EAST RIDING CRICKET SOCIETY

Well, the high turnout certainly wasn't due to clement weather – it was a freezing night. So it must be attributed to the presence of the very mild-mannered and unassuming Mr Graham Onions himself. The evening took a slightly unusual format, with the opening session conducted interview style prior to the open-floor Q&A after the interval. Rather than report verbatim, I'll try to summarise the information we gathered from our guest. As a lad of about thirteen, Graham lived near a cricket ground and would often come home from school, don his whites and walk there. He started out as a batsman, but as he grew taller and became more athletic turned more to bowling. He played several sports in his teens, so wasn't part of any academy or other formal set up, and was about to go to university when he was spotted by Durham coach Geoff Cook and instead decided to opt for professional cricket. Graham made his Second XI debut, aged 18, and soon realised that he had to impro

If our chairman has a fault, and that’s yet to be proven, it isn’t that of prolonging an AGM. We breezed through his own report, which sympathetically summarised our inability to meet for two years.  He also praised Maggie, Ian and Brian for keeping the society alive in that time. Maggie, as secretary, also kept it admirably brief focusing on thanks to Simon Foster for his help with finding our new venue and on membership numbers which reached a high of c. 90 in March 2020 and still stand at around 60. Please look out for an email canvassing views on our meeting dates for 2023/24, potentially moving to the first Thursday of the month and sometimes changing to a Monday if necessary to secure a particular speaker. Please also note also that our next meeting will take place on MONDAY 16 January so England, Durham and Lancashire seamer Graham Onions can join us. Brian introduced his signed accounts, current to September 2020 and distributed for all to read. All income and expendi

Apologies from our chairman and a new opportunity to write down questions for the speaker were the prelude to a helter-skelter evening. Paul Farbrace gave no sign of needing anything as simple as breath as he took us on an engaging and entertaining rattle through his cricket life and memories. With a mother who made cricket teas, and a father and two older brothers who played, Paul usually started as the 'extra' for an opposition short of a man or two.  He signed for Kent in 1986 after a year as a would-be goalkeeper at Coventry City, which ended when Steve Ogrizovic told him that he lacked two attributes for this role: height and ability!  He played as understudy to keeper Steve Marsh and was lucky enough play with one of his heroes, Derek Underwood, in the great man’s last game.  Moving next to Middlesex, he was part of their Championship-winning team but his true calling has proved to be coaching. Kent's Colin Page was an example of an 'old school c

W ell, there we were! We few, we happy few, we band of cricket fans – and not so few either. Around 7pm the gathering started, culminating in around 45 of us.  Familiar and welcome faces, new and equally welcome ones too.  The return of the smiles and greetings we’d missed out on. In a new venue, too.  Thanks to Simon Foster, we reconvened in Beverley Town CC's clubhouse alongside the pitch and scoreboard – how appropriate.  New venue, new private bar, new meeting day – and miraculously Brian's new confident handling of the PA system. I think he spent the last two years practising! Same format though, same expectations of a night of cricket talk and the airing of some robust opinions.  Not wrong there, then.  Mr Kevin Howells kicked us off for the new season – one of the voices of cricket. Familiar tones, familiar passion for the game expressed honestly and fluently. Essentially he dwelt on three themes during the course of the evening: intertwined and revealing o

An acclaimed schoolboy cricketer, John Barclay made his Sussex debut in 1970, aged just sixteen. Two years later John joined the county as a promising all-rounder, going on to captain the side from 1981 to 1986. After retirement he managed the England team on two major overseas tours and became Director of Cricket and Coaching for the Arundel Castle Cricket Foundation , encouraging young people from less advantaged backgrounds to play and enjoy the game. To date, more than 200,000 youngsters have benefited from the scheme. John Barclay is President of the English Schools Cricket Association, President of the Cricket Society, and in 2009/10 served as President of the MCC. He is also the author of three books: The Appeal of the Championship , Lost in the Long Grass and his personal favourite, Life Beyond The Airing Cupboard - winner of the MCC and Cricket Society Book of the Year award.  Don't miss one of cricket's most distinguished and entertaining speake

Jonathan Doidge, February 2020 Well, I was disappointed. Most emphatically not in our speaker – certainly not. But with Valentine's day in the offing, where were the strewn confetti hearts, long-stemmed roses in wineglasses, or Cupids hanging from the ceiling? Maybe Christmas set my expectations too high? But to our speaker – Mr Jonathan Doidge. A man equally at home talking over by over about Yorkshire CCC, interviewing Grimsby Town footballers on the fly ('Do you like wearing shorts?'), assessing the going at Cheltenham (it dries up by the final day, apparently), or even throwing in a quick impression – think David Coleman, Eddie Waring or Bill McLaren. In short, a man imbued with sporting history, knowledge and enthusiasm. Getting lost at Ripon races aged just two was the experience that got him hooked. And, it must also be mentioned, a world champion and Olympic organiser to boot. Although to put these last two feats in context, the Olympics in question feat