July and August saw a number of superb fixtures enjoyed by many members in different parts of the country.
Our first fixture was at wonderful Piltdown in Sussex. The course was magnificent as was the welcome from the members. The format was a Four Better Ball followed by a superb lunch. The result was a halved match 3/3. The members who took part were Bryan Richardson, Wayne Osman, Guy McDonnell, Nigel Ross, Bill Merry, Jon Hardy, Neil Burns, Tim Wren, Ted Rose and David Walsh.
Our first fixture in July saw the society take on the Men of the Berkshire, one of our oldest and most revered associations. Usually played in April, we were not only blessed by fine weather but also were delighted to welcome one of the all-time greats, Barry Richards, to our team. It was absolutely appropriate that he should be partnered for the day with another cricketing legend, John Shepherd. The result was a win for our hosts who were, as always, wonderfully welcoming both on the course and over the fabulous lunch that has become such a feature of every visit to this fantastic golf club. Our team for the day was Guy McDonnell, Barry Richards, John Shepherd, Bill Merry, Mark Feltham, Chris Goldie, Jon Hardy, Wayne Osman, Harry Latchman, Neil Burns and Craig Jones. Nick Pocock stood in as manager on the day as our President and Match Manager, Bryan Richardson was unavailable, but Nick stood down to make way for his fellow Hampshire man, Barry.
The following day a 16 man side took on the wonderfully welcoming members of the Worcester Golf and Country Club. Despite threats of Armageddon-like weather all day and some very dark clouds overhead, we were able to play and the really heavy stuff did not arrive until most rounds were well underway. The match itself was a close affair but, much to our match manager Nigel Cowley's disappointment, the home side nicked it! It was good to see a number of past and present Worcestershire CCC members among our team which was : Nigel Cowley, Guy McDonnell, Tim Curtis, Neal Radford, Bryan Richardson, Jake Libby, Richard Illingworth, Steve Rhodes, Daryl Mitchell, Steve O'Shaughnessy, Alan Ormrod, Graham Rose, Ian Thomas and Chris Goldie.
Another fixture played at a different time or year than normal was the always greatly anticipated match against the members of Woburn. With match manager George Sharp sadly unavailable, Roy Dexter led us on the day but we were unable to pull off a victory. However the Marquess Course was superb, our hosts most generous and the weather simply glorious. Our side was Guy McDonnell, Roy Dexter, Adam Ball, Mark Feltham, Gordon Harris, Tim Wren, Chris Goldie, Steve Mee, Mike Selvey, Harry Latchman, Adrian Pierson and Kevin Evans.
August saw us take on our old friends at Farnham Golf Club under the non-playing leadership of Keith Wheatley. Yet again, we were blessed by lovely weather, the course was magnificent and the golf as always highly competitive. We did not win the match but as always, we were delighted to be welcomed so warmly both on the course and off it. Keith had pulled together a great team for the day which was Guy McDonnell, Nigel Ross, Chris Goldie, Rupert Cox, Harry Latchman, Stuart Waterton, Tim Tremlett, Jon Hardy, Bob Herman, Gordon Harris, Adam Ball and Malcom Roberts.
Our final match in August took place against the Lords Taverners and it was a great success as Match manager Nigel Ross, writes "In only our second fixture against the preeminent cricketing Charity, The Lords Taverners, the Cricketers managed to secure a halved match all down to the last CCGS pair securing a win. The match was held at the very impressive Moor Park Golf and Country Club, with it’s very imposing and majesterial club house. Moor Park did us all proud by laying on a fabulous cold buffet after the match to match the golfing facilities on offer. For CCGS, in playing in his inaugural match, I must mention Jamie Cox, formerly of the MCC, who is now the Chief Executive at Somerset, his old playing Club. Jamie had driven 3 hours, plus 3 hours driving back. It was gargantuan effort on his behalf. We were also well supported by our very own Tim Lamb. Despite being injured, typically, Tim turned up and supported both teams throughout the day staying on for the scrumptious meal. On further examination of the CCGS side, one could not help but observe what a fabulous bowling attack was on show. Finally, a special thank you to the imitable Colin Buckle for organising such a terrific Lords Taverners side. I consider it an absolute privilege to be associated with such a prestigious and worthwhile fixture. The camaraderie that prevailed between the two teams after this well contested match, bodes well for fixture fixtures and personified the great symbiotic connection the two Societies have, namely cricket and golf. "
The Society team for this match was Nigel Ross, Wayne Osman, Jon Hardy, Ian Hodgson, Tony Pigott, Andy Needham, Craig Jones, Jamie Cox, Neil Sargent, Tim Wren, Mike Selvey, Gladstone Small and replacing the Society Captain who had to drop out at the last minute because of illness, Bobby Lowe.
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