Spring 2016 - No. 12 The Newsletter of Stourbridge & District Cricket Society Founded 1972 County’s Return To DY8! Chairman’s View ecision making is never easy for any- fter an absence of more than twenty one and is often delayed or made in years, Worcestershire will play two D A haste without the full facts or implications matches at Stourbridge this summer. and as a result, prove ill thought and The County’s Second XI will take costly. on Durham in a T20 game on Monday (!) As Britain moves towards the EU June 6 – followed by a three-day Champi- Referendum in June, the ECB also must onship match from June 7 to 9. act wisely and carefully in the pursuit of Worcestershire played 60 first- the perfect solution for English cricket. class matches at Stourbridge between Not an easy task for a Committee bur- 1905 and 1962, a further one in 1981, plus dened with great responsibility. Let's be three List A games in 1969, 1970 and truthful, not many of us welcome change, 1982 while Second Eleven Cricket contin- we like the four-day two-division County ued here until the early 1990s. Championship which is producing some Still on the subject of Stourbridge, outstanding cricketers. There is surely not the Club will celebrate its 175th anniver- too much wrong with our cricket. Test sary next year. Plans include a week of cricket has improved enormously and al- matches against MCC and WCCC, plus though there have been mistakes in South local clubs. Founded in 1842, Stourbridge Africa recently, the One Day Teams (ODI CC is almost 25 years older than Worces- and T20) are greatly improved. tershire CCC! Your committee will wel- If we look back at the World Cup come ideas as to how S&DCS can con- winning T20 side in Barbados, the one tribute to the celebrations. notable absentee is Kevin Pietersen who is To end on a sad note, we note that now scoring runs regularly in franchise Alex Gidman has been forced to retire cricket. Eoin Morgan's decision to look due to the injury he sustained last season beyond Pietersen for a possible T20 recall not recovering sufficiently to enable him and stay with his very talented batting line to resume his cricketing career. WCCC up is a massive call. Whatever one thinks did not see the best of Alex in his brief of Pietersen, his batting stats endorse him stay, but we all wish him well in his fu- as one of England's greatest cricketers. ture career. The benchmark for the ECB is to win tournaments and to their credit they Annual General Meeting are making good progress and need tour- nament wins against both Pakistan and Sri Notice is hereby given that the Annual Lanka to prove a point. General Meeting of Stourbridge & District This year the ECB must also decide Cricket Society will be held in the Pavilion on a new sponsor after Waitrose were of Stourbridge CC on Thursday 14 April shown the door. Also does terrestrial tele- 2016 commencing at 7pm. vision have a place, or indeed, have any AGENDA interest in showing cricket? Then there is the decision to redes- To receive Apologies for non-attendance ign T20 cricket around a city or regional To confirm the Minutes of the AGM held format which most County members op- on 16 April 2015 and to discuss any mat- pose. What are the answers? Who would ters arising. be a decision maker at the ECB at this To receive reports from: moment in time? i) Chairman ii) Secretary iii) Treasurer All our members who made the iv) Programme Secretary decision to attend our buffet meeting with Election of Officers * guest speaker John Barclay, left I am sure, Any Other Business * with a smile having enjoyed the afternoon. Let us hope that all our summer cricket * Members wishing to stand for election to watching is afforded glorious weather and the committee or who wish to raise any Our Guest Speakers that we return in six months' time to our matter under A.O. B. must notify the Hon. Dec – Darren Maddy (top) Cricket Society in good spirits. Secretary, in writing, by either email or by Jan – Ken Burney (middle) post to the relevant address on back page, Feb – John Barclay (bottom) Mike Tomkins by no later than Friday 1st April 2016. Reports inside The opinions expressed in Boundary View are not necessarily those of Stourbridge Cricket Society Dave Nicklin (President) Committee Members: Mike Tomkins (Chairman); Anthony Collis (Secretary / Editor); Ken Workman (Treasurer); Terry Church (Programme Secretary) Darren Maddy the Leicestershire team which won the Worse was to come. On a pre-season tour, (Leics, Warwks & England) Championship in 1996 and 1998. He be- he was hit in the face by team mate Neil Darren Maddy made his first-class came the first man in the world to compile Carter whose 90mph bouncer resulted in debut for Leicestershire in 1994 against 1,000 runs in T20 cricket. nine fractures of the cheekbone, a broken the South Africans. “For some unknown Darren Maddy gained his first Test nose and three loose teeth. Against all reason, our new groundsman produced the cap against New Zealand at the Oval in odds, Darren resumed playing two weeks bounciest, fastest wicket seen at Grace 1999. He was chosen as an opener with later! The worst injury to body and pride Road for a long time. Unfortunately, it Mike Atherton; he was anxious and re- was delivered by Kevin Dean who man- was tailor-made for the tourists who had peatedly asked Athers, before the game, aged to split Maddy’s box in two, with his Allan Donald in their side, the world’s for a chat as to who would face the first old man trapped in-between! “As the fastest white bowler!” They batted first ball. “Atherton refused to discuss the mat- coach cut the box away, my raucous team and declared an hour before the close. “I ter, other than to say ‘he was going to bat members gathered round to watch in fits was down at number five and looked for- as usual at number two’, which made me of laughter. Thank goodness, no one put it ward to batting next day, but hadn’t reck- nervous about facing first ball.” In the on social media!” oned with us losing four wickets before event, he took the first delivery and, hav- After retiring from first-class the close. ing scored 10, was first man out. He cricket, Darren took over from David “Donald welcomed me with a looked daggers at me as he departed! I Hemp as coach at Solihull and in 2015 bouncer which reared over my head and was out next over, bowled Vettori 14.” helped Berkswell finish as runner-up to ’keeper Dave Richardson’s, who was Darren played twice more for Eng- Shrewsbury in the Birmingham Premier standing 35 yards back, then hit the sight- land in 1999/2000 against South Africa. League. screen on the bounce. ‘Welcome to first- After scoring 24 at Durban, Maddy’s final In response to members’ questions, class cricket!’ said Darryl Cullinan. With Test was at Centurion. After more than Darren thought the Championship eight fielders behind the bat, I realised that three days were lost to rain, Hansie Cronje matches has a future, but thinks many if I managed to put bat to ball, I just might and Nasser Hussain agreed that each side counties will merge – Leicestershire with score some runs. I fended forward and would forfeit an innings in an effort to Northants, Derbyshire and Notts. His cou- collected my first four.” achieve a positive result. England won in pling of the Bears and Pears was greeted Leicester-born Darren was cricket- an exciting finish, but Cronje later admit- with scorn! He expects Ian Bell to win mad from an early age – his father was a ted deceit for financial gain. back his Test place. Darren thinks Joe keen club cricketer and watches his son At the end of 2006, Darren left for Root could become a truly great cricketer whenever possible. “I always knew when a new challenge at Edgbaston. “In my and was certain to become a future Eng- Dad was present, I could tell by the to- second game I was appointed captain and land captain. Although Allan Donald was bacco haze as he watched anxiously.” by the season’s end, I had successfully the fastest bowler he had faced, he thought Darren found the playing environment at steered Warwickshire to relegation in two Franklin Stephenson caused most prob- Grace Road daunting. “As a junior player, competitions! Our Championship chal- lems. He considers Graeme Hick and I was not to speak until I was spoken to.” lenge in 2007 fell away badly after Dale Mark Ramprakash as the two best bats- Nigel Briers, the skipper, set a military Steyn and Kumar Sangakkara were both men he played against – both of whom style and James Whitaker once rebuked recalled by their respective countries.” lost their Test places to “lesser players.” me for finishing behind him on a training However, Maddy’s side brought the Darren Maddy spoke passionately run, “I’m twice your age and I expect you Championship back to Warwickshire in without notes and entertained the audience to beat me next time – or else! His words 2012, even if he played little part. in an honest and straightforward manner. made me determined to get and stay fit. Darren’s career was blighted by Clearly his love for the game is as fresh as Paul Nixon and I became the fittest men in niggling injuries, including a long lay-off ever! the team.” Maddy secured his position in caused by anterior cruciate ligament.