The Twelfth Man 2011

12 Hobbs Scholarship trip for coaching in Scarborough. Adopted ‘Tyke’, Somerset’s Alf Coulson was made a Society Vice-President and the 1970 Wombwell Cricketer of the Year was Roy Virgin (Somerset), which no doubt pleased ‘Alf the Tyke’. 1981 – 30 years ago The Twelfth Man paid a special tribute to Society patron John Arlott. Tributes came from far and wide as the ‘Voice of Cricket’ bid farewell to broadcasting. On 14 th April 1981 over 250 members and guests gathered at Milton Hall in Elsecar as Wombwell welcomed John Arlott before he left for retirement in Alderney. Another treasured memory entered in the scrapbooks. Speakers in 1981 included Yorkshire’s groundsman Keith Boyce, Robin Jackman (Cricketer of the Year 1980), Arnie Sidebottom, John Barclay and Somerset’s Peter Roebuck. The Society’s coaching classes at Hoyland Sports Centre were under the watchful guidance of Derek Moxon and a young Martyn (about to embark on his own first-class career). Jack Bethel, Mike Damms and Peter Hadfield were amongst the other WCLS coaches on hand. The Brian Sellers Captain of the Year award was instigated and Nottinghamshire’s Clive Rice was the first worth recipient. 1991 – 20 years ago The Society’s Ruby anniversary year recorded a thriving membership figure of 573, with 60 new recruits to the Wombwell ranks. The 40 th Anniversary dinner was a tribute to a later patron, Don Wilson, who had returned to his native county to coach at Ampleforth College. A special china plate was made to celebrate Wombwell’s 40 years of cricket loving. The 1990/91 WCLS season began early with a small dinner to honour the Society’s 1989 Cricketer of the Year, Jimmy Cook. Other guests that winter included: Tim Munton, Harold Hackney JP, Neil Fairbrother, Mike Watkinson and Phil DeFreitas from Lancashire, weatherman Bob Rust, Godfrey Evans and Kim Barnett. A very hectic programme concluded with two contrasting evenings in the company of England cricketers, Graham Gooch (Cricketer of the Year 1990) and in June Mike Gatting (County Captain of 1990), the latter still considered one of the best evenings in Wombwell’s long history. 2001 – 10 years ago The Society celebrated its half-century with a special dinner at the Regency in September 2001 in the company of Wombwell President Dickie Bird, John Morgan and Derek Hodgson. A special anniversary tie and china plate were also commissioned to celebrate the Wombwell innings of 50 not out! Jack Sokell, WCLS founding secretary, was still at the helm having reached that special landmark in office himself. The 2001 Twelfth Man included obituary notices to two ‘giants’ of the game in Australia and England – namely Sir Donald Bradman and a Wombwell patron Lord Colin Cowdrey. Other Wombwell stalwarts lost that year were Bill Parrish and Stuart Ibbotson. Yorkshire captain David Byas was the Society Captain of the Year having led the county to their first Championship title since 1968. Wombwell’s other national awards had a strong white rose slant to them with Darren Lehmann (Cricketer of the Year), Steve Kirby (outstanding newcomer) and Richard Blakey (wicket-keeper of the Year). Amongst the Society’s winter speakers during 2001/2: author/writer Stephen Chalke, Ken Taylor, Somerset ‘keeper Rob Turner, Graham Roope, Essex leggie Robin Hobbs, Christmas lunch with Barry Wood, Claire Taylor, George Sharp and County evenings with Notts, Derbyshire, Northants, Leicestershire and of course Lancashire (a young Jimmy Anderson in the line-up) and Yorkshire (current captain Andrew Gale amongst the panel). Memories then from across six decades as the Wombwell Cricket Lovers’ now reaches its 60 th birthday. Raise a glass and toast the Diamond anniversary of this unique organization!