The Twelfth Man 2018

39 Wombwell nets and awards are received and trophies collected. One of the best nights on the Society calendar – the glow of the faces, the pride of the parents! Sportsman’s Service – when I first started attending WCLS a lunchtime church service at St Mary’s in Wombwell was the place where Society coaching awards/young cricketer awards were presented. Ampleforth – Don Wilson made us so welcome on a few occasions there and a few lucky young Wombwell players benefited from the time spent in and around its peaceful haven. Members – without each and every one of our loyal members the Society would not continue to flourish. It started with around 40 local members, but quickly grew. Numbers have been higher, but still today we can boast of around 300 members, spread across all parts of the UK and abroad. Their subscriptions, support and often-generous donations keep WCLS on course and it’s been my delight to call a number, friends down the years. Guests and visitors – I first attended a Society meeting in the mid-1980s and ever since I’ve been amazed by the range of cricket-playing and cricket-loving people who have been prepared to come to WCLS, a few that linger long in the memory follow. Speaker meeting highlights – so many! Here is a few and some left an impression on more than one occasion. Numerous Lancashire evenings, but I think of Mike Atherton and Neil Fairbrother in 1989. Geoff Boycott in the winter of 2004-05, David Frith with Frank Tyson (both future Society Patrons) on 6 April 1995, Basil D’Oliveira, Stephen Chalke (and with many guests), Derek Underwood, Eddie Hemmings, Bob Appleyard, and Paul Farbrace in October 2016. Other memorable nights – as well as the hundreds of cricketers I also think of enjoyable evenings in the company of writers, journalists and general cricket followers. A few to mention include: Poet Colin Shakespeare, Allan Stuttard, John Gwynne, the passion of County historians Tim Jones (Worcester) and Dave Allen (Hampshire), painter Ashley Jackson, Pat Murphy, Fred Raffle and Duncan Hamilton on Larwood. Dinners – as well as speaker nights there have been many special memories of Society dinners. Here a number that still linger. Dickie Bird and Geoff Boycott in April 1989, Mike Gatting in 1991, Randall/Waddell in 1993, Godfrey Evans in 1994, Darren Lehmann in May 2000 and Fred Trueman in 2004. Christmas lunch – so many fine December afternoons in support of Yorkshire beneficiaries, but one for special mention must be the Society’s 60th Anniversary Sunday lunch in 2011 when