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5th May 2008 - False Start...
It was a frustrating first weekend to the league season as both the 1st and 2nd XI matches were cancelled on one of the nicest days of the year so far. The 2nds, whilst being frustrated at not having a match will be glad to have bagged 30 points from East Preston being unable to field a team. The circumstances surrounding the 1st XI cancellation were slightly more dubious. Broadbridge Heath called the match off on Saturday morning having informed their own players on Friday. Whilst nobody at Storrington CC is accusing BBH of anything under hand, the fact that the match was called off on Friday without waiting to see what the conditions would be on Saturday, that BBH declined the offer to switch the fixture to Storrington and that the BBH ground was subsequently deemed fit for a friendly on Sunday morning lead to a few raised eyebrows. The frustration was compounded by the fact that this fixture resulted in comprehensive victories for The Swans in each of the previous two season. New captain Paul Smith will view this as an opportunity to get the season off to a winning start missed.
Cricket Force Day - Saturday 5th April
A small but effective band of club members (pictured) turned out to carry out various jobs in order to prepare the facilities for the forthcoming season.
2008 Sussex Invitation League fixtures
The 2008 fixtures for the Sussex Invitation League have been released. Following the shake up of the league format, the 1st XI will play in 1st XI Division 2 with the 2nds in 2nd XI Division 1. Two fixtures that immediately stand out are the 1st XIs matches with league new boys West Chiltington & Thakeham. The home match will take place on May 31st with the return fixture on August 16th.
End of season dinner - Friday 21st September
The end of season dinner was held at The Crown Inn and saw one of the best attendances of recent seasons. A good crowd of playing and non-playing members came along and there was a great mix of current and former players. It was also good to see so many WAGS in attendance. The highlight of the night was Russell Harding and Matt Pickards awards ceremony. Gavin Clarke was the big winner on the night, adding the prestigous "Best Teas" award to his deserved prizes but there were also an award for one of the clubs veterans. See below for full details.
1st XI Player of the Year - Gavin Clarke
2nd XI Player of the Year - Dan Pickard
Batting award - Gavin Clarke
Bowling award - Ian Massbury
Stan Welland Shield for Best Young Cricketer - Tom Good
The sun beat the rain, the barbeque burned all day, there was plenty to drink and the cricket was a good close match. Davvers would have loved it.
Sunday 15th July - Storrington Cricket Club hosted its biggest crowd in recent memory as over a hundred people turned out to remember John Davenport and raise money for the John Davenport memorial trust. The outcome of the match between Storrington CC and Pulborough RFC was secondary to the social and fund raising aspects of the day but for the record, the rugby club edged home, helped by some of the cricket clubs own members. The early threat of rain was seen off by the warm sunshine that lasted just about long enough to complete the match and supporters from both clubs enjoyed an afternoon that was a fitting tribute to Davvers. Through bar and barbeque takings and a brilliantly supported raffle, over a grand was raised for the trust with the final figure to be confirmed in the coming days.
Thanks go out to all those that supported the event in various ways and helped us to have a day that was so very Davvers.
Below; Peter and Rupert Davenport toss the coin as skippers for the day of SCC and PRFC respectively.
The John Davenport Charity match. Sunday 15th July, sponsored by Henry Adams
On Sunday 15th July, Storrington Cricket Club will take on Pulborough Rugby Club in a 35 overs a side cricket match in memory of John Davenport. The match will commence at 1400 and the day will also be a fund raiser for the John Davenport Memorial Trust which provides support to both children and groups of children who otherwise might not be able to participate in junior rugby.
As well as the cricket match, there will be teas, a barbeque, the bar open all day and a raffle with prizes including cricket and rugby tickets, wines and spirits and gift vouchers.
All members and their families and friends are invited to come down for at least part of the afternoon to help remember a much loved club member and raise as much money as possible for a good cause. The club will be open from 1 pm with the bar open for pre match refreshments.
Raffle prizes include:
England rugby tickets for Twickenham
Harlequins rugby tickets for Twickenham
Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire county cricket tickets
Marks & Spencers vouchers
Wine vouchers
Booze
and other prizes
SCC would like to thank Henry Adams for being the main sponsors of this event and would also like to express its gratitude to Sussex County Cricket Club, Hampshire County Cricket Club, Surrey County Cricket Club, The West Sussex County Times, The Worthing Herald and Clive Roberts at The Old Forge Restaurant in Storrington.
Pre season social
The pre-season social get together will take place at the cricket club on Friday 20th April from 1930. All members and their families are welcome. The bar will be open and a light buffet available. Phil Pickard will be testing the general knowledge of our members with a quiz and Chris Winter will be glad to accept any membership subscriptions.
See you there...
Farewell to a much loved SCC member
It is with great sadness that storringtoncc.com reports the passing away of one of the clubs most popular members. After battling cancer throughout 2006, John Davenport finally lost his fight on New Years Day 2007. The thoughts of everybody at the club are with Pauline, Peter, Rupert and Izzy.
John served the club in a number of capacities in an association of over 25 years. Whether it be as player, club secretary, colts manager, 2nd XI captain or keen social member John was always heavily involved with cricket in Storrington. It is for his work as colts manager during the mid to late nineties for which the club owes him the greatest debt of gratitude. This was the last time that the club had a formal colts set up until Phil Pickard re-started it in 2005, and the legacy to the club is still there to see as Johns own son Rupert as well as other players such as Chris Hurst, Mike Duddy and Peter Roberts have gone on to become regular performers for the 1st XI. John was also responsible for bringing more new players and members to the club than anyone else during recent years as he used his seemingly endless list of local contacts to pull players out of the bag at the last minute on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
When it came to the social side of the cricket club, John was never far from the forefront of the activity. His barbeques became legendary, particularly when a downpour once lead to him continuing the barbeque inside the pavilion in order to avoid disappointing everyone. John was frequently one of the last people out of the pavilion on a Saturday or Sunday night, often enjoying wine or cider with fellow member and friend Ian Massbury.
John was also a very useful top order batsman and a more than capable wicketkeeper. He shed his fair share of blood for the club down the years including the loss of front teeth and a broken jaw but he was always straight back into the action, cracking jokes or sharing banter with opponents.
This is just a summary of Johns involvement at the club down the years and its clear that he was always a very keen and supportive member of the club. However, what John will be best remembered for by most that were fortunate enough to know him was his irrepressible sense of humour, his determination to see the funny side of every situation and to see the best in everyone. It was common place to see opposition players with bemused expressions on their face, wondering if Johns constant chatting, banter and general pleasantness was genuine. Of course, it was completely sincere and provided a refreshing throw back in a game that has become increasingly serious and often ill tempered in recent years.
Davvers will be missed by everyone at Storrington CC and it is hoped by all at the club that the Davenport family will maintain their strong association with the club for years to come.
Sunday cricket - Captain and players required
Having struggled to keep the Sunday XI up and running for the last couple of seasons, we have now reached something of a crossroad for Sunday cricket at the club. We have reached a situation where there are no obvious candidates or volunteers to take on the captaincy of the Sunday XI and as such a decision has been taken by the committee that fixtures will be cancelled in advance on a month by month basis until a new captain can be found. Sunday cricket used to provide an effective stepping stone between our colts sides and league cricket and has always had a strong social aspect to it. If Storrington cricket clubs long history of Sunday cricket comes to an end, it is unlikely that it will get up and running again so if you're a current member or a potential new member and you think you could take on the captaincy of the Sunday XI, please contact a member of the committee.
8th August - Storrington old boys reunite but can't quite roll back the years
Geoff Carter brought his Storrington Old Boys back together for the first time in a few years to provide the opponents for this cricket week fixture. After the match was played for the first time in 1992 it became a regular fixture for a number of years before falling by the wayside. Back in '92 a number of the Old Boys were still playing elsewhere and were a good match with bat and ball for the current Storrington side. Fourteen years on and whilst the batting is still strong enough to ensure that they won't be beaten, time has inevitably taken its toll a little on the bowling and fielding.
The current Swans batted first with Rob Norris opening the innings. Norris scored his first ever century in the 1992 fixture made 87 on this occassion but would have been back in the pavilion for a duck if the Old Boys guest player Jamie Carter had held a low chance at point.
In reply to the total of over 200, the Old Boys were in trouble early as John Carter - one of the best batsmen to have ever played for the club - smacked a long hop to long leg without scoring off the bowling of Paul Smith. Alex Barritt then picked up John Harrison and skipper Smith had his opposite number Carter caught behind. It came down to two of the Old Boys who are still playing for the club to bring their team back into it. Malcolm Carter and Mark Haggert steadied the ship and Carter went on to make a half century before being dismissed. With hindsight, Storrington probably batted on for too long to make a competitive match of it but Haggert closed the door to make sure that the Old Boys went away with a draw. The result was secondary to the fact that the day provided another reunion for some of the stars of the days when Storrington won the Invitation league. It was great to see the old faces from days gone by and it is hoped that they will return for cricket week next year.
Back row from left to right: Bob Cross, John Carter, Jamie Carter, Malcolm Carter, Colin Harrison, Phil Cripps, Ken Holland, John Dodsworth, John Harrison, Mark Haggert. Front row left to right: Geoff Carter, Ron Carter, Jim Haggert, Peter Johnson
Above: John Carter and John Harrison prepare to open the Old Boys innings.
Below: Captains Paul Smith and Geoff Carter
Club clothing
Club shirts and caps are now available from the bar at the cricket club. Shirts are £16 and caps are £7.50. Below, we see Nick Vinnicombe modelling the range.
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