In 1961 at the age of 16 I started playing cricket for Hans Renold's Cricket Club in the South Lancashire Cricket League, opening the bowling for the 2nd and then the 1st team. In 1969, 1970 and 1972 we won the league championship. In 1975 the club ceased playing as the ground was required on which to build a supermarket (as usual). At this point I joined Woodley Cricket Club in the Derbyshire and Cheshire Cricket League. In my first season in the first team I took 92 wickets - my best season. I think the batsmen must then have sussed me out. I wanted to be involved in each match as much as possible and I tried to bowl as many overs as possible from my end and batting number 11, trying not to get out. In 1985 I bowled an average of 17.5 overs per game. An achievement of which I am very proud of was winning the club batting averages in 1986, batting at number 11 with an average of 36 from 14 innings. The trouble was I only scored 36 and fortunately I managed to get out once. I also helped to run the under-13s, under-15s and under-17s junior teams from 1984 until 2000. It was quite a commitment of time but extremely satisfying when the juniors started playing on the first team - and some are still playing at Woodley. A highlight was actually playing in the same team as my son. For years I helped to prepare the square at Woodley Cricket Club and being a bowler I concentrated on the bowler's run-up rather than the batting track. I retired from cricket in 1991 when every knock, strain, pull or injury took longer than 7 days to recover, and the next week I started umpiring in the Derbyshire and Cheshire Cricket League. Whilst playing cricket I tried not to miss a game, which I think I have achieved. In 20 years of umpiring, apart from missing a few games as a result of a cartilage operation, I can only remember not being available to umpire on 6 occasions. In 2010 was a year in which I umpired every league game and in every round of the cup and a result was achieved in every match with no rain-offs. In the good old Derbyshire and Cheshire Cricket League there is hardly ever a day when everybody is rained off and in 2010 I was in the right place at the right time. I have been lucky enough to umpire in 4 cup finals and at Romiley Cricket Club when they played the Lashings Cricket Club to commemorate the opening of their pavilion. Each summer I umpire area junior matches for the Derbyshire County. For 12 years I helped select and run our League Cricket Teams, a job with many highs and a few lows. The highest of highs was in 2006 when our League Cricket Team reached the final of the National Interleague competition "The President's Trophy" when we lost in a very close final against the North Yorkshire and South Durham League at Darlington. For 50 years summer weekends for me and my family have become a way of life due to cricket. Not a bad way to spend 50 years and I am looking forward to the next 50 years! I would like to thank my long-suffering wife Barbara without who's help I wouldn't have been able to continue my long and enjoyable cricket career !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (her words not mine!)

Copyright © 2003-2017 High Peak Cricket Society and CricketArchive