We had the distinct pleasure of two guests tonight as Mr Geoff Cook brought along his – and our – good friend Pat Murphy.
As player, coach and administrator, Geoff is one of the most significant figures in English cricket in the last forty years.
Born in Middlesbrough, he always played as much cricket as he could and started his career in Northants, where his second-wicket partnership with Robin Boyd-Moss remains a record.
Geoff also holds the Northants appearance record, playing for the club 774 times (1971–90) and captaining the side from 1981 to 1988.
He was a long-serving secretary and chair of the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA), and played in a handful of Tests and ODIs (1981–83).
In 1991 he took up a role as Director of Cricket at Durham, shortly before the club achieved first-class status in 1992.
Then as Head Coach (2006–13), he led the county to a Friends Provident Trophy (2007) and three championship wins (2008, 2009 and 2013) – successes gained largely with players from the north-east.
Geoff's ability to spot talent is second to none, and he has nurtured many top international players at Durham - including the likes of Ben Stokes, Steve Harmison, Mark Wood, and most recently Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse.
His thoughts on Bazball suggest that he rather approves of its entertainment value, and he views Ben Stokes as a natural leader of the team at every level.
After signing a scorecard from a championship game against Yorkshire at Bradford Park Avenue in 1977, Geoff commented on a Northants side that boasted the likes of Mushtaq Muhammed, Bishen Bedi and Sarfraz Nawaz.
He thought this a golden time for championship cricket with world-class players showing what they could do.
Geoff was good mates with then Northants captain Jim Watts, a man who cared about all the cricketers he knew, and who saw Geoff as his natural successor.
He also played with fellow north-easterner Colin Milburn – an attacking batter who would have thrived in the modern era.
With regard to today's young cricketers, Geoff admires their resilience.
England players aren't worried about being out or missing the chance of a boundary – they take the view that something will happen for them.
And although Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have a strong relationship, it's the captain who leads while the coach tends to hang back.
Harry Brook, he reckons, has great potential – if he gets going, it’s game over for the opposition.
But Geoff's best player of all was the formidable Viv Richards.
When Geoff was picked to tour India in 1982, the trip seemed to be in jeopardy as he had coached in South Africa's townships.
But all was resolved after a phone call to his Middlesbrough home from India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Geoff convinced Mrs Gandhi of his opposition to apartheid and she said OK to the tour.
Our new Deputy Chair Mark Heap gave our vote of thanks for a super evening, highlighting Geoff’s obvious passion for cricket and especially the county game.
And
as always our thanks must go to all who contributed to the £211
raffle total.
