JESTERS C.C.

Musings of the chairman

 

      Being the chairman of a nomadic cricket side such as the Jesters is not an onerous task, it is in fact a privilege. My duties are mainly introducing and thanking people, although my two major critics, the itinerant bowler Jimmy Hill( if you've ever played against the Jesters he's the one who looks like the love child of Leo Sayer and Ian Millward) and Steve Scott (the slowest bowler in the world and the living embodiment of my conscience) have suggested over the years that I take on more duties. An example of this occurred on tour, when despite being the coach driver and person responsible for getting money out of people without them noticing, Steve thought the position of chairman of the Jesters should hold sway in the world of international banking. Our Australian representative had his cash card retained by the bank of Wolla Wolla and Steve immediately decided that I should do something about it. My contribution was to accompany Picko into the bank and stand there looking particularly grumpy. Amazingly this worked and the card was returned so perhaps Steve was right.

    The Jesters have grown and developed to become more a concept than a cricket club. When our erstwhile leader Barrie first had the idea of forming a friendly side all those years ago I am sure he did not envisage it continuing for so long. It is of course down in no little part to his tremendous enthusiasm that it has done so. Others have continued Barrie's enthusiasm, and we are now indebted to Dave Bell for continuing to run the side. Dave has now completely severed all links to league cricket to become an umpire.

  Over the years it has become increasingly difficult to to find as many friendly fixtures on a Sunday, due in no small part to the increased use of Sunday for league and cup matches. We are fortunate though to have long standing fixtures such as Almondbury Casuals and Newby Hall. Some teams have a philosophy of ensuring total participation for all players, I am thinking here of Undercliffe. Others, like Hunslet Nelson ,like to use a Sunday friendly to give their younger players valuable experience. Most players involved in  Jesters matches however, are happy to simply play in a game that is not like a league game. This would apply especially to all league cricketers from the Huddersfield area, who play their cricket in the same way as they play their football, which is nine across the back and a lardy arsed centre forward up front, basic but effective.

  Look at one of our most effective bowlers, Graham Beaumont, on a Saturday giving scowls that made him look like Skippy trying to excrete a pomegranate, on a Sunday mild mannered and affable.

     The appeal of friendly cricket is that you play within the laws of the game but always consider its' spirit. This is more than evident in the annual game played in the memory of Jimmy Bastow, a competitive game played with great spirit between Norwood Green and the Jesters, a testament to the great esteem and affection in which Jimmy was held.

  By going on the world wide web an obscure cricket team from West Yorkshire may well discover that they are not unique, and that the way we play and enjoy this wonderful game is shared by many other clubs and players. We may even discover other teams called The Jesters.

                                             J R Coates, chairman.

 

This ramble was written entirely without the aid of alcohol.