Peter Hockin from Romany Cricket Club shares stories and the popularity of friendlies in Yorkshire.
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The Romany was formed in 1902 and have been playing friendly matches ever since except for the war years.
We used to play most Saturdays and Sundays but more and more of the opposition joined leagues which meant that arranging matches on a Saturday proved very difficult.
However, we now have a full fixture list for Sundays and play the odd mid-week game, as well as a cricket tour to the Chichester area every other year. There is talk about a Tour to Portugal in 2025, we assume they do play cricket there!
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Our members come in all shapes, sizes and abilities. Some play league cricket and join us on a Sunday whilst others have played league cricket but come to the stage in their life where they do not want that weekly commitment.
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Others simply play for enjoyment and although we aim to win all matches, we do try and involve everyone. Gone are the days when two people bowled virtually all of the overs.
For a few years, we entered the Frank Clough Cup which was a competition for non-league players and we were relatively successful, winning it on a few occasions.
It was a T20 competition played in the evening and one year we beat the YEB at Scarcroft by a mere 247 runs. The opposition complained saying that we must have had some league players but after investigation, all our team qualified.
That was 50 years ago this year and in those days we felt 120 was not a bad score so how we scored 267, we are not sure!
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Our core matches are against local village sides such as Kirk Hammerton, Yapham, Lofthouse and Middlemoor, Crakehall (above), Bardsey, Arthington and Bolton Percy.
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We also play at Swinton Park (below), Hovingham, Escrick, Harewood and further afield against Bamburgh just below the Castle and at Chatsworth in the grounds of the House.
There are games against other nomadic clubs such as Druids and Hawks (where we have to hire grounds) and also the Free Foresters.
Free Foresters played their first match in 1856 and claim 33 of their members have captained England at cricket.
I believe our claims are limited to Peter Brayshay who opened the bowling for Yorkshire with Fred Trueman on a few occasions in the 1950s and our present member Harwood Williams who played for the Leeward Islands.
Our longest rivalry is against the Yorkshire Gentlemen and we do know we played them in 1903 which was 40 years after they were formed.
Tales from Romany on tour
For the last 50 years, our tour has included a match against Chichester in front of Goodwood House. We also play at Petworth Park and Midhurst which is next to Cowdray Park.
If there is little action on the cricket pitch, invariably there is a game of polo to watch on the adjacent field!
On one cricket tour, we went to play the Bank of England at Roehampton and our opening bat backed away because a plane was in his sight.
He was politely told that they were on the flight path for Heathrow.
We also play Slinfold and one year they included Jeffrey Archer in their team but he failed to get a wicket. He was, however, only 14 at the time.
Romany did head to Geneva on two occasions. On the second visit, we played Geneva Cricket Club in the middle of an athletics track and certainly one fielder spent most of his time in the long jump pit.
The other fixture was against the United Nations but we did not play them as they could not raise a side… nothing changes there then.
On the day off, we went on the cable car to the top of Mont Blanc, and everything was fine until someone mentioned an accident on the same cable car a few months before.
We believe there is always room for friendly cricket even in Yorkshire. It allows cricketers to play on some lovely grounds with the aim of enjoyment and without an attitude of ‘win at all costs’.
Romany do aim to win but preferably in the last over with everyone being involved. Whether someone plays 15 games for Romany or just a handful, there is no commitment and everyone is more than welcome.
Do not hang up your boots yet!
If interested in playing for Romany or wanting more information, please contact either Mark Lloyd via [email protected] or call on 07398 205813 or Peter Hockin at [email protected] or 07535 748685.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to Peter for his insight into Romany Cricket Club. They play at some incredible grounds across Yorkshire and further afield.
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