Slaughter 1896 W.J. Carrington 1930 G.A. Slaughter 1897 J.T. Williamson 1931 G.A. Slaughter 1898 J.T. Williamson 1932 G.A. Slaughter 1899 J.T. Williamson 1933 G.A. Slaughter 1900 J.T. Williamson 1934 G.A. Slaughter 1901 No record 1935 G.A. Slaughter 1902 No record 1936 G.A. Slaughter 1903 H.C. Cook 1937 G.A. Slaughter 1904 H.C. Cook 1938 G.A. Slaughter 1905 Dr G. Pender-Smith 1939 G.A. Slaughter 1906 R.W. Macfarlane 1940 G.A. Slaughter 1907 R.W. Macfarlane 1941 G.A. Slaughter 1908 R.W. Macfarlane 1942 G.A. Slaughter 1909 R.W. Macfarlane 1943 G.A. Slaughter 1910 R.W. MacFarlane 1944 G.A. Slaughter 1911 No record 1945 G.A. Slaughter 1912 H.E. Jones 1946 G.A. Slaughter

168 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

Secretary (continued)

Season Secretary Season Secretary

1947 G.A. Slaughter 1980 Mrs T. Philp 1948 P.G. Faucheux 1981 Mrs T. Philp 1949 P.G. Faucheux 1982 Mrs T. Philp 1950 J. Braithwaite 1983 M. Kettle 1951 J. Braithwaite 1984 M. Kettle 1952 P. Weston 1985 M. Kettle 1953 P. Napper 1986 M.G. Britton 1954 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1987 M.G. Britton 1955 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1988 M.G. Britton 1956 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1989 M.G. Britton 1957 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1990 M.G. Britton 1958 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1991 M.G. Britton 1959 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1992 M.G. Britton 1960 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1993 M.G. Britton 1961 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1994 M.G. Britton 1962 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1995 M.G. Britton 1963 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1996 Mrs L. Tasker 1964 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1997 Mrs L. Tasker 1965 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1998 Mrs L. Tasker 1966 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 1999 Mrs M. Footring 1967 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 2000 Mrs M. Footring 1968 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 2001 D. Beddow 1969 T.A. Forsgate, jun. 2002 P. Coverley 1970 B.L. Richardson 2003 P. Coverley 1971 B.L. Richardson 2004 P.F. Evans 1972 B.L. Richardson 2005 P.F. Evans 1973 B.L. Richardson 2006 Mrs L. Yearling 1974 R.J. Gregory 2007 Mrs L. Yearling 1975 B. Lock 2008 Mrs L. Yearling 1976 B. Lock 2009 Mrs L. Yearling 1977 B. Lock 2010 Mrs L. Yearling 1978 B. Lock 2011 Mrs L. Yearling 1979 B. Lock

169 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Director of Cricket/Club Captain

Season DoC/Club Captain Season DoC/Club Captain

1994 A.K. Golding 2003 N. Lucking 1995 T.W. Cannings 2004 N. Lucking 1996 T.W. Cannings 2005 M.J. Pulford 1997 N. Lucking 2006 M.J. Pulford 1998 N. Lucking 2007 M.J. Pulford 1999 N. Lucking 2008 M.J. Pulford 2000 N. Lucking 2009 M.J. Pulford 2001 N. Lucking 2010 M.J. Pulford 2002 N. Lucking 2011 M.J. Pulford

Captains of the Teams

Second Eleven Captain

Season Captain Season Captain

1922 C. Collison 1934 C. Ashley 1923 n/a 1935 D. Gray 1924 n/a 1936 W.G. Loveless 1925 n/a 1937 J. Weston 1926 n/a 1938 J. Weston 1927 n/a 1939 L.E.C. Wright 1928 n/a 1940 n/a 1929 n/a 1941 n/a 1930 n/a 1942 n/a 1931 n/a 1943 n/a 1932 n/a 1944 n/a 1933 W. Terry 1945 n/a

170 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

Second Eleven Captain (continued)

Season Captain Season Captain

1946 n/a 1979 P. Scutt 1947 W. Terry 1980 V. McAuley 1948 J. Barrell 1981 N.M. Philp 1949 J. Barrell 1982 N.M. Philp 1950 J. Barrell 1983 E.J. Frost 1951 E. Green 1984 E.J. Frost 1952 A. Turner 1985 M. Kettle 1953 A. Turner 1986 S. Britton 1954 A. Turner 1987 S. Britton 1955 A. Turner 1988 R. Blake 1956 A. Turner 1989 M. Britton 1957 R.C. Bacon 1990 D. Osborne 1958 R.C. Bacon 1991 J.A. Wiseman 1959 B. Green 1992 R.E.B. Harwood 1960 E. Westlake 1993 R.E.B. Harwood 1961 E. Westlake 1994 J.A. Wiseman 1962 E. Westlake 1995 J.A. Wiseman 1963 J. Watson 1996 J.A. Wiseman 1964 R. Buckle 1997 J.A. Wiseman 1965 R. Buckle 1998 N. Lucking 1966 A. Foster 1999 N. Lucking 1967 W. Patrick 2000 N. Lucking 1968 G.J. Wadley 2001 N. Lucking 1969 L. Miles 2002 M.J. Lucking 1970 G.J. Wadley 2003 M.J. Lucking 1971 G.J. Wadley 2004 J. Garnham 1972 G.J. Wadley 2005 A.J. Lait 1973 E.J. Frost 2006 S.P. Lucking 1974 E.J. Frost 2007 S.P. Lucking 1975 D.R. Hemstedt 2008 S.P. Lucking 1976 P.J. Bather 2009 S.P. Lucking 1977 P.J. Bather 2010 S.P. Lucking 1978 R.W. Woods 2011 S.P. Lucking

171 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Sunday Eleven Captain

Season Captain Season Captain

1951 L.E.C. Drinkell 1982 R.C.E. Farthing 1952 P.C. Sainty 1983 M.G. Britton 1953 G. Scutt 1984 M.G. Britton 1954 J. Seadon 1985 R. Blake 1955 J. Seadon 1986 R. Blake 1956 J. Seadon 1987 R.J. Hemstedt 1957 n/a 1988 J. Taylor 1958 n/a 1989 n/a 1959 n/a 1990 n/a 1960 n/a 1991 T.W. Cannings 1961 n/a 1992 P. Lidierth 1962 n/a 1993 P. Lidierth 1963 N.G. Clark 1994 P. Lidierth 1964 N.G. Clark 1995 D. McWilliams 1965 N.G. Clark 1996 D. McWilliams 1966 n/a 1997 P. Lidierth 1967 n/a 1998 P. Lidierth 1968 N.G. Clark 1999 P.N. McCartney 1969 R.J. Gregory 2000 P.M. Tonkinson 1970 M. Kettle 2001 P.M. Tonkinson 1971 M. Kettle 2002 P.M. Tonkinson 1972 R.J. Gregory 2003 J.A. Wiseman 1973 B. Lock 2004 J.A. Wiseman 1974 S. Wilkerson 2005 J.A. Wiseman 1975 C.W. Woods 2006 M.J. Pulford 1976 C.W. Woods 2007 W.J. Morgan 1977 J.A. Wiseman 2008 W.J. Morgan 1978 J.A. Wiseman 2009 O.J. Morgan 1979 R.J. Hemstedt 2010 R.J. Pulford 1980 R.J. Hemstedt 2011 M.J. Pulford 1981 R.J. Hemstedt

Notes. From 1991 to 1999 only one team played on Sundays. This team was referred to as the third eleven in the fixture list. However, in keeping with post-war tradition it has been treated as the Sunday eleven for the purposes of this table.

172 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

Third Eleven Captain

Season Captain Season Captain

1987 E.J. Frost 2000 P.N. McCartney 1988 T.W. Cannings 2001 P.N. McCartney 1989 T.W. Cannings 2002 P.N. McCartney 1990 T.W. Cannings 2003 P. Lidierth 1991 n/a 2004 P. Lidierth 1992 n/a 2005 R.E.B. Harwood 1993 n/a 2006 R.E.B. Harwood 1994 n/a 2007 R.E.B. Harwood 1995 n/a 2008 R.E.B. Harwood 1996 n/a 2009 R.A.W. Haines 1997 n/a 2010 R.A.W. Haines 1998 n/a 2011 M.S.F. Michael 1999 n/a

Sunday Second Eleven Captain

Season Captain Season Captain

1984 n/a 1988 n/a 1985 n/a 1989 P. Lidierth 1986 n/a 1990 n/a 1987 R. Blake

Ladies Captain

Season Captain Season Captain

1997 n/a 2001 S. Warner 1998 n/a 2002 S. Warner 1999 n/a 2003 n/a 2000 n/a

173 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Vice-Presidents, Life Members and Trustees of the Club

Current Vice-Presidents of the Club R.C. Bacon C. Dickinson P.F. Evans Mrs S. Halsey Mrs G. Lucking M.J. Lucking D.F. McCourt K. Sparling P. Watkinson W. Wilson J.E. Wiseman sen. P.J. Witham

Current Life-Members of the Club M.G. Britton T.W. Cannings Mrs B. Connelly P.M. Connelly L.E.C. Drinkell J.E. Dutton T.A. Forsgate E.J. Frost N. Lucking N.M Philp G. O’Toole R.F. Smith S.J. Tasker sen.

Current Trustees of the Club E.J. Frost M.G. Britton S.J. Tasker sen. W. Wilson

174 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

The Trophy Winners

69. The trophies, 2009. The collection of club trophies as at November 2009. The oldest trophy, on the far right above, is almost 80 years old and is engraved with the words “Wivenhoe Town CC. Challenge Cup Presented by Arthur Turner Esq 1932”. Arthur Turner was a wealthy bon viveur and non-playing patron of the club who donated many trophies to the club in the 1930s.

The 14 Awards and Trophies Presented

Award Criteria Engraved Title (and season first awarded)

1 Highest Run Aggregate in All The Tom Forsgate Memorial Matches Cup. League Batsman of the Year (1983) 2 Highest Wicket Taker in All Wivenhoe Town CC. Most Matches Wickets in a Season (1985) 3 First Eleven Batting Average WTCC 1937. First Eleven Batting Avg. A. Jackson (1985)

175 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

The 14 Awards and Trophies Presented (continued)

Award Criteria Engraved Title (and season first awarded)

4 First Eleven Bowling Average Andy Halsey Cup. WTCC 1st Eleven Bowler (2009) 5 Second Eleven Batting Average Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. Season 1935. 2nd Eleven Batting Average. Won by Mr A.C. Jackson. Presented by Mrs Albert B. Turner (1935) 6 Second Eleven Bowling Average Tom Denton Cup. Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. League Bowler Of The Year (1983) 7 Sunday Eleven Batting Average Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. 3rd Eleven Batsman of the Year (1991) 8 Sunday Eleven Bowling Average Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. Challenge Cup. Presented by Arthur Turner Esq 1932 (1932) 9 Director of Cricket’s Special Wivenhoe Town CC. 3rd Award Eleven Captains Cup (1989) 10 Third Eleven Batting Average WTCC 4th Eleven Batting Cup (2009) 11 Third Eleven Bowling Average WTCC 4th Eleven Bowling Cup (2003) 12 Most Outfield Catches in All Wivenhoe Town CC. Fielder of Matches the Year (1985) 13 Best Colt as Nominated by Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. Director of Cricket The McWilliams Cup (1994) 14 Best All-Rounder as Nominated Nik Lucking & Jon Wiseman by Director of Cricket Cup. WTCC All-Rounder of the Year (2010)

176 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

1. Highest Run Aggregate in All Matches “The Tom Forsgate Memorial Cup. League Batsman of the Year”

Season Winner Season Winner

1983 C.W. Woods 1997 n/a 1984 D.R. Foster 1998 n/a 1985 M.J. Hemstedt 1999 n/a 1986 R. Blake 2000 N. Lucking 1987 M.J. Hemstedt 2001 B.H. Ward 1988 M.J. Lucking jun. 2002 D.R. Foster 1989 G. Spong 2003 B.H. Ward 1990 J.W. Edrich 2004 T.E. Harwood 1991 J.D.C. Roach 2005 T.E. Harwood 1992 J.D.C. Roach 2006 B.H. Ward 1993 G. Spong 2007 n/a 1994 N. Lucking 2008 G.J. Dunstan 1995 S. Jennings 2009 M.W. Durrell 1996 N. Lucking 2010 M.W. Durrell

2. Highest Wicket Taker in All Matches “Wivenhoe Town CC. Most Wickets in a Season”

Season Winner Season Winner

1985 M.J. Lucking jun. 1998 n/a 1986 M.G. Britton 1999 n/a 1987 M.G. Britton 2000 P.J. Witham 1988 P. Bishop 2001 P.M. Tonkinson 1989 A.K. Golding 2002 P.J. Witham 1990 A.K. Golding 2003 W.J. Morgan 1991 A.K. Golding 2004 T.E. Harwood 1992 A.K. Golding 2005 S. Greyvensteyn 1993 n/a 2006 P.M. Tonkinson 1994 n/a 2007 n/a 1995 n/a 2008 H. De Wet 1996 n/a 2009 P.H. Burnett 1997 n/a 2010 P.H. Burnett

177 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

3. First Eleven Batting Average “WTCC 1937. First Eleven Batting Avg. A. Jackson”

Season Winner Season Winner

1932 L. Cuthbert/ 1961 N.G. Clark L. Cuthbert 1962 R.W. Woods 1933 R.G. Smithard/ 1963 P. Napper R.G. Smithard 1964 N.G. Clark 1934 S. Scofield/G. Sibley 1965 M.C. Turner 1935 L.E.C. Wright/ 1966 N.G. Clark E.G. Earp 1967 N.G. Clark 1936 E.J. Mayes/ 1968 N.G. Clark C. Boothroyd 1969 R.J. Gregory 1937 S.F. Scofield/A.C. Jackson 1970 R.W. Woods 1938 N. Binks/E.J. Mayes 1971 A. Foster 1939 G. Sibley/G. Sibley 1972 A. Foster 1940 n/a 1973 A. Foster 1941 n/a 1974 C.W. Woods 1942 n/a 1975 R.J. Gregory 1943 n/a 1976 P. Scutt 1944 n/a 1977 C.W. Woods 1945 n/a 1978 P. Scutt 1946 n/a 1979 C.W. Woods 1947 N. Binks/R.W. Woods 1980 M.J. Hemstedt 1948 F. Kerry/F. Kerry 1981 C.W. Woods 1949 F. Faucheux/F. Kerry 1982 C.W. Woods 1950 P.C. Sainty/F. Kerry 1983 C.W. Woods 1951 P.C. Sainty/J. Braithwaite 1984 M.J. Hemstedt 1952 R.W. Woods/ 1985 M.J. Hemstedt H. Whitelaw 1986 M.J. Hemstedt 1953 A. Foster/G. Scutt 1987 M.J. Hemstedt 1954 P. Napper 1988 M.J. Lucking jun. 1955 A. Hammond 1989 A.K. Golding 1956 R.W. Woods 1990 J.W. Edrich 1957 R.W. Woods 1991 J.D.C. Roach 1958 R.W. Woods 1992 T. Allison 1959 R.W. Woods 1993 A.D. Brown 1960 R.W. Woods 1994 J. Edrich

178 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

3. First Eleven Batting Average (continued)

Season Winner Season Winner

1995 A.K. Golding 2003 B. Ward 1996 A.K. Golding 2004 T. Allison 1997 G. Moye 2005 S. Greyvensteyn 1998 T. Allison 2006 B.H. Ward 1999 B.H. Ward 2007 B.E. Meagher 2000 B.H. Ward 2008 G.J. Dunstan 2001 T. Allison 2009 M. Phillips 2002 M. Tasker 2010 B. Godleman

Notes. The original trophy, which was presented for first eleven bowling/batting until 1948, is now presented for Sunday eleven bowling. A different trophy, which was introduced in 1949 and continued to be presented for bowling/batting until it was presented solely for first eleven batting from 1954 until 1971, is now lost. A different trophy was introduced in 1972 and is now lost. The current trophy was introduced in 1994.

4. First Eleven Bowling Average “Andy Halsey Cup. WTCC 1st Eleven Bowler”

Season Winner Season Winner

1937 E. Green/ 1949 T. Hammond/ H.M. Beesom B. Scofield 1938 C.J. Ashley/L.E.C. Wright 1950 R. Eaton/E. Green 1939 J. Weston/H. Watcham 1951 L. Green/M. Hammond 1940 n/a 1952 B. Scofield/B. Green 1941 n/a 1953 R. Eaton/A. Turner 1942 n/a 1954 J. Seadon 1943 n/a 1955 J. Seadon 1944 n/a 1956 J. Braithwaite 1945 n/a 1957 J. Seadon 1946 n/a 1958 J. Seadon 1947 J. Seadon/E. Green 1959 R. Bailey 1948 J. Taylor/J. Millington 1960 R.C. Bacon

179 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

4. First Eleven Bowling Average (continued)

Season Winner Season Winner

1961 A. Hammond 1987 B. Vaughan 1962 R. Bailey 1988 S. Simpson 1963 R. Bailey 1989 R. Barton 1964 R. Bailey 1990 K. Martin 1965 N.G. Clark 1991 A.K. Golding 1966 N.G. Clark 1992 J.D.C. Roach 1967 N.G. Clark 1993 A.K. Golding 1968 K. Alexander 1994 G.P.J. Bowden 1969 M.C. Turner 1995 A.K. Golding 1970 M.C. Turner 1996 A.K. Golding 1971 R. Page 1997 A.D. Green 1972 S. Wilkerson 1998 A.K. Golding 1973 S. Wilkerson 1999 D.N. Selley 1974 R.J. Hemstedt 2000 N.A. Foster/ 1975 M.C. Turner P.M. Tonkinson 1976 P. Scutt 2001 A.K. Golding 1977 R. Sidaway 2002 S. Greyvensteyn 1978 R. Springett 2003 D.N. Selley 1979 R. Sidaway 2004 S. Greyvensteyn 1980 R. Sidaway 2005 S. Greyvensteyn 1981 V. McAuley 2006 A.K. Golding 1982 R. Sidaway 2007 A.D. Green 1983 B. Lock 2008 H. De Wet 1984 R.J. Hemstedt 2009 Mumtaz Habib 1985 T. Tearle 2010 R. Balasuriya 1986 M. G. Britton

Notes. The original trophy, which was presented for second eleven batting/bowling until 1953 and thereafter for first eleven bowling, is no longer presented. A different trophy was introduced in 1973, and subsequently lost. The current trophy was introduced in 2009. No trophy was presented from 2005 to 2008, but had it been so, the winners would have been as listed.

180 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

5. Second Eleven Batting Average “Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. Season 1935. 2nd Eleven Batting Average”

Season Winner Season Winner

1989 J. Bowles 2000 A.T. Cannings 1990 D. Polley 2001 J.A. Wiseman 1991 J.A. Wiseman 2002 D.R. Foster 1992 R.J. Hemstedt 2003 S.P. Lucking 1993 G. Spong 2004 D.R. Foster 1994 A.S. Clark 2005 A.J. Lait 1995 J.A. Wiseman 2006 n/a 1996 J.A. Wiseman 2007 M.W. Durrell 1997 A.S. Clark 2008 C.D. Kelly 1998 A.S. Clark 2009 G.J. Dunstan 1999 M.J. Lucking 2010 J. Fowler

6. Second Eleven Bowling Average “Tom Denton Cup. Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. League Bowler of the Year”

Season Winner Season Winner

1983 M. Robson 1997 P.J. Witham 1984 M. Lucking, sen. 1998 R.A. Olejnik 1985 M. Kettle 1999 D.N. Selley 1986 M. G. Britton 2000 M.J. Lucking 1987 P. Bishop 2001 R.A. Olejnik 1988 P. Bishop 2002 P.J. Witham 1989 A.K. Golding 2003 A. Watts 1990 A.K. Golding 2004 A.J. Lawrence 1991 A.K. Golding 2005 P. Dudman 1992 A.D. Green 2006 n/a 1993 A.K. Golding 2007 M.W. Durrell 1994 R.A.W. Duncan 2008 R.W. Harwood 1995 A.J. Lawrence 2009 A.D. Green 1996 A.D. Green 2010 A.K. Golding

181 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

7. Sunday Eleven Batting Average “Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. 3rd Eleven Batsman of the Year”

Season Winner Season Winner

1991 M. Sproats 2001 R.W. Harwood 1992 S. Britton 2002 W.J. Morgan 1993 D.J. Craze 2003 J.A. Wiseman 1994 D. Mcwilliams 2004 M.T.J. Fairbrother 1995 D. Mcwilliams 2005 J.A. Wiseman 1996 J.P. Cannings 2006 B.H. Ward 1997 A.J. Lait 2007 n/a 1998 D.N. Calver 2008 T.E. Harwood 1999 D.N. Calver 2009 M.W. Durrell 2000 R.E.B. Harwood 2010 M.W. Durrell

8. Sunday Eleven Bowling Average “Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. Challenge Cup. Presented by Arthur Turner Esq 1932”

Season Winner Season Winner

1994 P. Lidierth 2003 A.J. Lawrence 1995 N.M. Philp 2004 A.D. Smith 1996 B. Vaughan 2005 P.J. Witham 1997 M.G. Britton 2006 W.J. Morgan 1998 P. Lidierth 2007 n/a 1999 L.N. Grainger 2008 P.H. Burnett 2000 N.M. Philp 2009 A.D. Smith 2001 A.D. Smith 2010 P.H. Burnett 2002 R.P. Wilby

182 RECORDS AND REGISTERS

9. Director of Cricket’s Special Award “Wivenhoe Town CC. 3rd Eleven Captains Cup”

Season Winner Season Winner

1989 A.I. Halsey 2000 A.R.A. Wheatley 1990 P.J. Bather 2001 n/a. 1991 S. Millar 2002 n/a. 1992 R.A.W. Duncan 2003 G. Bowden 1993 M. Walls 2004 W.J. Morgan 1994 S. Jennings 2005 W.J. Morgan 1995 B. Vaughan 2006 n/a. 1996 S. Boyle 2007 n/a. 1997 S. Boyle 2008 n/a. 1998 D.N. Calver 2009 W.J. Morgan 1999 S. Tasker jun. 2010 C.D. Kelly

10. Third Eleven Batting Average “WTCC 4th Eleven Batting Cup”

Season Winner Season Winner

2003 T.E. Harwood 2007 S. Stow 2004 T.E. Harwood 2008 M.J. Pulford 2005 T.E. Harwood 2009 R. Minshull 2006 A.T. Cannings 2010 J.A. Wiseman

11. Third Eleven Bowling Average “WTCC 4th Eleven Bowling Cup”

Season Winner Season Winner

2003 T.E. Harwood 2007 R.A.W. Haines 2004 S. Tasker jun. 2008 P. Edge 2005 R. W. Harwood 2009 R.A.W. Haines 2006 J. Cox 2010 R.A.W. Haines

183 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

12. Most Outfield Catches in All Matches “Wivenhoe Town CC. Fielder of the Year”

Season Winner Season Winner

1985 D.J. Fox 1998 N. Lucking 1986 K. Sparling 1999 M.J. Lucking 1987 D. Osborne 2000 S.P. Lucking 1988 M. Seagrove 2001 N. Lucking 1989 n/a 2002 R.P. Wilby 1990 D. Wilcockson 2003 M.J. Pulford 1991 A.T. Cannings 2004 R.J. Pulford 1992 S. Tasker jun. 2005 W.J.Morgan 1993 R.A.W. Duncan 2006 n/a 1994 D.N. Selley 2007 n/a 1995 A.D. Brown 2008 n/a 1996 M.J. Felton 2009 M. Phillips 1997 J.A. Wiseman 2010 M.W. Durrell

13. Best Colt as Nominated by Director of Cricket “Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club. The McWilliams Cup”

Season Winner Season Winner

1994 G.J. McCartney 2003 T. E. Harwood 1995 D.N. Calver 2004 n/a. 1996 C. Corby 2005 n/a. 1997 R. Warrington 2006 n/a. 1998 B. Mitchell 2007 n/a. 1999 R. W. Harwood 2008 n/a. 2000 P. Gibbs 2009 J. Fowler 2001 R.J. Pulford 2010 J. Fowler 2002 R.J. Pulford

14. Best All-Rounder as Nominated by DoC “Nik Lucking & Jon Wiseman Cup. WTCC All-Rounder of the Year”

Season Winner

2010 P.M. Tonkinson

184

CLUB RECORDS

Notes to the Records

Years for which data have been compiled • Data have been compiled for a continuous 41 year period from 1970 to 2010 inclusive. Before 1970 end of season statistics are not continuously and reliably available. Data do exist in useable format for a number of years before 1970, however these are intermittent, and whilst these statistics have been used in the drafting of the text, they are excluded from these records.

Sources consulted • Individual and team records have been compiled using contemporaneously published end of season tabulations wherever possible. • Where these tabulations do not exist in complete form for a particular season, the statistics have been recreated, as far as possible, using scorebooks from the season in question. Where the scorebooks (or a number of matches within the scorebooks) are missing, the statistics have been recreated, as far as possible, using newspaper reports and by gaining access to the scorebooks of opposition clubs. • Where it has not been possible by any reasonable means to get the data for a number of matches, the omissions are noted in the club archives so that the statistics can be updated should the missing matches ever come to light. Data from around 120 matches are unavoidably omitted from the final statistics. These matches are mainly from 1972, 1976, 1993, 2003 and 2006.

Limit of range of data compiled • It was not possible to compile accurate, comprehensive data on the number of matches played by individuals and not out innings, overs and maidens bowled, each individual’s highest score and best bowling, batting partnerships nor on catches and stumpings taken. • Accurate data have, however, been compiled for completed innings, runs scored, wickets taken and runs conceded. It has

185 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

therefore been possible, subject to the absence of a number of missing matches, to calculate, with high levels of confidence, individual batting and bowling averages. • A number of tabulations are included for record individual high scores and outstanding bowling performances based on data that have come to light from a variety of sources during the research. These records should therefore be regarded as the best currently available and can easily be updated should further data ever come to light.

Treatment of errors • Where a mathematical error was found in the contemporaneously published end of season statistics, it was corrected. • Where an error of abstraction from the scorebooks was suspected, but not proven, in the contemporaneously published end of season statistics it was not corrected. A very small number of suspected minor errors of this nature were discovered during the research for this publication.

Qualifying matches • Qualifying matches included in this publication match exactly those included by the relevant statistician, and contemporaneously noted, in the published end of season statistics. • Qualifying matches for the seasons where the statistics have been recreated from scorebooks are all senior matches (except cricket week friendly matches) that appear in the fixture card for the season in question. Non-qualifying matches include all cricket week matches, evening matches, social matches and colts matches.

Qualification levels for individuals • The qualification levels for inclusion in end of season batting and bowling (and all-rounder) averages are 8 completed innings and 10 wickets respectively. This matches the convention adopted by Wisden for inclusion in the annual first class averages. • The qualification for inclusion in the career batting and bowling (and all-rounder) averages is 40 completed innings and 50 wickets. This is simply a multiple of five times the season qualification levels.

186 CLUB RECORDS

Ranking of all-rounders • The ranking of players in the tabulation of “Leading Career All- Rounder Averages” has been done by dividing the batting average by the bowling average, in order to gain some indication of the size of a player’s contribution taken over the whole of his career. • The ranking of players in the tabulation of “Leading Career All- Rounder Aggregates” has been done by adding the runs scored to the wickets taken with each wicket being equivalent to 18 runs. The multiplier of 18 is taken as being a good long-run approxi- mation for the average number of runs scored and conceded for every wicket lost or taken in Wivenhoe cricket since 1970. • In the tabulation of “Leading All-Rounder in Each Season” the ranking of “best batting and bowling average” and “most wickets and runs” has been determined using the same methods as those described above.

Sources of team records • Team records have been established by consulting as many sources as reasonably possible (for example, league handbooks, newspapers, scorebooks, end of season reports). • The league handbooks provide a good source of matches won, tied and lost and record high and low scores for and against each club. • The contemporaneously published end-of-season statistics usually include data on matches won and lost, and sometimes include high and low scores. • Apart from those sources, a large number of newspapers and scorebooks have been examined to check for other high and low scores. • It is self-evident that team scores from before the modern era of league cricket tended to be lower, therefore, because of the absence of good sources for older data, there must be more doubt that the lowest ever scores (as opposed to the highest ever scores) have been correctly captured.

187 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Individual Batting Records

Highest Individual Innings

Score Opponents Season

188 M.J. Lucking jun. v Cressing (a) 1988 184 D.N. Calver v Witham (h) 2000 173no M.T.J. Fairbrother v West Bergholt (h) 2003 159 M. Phillips v Gt Braxted & Tiptree (h) 2004 152 C.W. Woods v Dedham (a) 1981 149no G.J. McCartney v Tendring Park (a) 1996 147 M.J. Hemstedt v West Mersea (h) 1982 141 J.W. Edrich v Brightlingsea (h) 1990 141no B.H. Ward v Maldon (a) 2001 137 A.S. Clark v Hadleigh (a) 1997

Leading Batsman in Each Season (Qualification: 8 completed innings)

Season Leading Scorer Runs Avge Highest Average Runs Avge

1970 R.W. Woods 387 25.80 R.W. Woods 387 25.80 1971 A. Foster 708 35.40 A. Foster 708 35.40 1972 J. Watson 292 26.55 J. Watson 292 26.55 1973 P. Scutt 648 24.00 A. Foster 461 41.91 1974 C.W. Woods 584 27.81 C.W. Woods 584 27.81 1975 C.W. Woods 952 28.00 R.J. Gregory 356 35.60 1976 C.W. Woods 802 27.66 J. Wiseman 460 28.75 1977 C.W. Woods 1,125 31.25 C.W. Woods 1,125 31.25 1978 M.J. Hemstedt 973 33.55 R. Springett 282 35.25 1979 M.J. Hemstedt 1,156 30.42 P. Scutt 734 40.78 1980 M.J. Hemstedt 980 31.61 M.J. Hemstedt 980 31.61 1981 C.W. Woods 638 37.53 C.W. Woods 638 37.53 1982 M.J. Hemstedt 853 34.12 C.W. Woods 793 41.74 1983 M.J. Hemstedt 854 29.45 C.W. Woods 743 41.28 1984 M.J. Hemstedt 851 37.00 M.J. Hemstedt 851 37.00 1985 M.J. Hemstedt 742 37.10 M.J. Hemstedt 742 37.10

188 CLUB RECORDS

Leading Batsman in Each Season (continued)

Season Leading Scorer Runs Avge Highest Average Runs Avge

1986 D.R. Foster 886 27.69 M.J. Hemstedt 813 35.35 1987 M.J. Hemstedt 896 38.96 M.J. Hemstedt 896 38.96 1988 M.J. Lucking jun. 817 38.90 M.J. Lucking jun. 817 38.90 1989 A.D. Brown 1,334 44.47 A.K. Golding 1,113 46.38 1990 G. Spong 1,121 29.50 J.W. Edrich 825 55.00 1991 J.D.C. Roach 1,084 45.17 J.D.C. Roach 1,084 45.17 1992 J.D.C. Roach 1,284 41.42 J.W. Edrich 910 50.56 1993 G. Spong 643 53.58 G. Spong 643 53.58 1994 G. Spong 927 40.30 A.S. Clark 688 52.92 1995 G.J. McCartney 746 32.43 M.T.J. Fairbrother 521 43.42 1996 J.A. Wiseman 1,210 60.50 J.A. Wiseman 1,210 60.50 1997 R.E.B. Harwood 580 20.00 J.A. Wiseman 489 30.56 1998 D.N. Calver 664 36.89 T. Allison 581 72.63 1999 K. Gilbert 690 28.75 M.J. Lucking jun. 594 34.94 2000 N. Lucking 459 24.16 A.J. Lait 396 33.00 2001 B.H. Ward 657 43.80 B.H. Ward 657 43.80 2002 D.R. Foster 515 36.69 D.R. Foster 515 36.69 2003 R.P. Wilby 398 44.22 R.P. Wilby 398 44.22 2004 T.E. Harwood 798 36.27 S. Stow 347 38.56 2005 O.J. Morgan 737 73.70 O.J. Morgan 737 73.70 2006 B.H. Ward 820 39.05 B.H. Ward 820 39.05 2007 B.E. Meagher 991 61.94 B.E. Meagher 991 61.94 2008 H. de Wet 601 27.32 G.J. Dunstan 585 36.56 2009 M.W. Durrell 1,200 36.36 M. Phillips 590 39.33 2010 M.W. Durrell 770 27.50 B. Godleman 495 45.00

Most Runs in a Season

Season Runs Season Runs

1989 A.D. Brown 1,334 1977 C.W. Woods 1,125 1992 J.D.C. Roach 1,284 1990 G. Spong 1,121 1996 J.A. Wiseman 1,210 1989 A.K. Golding 1,113 2009 M.W. Durrell 1,200 1991 J.D.C. Roach 1,084 1979 M.J. Hemstedt 1,156 2007 B.E. Meagher 991

189 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Highest Batting Average in a Season (Qualification: 8 completed innings)

Season Avge Season Avge

2005 O.J. Morgan 73.70 1990 J.W. Edrich 55.00 1998 T. Allison 72.63 1993 G. Spong 53.58 2007 B.E. Meagher 61.94 1994 A.S. Clark 52.92 1996 J.A. Wiseman 60.50 1992 J.W. Edrich 50.56 1996 G.J. McCartney 56.47 1998 A.S. Clark 50.10

Highest Career Runs Aggregate

Runs Runs

J.A. Wiseman (1972–2010) 11,155 T. Allison (1988–2008) 5,503 C.W. Woods (1968–1996) 11,037 P. Lidierth (1984–2005) 5,423 M.J. Hemstedt (1972–1987) 9,537 A.T. Cannings (1986–2009) 5,283 M.J. Lucking jun. (1979–2010) 8,305 D.R. Foster (1979–2004) 5,206 R.E.B. Harwood (1986–2010) 7,637 A.D. Brown (1989–2002) 5,184 N. Lucking (1986–2006) 6,962 S.P. Lucking (1981–2010) 4,970 R.J. Hemstedt (1972–1994) 6,276 P.M. Tonkinson (1996–2010) 4,930 S. Britton (1979–1996) 5,753 W.J. Morgan (1998–2010) 4,869 A.K. Golding (1989–2010) 5,730 A.D. Green (1988–2010) 4,301 P.J. Bather (1972–1997) 5,648 R.J. Stacey (1993–2010) 4,163

Highest Career Batting Average (Qualification: 40 completed innings)

Avge Avge

J.D.C. Roach (1990–1995) 44.62 T. Allison (1988–2008) 28.66 J.W. Edrich (1990–1997) 43.14 M.W. Durrell (2005–2010) 28.62 A.P. Ridley (1994–1999) 37.43 A. Foster (1951–1973) 28.51 B.H. Ward (1996–2009) 35.00 J.A. Wiseman (1972–2010) 28.31 A.K. Golding (1989–2010) 31.48 D.N. Calver (1995–2000) 28.24 M.J. Hemstedt (1972–1987) 30.18 A.D. Brown (1989–2002) 27.72 G. Spong (1988–1996) 30.01 C.W. Woods (1968–1996) 27.52 G.J. Dunstan (2003–2010) 29.83 O.J. Morgan (1999–2010) 26.81 M. Phillips (2003–2010) 29.46 A.S. Clark (1994–2010) 26.39 G.J. McCartney (1992–2005) 29.05 M. Sproats (1988–1993) 26.36

190 CLUB RECORDS

Most Completed Innings in Career

C Inns C Inns

R.E.B. Harwood (1986–2010) 437 S.P. Lucking (1981–2010) 294 M.J. Lucking jun. (1979–2010) 409 N.M. Philp (1973–2006) 273 C.W. Woods (1968–1996) 401 A.T. Cannings (1986–2009) 258 J.A. Wiseman (1972–2010) 394 R.J. Stacey (1993–2010) 252 N. Lucking (1986–2006) 383 A.D. Green (1988–2010) 218 S. Britton (1979–1996) 366 D.R. Foster (1979–2004) 212 R.J. Hemstedt (1972–1994) 346 W.J. Morgan (1998–2010) 211 P.J. Bather (1972–1997) 323 K. Sparling (1972–1991) 210 P. Lidierth (1984–2005) 322 P.M. Tonkinson (1996–2010) 209 M.J. Hemstedt (1972–1987) 316 R.C.E. Farthing (1972–1986) 200

Individual Bowling Records

Outstanding Bowling Analyses

W R Season

B. Vaughan 10 for 40 v Clacton Ramblers (h) 1987 S. Tasker jun. 9 for 59 v Harwich (h) 1999 L.E.C. Wright 9 for 34 v Birch (a) 1934 M. Kettle 8 for 10 v R.E.C.H. (h) 1968 J. Seadon 8 for 11 v West Bergholt (a) 1954 A.J. Lawrence 8 for 19 v St Margarets (a) 2004 B. Vaughan 8 for 20 v Halstead (h) 1989 M.G. Britton 8 for 21 v Gt Bromley (a) 1988 R. Hughes 8 for 26 v Browns (h) 1988 P. Lidierth 8 for 37 v Stowmarket (a) 1998 R. Barton 8 for 37 v Brantham (h) 1989

191 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Leading Bowlers in Each Season (Qualification: 10 wickets)

Season Leading Wicket Taker Wkts Avge Best Averages Wkts Avge

1970 M.C. Turner 51 9.82 M.C. Turner 51 9.82 1971 R. Page 56 12.13 R. Page 56 12.13 1972 S. Wilkerson 49 8.86 A. Foster 14 6.43 1973 S. Wilkerson 139 8.20 S. Wilkerson 139 8.20 1974 S. Wilkerson 78 13.33 R.J. Hemstedt 34 11.76 1975 S. Wilkerson 101 8.11 P. Scutt 10 7.00 1976 A.I. Halsey 81 13.48 P. Scutt 30 8.43 1977 R.J. Hemstedt 73 12.25 R. Sidaway 49 8.82 1978 K. Sparling 63 9.29 R. Springett 25 7.96 1979 P. Scutt 78 11.45 M. Lucking sen. 11 7.64 1980 R.J Hemstedt 68 11.93 R. Sidaway 30 10.90 1981 R.J. Hemstedt 55 13.13 V. McAuley 14 6.36 1982 B. Vaughan 46 10.54 R. Sidaway 44 7.89 1983 R.J. Hemstedt 54 14.72 B. Lock 10 7.50 1984 M. Robson 73 14.70 D.J. Fox 18 9.06 1985 M.J. Lucking jun. 53 23.19 T. Tearle 25 6.60 1986 M.G. Britton 59 13.31 M.G. Britton 59 13.31 1987 M.G. Britton 51 15.78 B. Vaughan 37 11.43 1988 P. Bishop 66 13.79 S. Simpson 17 10.53 1989 A.K. Golding 95 15.57 R. Hipkin 11 9.73 1990 A.K. Golding 102 14.44 D. Woodcock 11 11.18 1991 A.K. Golding 120 13.98 C. Johnson 36 12.47 1992 A.K. Golding 86 15.94 S. Tasker jun. 15 11.73 1993 R.J. Hemstedt 53 19.75 A.K. Golding 19 10.05 1994 A.K. Golding 78 15.69 G.P.J. Bowden 28 15.00 1995 A.K. Golding 68 17.29 P. Coverley 12 8.67 1996 A.D. Green 84 17.11 A.P. Ridley 18 10.67 1997 A.K. Golding 71 15.85 M.G. Britton 13 12.62 1998 A.D. Green 51 17.20 P. Lidierth 23 12.04 1999 D.N. Selley 56 12.79 L.N. Grainger 16 10.63 2000 P.J. Witham 52 12.94 D.N. Selley 14 11.07 2001 P.M. Tonkinson 40 20.05 N.A. Foster 13 13.08 2002 P.J. Witham 44 13.75 L.N. Grainger 18 11.28 2003 W.J. Morgan 31 13.06 A.J. Lawrence 28 11.54 2004 T.E. Harwood 48 11.69 S. Greyvensteyn 22 11.05 2005 S. Greyvensteyn 69 13.70 S. Greyvensteyn 69 13.70 2006 A.D. Green 32 21.03 A.K. Golding 11 11.82 2007 B.E. Meagher 39 19.82 M. Phillips 33 11.67 2008 H. de Wet 69 12.06 H. de Wet 69 12.06 2009 P.H. Burnett 53 22.15 A.D. Green 21 12.52 2010 P.H. Burnett 58 20.28 A.K. Golding 17 13.59

192 CLUB RECORDS

Most Wickets in a Season

Season Wkts Season Wkts

1973 S. Wilkerson 139 1992 A.K. Golding 86 1991 A.K. Golding 120 1996 A.D. Green 84 1990 A.K. Golding 102 1976 A.I. Halsey 81 1975 S. Wilkerson 101 1979 P. Scutt 78 1989 A.K. Golding 95 1974 S. Wilkerson 78

Best Bowling Average in a Season (Qualification: 10 wickets)

Season Avge Season Avge

1981 V. McAuley 6.36 1983 B. Lock 7.50 1972 A. Foster 6.43 1979 M. Lucking sen. 7.64 1985 T. Tearle 6.60 1982 R. Sidaway 7.89 1975 P. Scutt 7.00 1978 R. Springett 7.96 1975 M.C. Turner 7.49 1973 S. Wilkerson 8.20

Highest Career Wickets Aggregate

Wkts Wkts

R.J. Hemstedt (1972–1994) 969 S. Wilkerson (1971–1978) 451 A.K. Golding (1989–2010) 863 M.J. Lucking jun. (1979–2010) 434 K. Sparling (1972–1991) 759 P.M. Tonkinson (1996–2010) 424 A.D. Green (1988–2010) 741 M. Kettle (1964–1989) 415 N.M. Philp (1973–2006) 737 D.N. Selley (1989–2003) 335 B. Vaughan (1977–1997) 512 B. Lock (1965–1987) 306 A.I. Halsey (1962–1993) 500 W. Doe (1990–1997) 305 M.G. Britton (1979–2002) 468 M. Robson (1974–1985) 284 A.J. Lawrence (1993–2010) 468 M.C. Turner (1958–1977) 283 P.J. Witham (1994–2006) 463 S. Tasker jun. (1986–2006) 256

193 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Best Career Bowling Average (Qualification: 50 wickets)

Avge Avge

R. Sidaway (1977–1982) 9.53 R.J. Gregory (1967–1982) 13.21 S. Wilkerson (1971–1978) 9.69 T. Tearle (1983–1990) 13.40 N. Coulding (1970–1972) 11.11 J. Davis (1985–1988) 13.58 P. Scutt (1966–1981) 11.27 M. Kettle (1964–1989) 13.97 A. Foster (1951–1973) 11.30 B. Lock (1965–1987) 14.47 M.C. Turner (1961–1977) 11.67 V. McAuley (1975–1985) 15.09 H. de Wet (2008–2008) 12.06 A.K. Golding (1989–2010) 15.12 M. Robson (1974–1985) 12.46 R. Page (1964–1984) 15.18 R. Springett (1978–1980) 12.56 R. Graves (1981–1986) 15.59 S. Greyvensteyn (2002–2005) 12.70 K. Sparling (1972–1991) 15.70

All-Rounder Records

Leading All-Rounders in Each Season (Qualification: 8 completed innings and 10 wickets)

Season Most wickets Best bat and Bat Bowl Runs Wkts and runs bowl average Average Average

1970 M.C. Turner 176 51 B. Lock 18.42 15.09 1971 A. Foster 708 38 A. Foster 35.40 12.45 1972 M.C. Turner 70 22 M.C. Turner 8.75 10.36 1973 A.I. Halsey 223 71 A. Foster 41.91 10.44 1974 K. Sparling 179 46 R.J.Gregory 24.05 19.27 1975 A.I. Halsey 213 80 R.J. Gregory 35.60 13.54 1976 A.I. Halsey 289 81 R.J. Hemstedt 21.57 12.22 1977 R.J. Hemstedt 426 73 R. Sidaway 16.50 8.82 1978 R.J. Hemstedt 375 63 R. Springett 35.35 7.96 1979 P. Scutt 734 78 P. Scutt 40.78 11.45 1980 R.J. Hemstedt 336 68 R. Springett 24.50 13.41 1981 R.J. Hemstedt 261 55 R. Graves 28.11 11.72 1982 K. Sparling 165 43 K. Sparling 16.50 9.00 1983 R.J. Hemstedt 346 54 M.J. Lucking jun. 20.12 14.32

194 CLUB RECORDS

Leading All-Rounders in Each Season (continued)

Season Most wickets Best bat and Bat Bowl Runs Wkts and runs bowl average Average Average

1984 M. Robson 629 73 M. Robson 22.46 14.70 1985 M.J. Lucking jun. 685 53 M. Robson 16.44 13.14 1986 D.R. Foster 886 35 D. Wilcockson 26.24 13.85 1987 M.G. Britton 54 51 K. Sparling 17.83 19.00 1988 P. Bishop 179 66 M.G. Britton 24.73 17.30 1989 A.K. Golding 1113 95 A.K. Golding 46.38 15.57 1990 A.K. Golding 938 102 A.K. Golding 42.64 14.44 1991 A.K. Golding 991 120 A.K. Golding 36.70 13.98 1992 A.K. Golding 672 86 J.D.C. Roach 41.42 13.77 1993 R.J. Hemstedt 445 53 R.J. Hemstedt 21.19 19.75 1994 A.K. Golding 515 78 A.K. Golding 32.19 15.69 1995 A.K. Golding 576 68 S. Jennings 30.67 14.39 1996 A.D. Green 432 84 A.P. Ridley 46.40 10.67 1997 A.K. Golding 182 71 A.D. Green 29.69 14.16 1998 P.M. Tonkinson 484 38 P. Lidierth 23.64 12.04 1999 P.M. Tonkinson 415 51 S. Tasker jun. 24.00 11.60 2000 P.M. Tonkinson 293 46 N. Lucking 24.16 13.13 2001 P.M. Tonkinson 388 40 P.M. Tonkinson 24.25 20.05 2002 W.J. Morgan 433 39 R.P. Wilby 26.08 11.13 2003 W.J. Morgan 144 31 R.J. Pulford 33.00 20.23 2004 T.E. Harwood 798 48 T.E. Harwood 36.27 11.69 2005 S. Greyvensteyn 670 69 S. Greyvensteyn 44.67 13.70 2006 P.M. Tonkinson 310 29 A.D. Green 26.88 21.03 2007 B.E. Meagher 991 39 M. Phillips 36.60 11.67 2008 H. de Wet 601 69 H. de Wet 27.32 12.06 2009 M.W. Durrell 1200 20 G.J. Dunstan 37.00 17.82 2010 P.H. Burnett 229 58 R.A.W. Haines 27.25 16.71

Leading Career All-Rounder Averages (Qualification: 40 completed innings & 50 wickets)

Bat Bowl Ratio

J.D.C. Roach (1990–1995) 44.62 17.45 2.56 A. Foster (1951–1973) 28.51 11.30 2.52 P. Scutt (1966–1981) 26.22 11.27 2.33 A.K. Golding (1989–2010) 31.48 15.12 2.08

195 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Leading Career All-Rounder Averages (continued)

Bat Bowl Ratio

M. Robson (1974–1985) 20.23 12.46 1.62 R.J. Gregory (1967–1982) 19.86 13.21 1.50 M. Phillips (2003–2010) 29.46 21.42 1.38 M.C. Turner (1961–1977) 15.04 11.67 1.29 T.E. Harwood (1997–2010) 24.59 20.27 1.21 D.R. Foster (1979–2004) 24.56 20.39 1.20 A.D. Green (1988–2010) 19.73 17.04 1.16 R.J. Hemstedt (1972–1994) 18.14 16.35 1.11 T. Allison (1988–2008) 28.66 26.03 1.10 P.M. Tonkinson (1996–2010) 23.59 22.57 1.04 W.J. Morgan (1998–2010) 23.08 22.62 1.02 M. Lucking sen. (1979–1987) 17.04 16.78 1.02 N. Lucking (1986–2006) 18.18 18.59 0.98 M.J. Lucking jun. (1979–2010) 20.31 20.89 0.97 R. Graves (1981–1986) 14.60 15.59 0.94 E.J. Frost (1968–1987) 15.59 17.04 0.92

Note. Ranked according to ratio of batting average/bowling average. Leading Career All-Rounder Aggregates (Qualification: 40 completed innings & 50 wickets)

Runs Wkts Agg

R.J. Hemstedt (1972–1994) 6,276 969 23,718 A.K. Golding (1989–2010) 5,730 863 21,264 A.D. Green (1988–2010) 4,301 741 17,639 K. Sparling (1972–1991) 2,973 759 16,635 M.J. Lucking jun. (1979–2010) 8,305 434 16,117 N.M. Philp (1973–2006) 2,586 737 15,852 P.M. Tonkinson (1996–2010) 4,930 424 12,562 M.G. Britton (1979–2002) 2,099 468 10,523 A.I. Halsey (1962–1993) 1,471 500 10,471 N. Lucking (1986–2006) 6,962 192 10,418 A.J. Lawrence (1993–2010) 1,203 468 9,627 B. Vaughan (1977–1997) 359 512 9,575 W.J. Morgan (1998–2010) 4,869 252 9,405 P.J. Witham (1994–2006) 832 463 9,166 P. Lidierth (1984–2005) 5,423 200 9,023

196 CLUB RECORDS

Leading Career All-Rounder Aggregates (continued)

Runs Wkts Agg

D.N. Selley (1989–2003) 2,555 335 8,585 M. Kettle (1964–1989) 1,040 415 8,510 P. Scutt (1966–1981) 3,566 252 8,102 W. Doe (1990–1997) 2,447 305 7,937 S.P. Lucking (1981–2010) 4,970 122 7,166

Note. Ranked according to aggregate of wickets taken (x18) added to runs scored. Best All-Rounder Ratio in a Season (Qualification: 8 completed innings and 10 wickets)

Season Bat Bowl Ratio

1978 R. Springett 35.357.964.44 1996 A.P. Ridley 46.40 10.67 4.35 1973 A. Foster 41.91 10.44 4.01 1979 P. Scutt 40.78 11.45 3.56 2005 S. Greyvensteyn 44.67 13.70 3.26 2007 M. Phillips 36.60 11.67 3.14 2004 T.E. Harwood 36.27 11.69 3.10 1992 J.D.C. Roach 41.42 13.77 3.01 1989 A.K. Golding 46.38 15.57 2.98 1990 A.K. Golding 42.64 14.44 2.95

Best All-Rounder Aggregate in a Season (Qualification: 8 completed innings and 10 wickets)

Season Runs Wkts Agg

1991 A.K. Golding 991 120 3,151 1989 A.K. Golding 1113 95 2,823 1990 A.K. Golding 938 102 2,774 1992 A.K. Golding 672 86 2,220 1979 P. Scutt 734 78 2,138 1996 A.D. Green 432 84 1,944 1984 M. Robson 629 73 1,943 1994 A.K. Golding 515 78 1,919 2005 S. Greyvensteyn 670 69 1,912 2008 H. de Wet 601 69 1,843

197 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

All Matches Team Records

Highest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

396-6 v Boxted (h) 2004 328-6 v Kelvedon (a) 2003 386-2 v Cressing (h) 2005 324-5 v Tendring Park (a) 1996 331-4 v Clacton (h) 2005 324-7 v Ipswitch & ES (h) 2004 328-5 v West Bergholt (h) 2003 320-4 v Chappel (h) 2003

Highest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

354-1 by Colchester & EE (a) 2006 332-0 by Halstead (h) 1997 352-7 by Clacton (h) 2009 331-7 by Sudbury (a) 2009 344-3 by Long Melford (a) 2009 329-5 by Danbury (a) 2003 333-8 by Little Bardfield (a) 2007 327-7 by Cavaliers (h) 1987

Lowest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

12 v Brantham (a) 1896 19 v Clacton (a) 1883 15 v Eight Ash Green (a) 1960 23 v Great Bentley (a) 1952 18 v Kirby (a) 1933 23 v Abberton (a) 1960 19 v Great Bentley (a) 1927 24 v Tendring Park (h) 1955

Lowest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

10 by R.A.M.C. (a) 1952 16 by Scots Guards (h) 1951 10 by West Mersea (a) 1902 18 by Layer Breton (h) 1882 13 by Tendring (h) 1927 20 by Clacton (h) 1897 15 by Thorpe (a) 1924 21 by Birch (h) 1888

198 CLUB RECORDS

Two-Counties First Eleven League Matches

League Finishing Positions

Season Div Fin Season Div Fin Season Div Fin

1984 2 8th 1993 1 11th 2002 1 4th 1985 2 11th 1994 1 5th 2003 1 2nd 1986 2 10th 1995 1 12th 2004 1 5th 1987 2 11th 1996 1 4th 2005 1 6th 1988 2 8th 1997 1 13th 2006 1 9th 1989 2 5th 1998 2 2nd 2007 2 1st 1990 2 1st 1999 1 5th 2008 1 9th 1991 1 6th 2000 1 2nd 2009 1 10th 1992 1 3rd 2001 1 6th 2010 1 10th

All-Time League Records Held by Wivenhoe

Record Held By Season

Most Wickets in a season 98 A.K. Golding 1991 Div 1, 8th wicket partnership 139* W.J. Morgan and O.J. Morgan, 2010 v Sudbury (h) Div 1, 9th wicket partnership 101* A.K. Golding and P.N. 1995 McCartney, v Stowmarket (a)

Highest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

324-7 v Ipswich & ES (h) 2004 298-6 v Ipswich & ES (h) 2003 315-1 v Brightlingsea (h) 1989 290-9 v Abberton (a) 2009

199 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Highest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

331-7 by Sudbury (a) 2009 266-4 by Exning (h) 2009 302-5 by Mistley (a) 2009 265-6 by Exning (a) 1999

Lowest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

32 v Brightlingsea (a) 1988 58 v Clacton (a) 1997 38 v Clacton (a) 1993 61 v Maldon (a) 1987

Lowest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

32 by Clacton (h) 1991 53 by Hadleigh (a) 1989 52 by Ipswich & ES (a) 2004 53 by Achilles (h) 1998

Two-Counties First Eleven Sunday Challenge and Senior Cup Matches

Sunday Challenge Finishing Positions

Season Div Fin Season Div Fin Season Div Fin

2000 A(East) 3rd 2001 A(South) 4th 2002 2 4th

Senior Cup Finishing Positions

Season Fin Season Fin

1998 unplaced 2000 unplaced

200 CLUB RECORDS

Two-Counties Second Eleven Matches

Finishing Positions

Season Div Fin Season Div Fin Season Div Fin

1988 2ndXI 16th 1996 A 5th 2004 4 7th 1989 2ndXI 16th 1997 A 9th 2005 4 6th 1990 2ndXI 8th 1998 A 5th 2006 4 10th 1991 A 9th 1999 A 4th 2007 5 5th 1992 A 10th 2000 5 1st 2008 5 4th 1993 A 15th 2001 4 3rd 2009 4 8th 1994 B 1st 2002 4 1st 2010 4 3rd 1995 A 5th 2003 3 9th

All-Time League Records Held by Wivenhoe

Record Held By Season

Div 5, 5th wicket 188* O.J. Morgan and 2008 partnership A.J. Lait v Achilles (a)

Highest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

304-5 v Sudbury (h) 1991 299-5 v Earls Colne (a) 2009 299-5 v Dunmow (h) 1991 300-3 v St. Margarets (a) 2010

201 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Highest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

344-3 by Long Melford (a) 2009 332-0 by Halstead (h) 1997 333-8 by Little Bardfield (a) 2007 285-9 by St Margarets (a) 2010

Lowest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

44 v Clacton (h) 1997 58 v Mildenhall (a) 1996 55 v Ipswich (h) 2006 59 v Abberton (a) 2005

Lowest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

33 by Frinton (h) 1999 50 by Halstead(h) 1989 35 by Frinton (a) 1992 59 by Copdock (a) 1996

Two-Counties Second Eleven Junior Cup Matches

Junior Cup Finishing Positions

Season Finish Season Finish

1998 unplaced 1999 Plate winners

202 CLUB RECORDS

Two-Counties Third Eleven Matches

Finishing Positions

Season Div Fin Season Div Fin Season Div Fin

1997 C 7th 2002 C 1st 2007 C 10th 1998 C 4th 2003 C 4th 2008 C 12th 1999 C 9th 2004 C 8th 2009 C 3rd 2000 C 2nd 2005 C 7th 2010 C 4th 2001 C 1st 2006 C 10th

Highest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

305-7 v Witham (h) 1998 261 v Copford (h) 2004 268-5 v Mistley (a) 2010 260-8 v Maldon (a) 2006

Highest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

301-6 by Coggeshall (a) 2006 271-6 by Frinton (a) 2007 276-4 by Sudbury (a) 1999 264-2 by Clacton (a) 2006

Lowest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

49 v Witham (a) 1999 59 v Ipswich (a) 2007 50 v Clacton (a) 2007 62 v Brightlingsea (h) 2004

Lowest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

58 by Clacton (a) 1998 61 v Ipswich (a) 2004 61 by Maldon (a) 1999 63 by Copdock (a) 2007

203 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

North Essex Cricket League First Eleven Matches

(“First Eleven” defined as the “most senior Wivenhoe team in NECL”)

Finishing Positions

Season Div Fin Season Div Fin Season Div Fin

1977 B 1st 1987 1 11th 1997 3 7th 1978 1 1st 1988 2 5th Withdrew 1979 1 5th 1989 2 3rd 2003 5 1st 1980 1 2nd 1990 1 3rd 2004 4 1st 1981 1 2nd 1991 1 4th 2005 3 1st 1982 1 1st 1992 1 2nd 2006 P 7th 1983 1 2nd 1993 1 11th 2007 P 8th 1984 1 1st 1994 2 7th 2008 P 5th 1985 1 3rd 1995 2 10th 2009 P 7th 1986 1 7th 1996 3 6th 2010 P 8th

All-Time League Records Held by Wivenhoe

Record Season

Best winning sequence 22 matches 2003–2005 Best home winning sequence 26 matches 2003–2005

Highest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

396-6 v Boxted (h) 2004 331-4 v Clacton (h) 2005 386-2 v Cressing (h) 2005 328-5 v West Bergholt (h) 2003

204 CLUB RECORDS

Highest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

354-1 by Colchester & EE (a) 2006 329-5 by Danbury (a) 2003 352-7 by Clacton (h) 2009 325 by Colchester & EE (h) 2006

Lowest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

28 v Little Clacton (a) 1982 55 v Great Bentley (h) 1997 55 v Kelvedon (a) 1985 57 v Boxted (a) 1987

Lowest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

32 by Boxted (h) 2004 43 by Dedham (a) 1978 41 by Kelvedon (h) 1987 44 by Lexden (h) 1978

North Essex Cricket League Second Eleven Matches

(“Second Eleven” defined as the “second most senior Wivenhoe team in the NECL”)

Finishing Positions

Season Div Fin Season Div Fin Season Div Fin

1985 R 7th 1991 5 2nd 1994 4 11th 1986 R 3rd 1992 4 7th 1995 5 7th Withdrew 1993 4 10th 1996 5 10th

205 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Highest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

307-6 v Birch (h) 1996 242-8 v Marks Tey (h) 1993 257-8 v St Osyth (h) 1995 235-6 v Birch (h) 1993

Highest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

284-7 By Boxted (a) 1993 261-7 by St Osyth (a) 1996 282-3 by Colneside (h) 1996 235-4 By Birch (h) 1993

Lowest Innings Totals by Wivenhoe

Total Season Total Season

30 v Great Bentley (a) 1985 57 v Boxted (a) 1993 49 v Earls Colne (h) 1986 60 v Marks Tey (h) 1992

Lowest Innings Totals by Opponents

Total Season Total Season

51 by Lexden (a) 1992 71 by Coggeshall (h) 1992 56 by Maldon (h) 1986 78 by Clacton (a) 1991

206

Part Three

The 271 Capped Wivenhoe Cricketers

THE 271 CAPPED WIVENHOE CRICKETERS

Notes to the List

The Concept of a Capped Wivenhoe Cricketer • The concept of a “capped Wivenhoe cricketer” was born during discussions about the writing of this book amongst the players and officers of the club during 2009. • The idea is based on a similar tradition to that which applies in county cricket, whereby a player is awarded a county cap after having achieved a certain standard, based usually on runs scored or wickets taken, but also on the general level of contribution made. • The idea of awarding a personal number at the same time as the cap is based on the system recently applied in international cricket, whereby a player is given a serial number on making his Test match début signifying his place in the chronological order of appearance of all players in the history of that country.

Qualification to be a Capped Wivenhoe Cricketer • The qualification to be a capped Wivenhoe cricketer is; a) 1,000 runs scored or 50 wickets taken, in senior cricket in matches recognised as qualifying for the annual senior averages, or b) One or more appearance every season for a senior side of the club over a period of eight consecutive years, or c) Election by fellow players as a captain of a senior team at an Annual Cricket Meeting, or d) A sustained contribution made over a period shorter than eight years which is of particular merit or worth. This contribution may typically be (i) a large number of runs scored or wickets taken by a particularly outstanding player (e.g. overseas coach, ex-first-class cricketer, etc.) who has also demonstrated a personal commitment to the club, or (ii) a particularly valuable

209 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

period of office, or service off the pitch, from a player who has not otherwise qualified under (a), (b) or (c). From 2011 onwards, the authority to award a cap under (d) above will be with the commitee.

The Full Player Database • During the research for this book a register, or database, was built up consisting of over 1,200 players who have represented the club since 1846. • The source of these players names has been; o Tables of published annual averages o Newspaper reports of matches o Team pictures o Minute book records of teams selected o Scorebook records of matches played • At least one of the above sources, and usually more than one, has been consulted for each season since 1840. • Where a player has appeared in a minute book record of a team selected or appeared in a team picture it is assumed that the player played for the club • Several references to common family surnames appear without initials in reports and scorebooks (e.g. Scofield, Green, Turner, Lucking). Where these obviously referred to different individuals because, for example, two members of the same family appeared in the same team or because there was a large number of years between appearances, as far as possible, the most likely individual was identified by other means. Where this was not possible (particularly pre-1970), assumptions were made only when it was reasonably safe to do so. Unfortunately, this meant that a number of references have remained unresolved. However this is unlikely to have affected the records quoted in Part Two or deprived an individual of capped status.

210 THE 271 CAPPED WIVENHOE CRICKETERS

Nos. 1 to 50

No. No.

1 C. de Crespigny sen. (1858–1864) 26 H.C. Cook (1895–1895) 2 C. de Crespigny jun. (1858–1863) 27 C. Heath (1895–1904) 3 C.G. Firmin (1858–1859) 28 J. Turner (1895–1907) 4 W. Goodwin (1858–1859) 29 H. Adams (1896–1900) 5 J. Harvey (1858–1885) 30 A.K. Barlow (1897–1900) 6 J. Gurdon-Rebow (1858–1858) 31 E.F. Heath (1900–1907) 7 P. de Crespigny (1863–1863) 32 R.J. Lax (1901–1908) 8 H.J. Gurdon-Rebow (1863–1888) 33 H.C. Scofield (1901–1924) 9 J. Round (1863–1863) 34 D.C. Durrell (1902–1930) 10 E. Round (1864–1864) 35 R.W. McFarlane (1905–1908) 11 J.A. Goodwin (1882–1888) 36 W. Oxton (1905–1908) 12 O. Goodwin (1882–1902) 37 H.D. Swan (1906–1907) 13 R. Ham (1882–1883) 38 D.L.A. Jephson (1907–1907) 14 J.E. Heath (1882–1903) 39 H.E. Jones (1907–1908) 15 W.F. Juby (1882–1883) 40 H.D. Keigwin (1907–1907) 16 J. Jackson (1883–1883) 41 R.P. Keigwin (1907–1907) 17 E. Brown (1886–1893) 42 P.A. Street (1907–1908) 18 C.G. Scofield (1886–1908) 43 M. Townsend (1907–1907) 19 C. Egerton-Green (1887–1891) 44 W.W. Brown (1913–1913) 20 J. Nicolle (1888–1906) 45 C. Middleton (1913–1913) 21 J.G. Moore jun. (1889–1902) 46 C. Ashley (1921–1939) 22 G. Pender-Smith (1893–1904) 47 T.A. Forsgate sen. (1921–1933) 23 H. Barker (1895–1905) 48 S. Barton (1922–1929) 24 H.J. Bird (1895–1907) 49 A.D. Clarke (1922–1929) 25 J. Blake (1895–1905) 50 C. Collison (1922–1927)

211 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Nos. 51 to 100

No. No.

51 H. Scofield (1922–1939) 76 A.C. Jackson (1934–1938) 52 G.A. Slaughter (1922–1935) 77 F. Kerry (1935–1951) 53 H.S. Tabor (1922–1934) 78 N. Binks (1936–1950) 54 R.S. Tabor (1922–1931) 79 J. Weston (1936–1939) 55 A. Turner (1922–1959) 80 M.R. Butcher (1939–1947) 56 R.G. Lax (1923–1932) 81 R. Loveless (1939–1954) 57 E.J. Mayes (1923–1939) 82 R.W. Woods (1939–1983) 58 W. Munson (1923–1930) 83 K.J. Dodswell-Hunt (1946–1947) 59 R. Sawyers (1923–1930) 84 J. Seadon (1947–1959) 60 W.S. Tabor (1923–1932) 85 P.G. Faucheux (1948–1952) 61 L. Cuthbert (1925–1932) 86 J. Millington (1948–1955) 62 P. Street (1926–1939) 87 R.C. Bacon (1949–1969) 63 E.G. Earp (1928–1939) 88 J. Braithwaite (1949–1957) 64 W.G. Loveless (1928–1936) 89 J. Cadogan (1949–1956) 65 G. Sibley (1928–1947) 90 L.E.C. Drinkell (1949–1968) 66 S.F. Scofield (1929–1954) 91 T.A. Forsgate jun. (1949–1970) 67 W. Terry (1929–1958) 92 A. Hammond (1949–1962) 68 J. Barrell (1930–1951) 93 M. Hammond (1949–1962) 69 R. Hatch (1930–1939) 94 P.W. Napper (1949–1971) 70 E. Green (1931–1952) 95 P.C. Sainty (1949–1955) 71 B. Scofield (1931–1954) 96 R.C. Watsham (1949–1953) 72 J. Sparling (1931–1950) 97 P. Weston (1949–1970) 73 L.E.C. Wright (1931–1957) 98 R.A. Wheeler (1949–1970) 74 D. Gray (1933–1935) 99 B. Green (1950–1975) 75 F. Faucheux (1934–1952) 100 G. Scutt (1950–1959)

212 THE 271 CAPPED WIVENHOE CRICKETERS

Nos. 101 to 129

Comp Bat Bowl No. Inns Runs Av Wkts Runs Av

101 D. Denyer (1951–1962) 102 A. Foster (1951–1973) 53 1,511 28.51 113 1,277 11.30 103 D.T. Oxton (1951–1951) 104 F. Pike (1951–1971) 21 199 9.48 105 L. Green (1952–1955) 106 R. Green (1952–1964) 107 R. Munson (1952–1972) 22 372 16.91 108 J. Watson (1952–1984) 126 1,640 13.02 109 J.E. Dutton (1953–1965) 110 E. Westlake (1954–1973) 111 F. Young (1954–1969) 112 R. Bailey (1955–1965) 113 M.C. Turner (1958–1977) 104 1,564 15.04 283 3,303 11.67 114 R. Buckle (1960–1965) 115 G. Peck (1960–1972) 17 113 6.65 20 375 18.75 116 N.G. Clark (1961–1968) 117 A.I. Halsey (1962–1993) 124 1,471 11.86 500 8,777 17.55 118 G.J. Wadley (1962–1976) 25 238 9.52 119 W. Patrick (1963–1972) 20 173 8.65 39 657 16.85 120 R.J. Bristow (1964–1976) 2 5 2.50 121 M. Kettle (1964–1989) 92 1,040 11.30 415 5,796 13.97 122 R. Page (1964–1984) 29 155 5.34 82 1,245 15.18 123 R.F. Smith (1964–1988) 157 2,102 13.39 3 118 39.33 124 B. Lock (1965–1987) 148 1,541 10.41 306 4,428 14.47 125 B.L. Richardson (1965–1982) 106 1,358 12.81 3 20 6.67 126 S. Trickett (1965–1976) 133 2,322 17.46 1 1 1.00 127 L. Miles (1966–1972) 30 416 13.87 128 P. Scutt (1966–1981) 136 3,566 26.22 252 2,839 11.27 129 R.J. Gregory (1967–1982) 166 3,297 19.86 117 1,545 13.21

213 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Nos. 130 to 157

Comp Bat Bowl No. Inns Runs Av Wkts Runs Av

130 F. Minikin (1967–1968) 131 E.J. Frost (1968–1987) 143 2,230 15.59 75 1,278 17.04 132 C.W. Woods (1968–1996) 401 11,037 27.52 18 299 16.61 133 N. Coulding (1970–1972) 16 78 4.88 71 789 11.11 134 T. Wix (1970–1979) 51 567 11.12 135 S. Wilkerson (1971–1978) 36 376 10.44 451 4,370 9.69 136 P.J. Bather (1972–1997) 323 5,648 17.49 3 63 21.00 137 B. Easdown (1972–1981) 62 1,371 22.11 138 R.C.E. Farthing (1972–1986) 200 2,720 13.60 39 688 17.64 139 M.J. Hemstedt (1972–1987) 316 9,537 30.18 18 313 17.39 140 R.J. Hemstedt (1972–1994) 346 6,276 18.14 969 15,847 16.35 141 K. Sparling (1972–1991) 210 2,973 14.16 759 11,916 15.70 142 J.A. Wiseman (1972–2010) 394 11,155 28.31 22 764 34.73 143 D.R. Hemstedt (1973–1982) 147 2,838 19.31 11 193 17.55 144 N.M. Philp (1973–2006) 273 2,586 9.47 737 14,386 19.52 145 N.A. Foster (1974–2001) 25 720 28.80 45 630 14.00 146 M. Robson (1974–1985) 74 1,497 20.23 284 3,540 12.46 147 J. Gradwell (1975–1982) 84 1,852 22.05 1 21 21.00 148 V. McAuley (1975–1985) 82 1,118 13.63 88 1,328 15.09 149 G.V. Evers (1977–1987) 23 344 14.96 23 422 18.35 150 D.J. Fox (1977–1988) 167 2,321 13.90 112 1,795 16.03 151 R. Sidaway (1977–1982) 32 508 15.88 219 2,088 9.53 152 B. Vaughan (1977–1997) 80 359 4.49 512 8,867 17.32 153 R. Springett (1978–1980) 39 877 22.49 79 992 12.56 154 R. Blake (1979–1989) 175 2,717 15.53 1 28 28.00 155 M.G. Britton (1979–2002) 169 2,099 12.42 468 8,620 18.42 156 S. Britton (1979–1996) 366 5,753 15.72 15 324 21.60 157 D.R. Foster (1979–2004) 212 5,206 24.56 54 1,101 20.39

214 THE 271 CAPPED WIVENHOE CRICKETERS

Nos. 158 to 185

Comp Bat Bowl No. Inns Runs Av Wkts Runs Av

158 M.J. Lucking jun. (1979–2010) 409 8,305 20.31 434 9,067 20.89 159 M. Lucking sen. (1979–1987) 158 2,692 17.04 201 3,373 16.78 160 J.A. Stacey (1979–1995) 25 404 16.16 0 1 – 161 S.J. Tasker sen. (1979–1993) 114 834 7.32 4 119 29.75 162 G. Bell (1980–1985) 86 1,554 18.07 3 118 39.33 163 R.C. Bird (1981–1988) 68 1,176 17.29 2 18 9.00 164 R. Graves (1981–1986) 55 803 14.60 105 1,637 15.59 165 C.N.D. Green (1981–1990) 62 565 9.11 99 2,094 21.15 166 P.G. King (1981–1991) 81 711 8.78 23 479 20.83 167 S.P. Lucking (1981–2010) 294 4,970 16.90 122 2,619 21.47 168 A. Charnock (1982–2001) 62 433 6.98 169 R. Scott (1982–1990) 9 129 14.33 1 39 39.00 170 M. Seagrove (1982–1992) 29 441 15.21 31 709 22.87 171 S.D.A. Green (1983–2010) 85 1,494 17.58 11 305 27.73 172 D. Sanders (1983–1989) 100 1,066 10.66 1 16 16.00 173 M. Tearle (1983–1990) 48 629 13.10 38 582 15.32 174 T. Tearle (1983–1990) 27 242 8.96 126 1,689 13.40 175 T.W. Cannings (1984–1999) 171 2,648 15.49 12 418 34.83 176 P. Lidierth (1984–2005) 322 5,423 16.84 200 4,184 20.92 177 K. Tasker (1984–1995) 33 165 5.00 68 1,591 23.40 178 R. Whiteaker (1984–1994) 121 1,951 16.12 179 D. Wilcockson (1984–1997) 181 3,413 18.86 49 986 20.12 180 P. Bishop (1985–1990) 26 284 10.92 166 3,127 18.84 181 J. Bowles sen. (1985–1991) 90 2,088 23.20 0 8 – 182 J.P. Cannings (1985–1998) 87 1,188 13.66 114 3,489 30.61 183 J. Davis (1985–1988) 22 120 5.45 65 883 13.58 184 D. Maiden (1985–1988) 10 184 18.40 54 1,211 22.43 185 D. Simcoe-Shelton (1985–1992) 41 743 18.12 53 1,139 21.49

215 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Nos. 186 to 214

Comp Bat Bowl No. Inns Runs Av Wkts Runs Av

186 A.T. Cannings (1986–2009) 258 5,283 20.48 47 909 19.34 187 D.J. Craze (1986–1994) 99 1,935 19.55 1 14 14.00 188 R.E.B. Harwood (1986–2010) 437 7,637 17.48 1 61 61.00 189 W. Kempster (1986–1993) 2 30 15.00 5 102 20.40 190 N. Lucking (1986–2006) 383 6,962 18.18 192 3,569 18.59 191 S.J. Tasker jun. (1986–2006) 162 2,102 12.98 256 4,898 19.13 192 R. Hughes (1987–1994) 49 701 14.31 107 2,262 21.14 193 D.C. Osbourne (1987–1994) 139 1,836 13.21 5 97 19.40 194 J. Rickman (1987–1998) 108 2,107 19.51 240 5,390 22.46 195 J. Taylor (1987–1997) 118 2,378 20.15 196 G. Thorpe jun. (1987–1991) 35 133 3.80 52 1,350 25.96 197 G.M. Thorpe sen. (1987–2000) 111 1,344 12.11 198 T. Allison (1988–2008) 192 5,503 28.66 65 1,692 26.03 199 J.B. Cattell (1988–1994) 49 428 8.73 124 3,167 25.54 200 P. Coverley (1988–1999) 37 221 5.97 27 515 19.07 201 D. Goss (1988–1995) 32 275 8.59 128 2,856 22.31 202 A.D. Green (1988–2010) 218 4,301 19.73 741 12,628 17.04 203 G. Spong (1988–1996) 135 4,051 30.01 0 33 – 204 M. Sproats (1988–1993) 42 1,107 26.36 205 A.D. Brown (1989–2002) 187 5,184 27.72 8 227 28.38 206 A.K. Golding (1989–2010) 182 5,730 31.48 863 13,051 15.12 207 D. McWilliams (1989–1998) 161 3,752 23.30 208 D.N. Selley (1989–2003) 154 2,555 16.59 335 6,375 19.03 209 W. Doe (1990–1997) 143 2,447 17.11 305 7,194 23.59 210 A.R.W. Duncan (1990–1998) 83 861 10.37 112 2,237 19.97 211 J.W. Edrich (1990–1997) 79 3,408 43.14 4 133 33.25 212 M.T.J. Fairbrother (1990–2006) 142 3,129 22.04 8 282 35.25 213 C. Johnson (1990–2005) 67 918 13.70 111 2,589 23.32 214 D. Polley (1990–1994) 53 1,248 23.55 5 81 16.20

216 THE 271 CAPPED WIVENHOE CRICKETERS

Nos. 215 to 243

Comp Bat Bowl No. Inns Runs Av Wkts Runs Av

215 J.D.C. Roach (1990–1995) 68 3,034 44.62 62 1,082 17.45 216 M.G. Triscott (1990–2003) 30 499 16.63 4 154 38.50 217 R.A. Olejnik (1991–2006) 162 2,400 14.81 234 5,071 21.67 218 G.P.J. Bowden (1992–2010) 126 2,380 18.89 66 1,472 22.30 219 L.N. Grainger (1992–2005) 52 501 9.63 200 3,512 17.56 220 S. Jennings (1992–1997) 73 1,444 19.78 40 1,006 25.15 221 G.J. McCartney (1992–2005) 107 3,108 29.05 7 152 21.71 222 P.N. McCartney (1992–2002) 94 1,815 19.31 0 9 – 223 P.M. Connelly (1993–1993) 1 0 0 224 A.J. Lait (1993–2010) 199 4,029 20.25 5 132 26.40 225 A.J. Lawrence (1993–2010) 140 1,203 8.59 468 10,353 22.12 226 J.S. Lockerbie (1993–2003) 71 1,293 18.21 25 545 21.80 227 R.J. Stacey (1993–2010) 252 4,163 16.52 32 768 24.00 228 A.S. Clark (1994–2010) 147 3,880 26.39 0 14 – 229 M.J. Felton (1994–2002) 123 2,400 19.51 230 M. Fisher (1994–2004) 16 174 10.88 9 223 24.78 231 J.F. Reed (1994–2001) 78 1,124 14.41 40 947 23.68 232 A.P. Ridley (1994–1999) 53 1,984 37.43 38 720 18.95 233 P.J. Witham (1994–2006) 84 832 9.90 463 9,349 20.19 234 D.N. Calver (1995–2000) 55 1,553 28.24 35 1,311 37.46 235 S. Boyle (1996–1999) 21 273 13.00 85 1,538 18.09 236 R.A.W. Haines (1996–2010) 37 907 24.51 77 1,717 22.30 237 R.W. Harwood (1996–2009) 123 1,695 13.78 161 3,793 23.56 238 P.M. Tonkinson (1996–2010) 209 4,930 23.59 424 9,571 22.57 239 B.H. Ward (1996–2009) 109 3,815 35.00 27 666 24.67 240 T.E. Harwood (1997–2010) 137 3,369 24.59 150 3,040 20.27 241 C.A.J. Welsh (1997–2010) 86 1,420 16.51 3 219 73.00 242 A.R.A. Wheatley (1997–2010) 89 1,545 17.36 188 4,279 22.76 243 W.J. Morgan (1998–2010) 211 4,869 23.08 252 5,701 22.62

217 THE STORY OF WIVENHOE CRICKET

Nos. 244 to 271

Comp Bat Bowl No. Inns Runs Av Wkts Runs Av

244 M.J. Pulford (1998–2010) 165 2,112 12.80 24 466 19.42 245 S. Stow (1998–2009) 59 1,208 20.47 246 K. Gilbert (1999–1999) 24 690 28.75 4 87 21.75 247 O.J. Morgan (1999–2010) 113 3,029 26.81 1 37 37.00 248 R.J. Pulford (1999–2010) 161 3,163 19.65 130 2,860 22.00 249 A.D. Smith (1999–2010) 37 614 16.59 227 4,335 19.10 250 R.P. Wilby (1999–2009) 61 1,496 24.52 24 331 13.79 251 P. Dudman (2000–2010) 31 531 17.13 69 1,289 18.68 252 A. Watts (2001–2005) 28 245 8.75 104 1,887 18.14 253 J. Garnham (2002–2005) 46 802 17.43 1 22 22.00 254 S. Greyvensteyn (2002–2005) 29 1,049 36.17 115 1,460 12.70 255 M. Tasker (2002–2002) 13 444 34.15 2 94 47.00 256 G.J. Dunstan (2003–2010) 88 2,625 29.83 17 358 21.06 257 C.D. Kelly (2003–2010) 137 3,259 23.79 258 R. Llewellyn (2003–2010) 21 297 14.14 14 227 16.21 259 R. Minshull (2003–2010) 68 1,263 18.57 6 107 17.83 260 M. Phillips (2003–2010) 96 2,828 29.46 77 1,649 21.42 261 S.R. Yearling jun. (2003–2010) 41 839 20.46 12 223 18.58 262 P.H. Burnett (2004–2010) 68 847 12.46 168 3,607 21.47 263 S.A. Yearling sen. (2004–2009) 15 179 11.93 51 1,440 28.24 264 M.W. Durrell (2005–2010) 118 3,377 28.62 45 1,451 32.24 265 T.J. Durrell (2005–2010) 91 1,538 16.90 104 3,022 29.06 266 T.R. Hodges (2005–2010) 23 64 2.78 64 1,886 29.47 267 B.E. Meagher (2006–2007) 16 991 61.94 39 773 19.82 268 M.S.F. Michael (2007–2010) 25 156 6.24 66 1,401 21.23 269 H. de Wet (2008–2008) 22 601 27.32 69 832 12.06 270 M. Habib (2009–2010) 25 548 21.92 56 1,361 24.30 271 B. Godleman (2010–2010) 11 495 45.00

218