Email received 31/05/02
Dear Michael
SYDENHURST RAMBLERS
As promised, a few recollections and memories.
I suppose my earliest recollections of playing for the Ramblers is on tour
staying at the Greypoint Hotel, Findon. I can’t remember too much about the
cricket, but I do remember occasions when Mac - the Naval Surgeon - and possibly
Pat Meen went racing at Brighton, a decision that was probably justified in view
of the weather at the time!
I do remember Marie and Daphne? - were they Tony’s girlfriends? - and on one
particular occasion, sitting in the back of an open car with Alan Hardy being
driven from Worthing to Findon by Marie’s boyfriend and travelling on the wrong
side of a dual carriageway at great speed with cars coming at us from the other
direction. Fortunately, in those days, there were rather fewer cars on the road
and the breathalyser had not been imposed. If it had, I am sure that the alcohol
content in the driver’s blood would have been off the scale.
Again, on tour, but this time in the Midlands, there was the famous occasion
when, on the last day of the tour we played Claverley and were bowled out for
about 60. They messed about with their batting order and the Shropshire opening
batsman came in at about five or six. He promptly hit Gerry Cogger through extra
cover for four but was castled next ball by a delivery that started a good foot
outside the off stump ducked in late and hit the top of his leg stick. That day
our bowlers saved our faces and we won, which was a fitting end to the tour.
Talking of end of tours, do you remember the occasion when the last day was
rained off and we retired at lunch, on the way home, to The Three Witches -
referred to by your father as "The Three Bitches". At closing time, we poured
from the pub and on the way out, your father stood on the weighing machine and
someone very unkindly put a penny in the slot. This is the first time I have
ever seen the arrow on such a dial complete one circuit and start on another.
I think you were playing at Storrington when we hadn’t batted particularly well
on a very flat track and the opposition openers were playing Gerry and Chris
Terry very comfortably. Suddenly a good length ball from Gerry took off
vertically and hit the open batsman just over the eye. We all looked for a mark
on the pitch or an indication of how the ball misbehaved so incredibly, but
there was nothing to see. This has always amazed me, but perhaps it is typical
of the mysteries of the game.
Perhaps I can finish with my innings at Reading when, facing the opening bowler,
who I believed opened the bowling for Berkshire, I played and missed
consistently for about the first three overs. I don’t think I have ever been
beaten so consistently and, after a time, I decided to change my guard from
middle and leg, starting first at about middle stump and ending up with a guard
on off stump. I believe that I was batting with a right hander and I was very
conscious of not interfering with his guard. Fortunately the bowler concerned
could not bowl an inswinger and by taking a guard of off stump, I was able to
get in line with the ball that was moving late and going off the seam and the
rest of the innings is history. The moral perhaps is not to be too conservative
when taking guard, if there are occasions when the unorthodox pays off.
Having not seen the website, has anyone written of the game at Southampton when
Roy Marshall was playing and the opposition ran eight without the ball being
much more than a pitch length from the stumps on any occasion? Also of playing
against the Southampton TouringClub when their spinner scored over 200, or when
we lost the toss and fielded in a temperature of well over 100F?
With kindest regards to you and Jenny.
Yours ever
Nic