The Twelfth Man 2013

34 various club professionals of the Lancashire League. Allan was an absolute wealth of knowledge about the characters of the Lancs League and he went on to entertain us with stories of their antics. Some big names were involved, including Sobers, Chappell, Ambrose, Gilchrist, Wardle and many others, which concluded a fascinating evening. 14 March – Peter Gibbs Jim introduced Peter, a TV scriptwriter who played first-class cricket for Oxford University from 1964 to 1966 and having been born in Staffordshire, he represented them between 1961 and 1965. Derbyshire CCC signed Peter in 1966 and after making his debut; he was a regular until 1973. Peter was a right-hand opening batsman who averaged 29.13 with a top score of 138 not out. After his cricket career ended, he started writing short plays and comedies for TV (cricket themes often included). His writing continued with considerable success, and includes, more recently, episodes of “The Bill” and “Heartbeat” (1990-2009). Peter opened his presentation by telling us that people are always fascinated by how he has got through life without a proper job. Peter then told us about his early days in Staffordshire, playing at the same club as the great West Indian, Frank Worrell, whose ground was famous for its tractor, which pulled the heavy roller up and down the square! Another great, namely Jim Laker, followed Frank and the pair brought about many amusing stories. To complete a hat-trick of fantastic cricketers they were followed by the one and only Garry Sobers with yet more stories. Peter went on to give us a fantastic overview of his county days, including his first century, which brought about this high praise from his coach: “don’t get carried away lad, if you die tonight, we’ll still manage”. Among some of Peter’s favourite memories, which ring a bell with South Yorkshire folk, were the Chesterfield matches which he always relished. 28 March – David Parsons and Coaching Awards night This was the evening of the Society Coaching Awards and our guest speaker, David Parsons, who is the England Performance Manager made the presentations to our younger members. This evening, Chairman, Jim Greenfield, also announced that our long standing Coaching coordinator and Organisation Officers, John and Beryl Ambler, were standing down after many years of first class service, and were being replaced by Brian Workman. David then commenced his presentation by telling the audience that his work with the ECB followed a career in club cricket. David said that he felt very privileged with his role, and was based at the Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough. He explained how the system worked with all the various levels of England cricket teams training (male and female). The Centre also develops coaches at level 3 and 4. Virtually all the top players in the country have been through its doors and certainly the latest batch, including Root and Bairstow, are looking very promising indeed. The various tours are also a great source of experience for the young players and our own Martyn Moxon, who is now helping in that area is proving very able. The conduct of the players – on and off the field – is an important part of these tours and future leaders are often identified. Tough practice sessions are also an integral part of these tours to get all players up to scratch. The Q and A session went well with the young audience, as did the pie and pea supper to bring a fitting end to an excellent evening and the winter season 2012/13. Playwright, author and first-class cricketer, Peter Gibbs (left), pictured with Brian Sanderson