2011 Season Review

It is as well that the Founder of the Club decreed that averages and records should not be kept. Nearly eighty years later, in an age where instant messaging and all the clutter of twitter, texting, cyberspace piracy and God knows what is said to have revolutionised our communications, and to have made the Bakelite telephone and postcard as obsolete as the telegram boy, it has never proved more difficult to find out if any given match was played, what the result was, and if the manager thought any detail worth recording. Each year the record of the season has to be impressionistic.

The Scribe's impression of the 2011 season, from the information provided, is that few matches were won, perhaps only five, but that some highly enjoyable cricket was played, with a large proportion of close finishes: successive tied games against Tring Park and the Berkshire Gentlemen, matches lost by margins of three, five, six, and eight runs, one victory by five runs, and another (Abingdon School) by 'a few runs'. There were notable draws as well, none more exciting than that at Radley, where the College was cruising towards a comfortable win when a deft run-out by the manager precipitated a slither of wickets which ended with the last pair holding out.

There was one new fixture, against Marlow Park, which proved a congenial location. As in many games nowadays, the manager had trouble persuading them to play a 'time game' – indeed difficulty in getting them to understand what such a game actually is. SOA has maintained tradition in one place only to concede in another: the Report contains an account of the first SOA 20/20 game. SOA is not the first 'county' club to go down this road, and when such fixtures become established they may bring new, young faces into regular SOA cricket. We are lucky to have fixtures against so many sides who relish 'our sort of cricket' – see the managers' reports for the Leicester Gents and Horspath games, for example. 

2011 was remarkable for the large number of exciting games, and also for the fact that hardly any games were rained off; reading the 1987 reports, I see that eleven games were cancelled, including five in succession in June. The score book suggests that 2011 was a year for batsmen, rather than for bowlers. There were nine centuries recorded: Ellwood (122* v Witney Mills and 107 v Stragglers of Asia), Wakefield (jun.) (118 v Radley College), F Crouch (103 v Worcester Gents), E Phillips (106 v Glos. Gipsies), Hardy 102* and King 129 (v Bloxham School), Swann (103 v Marlow Park) Rose (118 v Bledlow) and Thomson (121 v Axminster on tour). Bowling honours were sparser: President Giles (9.4-0-52-6 v Witney Mills, and Maule (13-4-29-5 v Leicester Gents). Any player who excelled in a match not recorded in the Report should complain to the Match Manager concerned.

Many readers of this Report are or have been Match Managers, and know the difficulties and frustrations perhaps better than they know the pleasures which go with the job. It goes without saying that the Club would simply cease to exist without them, so it is disappointing that regular players decline to manage, or resign their commissions. All managers are sent useful advice, and it is available on the website, so there is really no excuse for failing to raise a side, or saying in an aggrieved tone 'Umpire? No-one told me!'

The failure of St. John's College to honour their fixture in 2011 marks the end of an era. Twenty-five years ago there were still six fixtures against Oxford colleges (although not all-day matches any more), and now there are none.

Obituaries

John Wadsworth died at the end of November, aged 73. He and Di had been active in Devon cricket for some years before their retirement there in 2003. SOA first came across their umpire-scorer partnership about ten years ago, and they quickly became our friends. Di scored in 2011 at Axminster, and John came with her, well enough to drink a couple of pints, and talking as clearly and sensibly about cricket as ever. We all knew that we should not see him again; Mike Knox's first duty as new president was to represent the club at the memorial service at Sidmouth.

John and Di met in Northamptonshire, through their shared interest in cricket, which brought them together in middle age after both had been married before. He was a very able umpire, and active in the Umpire's Association. He was highly professional; he did not adjust his standards at all for 'friendly' cricket, but he never imposed himself upon the game. He was one of the straightest men you could hope to meet, and in the bar afterwards usually the person most worth  talking with.

Away from sport John was an enthusiast for English Literature and history. He also spoke French and German – and claimed Viking ancestry! “His great-great-great-grandfather was the German consul in Hull and John always claimed Viking blood,” said Di. We are glad that we shall still see Di during the Western Tour, and will miss John very much.

Canon Timothy Wimbush died in October, His funeral took place in St Mary’s Church, Banbury. This was a memorable occasion, with an estimated 600 present, including four Bishops, innumerable clergy and a choir of sixty. Tim had not umpired a SOA game for many years, but older players have clear memories of his emphatic and distinctive manner of officiating.

'At the conclusion of the service the coffin was carried to the West Door where the eleven Benefice Churchwardens were lined up in honour of their Rector, and the signature tune of Test Match Special played at this time was a happy reminder of Tim’s special love of cricket and of his humour and will help to make the funeral one of the most memorable possible.' (Sibford Church website)

John Wardle died in February of this year, in his late eighties. He had been a lecturer at Abingdon College, and this must have contributed to the great rapport which he had with younger players. He was a cheerful and sociable man; players who knew him often tried to get to field at square leg, where they could be sure of an occasional peppermint.

25 Years Ago (From the 1987 Report. President B.G.Bowden, Esq.)

Annual Dinner. The President's initial reluctance to speak at the Dinner was countered by the suggestion that he could hold a telephone receiver and shut his eyes. Phil Garner was the guest speaker – indeed he was both guest speakers – and once again St. Anne's College provided a gourmet feast.

Wednesday May 6 (1987) v Brasenose College.                                   Manager Martin Lee

Lost by seven wickets

SOA 182-5 dec. (Lowe 94, Daniel 55)

Brasenose College 183-3 (N Smith 7-0-42-2)

Sutcliffe travelled from Hampshire for this game, was forced to open the batting because the President was late, and was dismissed first ball. The President donned his pads while two young Downs players [Lowe and Daniel] added 165. After the declaration the young gentlemen hit a miscellaneous attack to all corners of the large ground, but not one of them stayed for a drink, to the manager's disgust and the groundsman's embarrassment.

Monday June 29 (1987) v Oxford Downs                                                Manager Alan Crossley

Won by 11 runs

SOA 182-8 dec. (Garner 43, Evans 36*, Pineo 31, Crossley 29*; Lurcock 17-4-43-3, Lee 14-3-61-3, Bent 14-1-75-2)

Oxford Downs 171 (Collins 60, Lee 31; Garner 10-2-48-5, Evans 15.1-3-48-4)

This fixture in the Downs' Cricket Week usually turns out to be one of those games which is talked about for the rest of the season, and so it proved again. After two early wickets fell to Lee, Garner joined Primett for a stand of 58 in under two hours, Pineo (no 5) prowling in his pads the while. When Garner was out to a brilliant running catch by Daniel off Lee, the backlog of batsmen set about raising the scoring rate, soon taking SOA to 118-8 before the manager organised a rally, while tea was delayed. The Downs began explosively with 87 for the first wicket, but the introduction of the spinners was decisive, and the game ended with five possible balls remaining. The game, with a total of 17 SOA members taking part, was full of incident: several 'most selfish cricketer' nominations, umpire Courtney's walking stick being painted white during the tea interval, and Garner's tuneful renderings into the night were only the most memorable.