Memory Lane
OK if you want to put a few old memories on this website, then feel free to email them to me - paul.taylor917@ntlworld.com and I will make sure they are 15 rated and put them on this section. Go on ...you can do it. Having said that I've been meaning to do mine for the last 6 months or so. I will though.....soon.
So here we go....
ALEC STREET - a few memories
You asked for a few personal notes on special memories with DCC. Some games just stick in your memory......
My first match 1st May 1994 v Plessey - I remember it vividly as it was the same day that Ayrton Senna was killed at Imola. Only other things I remember about my debut was that I got as many runs as I did wickets (one !) and Spenno kept wicket (pre dentures) and got a lifter in his one eater.
Playing at Clifton with 3 Dads and lads in the team - me and Adam, Ant and Ben and Dave and Ian. Plus Paul was playing and i think Colin was umpire. Perhaps one of the greatest things about DCC was that it was a real family club. Of course, Paul went on to play alongside Brad and there were the Browns after my time. I'm sure there were many more over the years.
Adams hat-trick and 6 for 33 on debut at Hilton.
Skegness CC away days.
Grantham CC - a young Saffa getting loads of sledging from Paul but then ultimately respect as he got his ton. The match went to the wire and a fantastic piece of fielding with a diving catch from Paul won the game in the last over. That was the same match when young Ben was bowling at Adam in the nets wearing no gloves and Adam broke his thumb.
Of course, digit injuries run in the family. Ask Benno about Alecs dropped catch off his bowling on the boundary at Stoke Bardolph which resulted in a broken and dislocated finger. No sympathy from Benno though. As he ran all the way over, I thought, how good of him to be concerned but actually all he was doing was fielding the ball so the batsman didn't run four !
Then there are all the other memories off the pitch......
Chase the ace - the Black Widow (Beryl)and Hibbo winning and off to the Chinese on the way home.
The Indian after Eastwood with about 15 of us piling in. One table of two young lovers probably on a first date. As they left and paid the bill, they left a few quid tip. We'll have that thanks - paid for our starters !
Quotes from The Twelfth Man on and off the pitch, normally via Smudge, Rob, Paul or Benno.
Hilarious.
Benno's stories during rain breaks especially the one about an old cricketing mate at Herons Head hoovering up rice off the table in the Indian Restaurant at the end of season night out and the story about Talcum powder and the Vesuvius trick - not for mixed company.
Happy days with DCC and all my old mates.
Thanks for the memories.
Alec
Dorchester is a friendly cricket club that boasts a wealth of highly talented cricketers who play competitively but always with complete respect for the laws and spirit of the game... and this Dorset team should not be confused with its namesake from Nottingham, which is little more than a nomadic tribe of uncouth, overweight layabouts, interested only in being first in the queue for tea.
Dorcester CC was founded in 1961 although the Nottingham area has a history dating back much longer. Going back many hundreds of years, Nottingham was originally called Snottingham, meaning "home of the Snotts" but the locals had trouble with the pronounciation of the leading "S" and dropped the first letter thus giving Nottingham, home of the Notts. It's understandable why a similar change was resisted so vehemently by the good people of Scunthorpe.
Apart from Dorchester Cricket Club, Nottingham is famous for a variety of reasons. It boasts the country's oldest pub, "The Trip to Jerusalem"; a unique distinction shared with only 117 other English pubs. By happy coincidence, the oldest pub in Israel is called "The Day Out To Center Parcs".
The author JM Barrie once visited Nottingham and was inspired to write the classic novel Peter Pan when he spotted an urchin in the street. How fortunate that one should have escaped from the nearby marine aquarium that day, thus frightening Barrie around the corner where he stumbled upon a disabled pirate and a crocodile with someone's clock in his mouth. Thank goodness the locals could pronouce the letter "L".
Today, Nottingham is undoubtedly the jewel in the East Midlands' crown, although it is surrounded on three sides by Derby (a quiet, down-to-earth city with a strong engineering pedigree), by Chesterfield (an historic and pictureque town famous for its crooked church spire) and by Leicester.
Like many sports clubs of limited achievement and ambition, Dorchester brings together bald, unfit men from all walks of life. Take up a fielding position in the slips and you could find yourself standing next to a solicitor, a postman, an accountant, a builder or a teacher. This is mainly because if you're fielding in the slips you'll be standing next to Benno, a man with a huge variety of professions. James Lees once observed that Benno's CV reads more like a Yellow Pages and, over the years, Steve's had his fingers in more pies than a leper in a food factory. In the mid-1980s, Dorchester generously relaxed its recruitment standards and even allowed blue collar workers from the local cigarette factory to play for the side.
The beauty of playing cricket for a team of modest standards is that there is always the opportunity for an individual to excel in a rare moment of sporting greatness. One is reminded of Smudger's six off the last ball against Leicester Teachers, which won the match and sent their head teacher, opening bowler, captain and opening batsman into a state of near apoplexy. Poor chap. Similarly, Crossy's breath-taking century against Calverton, which also culminated in a six off the final ball, was as magnificent as it was brutal.
Sometimes, highlights come from mere fleeting moments rather than an entire innings. Paul Taylor hitting one on to the pavillion roof at Breadsall is a case in point, as is Mick Stewardson taking a catch.
Sadly, for every exemplar performance in the club's history, there are a dozen instances of downright village idiocy.
Nick Briars, supposedly one of the club's leading batsmen, managed to get himself bowled by a chav wearing blue trainers who had, by all accounts, only taken up cricket earlier that day.
Equally inept was Rich Brown's first ball of the first over against Long Whatton a few years back which saw him break a fingernail mid-delivery. Kev promptly retrieved his Ralph Lauren Manicure Set and somehow, amidst all the filing and pampering, Richard's finger ended up severley dislocated. To cap it all, the batsman had swiped the feeble delivery for 4, leaving Rich with possibly the most abysmal bowling figures in the club's history.
On the brighter side, at least Richard's injury was temporary. For many Dorchester players, years of intense competition, twice-weekly nets, fielding drills and winter fitness regimes have taken a permanent toll. Worse still, some years ago one of our number developed a chronic terminal condition previously unknown to all medical experts. The ailment was first diagnosed by three old blokes sitting on a park bench who pointed out his symptoms to the poor soul as he returned to the pavillion. We can only wish him well in his desperate battle against the condition.
While contemplating the highs and lows of Dorchester life, it would be entirely remiss not to mention the tireless work of Billy Birmingham. Birmingham, one of Australia's leading racists, dedicated his life to developing comical impersonations of a big-nosed Victorian and a South African Englishman. And what a delightful coincidence that many years later, Bill Lawry and Tony Greig should not only go on to play international cricket but that they should buddy up in a long-standing commentary duo, finally giving Birmingham a purpose to his work. For any true Dorchestian, passing mention of the word "Wendy" or "grudge" is sufficient to bring on child-like giggles.
While it is no doubt sad that 2011, Dorchester’s 50th year, is its last, it’s undoubtedly the case that our memories of the club will survive. There are no more opportunities for over-exhuberant fielders to mis-judge the boundary at Eastwood and emerge from the stream like a dripping Stig of the Dump; and never again will the slips be able to dismiss an opposition batsman through shrewd psychological observation of his short-comings; but it is better to bring the club to an end on our own terms rather than allow it to die out into obscurity. And, now that it is over, we can all look back on a cricket club that was created, nurtured and supported by a wide range of generous, well-meaning people.
Colin Chadburn - 'Chad'
In response to your initial email about memories are forever etched in my memory banks, my mind keeps returning to the after match events following a match against, I feel sure this was Gotham (IT WAS AFTER THRUMPTON, then in GOTHAM COLIN). Everybody was outside the local pub on a particularly warm evening and we were all singing along to the soundtrack from dirty dancing echoing from the car stereo of one black (IT WAS WHITE COLIN) Ford Capri belonging to Mr Mee (IT WAS JACKIE LEVERTON'S COLIN) and it wasn’t even Karaoke night.
Then of course there were the famous teas from the opposition around the counties, places such as Barnby Dunn – never was much for salad but aaah what fantastic cakes.
GREAT MEMORIES FROM COLIN THERE! this was from a man who at any stage of any innings could tell you how many he had scored......and boy did he score some runs.....classy left hander....but maybe all that mental discipline has taken its toll!
KEITH BROWN - 'BROWNY'
GREAT SPORTING MOMENTS (WELL THEY CERTAINLY STICK IN MY MIND)
IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, YOU CAN DECIDE.
. SCRIV TAKING A CATCH AT BELPER MEADOWS ONLY TO DISLOCATE HIS FINGER, WITH HELP FROM YOURS TRULY FIRST AID SKILLS HE ENDED UP W ITH A DOUBLE BREAK AND DISLOCATION.
. WHEN STRUGGLING FOR PLAYERS AS CAPTAIN DECIDING TO PLAY ON THE SUNDAY AFTER HAVING A VASECTOMY ON FRIDAY…UNFORTUNATELY LED TO AN UNFORTUNATE ERROR IN THE SLIPS WITH A BALL EDGED THROUGH MY HANDS INTO THE UNSUSPECTING PARTS….BLOOD FLOWED COPIUOSLY RESULTING IN A VISIT TO THE HOSPITAL ON THE FOLLOWIG DAY TO BE RESTITCHED IN A CERTAIN DELICATE AREA.
ASSISTING THE CAPTAIN IN RECRUITING A NEW MEMBER TO THE TEAM, MARK DAWSON, ALSO ASSISTED MARK IN HIS
NOT ALL NEW MEMBER RECRUITING WENT WELL, WHEN ONCE AGAIN RECEIVING THE CALL FROM SKIPPER PAUL ON A SATURDAY INFORMING ME THAT WE WERE SHORT AND COULD I THINK OF ANY ONE WANTING A GAME. IN A EUREKA MOMENT A CERTAIN LEE ALLSOPS NAME CAME TO ME, SON OF LEGENDARY TRENT BRIDGE GROUNDSMAN RON, WHO WAS A HAIRDRESSER BUT WHO ALSO PROFFESSED TO PLAY MINOR LEAGUE CRICKET. GAME COMMENCED WITH SAID PLAYER WEARING HAND KNITTED SWEATER TUCKED SMARTLY INTO HIS TROUSERS FIELDING IN THE COVERS WHEN BALL WAS DRIVEN TO HIM, HE THEN PRECEDED TO FOLLOW THE BALL ALL HE WAY TO THE BOUNDARY WHERE IT JUST MANAGED TO CROSS THE ROPES FOR FOUR! I THEN LOOKED ROUND TO SEE THE SKIPPER, STEVE MEE, CRAIG LEWIS AND THE REST OF THE SLIP CORDON DOING IMPRESSIONS OF A DEAD FLY, ALL ON THEIR BACKS LEGS AND ARMS IN THE AIR LAUGHING UNCONTROLLABLY!! NEEDLESS TO SAY WE NEVER NEEDED TO CALL HIM AGAIN.
HOWEVER A TRULT MEMORABLE PART OF THE SAME DAY WAS SEEING CRAIG LEWIS HIT HIS MAIDEN CENTURY FOR THE CLUB, A TRUE DISPLAY OF BRUTAL HITTING AS YOU HAVE EVER SEEN.
I CANNOT THINK OF THE NAME OF THE OPPOSITION, IT MAY BE SPINNEYBROOK, IT WAS THE OTHER SIDE OF ASHBY DE LA ZOUCH, WHEN WE ARRIVED I WAS DROPPED DOWN THE ORDER TO NUMBER 5 (NOT HAPPY). WE BATTED FIRST AND I (SULKING) DECIDED TO GO TO THE LOCAL GARAGE AND GET SOMETHING TO EAT. WHEN I ARRIVED BACK THERE WAS A CETAIN PAUL TAYOR BOWLING FOR THE OPPOSITION (WENT ON TO PAY FOR LEICS/NORTHANTS AND IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY HE HAD A CALL UP FOR
ON THE SUBJECT OF BRAVE AND BEING HIT ON THE HEAD STEVE DILKS’S EFFORT AT CODNOR TAKES SOME BEATING. WHEN FACING A SHORT PITCHED DELIVERY HE MUST I THOUGHT HE WAS STILL PLAYING FOOTBALL HAS HE HEADED THE BALL FULL ON TOP OF HIS HEAD….NO GOAL BUT A TRIP TO HOSPITAL BY AMBULANCE FOR SEVERAL STITCHES TO BE INSERTED INTO A VERY NASTY HEAD WOUND……. HE’S ALWAYS WORE A HELMET SINCE THAT DAY!!
FIRST GAME THAT JEFF OLD PLAYED WHEN HE DECIDED, DUE TO HIS BOREDOM THRESHOLD BEING VERY LOW, TO STICK A BIRDS FEATHER IN HIS HAIR WHEN RUNNING IN TO BOWL…………HENCE CHRISTENED WITH THE NAME RAMBO!!
WHATEVER THE NAME OF THE CHIP SHOP THAT WE FREQUENTED MOST SUNDAY EVENINGS , WHEN NOT IN SOME CURRY HOUSE, IT SHOULD GET A MEDAL SUSTAINING ME FOR THE LONG DRIVE BACK TO MANSFIELD AND SOAKING UP THE ALCOHOL THAT DID ALLOW ME TO DRIVE BACK!!
(Keith - it was generally either the Broxtowe or the Priory island chip shops - happy days)
Steve Bennett - 'Benno'
Anyone that attended the 'last do' will recall at the very end of the night, a precis version of Steve's memories below were read out by Max Taylor as a sign off for the Club. For me Steve really got to the bottom of what the Club was all about...and the great game of Cricket......sit back and enjoy this one.....
Thoughts on the 50 Years of
When I was asked to put something together for the final act of the Club, I got very sad, very quickly. It has taken me some while to put it down on paper as it has brought back lots of memories and then the sad realisation that there will be no more.
It’s kind of like an dear old auntie or uncle dying after a few years of slow decline but every time you met them there was still a twinkle in their eye and a great recall of all of the fantastic times that you had together and even stories of other times before you really knew them. So based on that and with a heavy heart I pass on a little something of what the dear old club means to me.
I have played cricket all around the country for 40 years and I can say without fear of contradiction that my times with
I love the game with a passion and the very essence of what it stands for; competition hand in hand with comradeship is embodied in the Corinthian spirit that flows through the Club. The great characters of Dorchester and often the opposition have formed a nice corner of my mind that I will be able to go to when the stresses of the world are just a little too much to bear: at least until the Alzheimer’s kicks in.
So: highlights, lowlights and musings.
I was reading a great book recently “Not Dark Yet” by Mike Hartfield. It could be
But, like ourselves they struggled to field a full side in their latter years and they came to a series of realities that I think we have all come to in the last couple of years. I hope the author does not mind if I list them here:-
- The opposition was getting younger.
- We were getting older.
- Our bowling attack had developed Trueman like qualities, but they were more Christine than Fred. (60’s tennis player for the young and senile)
- Our fielding, once athletic, was now bordering on arthritic.
- The sun was in our eyes.
- The Captain was crap.
All of the above were relevant apart from the last.
Yes Paul it is time to consider retirement – it came to me one day last year when I realised that the other 10 guys playing for
But enough of the lowlights let us look at the many highlights
1. Great Players – too many to mention but Ian Cross, Steve Mee, Jamie Lees,
2. Great Characters – good players too! Alec Street, Andy Gaunt, Rob Hicklin, Dave Spencer, Jon Smith, Jez Flight, a bunch of Browns, the Vicar, Cooperman.
3. Great Supporters – Colin and Beryl, Dave and Brenda, Big Norm, Terry Berresford.
4. Great Teas – Thorpe Arnold, Thoresby Colliery, Ticknall, Broomleys.
5. Great Grounds – Belper Meadows,
6. Great Games –
7. Great Performances – Me, Me, Me, Me – oh and a bunch of other guys with gazillions of runs and wickets – ripping the opposition to shreds.
8. Great Cock-ups – Alec acting as Tour Guide, Mick Stewardson as umpire, Ian Cross as First Aid Assistant, Norman “The Management” Taylor as Treasurer, “Scriv” as Fielding Coach.
9. Great Opponents – the twelve fingered brothers from Thorpe Arnold, the twelve fingered left handed brothers from Hilton, Neil Gregory from Eastwood, the steady succession of Overseas Professionals (good bad and ugly) over the years.
10. Great 12th Man Moments – Not Gary Pratt at Trent Bridge but Billy Bloody Birmingham – Bill, Richie, Tony, Max, Chappelli and all – my life is richer by getting to know this stuff – never met anyone who doesn’t fall about laughing when Ramatunga Downthethroata and Giveusahand Tulickeracne come on in the car. What larks.
There are too many individual events both on and off the field to list – maybe a book when I get around to it. All I know is that I am sure the stories will be told again and again whenever our paths cross at whatever event. Golden days!
As the sun goes down and appropriately we meet on the Eve of Remembrance Sunday to celebrate the Life of Dorchester let’s all raise a glass to what we will all miss next summer. Glorious Cricket.
STEVE MEE - 'the Big Man'
Dorchester Memories
There must be loads of these but these are the ones that are in my head at the minute.
The jolly boys outing to Southport in 1989. An afternoon in the pub and then at the fair. A bad combination! There are some pictures flying about somewhere. I’ll try and get them to you. And not forgetting our little sing song on the bus..... tum te tum...
One of my favourite personal memories was scoring my first ever 100 against a star studded XI at Players and helping us knock off a large score. I say star studded.... Scriv was opening the bowling!!!!
Keith Brown valiantly trying to swoop for a slip catch at Thorseby Colliery too soon after his vasectomy! Oh dear…….
Watching the mighty England trounce the minnows of Cameroon 3-2 (and we needed 2 penalties as well) after a day at Thorpe Arnold. I seem to remember us watching us beat Belgium the following Sunday but I can’t remember where.
Having to give Keith Brown a firemans lift off the pitch at South Wingfield after another ailment befell him. I think it may have been his Achilles…… or his hamstring….. or something!!
A day match at Misson in Doncaster on a beautiful summers day. Opened the batting with Andy Inkster and we made a large opening stand en route to a big team score. They didn’t get anywhere near. The food was great, the weather was brilliant, and I seem to remember Mark Dawson teaching a young Victoria Brown to say “daddy’s a dickhead!!” Aah how cute
Meeting our new recruit Lee Allsopp at Grace Dieu. The son of the Trent Bridge head groundsman was a major coup for us….. until we saw him in his fashionable tucked in jumper. We could have got round that but then he started to run…….. I seem to remember that my gully career may have started at Grace Dieu as well.
Belper Meadows. What a nice ground that is. Pleasant memories of hitting some big sixes at Belper Meadows. Until I saw Hibbo's six at Belper Meadows!!!!! Now that was a six. In fact it was more like an eight!!I wouldn't be surprised if that ball was still on Thorntons roof!!! I also seem to remember Clive “the cat” Scriven showing some fielding prowess there and breaking his smoking finger.
Barrow on Soar. Another nice ground. I know because my gaze meandered to every part of it while I sat there watching Gaunt and Chadburn nudge and ponce about for 36 overs. In fact I think Colin only scored at a slightly faster rate than he did in the legends game!! This frustration was compounded when I hit my very first ball straight to long off!! At least we had a good singalonga bob seger and meat loaf on the way back up the motorway. I think that was the first time I met the captains future wife. Sorry we put you on the back Ju!!!
One of my earliest memories was a team curry at a place I cant remember the name of but it was opposite the Maharani. I think there were about 10 of us in there. Unfortunately when the bill came there was only Craig and Ang left!! Luckily for them one by one we all came back to pay.
A red hot day at Paviors as Andy Inkster and myself walk out to the crease against Midland. A future Dorchestee, Alec Street, opens the bowling to Andy and gets a bit of lift and Andy kind of gloves one off between slips and gully and we run one. Next ball I am not so lucky as I snick a lifter and am caught behind first ball to Alec bloody Street!!!! Inkster then goes on to score 147.
The end of season game at Eastwood was always one to look forward to although I don't think I ever did that well there. We always had a good game. Hibbo got a hat trick there one year and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to catch the hat trick ball.
Another memory, and while batting with the skipper was at Calverton, was me doing my Viv Richards walk across to the off side and flicking the ball over square leg for 6...... and it working!!!
Late cuts at Lambley. Big sixes at Ravenshead. Hooking the spinner at Hosiery Mills. Losing to Camberwell School by millions.
Memories of Dirty Dancing sing songs outside one of the pubs at Gotham. In fact everywhere. Derby Road Chippy!!!! Kebab meat and chips, plenty of chilli sauce please. Fizz buzz.... general hover please......
I had about 8 very fun filled years playing for the Dorchester machine and made some good friends along the way. We played at some lovely grounds against some indifferent opposition and whether we were pissing it or getting battered we always had a good laugh first and foremost. My thanks go out to everyone who drove me around so I could have a drink. It saved me having to drive drunk! All this doesn't seem that funny these days. You probably had to be there. Good job we were!
Absolutley sensational stuff all round!
OK EVERYONE - its your turn.....get your DCC memories emailed to me!!!
Paul