Rowner Cricket Club 2nd XI Top Bowlers 1995-2009 (Qualification 50 wickets)

Rowner Cricket Club 2nd XI Century makers 1980-2009

Rowner Cricket Club 2nd XI Top 20 All Time Bowling Performances

I was immensely pleased to be able to track down some evidence of the prowess of Bill Danger in Rowner`s 2nd XI in the early 80`s via the Southampton Evening Echo archives. Eye witness accounts attest to his devastating partnership with John Barfoot and this table bears them out. Bill was to die tragically from a Brain Tumour in his late 30`s following a very short illness. Things like that tend to put the minor irritations of everyday life into sharp perspective, and his place high on this list alongside his partner in crime should serve as our tribute to him - just another cricketer like you or I, bowling his guts out for Rowner and knocking the opposition over. Well done Bill !
One or two other points of note ; proof that Steve Smith was far too good for 2nd XI cricket - he only played the one season and took 25 wickets at 8.32 and I recall a couple of thunderous performances with the bat too. An enormous loss when he retired, disillusioned with the newly dawned post Ward era and bothered by a troublesome shoulder. Note also Andy Stancliffe`s performances, another bowler over qualified for this level, he bowled a full length, swiftly and as a northerner he was of course ultra competitive. I can picture him now just having clean bowled another victim, head down shaking a clenched fist. With Bull and Anthony he formed a devastating " Holy Trinity " of seam bowlers for the 2nds in 2001 and they captured 92 wickets between them.
Finally it is good to see the current generation represented via Mike Smart, Andy Peck and Sam Lindsay. Mike has the attributes of both Smith and Stancliffe with his build and athleticism, and with youth on his side will undoubtedly do more damage. And Peck and Lindsay appear due to their performance against Matchtech in 2008. If you weren`t there, track somebody down who was and ask them about their performances that day. It was awesome and is rightly now rooted in 2nd XI folklore.

Rowner Cricket Club Top 2nd XI Highest Aggregate Runs Scorers 1980-2009

Rowner Cricket Club 2nd XI 5 Wicket Performances 1980-2011

Rowner Cricket Club 2nd XI Biggest Scores 1980-2011

Rowner Cricket Club 2nd XI Lowest scores All Out

Those of a nervous disposition should look away now ..........

In contrast to the 1st XI the archive is virtually complete for the 2nd XI, at least in it`s second incarnation from 1995. A 2nd XI was entered into the Hampshire League in the newly formed South East Division II in 1980 and is listed as competing in the same Division in 1983, but the 1985 Handbook reveals only one Rowner League side languishing in the lower reaches of South East II. This corroborates Tony Johnson and John Anthony`s accounts of a " Year Zero" when Rowner CC in it`s original form collapsed and re-emerged from the ashes with the rump of the 2nd XI, including John Ward, Ian Collins and Steve Smith which almost 10 years later would spark the resurgence which took the club to the brink of County Division 1 !

Sadly, more information has been obtained recently courtesy of Keith Williams whose invaluable assistance has enabled us to access huge amounts of information from his collection of HCL handbooks which confirms that Rowner Cricket Club suffered the ignominy in 1983 of having to withdraw its 2nd XI from South East Division 2. The 1st XI finished in 18th position in South East Division 1 that season - dark days indeed. In many ways we are lucky in 2010 to have a Club - the handbooks of the 70`s and 80`s evidence many, many clubs who simply no longer exist or who were swallowed up by larger neighbours when it appeared much simpler just to fold or throw in your lot with a higher profile suitor.

Regrettably performance-wise there is currently virtually nothing available from those first four seasons of the 2nd XI, but aside from the inexplicable absence of the 2001 scorebook from the archive the above represents an accurate picture of the 2nd XI`s fortunes since Nigel Gravells instigated the reformation of the 2nd`s for the 1995 season.

Jim Bishop`s wonderful batting for the 2nds deservedly places him highly in Rowner folklore as the only Rowner batsman to top 700 league runs in a single season. An unorthodox, highly effective opener he was so often the rock upon which the whole innings was built during the first golden period for the 2nds between 1998-2002. On the bowling front Steve Bull never appeared to bowl greatly above medium pace but his control was often total and his remarkable (and unsurpassed) economy rate speaks for itself.

Richard " Scouse " Frazer dropped out of the 1st XI in 1996 possibly due to the onset of Father Time but for the remaining 7 years of his Rowner career he proved time and again what a great street fighting cricketer he had been for the club over two decades, and this is evidenced by his presence in both batting and bowling "best" tables. With bat or ball he was cunning, combative and he fought for every inch in every match we played. Spiky yes, opinionated certainly, but what a cricketer ! In truth he was one of my favourite team mates, there was never a dull moment and how I missed him after 2003 when he finally retired, succumbing to knee injuries he had carried into the fray for many years. Not entirely coincidentally our fortunes in the seconds turned downwards after we lost his heart and his fire, and tough years lay ahead. He was a true Rowner legend.