Club News

Southam Cricket Club

Pub Six-A-Side

Sunday August 3rd 2008, 11,00 am start

Entry Fee £10 per team

Maximum eight players per squad but only one regular cricketer

Cash prize for winning team

Bar open all day

Contact - Nick or Nikki Clewes on 01926 814735 to enter or for more details

Bring the family and enjoy a fun day in the sun

CONGRATULATIONS to Rob Shaw, Nikki Clewes and Nick Clewes for the award of Best Ground in the entire Warwickshire League for 2007. High praise indeed, and fully deserved - our pitch always looks immaculate and plays well, and its all down to the hard work put in by the ground staff - work done by Nick pre-season made the general look of the place a lot better, and of course throughout the year its endless work done by Rob, with the help of Nikki, to prepare wickets for games on virtually every day of the week, as well as maintaining the outfield which is always in tip top shape for every game.

Pictured below are the Old Boys R Us teams who featured in August 2007 in Pete Fell’s50th birthday celebration game - how many of them will don the whites this season? Bill Watts has officialy retired (again) but rumours that The Grinch was making a comeback are taking on epic Kevin Keegan proportions as the fans debate on whether they really want to see Rog trundling in for 25 overs again every Saturday - Bill Land has again grunted ‘I don’t think I’ll bother’, but how many would bet against seeing those sparrow legs coming round the corner at 2.15 with battered pads under arm as the Sixties Playboy mounts the steps to the changing rooms for one last finale. Shawry continues to deny another comeback but once he wins his fitness battle now he has his own private gym - who knows! Woody’s brief return lasted only one game before he retreated to stand behind the stumps with the umpire’s coat on - his very next game as an official started in controversy when he arrived late, came on in the coat after about 15 overs, and promptly gave the next ball out lbw, much to the annoyance of the departing batsmen who had patiently played his way into the form , and in his words ‘be given out by the clown with the fag on’! Shame that Jonesy has too many umpiring commitments to carry on the good form he showed in the Over 40s game, it really was a performance to remember. Always remember: AGE IS JUST A NUMBER . . .

1991 - The Three Wise Men of Row A of The Industrial Estate Stand, gazing out from the shade of the yooung elms across the sun-baked arena as the young (and not so young) lions do battle with willow and leather at the summer sport of gentlemen.
“Call emselves bowellers, bloody useless, m;y missus could bowel better”, cries Pete Mann from his sun lounger. They oughta get some bloody fielding practice an all, half on ‘em can’t bend down to pick the ball up!” chimes in Harry Askew - “Cum owt of it, bugger you!” he snaps as his old springer spaniel Spud nearly pulls him in the ditch. “You’d better tek im an find that bloody ball for em Arry, else they’ll be in them stingers an then they’ll be bawling!” Bill chuckles as he puffs on an another Embassy - since he has given up umpiring we haven’t had to hire a skip any more to remove the dog ends from square leg - “Young Angove loooks lilke being a gud un though”. “Yeh, but why’s Inskip bowling spinner?” shrieks Manny. “ He ent” slams Harrry.
So the Askew brothers Harry and Bill, and Pete Mann, Southam players of yesteyear, legends in their own lifetime, no doubt class performers - but they couldn’t have been that good because none of them has FELL as a surname.
“Three parts of these buggers wouldn’t have got in the team in our day, Arry.” Pete chortles “I’m seriously considering getting me kit out again!” - Harry sniggers at the thought “Yeh, but Pete, you knacker yerself up trying to climb over the gate.
“Cum ere, damn you” bellow Harry as Spud hurtles into the distance. “I reckon he’s going deaf ya know”. “I en’t surprised the way you holler at im, Arry, Pete retorts.
No sooner have they started play with the spare ball but Spud returns with the original . “Good boy, I knew you’d find the bugger” Harry says as Spud seems to smile up at him he may be deaf but he can lipread English.
Southam win the game by 9 wickets and Pete turns to Harry and Bill and contemplates: “I wonder ya know, if the older we get, the better we used to be?”

LUKE no FLUKE
LUKE NELLY has so far been the star of the show on Sundays, crushing both Ashorne and Cemex single-handedly with back to back 150s, never happened before, and unlikely to again, unless of course old Skippy bounces out of the bush to bash another boundary on the way to yet another treble fifty. Certainly everyone who played or witnessed these two amazing innings were in no doubt of the great improvement made by our Aussie swinger, and added to a great eye for the ball Luke has developed into probably the most destructive batsman at the club, a key member of the Saturday side last year he is continuing to play a big role in our great start to 2008, and after leaving Marton for sunny Southam on Sundays, is enjoying the freedom of the parish as he plunders runs for fun. Luke quoted in the clubhouse the other Saturday that he wants to score 2000 runs this year, and weather permitting, and already past 600, who can bet against him being the first batsman ever to achieve that, 1000 maybe but two, what a feat that would be!
It seems Nely’s only failure of the season came when he wasn’t playing for Southam, but Marton, against Southam, and an early season bright spot was when Brian Darby in the Sunday friendly against our local rivals, bowled Sedgy and Nelly in 3 balls without either scoring! Something for Darbo to dine out for some time to come, as Sam will testify as he has recalled the story many times on their now frequent Sunday fishing trips.

Wigley nets first ton
Read it again, it doesn’t say Wigley’s first run, first ton! And its Rob, not Jon as well! At the ripe old age of 48 Rob finally made it to a century for the thirds, and true to form, he was completely nonplussed about it afterwards in the clubhouse, but obviously tired, apparently unable to walk for days afterwards, but he was obviously basking in the glory as he tried to drink his half yard of ale, which took him nearly as long to drink as it did to score the hundred! Well done Rob!
Henry the Third
Henry Wilkins scored a mammoth 150 for the thirds in their opener of the season, and 94 against Bishops Tachbrook, both in the usual cavalier fashion we are getting used to from Henry, but as Shawry and Felly enjoyed the many boundaries our young batsmen hit, a poignant moment came when both agreed that the shot of the day was his forward defensive in the third over of his innings which was sublime! Nuff said.
Thirsty Cally
During the same game against Tachbrook new bar steward Shawry had an urgent call from Mark Calcutt to open the bar as a load of his mates were gagging for a drink. Shawry rushed round and opened up, actually a load of his mates was 4, and they only had one pint and went! Obviously Shawry hadn’t realised that gagging for a pint meant only one! Our barsteward also had another disaster when he flushed the urinals, only for them still to be pouring with water an hour later, and despite frantic efforts with the ballcock had to call in emergency plumber Matt Goatley to stem the tide, to which Jo slowly looked across at Gaz, shook her head and mumbled: “F----ng idiot”!