Michael Warren’s Memories of the Box Cricket Club.
EARLY EXPERIENCES OF THE GAME OF CRICKET
My first memories of cricket being played on the recreation field was when I attended Box School between 1950 and 1956, looking over the rear playground wall to see the men in white playing the game. During break times we pupils were not allowed onto the field but after school we would wander around watching and trying to understand the game. We dare not cross that white boundary line onto the field of play. Later, as we got older, some summer lunchtimes we were let onto the field to play and we always made sure we had a bat, ball and piece of wood for a wicket somewhere handy. I enjoyed bowling my left-armed medium paced over arm deliveries and became quite accurate. We never seemed to be supervised or given any help by the teachers. By the time I left Box School at the age of eleven I had been able to spend a lot of time with my classmates and was able to have plenty of practice.
During my first summer term at the City of Bath Boys’ School we had two weeks each of fielding, batting and bowling. On seeing me bowl the Master asked me who had taught me to bowl like that. I replied that nobody had ever given me any help or advice. The teacher thought that I had a natural action. Fetes were often held where a shilling or florin was placed on a single wicket and you paid to bowl at a single stump 22 yards away. If you hit it off you could keep the coin. I often went away with more money than I started with. I played for the school from a very young age.
City of Bath Boys’ School Cricket Team 1958 Michael Warren sitting first left, front row
THE EXCITEMENT OF JOINING IN
With our family having no television until much later, at the age of thirteen I started wandering down to the Box recreation ground on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening, as did many other youngsters. Those were the evenings when the Club held its practice nights. We would stand in front of the pavilion and watch the members get ready. The old cricket pavilion was situated on the edge
of the recreation field at the rear of the Comrades Legion Club. The Comrades has now been converted into Hardy House which is next door to the village school built after the Cricket Club had the use of Farm Mead. The pavilion was a wooden building with a corrugated iron roof. The large open front windows had shutters that hinged upwards towards the interior ceiling. The scorers sat at the desks looking through the windows where they could signal their acknowledgement to the umpires. The other three sides of the interior were covered with bench seats whose tops were hinged so that the Club kit could be stored inside. In the middle of the last century nobody possessed their own kit, pads, bats, gloves and protectors all being provided by the Club, all in varying states of wear and quality. There were no helmets, arm or thigh guards for those players. The steps and floorboards were rough and splintered from years of metal studs wearing away at this flooring. You certainly did not want to wander around without shoes. Next door to the pavilion was a small tea hut where sandwiches and tea that had been prepared by the players’ wives, were collected by the players who sat on the benches positioned around the exterior. On the school side of the pavilion was a tall sheet metal scoreboard. It was so high that the numbers had to be hooked in place using a pole. This could be quite dangerous as the metal numbers often fell out of the gadget used to hook them high on the scoreboard.
Alan Peacock and Pete Ody outside of the old pavilion
Before practice could take place a patch fairly near the old pavilion would be cut and rolled for use as a temporary wicket and a net erected around it. Top players such as the Nigel and Geoff Bence, John Harris and Ken Boulton would bat first with the best bowlers bowling at them, all using club kit. Lesser players had to first pull the huge, 8 foot wide heavy roller from the side of the pavilion to the square and roll the wicket that was to be used for the next match. This wicket had been mowed earlier in the day. Only then were they allowed to have their turn at batting and bowling. I used to position myself at the end of the top field just before the slope to the bottom field directly behind
the bowlers and batsman. Some batsmen, especially Pete Milsom, used to enjoy whacking the ball straight past the bowler and I would retrieve the balls and hurl them back to the waiting bowlers. In time I was allowed to have my turn at bowling and was told I had a promising action but not once in all of my playing career was I given any coaching or advice. Finally I was allowed to bat but not often against anybody who could bowl, the better players had enjoyed their time and had given up.
At the end of each season great care was taken by those players to repair the square which had been mainly damaged by the bowlers’ run-ups. Around mid September many bags of marl soil would be delivered from the other side of the country and once the ends of the wickets had been spiked and seeded all the marl would be spread across the whole square where it would be levelled by pulling a metal mat over the area. Marl acted very much like a mud cement and when rolled made a very good surface for batting. By springtime the grass seed would have taken, the square cut and rolled and prepared for the start of the season in April. Nigel and Geoff Bence tended to be in charge of maintaining the square and as they were both batsmen, liked to prepare a good batting wicket.
The Box Recreation Ground before the Lower Field was Levelled
My school playing career came to an abrupt end one summer afternoon during a music lesson. Mr. Bennett organised the cricket team but was also the school music teacher. Music was held in the school hall when all 5 year classes were collected together. I used to sit in the back row with some of my mates generally miss-behaving. One day Mr. Bennett had finally had enough. He marched to the back of the hall, grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to the front where he announced in front of all the pupils that I would never play cricket for the school again. That ended my school cricketing experience and was the start of me playing or Box.
KEEN TO TAKE UP THE GAME OF CRICKET
In 1959, at the age of 14, I was selected my first Box 2nd X1 game. Mum kitted me out in white trousers and shirt, and I bought a pair of cricket boots which all had steel toe-caps at that time. Very
few players had cars so coaches were used to attend away games. There were two coach companies in the village, Browning’s at the top of Chapel Lane and Miller’s situated next to the Queen’s Head. These two firms took it in turns to transport us to the games. Depending on which coach was being used, at lunchtime players congregated well before departure time in either the Queen’s Head on the A4 or in The Lamb situated on the Devises Road opposite Browning’s. There the older members would down a couple of pints of rough cider before climbing aboard. It was all new to me at the time but I was soon accepted as part of the team. It was traditional to stay after the match to at least have a drink or two before returning home in the coach. In earlier days teams had travelled to the matches by horse and cart called “the brake” where the men sat facing each other on bench seats. They would sing their songs especially on the return journey. Just as then, when returning by coach, songs would be sung. Being very young I was worried that I would be picked on, especially when they called on individuals with the lines, “sing, sing, sing us a song, or show us your ring”. During those early days of playing 2nd X1 cricket I was well looked after by the two opening bowlers of John Townsend and Eddie Morris. Not many people had televisions and regarded watching a cricket game as their weekend entertainment with a number always attending by sitting on the wall at the rear of the Queen’s Head car park or on benches around the ground. The captain would nominate a player to walk around the outfield with a money box to collect contributions from the spectators which often raised a tidy sum.
THE START OF SUNDAY CRICKET
Cricket was played occasionally during the week with the club running two sides on a Saturday. During the 50’s and early 60’s Sunday was regarded a religious day and sports were not permitted. Box Parish Council was one of the first in the area to allow the start of Sunday games so in 1963 the club began Sunday fixtures which proved to be very popular. As some areas such as Bristol were still limited to Saturdays only, many sides wished to come to Box on a Sunday for a chance to play a game. Teams loved visiting for several reasons. They could compete on a Sunday and Box played at a very good standard so the club attracted strong teams. As the fixture list was reasonably strong, this helped the club attract good players from the local area who wanted to play a better standard. Having said that, the team was comprised mainly of men living in or around the large village of Box. The set-up was also the perfect place for players to bring their families, the children had the swings and plenty of space to play, there was an attractive ground to watch a good game and cars could park in the Queen’s Head car park. That meant that the opposition did not have to drive off after the match to find a place to have a drink before returning home.
One early memory was that of Curly Walker, a Boxhill man. Curly, I believe, was a bachelor and would always be in the Lamb Inn before the game having a thick beef sandwich and a few pints of the rough cider that he enjoyed. When the match started Curly would open the bowling. I often fielded at mid off and as Curly ran up to bowl, the players could hear the slosh, slosh, slosh of the liquid in his stomach. Sadly Curly died in 1963, a fairly young man. Even so, he still topped the bowling averages at the end of that season.
AN EXPENSIVE DAY OUT FOR ONE PLAYER
Another memory was at Bristol when i was about 15. We often seemed to play in the Bristol area at the time and a coach would take us to the game, a time being arranged for pick-up. Sometimes some players stayed in the city to have a meal, making their own way home. As a youngster and still
at school, I had no money so always caught the coach home. After one game I was invited by Alan Peacock, Clive Banks and Spud Baker to join them saying that they would treat me. We went for a steak meal in the centre somewhere and the arrangement they made was that they would spoof for the cost of the meal. By that time we had missed the pick-up time for the coach so they agreed to spoof again for the taxi back to Box. David Baker had lost the spoof for the meal so in spoofing for the taxi home he lost again. The rules were that if you lost a second round in a row it did not count because losing two games on the trot meant that you had a next free round. On the third round he lost again which meant that he had to pay for the meal for four plus the taxi back home from Bristol to Box, something that was never forgotten.
I continued to play almost every Saturday and Sunday game including the evening and knock-out matches. I bowled a great number of overs with my left-arm, medium paced swinging balls. I always thought that if I put a handkerchief on a spot three foot in front of the batsman I could hit it almost every time. Often “Scoop”, a journalist wrote reports of our matches in the Bath Evening Chronicle and Herald and always mentioned the twin spin attack of Warren and Gray. I never spun a ball in my life. The games were all “friendlies” at that time, league cricket did not start until much later. The batting side would retire once they felt they had scored enough runs, usually around tea time with the other side trying to beat the score or hang on for a draw. Most games were very competitive. I became a regular in the 1ST team, bowling when we needed to keep the runs down but often getting 5 wickets. Batting was not a strength in my early days, I would get out of the way of any ball that was on the leg side. I have a vivid memory of a game for the 2nd X1 at Soundwell, a tiny ground in the Bristol area, when I went in to bat at number 9. Gordon (Ginger) Hall came in after me and struck a tree inside the ground. He was only given 4 runs. That got him angry as he believed it should have been a “6”. He went on to smash the ball around scoring a total of 102 to win the game. I had scored just 2 runs in all that time, not that I saw much of the bowling.
A PAVILION ON THE CRICKET CLUB’S OWN GROUND
I met Joan Hathway when I was 16 years old. I was attending the Boys’ Grammar School and she was a pupil at the Girls’ School. We saw a great deal of each other but I continued to play all the games with Joan coming along to watch. By now more people had their own cars so the use of coaches stopped. Some land was acquired from the brewery owning The Queen’s Head where a new pavilion was built, mainly by John Harris, a local builder and long standing player, wicket keeper and batsman for the club. One stipulation was that the Cricket Club could never have a bar in the pavilion. With the old pavilion being knocked down it meant that when the tennis courts and bowls green were built for the council, they could then build a pavilion on the recreation field as the Deed of Covenant stated that only one building was allowed on the grounds.
In 1964 I worked as a trainee manager at Foster’s Wine Merchants in Stall Street, Bath. I enjoyed my time in the shop but knew I could not have a job which entailed working all day on a Saturday when I could be out playing cricket. Shop work was not for me so I applied for Teachers’ Training College. Joan was not too happy for me to go away but I felt it would be better in the long run. I spent three years at the WinchesterCollege, only playing a little cricket but playing for Box during the holiday times. In the early days players used to go into The Comrade’s Club at the rear of the old pavilion for a drink after the matches. Once the pavilion had been built on the Queen’s land we moved to that pub for our after match socialising. Len and Joan Walker made us most welcome and
we generally took over the lounge bar with the wives and girl friends joining us. Joan Walker always had sausages being kept warm on the counter and we would spoof for them or for half pints. Len even had a television set up for us in the lounge for us to be able to watch the 1966 World Cup Final. At the time pubs were meant to close at 11.00 pm but Len would close the shutters, lock the front door and carry on serving. We had a great time staying till late on the Saturda, then off the next day to play another game. It was our social life in those days, still not many homes with TVs or central heating.
Box Cricket Club in the 60’s and 70’s had two extremely strong sides who were a match for any of the Wiltshire towns, often giving the likes of Chippenham, Devises, Malmesbury and Swindon a hard time. The wicket was well kept and true, perfect for batting. Alec Cogswell then Bob Hancock, the council groundsmen kept the outfield in lovely order, always making sure it was cut for the games. The older players such as Nigel and Geof f Bence, Pete Ody, Phil Lambert were gradually retiring leaving room for the likes of Alan Peacock, John Harris, Clive Banks, Mike Warren and Brian Wright to take over. Although players were mainly locals, the teams were strengthened by other players arriving. Pete Lowe, Ron Low, Eric Martel, Richard Gray, Jim Drury, Trevor Cross were just a few.
WAS THIS A CHANCE MISSED?
When I was about 16 during the 1961 season Box had a game against Chippenham and I bowled a number of overs. After the game Tony Marshall, the Chippenham Captain, came up to me and suggested that I should come up and practice and play with their club. Being a youngster, a little shy and lacking confidence I was not totally aware of the possibilities the move could bring. I thought of myself as a Box lad, enjoying the game with good players like Nigel Bence, Alan Peacock, Clive Banks, Brian Wright etc. around me so decided to stay at Box. I enjoyed over 40 years of playing at Mead Farm but often wonder how good I could have been if I had taken that opportunity all those years ago. I feel I ended up as a fairly big fish in a reasonably large pond but enjoyed a social life with the players at Box which could not have been bettered. Several of us had children of similar ages and our wives would often come to the games with us when they would take the children into town or used the ground’s playground equipment or just chat. We would all join up again afterwards. Around nine of us played every Saturday and Sunday and we were grateful that we were able to have that opportunity. We played sport at the weekends and the family would come along. My son nowadays spends his weekend taking the children to a variety of sporting events and has little time for taking part himself.
A NEW MEMBER ARRIVES AND JOINS IN IMMEDIATELY
I remember the day Jim Drury arrived at the club. He was sitting on the Queen’s Head garden wall as the players arrived for our game. He called out to say he had his cricket kit in his car and it we were short he would like to play. We told him that we were never short but when it was almost time to start Terry Jefford, one of our opening bowlers, had not turned up. Jim was called to make up the numbers. He had just been appointed as a Director at Harbutt’s plasticine factory and had come from the Manchester area looking to buy a house somewhere near. After the game he joined us all in the lounge of the Queen’s for our usual socialising that took place after most matches. Len had closed the shutters on the windows at 11.00, closing time in those days, and we carried on until about 11.30. Trevor Cross then invited us all back to his house at Grosvenor in Bath so we all drove there, Jim driving his Directors car, a Morris Minor Traveller. We all knew the trouble of parking but
Jim did not and when we all came to leave at about 2 a.m. Jim’s car was blocked in. He drove onto the grass passing some huge trees until he could get no further, turned towards the A4 road where he was at least a metre higher than the road. A car was coming up the road but stopped when seeing Jim’s car about to drive off the wall, over the drop and down onto the road back to Box. We knew he would fit into our team well!
TONY, A UNIQUE CHARACTER
Another memorable event was on a Sunday in 1974 when we played against a team at Gowerton in South Wales. The Gowerton team had played at Lords sometime before in the final of the Haig National Village Knock-out Cup in which they were victorious. We had a great game against them which we won. Gowerton’s two opening batsmen, Eddie Bevan and Wayne Harris had scored quite heavily in the final but were both bowled in our game by Tony Butts, a stocky 2nd X1 bowler from Rudloe. He also took another couple of wickets in a very enjoyable game, although a long way to travel. On returning to the Queen’s much later in the evening, Tony bought two bottles of champagne to celebrate his performance. The following day the Club were off on the 5 day cricket tour to the Hastings area. Tony turned up in the Queen’s car park ready to go. He was dressed in his almost white cricket kit and black socks, laces of boots tied with them hanging around his neck and his bat under his arm. He had no other clothes and not a penny on him. He spent the week sleeping on the floors of other players’ rooms, challenging the locals to games of darts for drinks. It was a game he was quite good at and somehow he survived the week. There was another story of him winning money at the races, buying himself a race horse which he kept in the back garden of his council house at Rudloe until the R.S.P.C.A. were involved. Tony was certainly a unique local character.
CONCORDE, A PRIVILIGE TO HAVE WATCHED IT DAILY
One highlight that has absolutely nothing to do with cricket was when I taught at Highworth, north of Swindon, just inside the border ofWiltshire from 1971 until 1974. I spent my teaching career working in different schools in Wiltshire and was always able to travel from Box. Highworth was about three miles from the end of the runway at Fairford where Concorde was completing its flight trials. Many times a day that superb aircraft passed directly overhead low over the classroom as it practiced its landings and circuits and bumps. Every time I had to go to the window to watch that beautiful sight. The class I taught were studying a topic on transport and somehow we managed to organise a trip to tour 002 at the base. Many of the parents worked on the airfield so must have had some influence. I firmly believe that those 11 year olds were almost the first of the public ever to have been allowed inside that Concorde which was full of its testing equipment. With my mother and Joan, now wife of over 50 years, we drove to the top of Tog Hill and watched Concorde take off from Filton for its first flight on April 17th 1969, then dashed over to Fairford to see it as it taxied along the perimeter fence close to the road after it had touched down. That wonderful aircraft is now on permanent display at the Air Museum at Yeovilton.
YOUTH CRICKET
Box Cricket Club has always been keen to encourage youngsters to become interested in the game but there has not always been someone keen enough to take on the position of providing the experience. I was persuaded to run the youth section during the 1970’s and part of the 80’s giving
the youngsters practice a couple of times a week. We ran an Under 13 and Under 15 side in the annual 6-a-side County Competitions at which we were very successful winning the County League several years running. The mainstays of the teams were Gerald Hayward, Neil Pettit, Brian Morris and Neil Gooden. As often, offers of help for practice and transport were not always forthcoming. On one occasion the team had to play away at Wootton Bassett and the only car for transport was mine. The team kit was put in the boot of my 180B SSS Datsun Bluebird and the 6 players and I squeezed inside. I was aware of the risk I was taking and concerned but we managed the journey there and back without mishap. Luckily it was a one-off occasion. Those boys were unbeaten for at least two years and many carried on to play for Box for many years, with Gerald still playing. I continued to run youth cricket for several years but there was never a team as talented as those boys. It is great to see that over the years other players like Dave Hill, Kris Boulton, Brian Morris, Graham Cogswell and many others have continued to help local youngsters enjoy the game.
I received a Coaching Certificate from the National Cricket Association in 1978 and also in 1979 I was awarded Wiltshire Cricket Association County Colours. This was in recognition of a) my playing performance and b) my general service to cricket and therefore to Wiltshire Cricket.
BackRow, Graham Guy, ? , ?. Graham Fletcher, Mike Warren, Richard Gray, Anthony Smith, Terry Jefford, Jim Shannon. Seated, Trevor Cross, Pat Bollen, Nigel Bence, Steve Wheeler
A CHANCE OF A REPRESENTATIVE GAME
I was appointed to the post of Deputy Head teacher of a school in Calne to start in September 1978. The Head teacher, on his introductory talk with me, mentioned that if I was ever unable to attend for any reason, to let him know as early as possible so that he could arrange cover. It just so happened that two days after the start of the term I had an evening phone call from the Wiltshire Cricket Association asking if I could play for the team two days later against the Army at Tidworth. They needed an answer straight away. I had thought for years that one day I might get the chance of
a representative game but if I agreed I knew there would be trouble. However, I said that I would be available. I had attended County Meetings and often heard the committee express the fact that clubs like Box were never capable of playing to the standards of the likes of Malmesbury, Swindon and Chippenham. That evening I phoned the Head Teacher to say that I had been picked for the County to play on the Thursday so would be absent for the day. I believed that teachers chosen to represent the County in any sport were entitled to time off. He replied aggressively that I should not be so silly as to think of having time off to play a game of cricket. He went on to say that I had my career to think of so must see him in his office first thing in the morning to say that I had changed my mind. I gave the situation some thought but decided to stick to my guns and play.
The following morning he was waiting for me, with the school secretary, his wife, sat next to him. He asked me if I had come to my senses and given up the idea of such a ridiculous suggestion. I told him that I had waited years for an opportunity like this and had agreed to play. He was angry and insisted that there was no way that I was having time off and that he was informing the Education Department of that fact. After lunch he arrived in my classroom on the first floor, red faced and out of breath to say that the County had agreed that I could play and that I would be paid for the day as per County Regulation. He was not a happy person. During the afternoon break he knocked on the staffroom door, entered and announced that I had been selected to play cricket for the County and went on to say that he had fought for me to have the time off and wished me well. In the four years I was Deputy at that School, never once did I get past his wife in the outer office so had absolutely no preparation for becoming a Head Teacher. I did play and bowled well against the Army who scored a reasonable number of runs but we lost several early wickets. I batted well against a tight attack, finally seeing off their strong bowlers but when the chance came for an easier time I got myself out. After the game one of the umpires congratulated me on my performance against a strong side but reminded me of keeping the concentration going when it was needed most. Many years later I played a couple of seasons for the Wiltshire Over50’s side but felt that I was never used for my batting and bowling at the correct time so dropped out.
I MADE THE WRONG DECISIONS AND ALWAYS FELT GUILTY
There were two occasions in my cricketing career that I felt guilty about making the wrong decision. One was when John Spencer, one of the fastest bowlers I ever faced, was bowling against me for Chippenham. Box were struggling to make runs and I was not doing much better. I had a dabble at the ball and felt a faint touch. Most of the close fielders rose in appeal. I knew I had touched it and have always felt that batsmen always know when they have had even the faintest of touches. I decided not to walk as Alec Smith, our umpire, had given me not out. In those times players were much more honest about the laws of the game and tended to abide by them. I think that it was the only time I did not walk and felt guilty after.
The other occasion was when we were playing in a high scoring game away to Malvern. Box were chasing a large score with Ron Low batting well. We had taken no umpire and senior players took their turn at umpiring for a spell. I was doing the job and had been there quite a while watching Ron whack his way to 98. There was a tremendous shout for L.B.W. against him and he was plumb. I knew I should give him out but it was such a good innings that I wanted to see him score his 100, so I gave the decision of “Not Out”, much to the dismay of the fielding side. Ron went on to amass 134 runs but I knew I had cheated their team, which has always played on my mind. Those were the only
two times I am aware of that I did not follow my rule of fair play. I play quite a bit of golf now and would not dream of doing anything that might be thought of cheating.
Back D. Hill, I. Cogswell, A. Smith, M. Warren, M. Thompson, D. Williams, E. Martell, M. Robson, S. Cross, N. Bence, Middle R, Bryant, D. Cogswell, J. Harris, J. Drury, R. Gray, P. Bollen, G. Fletcher, T. Cross, Front N. Guy, G, Gogswell, R. Rebbeck. K. Boulton in background.
THREE PAINFUL EXPERIENCES
Box were playing against Warminster and I was batting when a fast bowler bowled me a beamer, a fast ball that is head high and does not bounce. I went to glance it to the boundary when it came off the back of the bat striking me on the right cheek, knocking me to the ground. I was taken to the local hospital where they thought I had suffered a stroke with one side of the lip lower than the other. However, that was not the case but my face was a real mess and I looked deformed, an imitation of the elephant man. I had to go to School on the Monday which frightened the younger children. Gradually my face returned to normal, although I am still able to feel a lump around my cheek bone. I think that the game must have been near the end of the season because towards the end of the winter I found out that Warminster had invested in a bowling machine. I needed to regain my confidence so I booked a time to practice using the machine to bowl at me. I had taken along a non-playing friend to Warminster to help with the machine while I practiced. Not having used a bowling machine before we left the settings as they were. The first ball hit me full length on the big toe of my front foot. Long gone were the days of steel toecaps for cricket boots. The pain crippled me for a while and I asked my friend to alter the settings. The next ball hit my straight on the same spot as the first, at the same speed and length. I took off my boot and my big toe had already gone black. After a while I struggled up to the machine to look at the settings. They were set at 90 mile
per hour full length on the off stump. Being left-handed meant it was aiming at a speed I was not expecting full length at my right boot. After hobbling about for a while I changed the settings and spent a little time trying to regain some confidence but my foot took longer to recover.
PLAYING AGAINST AN AUSTRALIAN ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL
Each year Box Cricket Club had a game against the Bristol side of Knowle, a fixture we always looked forward to. In the early 80’s Shaun Graf, who played 11 one-day internationals for Australia, came over and played for the summer months at Knowle and for Hampshire. He had replaced Dennis Lilley in the Australian side when Dennis had been disciplined for going out to bat with an aluminium bat. Shaun was an all-rounder but a very quick bowler. The Club played against him three years running and I vividly remember him bowling a few early balls from his long run-up at Pete Robson and Pat Bollen. He would then revert to his shorter run-up but bowled almost as quickly. My memory is that I caught and bowled him on all three occasions. My young son Paul was scorer at the time and Shaun signed the scorebook for him each time. The third time Shaun had opened the batting and Knowle had scored 147 before I came on to bowl and caught him in my first over. In 1985 my family had a year’s exchange to Perth, Western Australia, swopping Jobs, houses, cars and pets. Most Fridays after school the male teachers would meet for drinks, which at that time was known as, “the six-o-clock swill”. Other Australian players such as Kim Hughes and Geoff Thompson would be there as well recounting their cricketing stories. I attended a few nets but did not get on too well. All the ball were banged in short and fast coming at you at throat height, not exactly where I like the ball.
I WAS ALWAYS GIVEN MY FAIR SHARE OF THE BOWLING
Playing for Box Cricket Club over the years produced many team and personal highlights but my fading memory cannot recall them. I often speak of Ron Low who is able to remember names and events of anything he took part in, especially football, at which he was semi-professional and cricket. It is a shame I could not manage to talk him into writing a few words towards his time at the Club. Ron and I have had our differences, especially when he would pinch a single from the last ball of most overs but he was a gifted player and a real asset to the club. As mentioned in the updated history of Box Cricket Club, Ron did not agree with league cricket but if he had to play it, he would try to play the best standard he could so left and played for Bath Cricket Club for many years. He eventually returned to finish his career at Box but since then has spent years looking after the wicket with Dave Betts producing surfaces which are a credit to the Club. He also took over, for many years, the position of President of Box C. C.
I have to admit that in the over 40 years I played for Box Cricket Club, although retiring several times to play golf instead, I never scored 100 runs. However, I enjoyed the bowling and had just one aim. That aim was to bowl at those stumps on a good length and make the batsman play. If he was good enough to hit the ball through the ring of fielders that captain Richard Gray always set, then well done but if he was to miss the ball my aim was to bowl him. League cricket suited me down to the ground with the batsmen having to take chances to score unless the odd bad ball had been bowled. I often felt sorry for other bowlers as Richard and I tended to hog the bowling giving others little chance. My left-arm, round the wicket medium paced balls generally swung in quite sharply towards the legs of right-handed batsmen and with the talented John Harris standing up behind the stumps the batsmen had to be really careful. Richard Bryant and Alan Joy later took their place
keeping wicket and were equally as efficient in testing the batsmen. I often felt that Richard took many wickets as the opposition needed to push on and would take a chance against his left- arm over spin bowling. Television personality and cricket enthusiast M.C.C. member Lesley Crowther, whose daughter lived in the Manor House at the time, often came and sat on the bench behind the boundary at square leg. One day, when I had finished an over and returned to my position of square leg fielder by the bench, Lesley spoke to me and said that he could not believe the standard of cricket that we played and how competitive it was. It was far better than the village cricket that he had expected.
A View from the Recreation Ground towards Boxhill
A PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT
My highlight, once again, was away against Chippenham. Box were competing in the quarter final of the Wiltshire 20 over Knock-Out Cup. Their wicket was right at the edge of the square, extremely close to the allotment side of the ground, far away from the pavilion. There was a huge distance to the boundary on the opposite side of the outfield. Richard Gray, our captain, gave me the new ball to bowl my trundling left-arm around the wicket balls downhill while Mark Thompson, our young fast bowler had to struggle uphill. John Collins, a hard hitting county player opened the batting for Chippenham, I can’t remember the other opener. I bowled the first ball of the game outside the off stump, the ball swinging in quite late to wrap right-handed John on the pads. That happened time and time again, the batsman unable to play a ball swinging into his pads. Their captain, Tony Marshall, was at the boundary edge screaming at John to hit the ball or get out but he was unable to play those swinging balls. I bowled my five overs for one run and Mark completed his for five with them having eleven leg byes, totalling 17 runs only for the first 10 overs. I don’t remember who bowled the rest but Chippenham ended up having scored 63 in their 20 overs. Box struggled as well with batting and after 17 overs needed another 34 runs to win. Jim Drury and Richard Gray started
hitting the ball towards the long boundary, the short side being packed with fielders. The distance was so far that it was almost impossible to score a boundary and the Box pair ran a couple of 5’s. Richard was never known for his athleticism or stamina and was really struggling but Jim kept him going with the pair winning the game on the last ball. On leaving the field Marshall refused to shake Richard’s hand as was usual. As for the victorious side, many of us would never forget that game.
I do have to mention one other occasion when I opened the bowling against the captain of Swindon on the County Ground. I bowled the first ball of the game well outside the off stump, the batsman shouldering arms when the ball swung in late to knock out his middle stump. He stood there for a while not believing what had happened before wandering off, head down. When the conditions were right, that was my stock ball.
THE END OF A GREAT AND ENJOYABLE CAREER
Several times I retired from the game to play golf and several times I returned to help Box Cricket Club when they were short. Gradually I realised that my fielding was no longer an asset and that gamesmanship by some players was creeping into that great game, which I found unacceptable. Times were moving on and many long-standing fellow players were drifting away. In 2002 I was made an Honorary Life Member of the Cricket Club for the many years involvement with the Club in both playing and official capacities. Those many years of sporting comradeship at Box Cricket Club had to be experienced to be believed. The Club at the moment is struggling to stay afloat with only one Saturday side but it would be great to think that the Box Cricket Club could survive to reach its 200th Anniversary.
EARLY EXPERIENCES OF THE GAME OF CRICKET
My first memories of cricket being played on the recreation field was when I attended Box School between 1950 and 1956, looking over the rear playground wall to see the men in white playing the game. During break times we pupils were not allowed onto the field but after school we would wander around watching and trying to understand the game. We dare not cross that white boundary line onto the field of play. Later, as we got older, some summer lunchtimes we were let onto the field to play and we always made sure we had a bat, ball and piece of wood for a wicket somewhere handy. I enjoyed bowling my left-armed medium paced over arm deliveries and became quite accurate. We never seemed to be supervised or given any help by the teachers. By the time I left Box School at the age of eleven I had been able to spend a lot of time with my classmates and was able to have plenty of practice.
During my first summer term at the City of Bath Boys’ School we had two weeks each of fielding, batting and bowling. On seeing me bowl the Master asked me who had taught me to bowl like that. I replied that nobody had ever given me any help or advice. The teacher thought that I had a natural action. Fetes were often held where a shilling or florin was placed on a single wicket and you paid to bowl at a single stump 22 yards away. If you hit it off you could keep the coin. I often went away with more money than I started with. I played for the school from a very young age.
City of Bath Boys’ School Cricket Team 1958 Michael Warren sitting first left, front row
THE EXCITEMENT OF JOINING IN
With our family having no television until much later, at the age of thirteen I started wandering down to the Box recreation ground on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening, as did many other youngsters. Those were the evenings when the Club held its practice nights. We would stand in front of the pavilion and watch the members get ready. The old cricket pavilion was situated on the edge
of the recreation field at the rear of the Comrades Legion Club. The Comrades has now been converted into Hardy House which is next door to the village school built after the Cricket Club had the use of Farm Mead. The pavilion was a wooden building with a corrugated iron roof. The large open front windows had shutters that hinged upwards towards the interior ceiling. The scorers sat at the desks looking through the windows where they could signal their acknowledgement to the umpires. The other three sides of the interior were covered with bench seats whose tops were hinged so that the Club kit could be stored inside. In the middle of the last century nobody possessed their own kit, pads, bats, gloves and protectors all being provided by the Club, all in varying states of wear and quality. There were no helmets, arm or thigh guards for those players. The steps and floorboards were rough and splintered from years of metal studs wearing away at this flooring. You certainly did not want to wander around without shoes. Next door to the pavilion was a small tea hut where sandwiches and tea that had been prepared by the players’ wives, were collected by the players who sat on the benches positioned around the exterior. On the school side of the pavilion was a tall sheet metal scoreboard. It was so high that the numbers had to be hooked in place using a pole. This could be quite dangerous as the metal numbers often fell out of the gadget used to hook them high on the scoreboard.
Alan Peacock and Pete Ody outside of the old pavilion
Before practice could take place a patch fairly near the old pavilion would be cut and rolled for use as a temporary wicket and a net erected around it. Top players such as the Nigel and Geoff Bence, John Harris and Ken Boulton would bat first with the best bowlers bowling at them, all using club kit. Lesser players had to first pull the huge, 8 foot wide heavy roller from the side of the pavilion to the square and roll the wicket that was to be used for the next match. This wicket had been mowed earlier in the day. Only then were they allowed to have their turn at batting and bowling. I used to position myself at the end of the top field just before the slope to the bottom field directly behind
the bowlers and batsman. Some batsmen, especially Pete Milsom, used to enjoy whacking the ball straight past the bowler and I would retrieve the balls and hurl them back to the waiting bowlers. In time I was allowed to have my turn at bowling and was told I had a promising action but not once in all of my playing career was I given any coaching or advice. Finally I was allowed to bat but not often against anybody who could bowl, the better players had enjoyed their time and had given up.
At the end of each season great care was taken by those players to repair the square which had been mainly damaged by the bowlers’ run-ups. Around mid September many bags of marl soil would be delivered from the other side of the country and once the ends of the wickets had been spiked and seeded all the marl would be spread across the whole square where it would be levelled by pulling a metal mat over the area. Marl acted very much like a mud cement and when rolled made a very good surface for batting. By springtime the grass seed would have taken, the square cut and rolled and prepared for the start of the season in April. Nigel and Geoff Bence tended to be in charge of maintaining the square and as they were both batsmen, liked to prepare a good batting wicket.
The Box Recreation Ground before the Lower Field was Levelled
My school playing career came to an abrupt end one summer afternoon during a music lesson. Mr. Bennett organised the cricket team but was also the school music teacher. Music was held in the school hall when all 5 year classes were collected together. I used to sit in the back row with some of my mates generally miss-behaving. One day Mr. Bennett had finally had enough. He marched to the back of the hall, grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to the front where he announced in front of all the pupils that I would never play cricket for the school again. That ended my school cricketing experience and was the start of me playing or Box.
KEEN TO TAKE UP THE GAME OF CRICKET
In 1959, at the age of 14, I was selected my first Box 2nd X1 game. Mum kitted me out in white trousers and shirt, and I bought a pair of cricket boots which all had steel toe-caps at that time. Very
few players had cars so coaches were used to attend away games. There were two coach companies in the village, Browning’s at the top of Chapel Lane and Miller’s situated next to the Queen’s Head. These two firms took it in turns to transport us to the games. Depending on which coach was being used, at lunchtime players congregated well before departure time in either the Queen’s Head on the A4 or in The Lamb situated on the Devises Road opposite Browning’s. There the older members would down a couple of pints of rough cider before climbing aboard. It was all new to me at the time but I was soon accepted as part of the team. It was traditional to stay after the match to at least have a drink or two before returning home in the coach. In earlier days teams had travelled to the matches by horse and cart called “the brake” where the men sat facing each other on bench seats. They would sing their songs especially on the return journey. Just as then, when returning by coach, songs would be sung. Being very young I was worried that I would be picked on, especially when they called on individuals with the lines, “sing, sing, sing us a song, or show us your ring”. During those early days of playing 2nd X1 cricket I was well looked after by the two opening bowlers of John Townsend and Eddie Morris. Not many people had televisions and regarded watching a cricket game as their weekend entertainment with a number always attending by sitting on the wall at the rear of the Queen’s Head car park or on benches around the ground. The captain would nominate a player to walk around the outfield with a money box to collect contributions from the spectators which often raised a tidy sum.
THE START OF SUNDAY CRICKET
Cricket was played occasionally during the week with the club running two sides on a Saturday. During the 50’s and early 60’s Sunday was regarded a religious day and sports were not permitted. Box Parish Council was one of the first in the area to allow the start of Sunday games so in 1963 the club began Sunday fixtures which proved to be very popular. As some areas such as Bristol were still limited to Saturdays only, many sides wished to come to Box on a Sunday for a chance to play a game. Teams loved visiting for several reasons. They could compete on a Sunday and Box played at a very good standard so the club attracted strong teams. As the fixture list was reasonably strong, this helped the club attract good players from the local area who wanted to play a better standard. Having said that, the team was comprised mainly of men living in or around the large village of Box. The set-up was also the perfect place for players to bring their families, the children had the swings and plenty of space to play, there was an attractive ground to watch a good game and cars could park in the Queen’s Head car park. That meant that the opposition did not have to drive off after the match to find a place to have a drink before returning home.
One early memory was that of Curly Walker, a Boxhill man. Curly, I believe, was a bachelor and would always be in the Lamb Inn before the game having a thick beef sandwich and a few pints of the rough cider that he enjoyed. When the match started Curly would open the bowling. I often fielded at mid off and as Curly ran up to bowl, the players could hear the slosh, slosh, slosh of the liquid in his stomach. Sadly Curly died in 1963, a fairly young man. Even so, he still topped the bowling averages at the end of that season.
AN EXPENSIVE DAY OUT FOR ONE PLAYER
Another memory was at Bristol when i was about 15. We often seemed to play in the Bristol area at the time and a coach would take us to the game, a time being arranged for pick-up. Sometimes some players stayed in the city to have a meal, making their own way home. As a youngster and still
at school, I had no money so always caught the coach home. After one game I was invited by Alan Peacock, Clive Banks and Spud Baker to join them saying that they would treat me. We went for a steak meal in the centre somewhere and the arrangement they made was that they would spoof for the cost of the meal. By that time we had missed the pick-up time for the coach so they agreed to spoof again for the taxi back to Box. David Baker had lost the spoof for the meal so in spoofing for the taxi home he lost again. The rules were that if you lost a second round in a row it did not count because losing two games on the trot meant that you had a next free round. On the third round he lost again which meant that he had to pay for the meal for four plus the taxi back home from Bristol to Box, something that was never forgotten.
I continued to play almost every Saturday and Sunday game including the evening and knock-out matches. I bowled a great number of overs with my left-arm, medium paced swinging balls. I always thought that if I put a handkerchief on a spot three foot in front of the batsman I could hit it almost every time. Often “Scoop”, a journalist wrote reports of our matches in the Bath Evening Chronicle and Herald and always mentioned the twin spin attack of Warren and Gray. I never spun a ball in my life. The games were all “friendlies” at that time, league cricket did not start until much later. The batting side would retire once they felt they had scored enough runs, usually around tea time with the other side trying to beat the score or hang on for a draw. Most games were very competitive. I became a regular in the 1ST team, bowling when we needed to keep the runs down but often getting 5 wickets. Batting was not a strength in my early days, I would get out of the way of any ball that was on the leg side. I have a vivid memory of a game for the 2nd X1 at Soundwell, a tiny ground in the Bristol area, when I went in to bat at number 9. Gordon (Ginger) Hall came in after me and struck a tree inside the ground. He was only given 4 runs. That got him angry as he believed it should have been a “6”. He went on to smash the ball around scoring a total of 102 to win the game. I had scored just 2 runs in all that time, not that I saw much of the bowling.
A PAVILION ON THE CRICKET CLUB’S OWN GROUND
I met Joan Hathway when I was 16 years old. I was attending the Boys’ Grammar School and she was a pupil at the Girls’ School. We saw a great deal of each other but I continued to play all the games with Joan coming along to watch. By now more people had their own cars so the use of coaches stopped. Some land was acquired from the brewery owning The Queen’s Head where a new pavilion was built, mainly by John Harris, a local builder and long standing player, wicket keeper and batsman for the club. One stipulation was that the Cricket Club could never have a bar in the pavilion. With the old pavilion being knocked down it meant that when the tennis courts and bowls green were built for the council, they could then build a pavilion on the recreation field as the Deed of Covenant stated that only one building was allowed on the grounds.
In 1964 I worked as a trainee manager at Foster’s Wine Merchants in Stall Street, Bath. I enjoyed my time in the shop but knew I could not have a job which entailed working all day on a Saturday when I could be out playing cricket. Shop work was not for me so I applied for Teachers’ Training College. Joan was not too happy for me to go away but I felt it would be better in the long run. I spent three years at the WinchesterCollege, only playing a little cricket but playing for Box during the holiday times. In the early days players used to go into The Comrade’s Club at the rear of the old pavilion for a drink after the matches. Once the pavilion had been built on the Queen’s land we moved to that pub for our after match socialising. Len and Joan Walker made us most welcome and
we generally took over the lounge bar with the wives and girl friends joining us. Joan Walker always had sausages being kept warm on the counter and we would spoof for them or for half pints. Len even had a television set up for us in the lounge for us to be able to watch the 1966 World Cup Final. At the time pubs were meant to close at 11.00 pm but Len would close the shutters, lock the front door and carry on serving. We had a great time staying till late on the Saturda, then off the next day to play another game. It was our social life in those days, still not many homes with TVs or central heating.
Box Cricket Club in the 60’s and 70’s had two extremely strong sides who were a match for any of the Wiltshire towns, often giving the likes of Chippenham, Devises, Malmesbury and Swindon a hard time. The wicket was well kept and true, perfect for batting. Alec Cogswell then Bob Hancock, the council groundsmen kept the outfield in lovely order, always making sure it was cut for the games. The older players such as Nigel and Geof f Bence, Pete Ody, Phil Lambert were gradually retiring leaving room for the likes of Alan Peacock, John Harris, Clive Banks, Mike Warren and Brian Wright to take over. Although players were mainly locals, the teams were strengthened by other players arriving. Pete Lowe, Ron Low, Eric Martel, Richard Gray, Jim Drury, Trevor Cross were just a few.
WAS THIS A CHANCE MISSED?
When I was about 16 during the 1961 season Box had a game against Chippenham and I bowled a number of overs. After the game Tony Marshall, the Chippenham Captain, came up to me and suggested that I should come up and practice and play with their club. Being a youngster, a little shy and lacking confidence I was not totally aware of the possibilities the move could bring. I thought of myself as a Box lad, enjoying the game with good players like Nigel Bence, Alan Peacock, Clive Banks, Brian Wright etc. around me so decided to stay at Box. I enjoyed over 40 years of playing at Mead Farm but often wonder how good I could have been if I had taken that opportunity all those years ago. I feel I ended up as a fairly big fish in a reasonably large pond but enjoyed a social life with the players at Box which could not have been bettered. Several of us had children of similar ages and our wives would often come to the games with us when they would take the children into town or used the ground’s playground equipment or just chat. We would all join up again afterwards. Around nine of us played every Saturday and Sunday and we were grateful that we were able to have that opportunity. We played sport at the weekends and the family would come along. My son nowadays spends his weekend taking the children to a variety of sporting events and has little time for taking part himself.
A NEW MEMBER ARRIVES AND JOINS IN IMMEDIATELY
I remember the day Jim Drury arrived at the club. He was sitting on the Queen’s Head garden wall as the players arrived for our game. He called out to say he had his cricket kit in his car and it we were short he would like to play. We told him that we were never short but when it was almost time to start Terry Jefford, one of our opening bowlers, had not turned up. Jim was called to make up the numbers. He had just been appointed as a Director at Harbutt’s plasticine factory and had come from the Manchester area looking to buy a house somewhere near. After the game he joined us all in the lounge of the Queen’s for our usual socialising that took place after most matches. Len had closed the shutters on the windows at 11.00, closing time in those days, and we carried on until about 11.30. Trevor Cross then invited us all back to his house at Grosvenor in Bath so we all drove there, Jim driving his Directors car, a Morris Minor Traveller. We all knew the trouble of parking but
Jim did not and when we all came to leave at about 2 a.m. Jim’s car was blocked in. He drove onto the grass passing some huge trees until he could get no further, turned towards the A4 road where he was at least a metre higher than the road. A car was coming up the road but stopped when seeing Jim’s car about to drive off the wall, over the drop and down onto the road back to Box. We knew he would fit into our team well!
TONY, A UNIQUE CHARACTER
Another memorable event was on a Sunday in 1974 when we played against a team at Gowerton in South Wales. The Gowerton team had played at Lords sometime before in the final of the Haig National Village Knock-out Cup in which they were victorious. We had a great game against them which we won. Gowerton’s two opening batsmen, Eddie Bevan and Wayne Harris had scored quite heavily in the final but were both bowled in our game by Tony Butts, a stocky 2nd X1 bowler from Rudloe. He also took another couple of wickets in a very enjoyable game, although a long way to travel. On returning to the Queen’s much later in the evening, Tony bought two bottles of champagne to celebrate his performance. The following day the Club were off on the 5 day cricket tour to the Hastings area. Tony turned up in the Queen’s car park ready to go. He was dressed in his almost white cricket kit and black socks, laces of boots tied with them hanging around his neck and his bat under his arm. He had no other clothes and not a penny on him. He spent the week sleeping on the floors of other players’ rooms, challenging the locals to games of darts for drinks. It was a game he was quite good at and somehow he survived the week. There was another story of him winning money at the races, buying himself a race horse which he kept in the back garden of his council house at Rudloe until the R.S.P.C.A. were involved. Tony was certainly a unique local character.
CONCORDE, A PRIVILIGE TO HAVE WATCHED IT DAILY
One highlight that has absolutely nothing to do with cricket was when I taught at Highworth, north of Swindon, just inside the border ofWiltshire from 1971 until 1974. I spent my teaching career working in different schools in Wiltshire and was always able to travel from Box. Highworth was about three miles from the end of the runway at Fairford where Concorde was completing its flight trials. Many times a day that superb aircraft passed directly overhead low over the classroom as it practiced its landings and circuits and bumps. Every time I had to go to the window to watch that beautiful sight. The class I taught were studying a topic on transport and somehow we managed to organise a trip to tour 002 at the base. Many of the parents worked on the airfield so must have had some influence. I firmly believe that those 11 year olds were almost the first of the public ever to have been allowed inside that Concorde which was full of its testing equipment. With my mother and Joan, now wife of over 50 years, we drove to the top of Tog Hill and watched Concorde take off from Filton for its first flight on April 17th 1969, then dashed over to Fairford to see it as it taxied along the perimeter fence close to the road after it had touched down. That wonderful aircraft is now on permanent display at the Air Museum at Yeovilton.
YOUTH CRICKET
Box Cricket Club has always been keen to encourage youngsters to become interested in the game but there has not always been someone keen enough to take on the position of providing the experience. I was persuaded to run the youth section during the 1970’s and part of the 80’s giving
the youngsters practice a couple of times a week. We ran an Under 13 and Under 15 side in the annual 6-a-side County Competitions at which we were very successful winning the County League several years running. The mainstays of the teams were Gerald Hayward, Neil Pettit, Brian Morris and Neil Gooden. As often, offers of help for practice and transport were not always forthcoming. On one occasion the team had to play away at Wootton Bassett and the only car for transport was mine. The team kit was put in the boot of my 180B SSS Datsun Bluebird and the 6 players and I squeezed inside. I was aware of the risk I was taking and concerned but we managed the journey there and back without mishap. Luckily it was a one-off occasion. Those boys were unbeaten for at least two years and many carried on to play for Box for many years, with Gerald still playing. I continued to run youth cricket for several years but there was never a team as talented as those boys. It is great to see that over the years other players like Dave Hill, Kris Boulton, Brian Morris, Graham Cogswell and many others have continued to help local youngsters enjoy the game.
I received a Coaching Certificate from the National Cricket Association in 1978 and also in 1979 I was awarded Wiltshire Cricket Association County Colours. This was in recognition of a) my playing performance and b) my general service to cricket and therefore to Wiltshire Cricket.
BackRow, Graham Guy, ? , ?. Graham Fletcher, Mike Warren, Richard Gray, Anthony Smith, Terry Jefford, Jim Shannon. Seated, Trevor Cross, Pat Bollen, Nigel Bence, Steve Wheeler
A CHANCE OF A REPRESENTATIVE GAME
I was appointed to the post of Deputy Head teacher of a school in Calne to start in September 1978. The Head teacher, on his introductory talk with me, mentioned that if I was ever unable to attend for any reason, to let him know as early as possible so that he could arrange cover. It just so happened that two days after the start of the term I had an evening phone call from the Wiltshire Cricket Association asking if I could play for the team two days later against the Army at Tidworth. They needed an answer straight away. I had thought for years that one day I might get the chance of
a representative game but if I agreed I knew there would be trouble. However, I said that I would be available. I had attended County Meetings and often heard the committee express the fact that clubs like Box were never capable of playing to the standards of the likes of Malmesbury, Swindon and Chippenham. That evening I phoned the Head Teacher to say that I had been picked for the County to play on the Thursday so would be absent for the day. I believed that teachers chosen to represent the County in any sport were entitled to time off. He replied aggressively that I should not be so silly as to think of having time off to play a game of cricket. He went on to say that I had my career to think of so must see him in his office first thing in the morning to say that I had changed my mind. I gave the situation some thought but decided to stick to my guns and play.
The following morning he was waiting for me, with the school secretary, his wife, sat next to him. He asked me if I had come to my senses and given up the idea of such a ridiculous suggestion. I told him that I had waited years for an opportunity like this and had agreed to play. He was angry and insisted that there was no way that I was having time off and that he was informing the Education Department of that fact. After lunch he arrived in my classroom on the first floor, red faced and out of breath to say that the County had agreed that I could play and that I would be paid for the day as per County Regulation. He was not a happy person. During the afternoon break he knocked on the staffroom door, entered and announced that I had been selected to play cricket for the County and went on to say that he had fought for me to have the time off and wished me well. In the four years I was Deputy at that School, never once did I get past his wife in the outer office so had absolutely no preparation for becoming a Head Teacher. I did play and bowled well against the Army who scored a reasonable number of runs but we lost several early wickets. I batted well against a tight attack, finally seeing off their strong bowlers but when the chance came for an easier time I got myself out. After the game one of the umpires congratulated me on my performance against a strong side but reminded me of keeping the concentration going when it was needed most. Many years later I played a couple of seasons for the Wiltshire Over50’s side but felt that I was never used for my batting and bowling at the correct time so dropped out.
I MADE THE WRONG DECISIONS AND ALWAYS FELT GUILTY
There were two occasions in my cricketing career that I felt guilty about making the wrong decision. One was when John Spencer, one of the fastest bowlers I ever faced, was bowling against me for Chippenham. Box were struggling to make runs and I was not doing much better. I had a dabble at the ball and felt a faint touch. Most of the close fielders rose in appeal. I knew I had touched it and have always felt that batsmen always know when they have had even the faintest of touches. I decided not to walk as Alec Smith, our umpire, had given me not out. In those times players were much more honest about the laws of the game and tended to abide by them. I think that it was the only time I did not walk and felt guilty after.
The other occasion was when we were playing in a high scoring game away to Malvern. Box were chasing a large score with Ron Low batting well. We had taken no umpire and senior players took their turn at umpiring for a spell. I was doing the job and had been there quite a while watching Ron whack his way to 98. There was a tremendous shout for L.B.W. against him and he was plumb. I knew I should give him out but it was such a good innings that I wanted to see him score his 100, so I gave the decision of “Not Out”, much to the dismay of the fielding side. Ron went on to amass 134 runs but I knew I had cheated their team, which has always played on my mind. Those were the only
two times I am aware of that I did not follow my rule of fair play. I play quite a bit of golf now and would not dream of doing anything that might be thought of cheating.
Back D. Hill, I. Cogswell, A. Smith, M. Warren, M. Thompson, D. Williams, E. Martell, M. Robson, S. Cross, N. Bence, Middle R, Bryant, D. Cogswell, J. Harris, J. Drury, R. Gray, P. Bollen, G. Fletcher, T. Cross, Front N. Guy, G, Gogswell, R. Rebbeck. K. Boulton in background.
THREE PAINFUL EXPERIENCES
Box were playing against Warminster and I was batting when a fast bowler bowled me a beamer, a fast ball that is head high and does not bounce. I went to glance it to the boundary when it came off the back of the bat striking me on the right cheek, knocking me to the ground. I was taken to the local hospital where they thought I had suffered a stroke with one side of the lip lower than the other. However, that was not the case but my face was a real mess and I looked deformed, an imitation of the elephant man. I had to go to School on the Monday which frightened the younger children. Gradually my face returned to normal, although I am still able to feel a lump around my cheek bone. I think that the game must have been near the end of the season because towards the end of the winter I found out that Warminster had invested in a bowling machine. I needed to regain my confidence so I booked a time to practice using the machine to bowl at me. I had taken along a non-playing friend to Warminster to help with the machine while I practiced. Not having used a bowling machine before we left the settings as they were. The first ball hit me full length on the big toe of my front foot. Long gone were the days of steel toecaps for cricket boots. The pain crippled me for a while and I asked my friend to alter the settings. The next ball hit my straight on the same spot as the first, at the same speed and length. I took off my boot and my big toe had already gone black. After a while I struggled up to the machine to look at the settings. They were set at 90 mile
per hour full length on the off stump. Being left-handed meant it was aiming at a speed I was not expecting full length at my right boot. After hobbling about for a while I changed the settings and spent a little time trying to regain some confidence but my foot took longer to recover.
PLAYING AGAINST AN AUSTRALIAN ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL
Each year Box Cricket Club had a game against the Bristol side of Knowle, a fixture we always looked forward to. In the early 80’s Shaun Graf, who played 11 one-day internationals for Australia, came over and played for the summer months at Knowle and for Hampshire. He had replaced Dennis Lilley in the Australian side when Dennis had been disciplined for going out to bat with an aluminium bat. Shaun was an all-rounder but a very quick bowler. The Club played against him three years running and I vividly remember him bowling a few early balls from his long run-up at Pete Robson and Pat Bollen. He would then revert to his shorter run-up but bowled almost as quickly. My memory is that I caught and bowled him on all three occasions. My young son Paul was scorer at the time and Shaun signed the scorebook for him each time. The third time Shaun had opened the batting and Knowle had scored 147 before I came on to bowl and caught him in my first over. In 1985 my family had a year’s exchange to Perth, Western Australia, swopping Jobs, houses, cars and pets. Most Fridays after school the male teachers would meet for drinks, which at that time was known as, “the six-o-clock swill”. Other Australian players such as Kim Hughes and Geoff Thompson would be there as well recounting their cricketing stories. I attended a few nets but did not get on too well. All the ball were banged in short and fast coming at you at throat height, not exactly where I like the ball.
I WAS ALWAYS GIVEN MY FAIR SHARE OF THE BOWLING
Playing for Box Cricket Club over the years produced many team and personal highlights but my fading memory cannot recall them. I often speak of Ron Low who is able to remember names and events of anything he took part in, especially football, at which he was semi-professional and cricket. It is a shame I could not manage to talk him into writing a few words towards his time at the Club. Ron and I have had our differences, especially when he would pinch a single from the last ball of most overs but he was a gifted player and a real asset to the club. As mentioned in the updated history of Box Cricket Club, Ron did not agree with league cricket but if he had to play it, he would try to play the best standard he could so left and played for Bath Cricket Club for many years. He eventually returned to finish his career at Box but since then has spent years looking after the wicket with Dave Betts producing surfaces which are a credit to the Club. He also took over, for many years, the position of President of Box C. C.
I have to admit that in the over 40 years I played for Box Cricket Club, although retiring several times to play golf instead, I never scored 100 runs. However, I enjoyed the bowling and had just one aim. That aim was to bowl at those stumps on a good length and make the batsman play. If he was good enough to hit the ball through the ring of fielders that captain Richard Gray always set, then well done but if he was to miss the ball my aim was to bowl him. League cricket suited me down to the ground with the batsmen having to take chances to score unless the odd bad ball had been bowled. I often felt sorry for other bowlers as Richard and I tended to hog the bowling giving others little chance. My left-arm, round the wicket medium paced balls generally swung in quite sharply towards the legs of right-handed batsmen and with the talented John Harris standing up behind the stumps the batsmen had to be really careful. Richard Bryant and Alan Joy later took their place
keeping wicket and were equally as efficient in testing the batsmen. I often felt that Richard took many wickets as the opposition needed to push on and would take a chance against his left- arm over spin bowling. Television personality and cricket enthusiast M.C.C. member Lesley Crowther, whose daughter lived in the Manor House at the time, often came and sat on the bench behind the boundary at square leg. One day, when I had finished an over and returned to my position of square leg fielder by the bench, Lesley spoke to me and said that he could not believe the standard of cricket that we played and how competitive it was. It was far better than the village cricket that he had expected.
A View from the Recreation Ground towards Boxhill
A PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT
My highlight, once again, was away against Chippenham. Box were competing in the quarter final of the Wiltshire 20 over Knock-Out Cup. Their wicket was right at the edge of the square, extremely close to the allotment side of the ground, far away from the pavilion. There was a huge distance to the boundary on the opposite side of the outfield. Richard Gray, our captain, gave me the new ball to bowl my trundling left-arm around the wicket balls downhill while Mark Thompson, our young fast bowler had to struggle uphill. John Collins, a hard hitting county player opened the batting for Chippenham, I can’t remember the other opener. I bowled the first ball of the game outside the off stump, the ball swinging in quite late to wrap right-handed John on the pads. That happened time and time again, the batsman unable to play a ball swinging into his pads. Their captain, Tony Marshall, was at the boundary edge screaming at John to hit the ball or get out but he was unable to play those swinging balls. I bowled my five overs for one run and Mark completed his for five with them having eleven leg byes, totalling 17 runs only for the first 10 overs. I don’t remember who bowled the rest but Chippenham ended up having scored 63 in their 20 overs. Box struggled as well with batting and after 17 overs needed another 34 runs to win. Jim Drury and Richard Gray started
hitting the ball towards the long boundary, the short side being packed with fielders. The distance was so far that it was almost impossible to score a boundary and the Box pair ran a couple of 5’s. Richard was never known for his athleticism or stamina and was really struggling but Jim kept him going with the pair winning the game on the last ball. On leaving the field Marshall refused to shake Richard’s hand as was usual. As for the victorious side, many of us would never forget that game.
I do have to mention one other occasion when I opened the bowling against the captain of Swindon on the County Ground. I bowled the first ball of the game well outside the off stump, the batsman shouldering arms when the ball swung in late to knock out his middle stump. He stood there for a while not believing what had happened before wandering off, head down. When the conditions were right, that was my stock ball.
THE END OF A GREAT AND ENJOYABLE CAREER
Several times I retired from the game to play golf and several times I returned to help Box Cricket Club when they were short. Gradually I realised that my fielding was no longer an asset and that gamesmanship by some players was creeping into that great game, which I found unacceptable. Times were moving on and many long-standing fellow players were drifting away. In 2002 I was made an Honorary Life Member of the Cricket Club for the many years involvement with the Club in both playing and official capacities. Those many years of sporting comradeship at Box Cricket Club had to be experienced to be believed. The Club at the moment is struggling to stay afloat with only one Saturday side but it would be great to think that the Box Cricket Club could survive to reach its 200th Anniversary.