Kempton Cricket Club Latest News

The club has leaned of the sad news of the passing of Brian Cann, a lifelong member of Richmond Town and a past President. Brian died on Tuesday 31st March from a heart attack. He was 77.

The funeral service is at 11.30 am on Thursday 9th April at St John's Church in Richmond (Opposite the Orange Tree and just before the large roundabout on the Chertsey Road) followed by a burial at East Sheen Cemetery and a reception at Richmond Hill Hotel.

Our new 2009 Playing, Training and Leisure kit has now arrived. If you have pre ordered please arrange for your kit to be collected. For those that would like to purchase and have yet to place an order please contact Ben Osborn for information.

All Club members were greatly saddened to learn of the death of Life Member, Iain Mackay, who died unexpectedly on 17^th December.

Iain devoted his cricketing life to the Club, having joined Richmond Town as a young lad from school in the early 1960s. Iain was an accomplished Cricketer being a fine batsman and an excellent wicket keeper and a very sprightly fielder when not behind the stumps. Iain made a terrific contribution to the playing side of the Club but also gave great service off the field by being very willing to get involved in the running of the Club, most ably supported by Celia, and in particular ran a most efficient Bar for several years and also brought his wise counsel to the post of Chairman of Selection. Despite not enjoying the best of health in recent years, it was typical of Iain that he should offer his services as Hon Secretary when Gerry Shaw had to stand down in October.

The Club is hugely indebted to Iain for his magnificent efforts on its behalf and he will be greatly missed. We extend our sincere condolences to Celia and her family.

We have learned the sad news of the death of Vice President, Capt SL (Jimmy) Arnold Boakes, who died in December 2008 aged 94. He had a distinguished flying career, initially with the Royal Air Force during World War II and subsequently in commercial aviation with BOAC and British Airways. After retiring from British Airways he continued to fly with various companies flying cargo operations and it was whilst flying for Air Bridge Carriers that he met our current President who introduced him to the mysterious world of Sunbury Village Cricket Club. He immediately formed a great bond with the club and it's players, and along with his wife Judy was a regular supporter of the club. He was a jovial, larger than life person and could be regularly found at the bar discussing the merits of the game or recounting a variety of stories from his flying career and was often one of the last to leave and somehow find his way home. He wanted to contribute to the club and donated 'The Arnold Boakes Trophy' which was awarded annually to the 2nd XI player of the year.

In later years he settled in Majorca but retained his interest as a Vice President of Kempton CC. We offer our condolances to his wife Judy at this sad time.

Thank you to all those who came to the Awards Night on 7th November. For those of you who were unable to join us or who enjoyed the beer so much you cant remember, here are the award winners.

1st XI Player of the year Andy Ward. 468 league runs @ 29.25, 2 centuries & 3 half centuries.

3rd XI Player of the year Bilal Aziz. 225 league runs @ 18.75 + 21 league wickets at 15.10.

4th XI Player of the year Pally Palekar. 373 league runs @ 37.30, 3 half centuries

We were saddened to hear of the recent death of our former Chairman Reg Batchelor.
Reg was a grand servant of the Club and being one the founder members was instrumental of its birth back in 1947. He held many posts on the Committee including Treasurer before being elected Chairman in 1968. He was to hold the leading role for the next 16 years, at the time of his election we were struggling to field a team and it was difficult to be optimistic regarding our future. But Reg had an abundance of determination and oversaw a transformation which encouraged youth and gradually our fortunes changed for the better. Under his tenure the Club in 1977 made its debut in competitive cricket competing in the Wey Valley League. By the early 1980's two teams were regularly fielded on each day of the weekend and at times the demand to play was so great that a 3rd eleven fixture had to be hastily arranged. He would be the first to admit he was not the most gifted of cricketers but he batted correctly and had a stubborn streak which meant his wicket would never be given away cheaply. When called upon he would do a reliable job behind the stumps commanding neat and tidy glove work. Despite the obvious progress made on the field perhaps his reign will be best be remembered for the achievements that were made off of it. In 1983 after the successful negotiation of a lease with Spelthorne Borough Council a new licensed clubhouse was built at Groveley Road. The building was constructed and funded entirely by the members.
At last we had our own premises which we all could be proud of and gave ourselves the opportunity to reciprocate the hospitality of our fellow cricket clubs. All the hard work and fundraising in the previous years had paid dividends and we had been rewarded with the realising of our dream. Although moving away from the area to retire to the countryside in Hailsham, East Sussex Reg continued to take interest in the Club and participated in our lotteries as well as attending many social events. Always at his side would be his lovely partner Betty, herself a wonderful Club supporter and the perfect chairman's wife. All of us who have enjoyed the benefits of playing or socialising at the club owe our gratitude to the likes of Reg. His sort don't come around to often and our history will record the significant role he played to ensure his efforts are not forgotten.

Another maiden century to report, well done to Tom Hunter, 105 against Chessington in the Fullers Sunday League.

Congratulations to Ellis Miah on scoring his first senior century, 126 v Imber Court. Well done Ellis, lets hope it's the first of many.

The new season starts on Saturday April 19th with two games. Please pass your availability to any captain or e mail trevorwarne@aol.com. along with details of any changes in address or telephone number.

Are you an old member of Kempton Cricket Club, or it's predecessors Richmond Town or Sunbury Village. What are you up to now, would you like to send a message which can be displayed on this page? E Mail trevorwarne@aol.com

The club is sad to hear of the news of the loss of two former stalwarts of Sunbury Village. In February we learnt the shock news of the sudden death of Naz Rashid. Naz was a larger than life character who played over 250 games for SVCC in the 1990's, a hard hitting middle order batsman and purveyor of occasional leg spin he scored 4149 runs @ 21.17 with his top score being an unbeaten 100 at Reigate Priory Cavaliers in 1999. Naz will be missed by all those who new him, either through cricket or his various business activities and our condolences go out to his brother Nad, his wife and young family.

Jack Twitchen was one of SVCC's earliest and most influential players, and a Kempton CC life member. He played through three decades from the early 1950's with his seam bowling taking an amazing 1016 wickets at a misery average of 11,94 with a best of 8-11 against Bedfont in 1958. A true legend of club cricket in the area at the time Jack played over 500 games for SVCC and was actively involved in the running of the club, an interest he maintained even after retiring to a quieter life in Bute, Scotland. Jack passed away in March at the age of 82 and has requested that his ashes be scattered at The Cedars where Jack played most of his cricket. Again, our condolences to his wife Ruby and his family.