A History of Rowner Cricket Club by Tony Johnson

Taken from 'Rowner Cricket Club - 50th Anniversary' by Tony Johnson

8 FAMILY AFFAIRS

Some individuals such as Mick Good, Vice-President, John Ward sometime Captain and Chairman, John Barfoot and Paul 'Mac' McNeil and others put in much hard work to keep Rowner CC playing cricket at Rowner Green. However, it is not to diminish their contributions to home in on two families who in the later years have contributed to the development of the game at Rowner Green. You have to start with the Bowman family. Bob Bowman was Captain and Chairman and for some time opened the batting with Tony Johnson, another former Chairman and Captain, now club president, who in turned played way back in 1965 with Pat Magee, Arthur Rawlinson and Sid Venvell, founders of the club. Bob's two sons were both key players, and after both took a short break from the game, Rob and Martin returned again in the 2008 season. An all rounder, Martin Bowman has also been a young captain of the Sunday 1st XI in 1999. Older brother Rob was captain of the Sunday 1st XI in 1997 and 1998, and has captained the Saturday league side. Then you have to mention Pat Bowman, who was treasurer from 1996 until 2006. Some remember the all too lengthy period in the club's history, when team members made two teas, one for themselves and one for a member of the opposition. Sandwiches were thrown into the minute kitchen on arrival it was hoped someone would set the table, and someone else would dash in from the field to get the boiler going just in time for tea. From 1992 Pat saved the club from sandwiches with no other filling than marmite or a single lettuce leaf! You get the feeling that she was a kind of mother to 'em all, presiding as she did over the kitchen with her helpers. The intense family involvement appears in a scorebook in 1991. It reads : R Bowman caught M Bowman bowled R Bowman. Needless to say, one of them had been roped in to play for the opposition. On the 18th August 1990, aged 12 years and one month, Robert jnr had his first taste of league cricket playing for Compton against Rowner under the pseudonym L. Smith.

"Rowner clocked up 235 for 5," he writes. "My one contribution was to cling on to a 'skyer' to dismiss 'Scouse' Fraser for 80. In reply the Compton openers had put on a slow 37, when the ball was thrown to part-time bowler, Bob Bowman. No one could have predicted the carnage to follow. The Compton players could not resist the tempting, high-looping, non-turning attempted off-spin. In no time I was standing at the wicket in borrowed gloves, pads, protective gear and with a bat, a full pound too heavy for me. The score was 45 for 8 and dad's bowling figures were 5 for 7 from 7.2 overs. I nervously took guard. The fielders were so close around me I could see the whites of their eyes. The umpire informed me 4 balls remained. I prepared to face my very first delivery in the Hampshire League, just three weeks after my twelfth birthday. The ball was tossed high. I lifted the bat, closed my eyes and swung across the line as hard as I could. I opened my eyes just in time to see the ball sailing harmlessly to square leg, where Cris Kemp took the catch comfortably above his head, THOUGH NEEDING ALL HIS 6 FOOT 8 INCHES TO DO SO! Dad finished with figures of 7 for 7."

Robert has since improved on that; a cutting from The Portsmouth News in 2001 spoke of him piling up 145 against Whitchurch, pipping his previous best of 144! He had spent the winter in Australia and must have learned a thing or two.
The other family, which has made a marvellous contribution both to survivial and the development of Rowner CC is the Kemp family. Cris Kemp, after a lean spell with Gosport Colts decided to try his luck at Rowner in 1990. His brother Jim joined the club in 1991 and was in turn followed by his father, Rod, in 1992. Jim became the Saturday captain and Rod captained the Sunday 1st and 2nd team for a while. Cris took over captaining the Sunday 2nd team and also the Saturday 2nd team. Jim Kemp is just as capable of scoring as heavily with the bat as Robert Bowman and Ian Collins, all of them century makers.

9 COLTS

Jim Kemp's contribution off the field in the training of the colts was of inestimable value and importance for the present and future health of the club. In 2000 the UNDER 13 COLTS team was started, and in 2001 the UNDER 15 COLTS team. Jim Kemp obtained a qualification as an English Cricket Board coach so that he could train the children in the basic skills of cricket. Coaching took place on Thursdays, beginning on the tennis courts at Brune Park School, and progressing to the all-weather strip on the school's playing field. Considering the fact that Jim was a primary teacher during the day, to continue coaching youngsters with patience and skill deep into the evening was dedication indeed.
At the AGM of the club in 2002, because the demands of coaching were becoming too great for one qualified person alone to bear, an appeal was made to give support to Jim's efforts. There was an immediate response in the summer of 2003 by players and parents alike. The minutes of the committee meeting of 13th January 2004 reported that Rob Bowman and Tom Stevens had been accepted on a coaching course at the Hampshire Cricket Club's Rose Bowl. The minutes read, 'There were two other volunteers from the club, Stephen Bates and Dan Cook. Unfortunately Stephen is not 16 until mid summer and the proposed dates were not suitable for Dan Cook. Rod Kemp will try to get them on a course at the end of the 2004 season.' Rob and Tom subsequenlty passed the ECB coaching course and began coaching colts in the new season.
In January 2003 Rod Kemp received a letter inviting two members of the club to a meeting in the church room at St Mary's, Rowner. Since it was a weekday there were no other members available apart from Rod Kemp and the club president, long since retired from cricket and work. Money was available from The Children's Fund to clubs, societies and those trying to improve the quality of life in certain wards of Gosport deemed to have a high proportion of children in need. A case, however, had to be made quickly. It seemed strange to be bidding for money from an organisation with National Health Service headed notepaper, until you saw children running about with Jim Kemp at coaching sessions and you realise in the long run the Health Service will be likely to be saving money on children less likely to develop heart trouble and problems related to obesity. The upshot of Rowner CC's bid was a shot in the arm to the Under 13 Colts to the tune of £1500. This sum was promised for three years, but to date there is considerable doubt about the injection of the next tranche of money. Much needed equipment was bought and our report at the end of the season, which said, "The Children's Fund has made a lot of difference compared to last year" was definitely understated. What may have helped the club acquire the money to fund the under 13 Colts was our willingness to include girls in the training squad. However, so far there is only one young female trailblazer. At the Club's main presentation evening in September 2003 the two colts teams enjoyed a buffet and disco with the adult teams. The presence of the youngsters with their parents made for a good family atmosphere. Trophies were presented to under 13s as follows: Dave King for best batting, Aaron Foster for best bowling, Elliot Candy for best fielding, Barry Snelling for most improved player, and to the under 15's as follows: Stephen Bates for batting and bowling, Josh Whitehead for fielding. In 2001 Mark Ingram won the under 15 batting award, and Tom Stevens won the under 13 batting award. Both have already gone on to play for the first team and Tom has trained as an English Cricket Board coach. Brilliant! These are some names to look out for during the next 50 years!
Indeed, parents were also active in helping out with the running of the Colts, in particular Pauline Cook and Maureen Stevens have been an immense help to the coaches.

10 ON THE BRINK AGAIN

You need people who perform off the field just as much as you need those who perform on the field. Rod Kemp became Fixture Secretary and when there was a crisis caused by the sudden disappearance of the Secretary in 2002, he doubled up as Fixture Secretary and Secretary. He discovered a bill of £720 that had not been passed on to the Treasurer to pay and the club consequently had thought it was better off than it was. The bill hung over the club like a threatening thundercloud. Fortunately, Gosport Borough Council allowed the debt simply to sit there. It remained unpaid whilst the day-to-day running of the club went on. Things came to a head, when in the Autumn of 2002, only a handful of people turned up to the Annual General Meeting in the Novemeber. The meeting did not amount to a quorum and was abandoned, and an Extraordinary AGM was called for early 2003. After a great deal of phoning around and arm-twisting, a good turnout was achieved and it was agreed a special levy be raised towards paying off the debt. Meanwhile, an anonymous member of the club paid the full sum of £720 direct to Gosport Borough Council, but only as an interest free loan on behalf of the club for however long it took to raise the sum. From time to time Rowner CC had received small grants from Gosport Borough Council, but whilst it remained in debt, it had effectively ruled itself out of the running to receive one. Quite understandably the council have a rule not to give grants to local organisations in debt. Fair enough. Nevertheless, the club applied for a grant as soon as the debt had been cleared and immediately GBC generously stumped up over £300, so that the £720 was repaid to the anonymous benefactor rather sooner than was expected.
It was pointed out to the club at a meeting with Councillor Dennis Wright and Council officials, including Glen Wilkinson, that through the care for the square, the outfield, the pavilion and the resultant wage bill, the club is subsidised to the tune of a tidy sum. That was a fair point and it may just be that some members of the club have not always appreciated that their cricket is comparatively inexpensive.
It was obvious to club officials that there was a great deal of goodwill towards Rowner Cricket Club on the part of Cllr Dennis Wright, who had written a lengthy and considered letter to the Club President, and on behalf of GBC, who were keen to see the club survive to its 50th anniversary. Over twenty years earlier, a similar meeting had taken place and the then Leisure Officer had simply said, "You can't just let the club go to the wall."

11. BACK ON THE FIELD

Rowner CC 1st XI 2003

Andy Lilley, Jim Kemp, Ian Collins, Rob Bowman (cpt), Martin Bowman, Josh Whitehead, Tom Stevens, Liam Moggeridge, Jim Bishop, Mark Ingram.

The core of this team goes back to the early 90s and is responsible for the climb through the divisions, charted in the table above.
A theme running through this history of RCC is continuity. One key figure in the above team is Ian Collins. Ian has been a loyal and prolific batsman, and in his pre bad back days, an outstanding bowler. Whenever the hedge and ditch bordering the churchyard has been cleared, a large number of balls of varying vintage are discovered. It was remarked that many of them were the result of Ian's sixes (in one season he hit 86 sixes!) and the reply came, "No, Ian's are a lot further in." The fact that they penetrate the churchyard so deeply means that they are mostly straight sixes, executed with elegance and economy of effort, for which another word is timing : they also have to get past the oak tree! Another player who was mentioned previously was Jason Hoskins. He was taking an extended break in 2003, but was back playing for Rowner CC in 2004. As a youngster he bowled spin, but for a long time has bowled pretty quickly and is no slouch with the bat. Indeed, he captained the 1st XI league team in 2003, which headed, albeit briefly, County Division 2. Once he remarked to the President who was just passing the ground, "Hello mate. You re too old to even watch!".
A report on the victory against Ampfield in 2002, which had put Rowner briefly on top, mentions the match winning performance of Glen Lambeth, an overseas player, who struck an unbeaten 80. Both Glen and Lyndon Strong are Australians who played in successive years for the 1st team. The presence of overseas players in the team has to be registered and sanctioned by the league, and only one is allowed per year. Both were the direct result of Robert Bowman's spell in Australia: they were (and Lyndon is again now) great assets on and off the field.
One remarkable performance for the 1st XI was reported in The News of 25 July 2001.

ANDY'S ORANG-UTANG SWING GETS FOUR BATSMEN GOING BANANAS

Andy Lilley must surely be unique in taking four wickets in a devastating spell...he began wreaking havoc by taking two wickets with his last two deliveries against Whitchurch 10 days ago. He continued the mayhem by taking two wickets with his first two deliveries in Saturday's win against Effingham. Lilley is named Clyde by team-mates after the orang-utang in the film "Every Which Way You Can", because of his long arms and unusual action. Lyndon Strong, Rowner's Aussie import commented, "He bowled his first three victims so it was no fluke. He nearly made it five but the ball just cleared the bails."

For many years Rowner CC has managed to field four sides on a weekend, and a 1st and 2nd XI on both Sunday and Saturdays. Second teams are useful for giving initial opportunities for young players, for allowing those who want to play on with increasingly creaking limbs, and for those who want to play but are unlikely to make the first team. Rowner's 2nd league team had mixed fortunes and finished last in their division in 2003, but it should be remembered that a 2nd team literally rescued the club from oblivion in about 1980. After the club had teetered on the brink once again in 2002-3, it was decided to retrench and not run the Sunday 2nd XI until the finances were totally on an even keel, and the club membership could deal with such an undertaking. Sometimes retreat is necessary in order to live to fight another day. However, it is vitally important that the Sunday side is used to ease colts players into adult cricket. No matter how disappointing results are, as long as cricket is played in the right spirit, at whatever the level, occasional brilliant catches or performances occur. But for morale, a win or two is vital, as some of the youngsters and oldsters found out over twenty years ago after not having won a game for nearly a year! Things could only get better!

12 SO WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT THEN?

A member of Rowner CC once remarked that his games of cricket at the weekend meant more to him than his job in the week. He wasn't going to tell his boss at the bank though! Perhaps what he meant was that he was living more intensely whilst playing than working. Given the nature of some work, maybe that's not surprising! After you ve played a game you ve got a story to tell like Tommy Underwood's "2 not out with a late cut" in his first game in the sweater his mum knitted for him "when stumps were chest high" ; or four wickets in four balls spread over two games like Andy Lilley's run of good form. When you realise others might just be a tad bored with your story, they remain for yourself as Tommy put it, "sweet memories" that do not fade.
"So what do you miss most?" someone asked an old player, long retired.
"The dressing room crack, jokes and banter," was the instant reply. Of course, you don't experience that without the rest of the team.
Someone reckoned that cricket is very much an individual game. It is, and it isn't. The psychological pressure exerted by the whole team by the ball coming in hard over the top of the stumps with a resounding smack into the wicketkeeper's gloves may very well get the bowler a wicket he might not otherwise have had, as may canny field placing by the captain.
Taking a carload of youngsters from Gosport up to play Tichborne years ago, one commented, "Hey, is this still Hampshire?"
"It certainly is."
"It's lovely innit?"
By playing cricket you sometimes play on some truly beautiful village grounds and see some lovely corners of Hampshire, where it may have all begun, into the bargain.
This has been an attempt to tell a small cricket club's story. Many clubs Rowner used to play have not survived. Rowner has. Let us hope the club survives for another 50 years, so that the new youngsters have their stories to tell.
Sid Venvell, one of the founders of the club, died of cancer about ten days after he was interviewed for this piece. He knew he had only days to live, but he smiled as he spoke of his exploits on the field. The first chapter was in part his story, so it was printed and sent to him, just in time for him to read it.
There's a poem of the First World War called 'Sportsmen in Paradise" by T.P. Cameron Wilson. In it some soldiers, killed in battle, pass through the gates of heaven. They drink in the new landscape. Suddenly there is sheer delight.
Knee-deep in grass a great tree stood......"God! But it's England," someone said,
"And there's a cricket field!"

13 EPILOGUE

The tree in what follows is the oak tree in the outfield at Rowner Green, the churchyard is St. Mary's, Rowner - and the cricketer is anyone who just might be playing his last season. In any case, you never know when Old Father Time, the ultimate umpire, will lift his final finger! So keep on playing in this life with sheer delight on Rowner Green and all over Hampshire, just in case they don't play cricket in the next!

TIME AND THE CRICKETER

Time loops the wrist of the cricketer, twisting his bat, adjusting his cap, against the late sun arriving as he takes strike.

Little magic now conjured from the willow, less likely to strike the oak, with a red bang in its branches, on guard over the churchyard,

The clock strikes the hour. The stance seems firm. A click.....and the snickering. Grey reaper lifts a flickering finger.

(Tony Johnson)