RAOC Gazette - page 186
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1980 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1980 |
| Late date | 1980 |
| Transcription |
CORPS CRICKET 1980 THE CHAIRMAN'S REPORT A . I / i I \( / / , , •' *Jft 6 L(\ ' N*iL_>t»_Zj*Ll#i.i__-4~-i-- 1980 has been a satisfactory season both for results and administration. We have been extremely lucky with weather completing all but one match, in what has been an appal- ling summer. Of the Corps matches plaved we defeated the RAMC. Royal Signals and RCT. lost to RAEC. RMA Sand- hurst and RAOC BAOR: and drew against REME. ACC. RAPC and Roval Marines. In the club matches we recorded wins over Queens College Oxford and HAC. lost to RMCS and Keeble College Oxford and the game against Sunbury Cricket Club was abandoned due to the weather. The forecast for the season, with the known players avail- able. was that the batting would be our weakness. In fact the batting proved to be steady and we were always given a good start by John Wood and the aged Chairman : they put on one hundred and six for the first wicket against the RAMC and Wood went on to complete an excellent one hundred and thirty thee not out. The opening stands were followed up by good batting from Gordon Jones and Graham Cowell supported by good innings from the lower order. Trevor Ashworth in particular scored some useful runs. Jones' fifty four in thirty seven minutes against Royal Signals was possibly the best individual innings of the season. The leading batting averages were: Innings Highest Runs Time Average Score Not out Wood 11 133 No 414 2 .... 46 Hopkinson 10 73 No 315 2 .... 39.37 Cowell 14 49 No 308 1 .... 23.69 Jones 12 54 215 1 .... 19.54 The bowling, led by Richard Shore, lived up to its promise and we were fortunate with the return of Trevor Ashworth from civilian life, Dick Travers from BAOR and John Aldridge on leave from Hong Kong. Jones and Shore bowled consistently well throughout the season and we were delighted that Richard Shore was again a regular member of the Army and Combined Services teams. Graham Cowell. the only slow bowler in the side got wickets regularly and at critical moments. The bowling highlights of the season include Shore's seven wickets for nineteen runs v. HAC. Ashworth's six for forty two v ACC and Aldridge five for twenty four v RCT. The leading averages were: Overs Runs Wickets Average 25 9.12 Shore 233 228 Jones 112 263 25 10.52 Ashworth 50 165 15 11 Aldridge 50 116 9 12.88 Cowell 78 258 15 17.2 Graham Cowell captained the side well for the second season and will still be available next season. His form was good and his cricketing judgement was sound throughout. One of the heartening factors has been the emergence of young cricketers like Zamon, Bunting. Travers and Inions as genuine Corps prospects, and we look to their further development next year. We look forward to the 1981 season with confidence. The nucleus of this years team will be available, and with several young players about to make their mark, the prospects are promising. Corps caps were awarded to Donald O'Hare, John Holmes and Tom Bunting. The Director Generals Inter Unit cricket cup was won by the Training Centre who beat COD Bicester narrowly in a very exciting game. Captain Frank Buckett from the Employment Training School, takes over as Secretary next season and we are proposing to open up the club games to all past as well as present cricketers of the Corps. The fixtures will be published in Tim GAZETTE in due course and any cricketer wishing to play should contact the Secretary. We are also trying to expand the Club fixtures possibly playing one club game at the centres of Corps activity such as Chilwcll, Donnington, Kineton and Bicester. f ; or 1981 we arc actively pursuing the possibility of a Corps cricket tour to Gibraltar or BAOR (or both!) and a possible play-off between the BAOR and UK Inter-Unit Cup winners. 1980 was a good season and we look forward to 1981 to step forward from this firm base of good administration and a strong pool of players. G. B. H. C R I C K E T IIV T H E C O R P S — 1922 TO 1950 FROM MAJOR A. IHLLMAN (RI5TIREI)) MY earliest memory of cricket in the Corps dates back to 1922. The Regimental Depot had arrived at Hilsea in 1921 and was without a cricket ground of its own : matches were played on the Hilsea College ground. I have no diary or score books to refer to, relying entirely on my memory for the detail given in the following—so please forgive any slight errors! The team chosen for the first match I remember, against Eastney Royal Marines, included the following:—Colonel H. S. Bush, (once Captain of Surrey), Lieutenant Colonel Weatheread, Majors Dick Skinner and G. Palmer, Captains G. R. S. Love and N. A. Knox, Lieutenant Symons, Staff Sergeants Tommy Redfern and Jock Connor and Boy Charlie Genders. This was good class cricket. I doubt if any Corps side was better. In December 1925 J. B. Hobbs, the great Surrey and England batsman wrote: It is true that I had seldom to play against the best fast bowler of this Century, Mr N. A. Knox. as he played for Surrey and almost invariably on the same side as myself. I moved to Bermuda in November 1924, and found that out of a Detachment of twenty on Boaz Island there was quite a good side. They had won the Governor's Cup that year, and included in the side one Sergeant Archie Jones, a fast bowler, who had played for the Whites in Bermuda against the Australians. He could swing a new ball further than any bowler I have seen. Of course the atmosphere was a great help. There was also Sergeant Cyril Badman, a slow/medium left arm spinner, who in my opinion, was second to none in the Corps—but never played in a representative game. In 1929 I arrived at Didcot, to meet up again with Cyril Badman. Later we were joined by Lieutenant Robinson, (who was killed in Quetta during the earthquake). He realised that we were a good side and arranged an application to join the Oxford League, even though we were in Berkshire! The League was run in four Sections and we won our Section, and the right to compete in a knock-out semi-final, which we lost but were invited to play the first match of the Headington cricket week. Their side included Tom Sheppard, (Surrey opener), Herman, Arnold and Brown of Hampshire, and some other well known cricketers. I have a special memory of this game. We lost the toss and had to field and the light was bad to say the least of it. Tom Sheppard opened and Major de Wolffe, our Skipper, gave the ball to Cyril Badman. Tom must have expected some speed from the new ball and was obviously surprised at the slowness of the first ball. He leaned out to push it back but it turned enough to beat the bat, and he was stumped. Before No. 3 could come in, the Umpires decided that the light was too bad, so we all went in. Later when it improved and we took to the field, we were more than surprised to see Tom Sheppard again. Our Skipper was too good a sport to protest, and Tom proceeded to make seventy eight. We eventually lost the game—but gave a good account of our- selves. I was introduced to Corps cricket in the early 1930's, and enjoyed every game in which I was lucky enough to be invited to play. There were three highlights worth mentioning. The first was in my first game versus the Pay Corps, played on the North Middlesex ground. We batted second and lost several wickets rather cheaply and needed forty odd, with little time to go when most of the team, having urgent business elsewhere, — 145 — (Continued on page 172) |
| Book number | R0404 |