Close this window
David English
Is it ten or eleven years I’ve been bringing the Bunburys to Alconbury?
Timeless trips up the A1, past the perennial roadworks and the welcome sight of the church spire peeking over the hill, and then… The sign to the left to the Alconburys. The drive through the village (never a soul in sight) and the sound of the tannoy crackling in the distance… ‘one, two… one, two… Welcome to Mrs Major’s Cricket Match here at Alconbury CC’.
Then to be met by Dave Pilling and his mighty team who usher you into the pavilion overflowing with star names, Gary Lineker, Imran Khan, Ian Wright, Josh Gifford, Greavsie, umpire Dickie Bird and my opposition skipper, the one and only Brian Close, not the reverend from across the fields, but the 68 years young, former inspirational Captain of England.
Mr and Mrs Major arrive to enhance the day with their special warmth and friendliness. Valuable funds will be raised for Mencap and players from all over the world look forward to supporting such a worthy cause.
Legendary South African batsman, Barry Richards, flew in from Queensland specially to play. On arrival he had no gear, just a well-worn pair of golf shoes. With hastily borrowed equipment and a bat so old cobwebs still adorned the handle, he proceeded to score a peerless 52 from memory.
I’ve seen Mohammad Azharuddin hit Imran off the back foot over the ‘Mr Whippy’ ice-cream van at the far end, a carry of 95 yards.
I’ve stood next to Bill Wyman in the gully, when he caught Brian Close left handed off the bowling of Ian Wright, whilst clutching his favourite Benson & Hedges in his right hand.
It was the brilliant Steve Turnock of Hunts County Bats who first introduced me to Alconbury. Steve, a wonderful servant of the game in the Huntingdon area, has brought some fine players to enrich our days.
One lad, an Aussie, Ryan Campbell, scored 90 before retiring. He had hit the ball so hard there was absolutely no chance of The Bunburys getting him out, even if we did have twenty-three fielders!
Last year, the great Wasim Akram opened the bowling for us. Standing at mid-off, I gave Wasim his orders. ‘Go on, give him your inswinger’ or ‘give him the outswinger’. ‘Certainly’, replied the wizard. ‘Watch this Captain’. Sure enough, Wasim, bowling from the bouncy castle end, swung the ball left and right making the poor batsman jump about like a firecracker. ‘Thanks Waz, have a blow’. W. Akram – 9 overs, 5 maidens, 0 for 4.
On I came to bowl to the same batsman who promptly hit my first three balls over the church. Same game, same batsman, different bowler, different class.
These are just some of the golden memories. I could ‘go on about’ Gary Newbon’s catch and the lovely Emma Noble bowling the first ball supported by the dashing James Major… All great cameos in our long running Bunburys v Mrs Major’s XI play.
But I especially want to thank Mr and Mrs Major, Dave and Bertha Pilling, Dr Bob Berrington, Clive Adams, Michael Tarft, Richard Ewing, Bob Graves, Harry Mepsted, Betty Dix, all the wonderful ladies and everyone at Alconbury for making our Ten years so special.
This year, I’ll be locking horns with my great pal, Sir Tim Rice and his Happy Heartaches… I can’t wait to set off on the A1 in the quest of that Alconbury Magic!