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Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Cricket Match between a Barley Village XI and the Barkway Village XI
chris allan11 Mar 2013 - 14:36
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To raise funds for the Jubilee celebrations in Barkway, a Sunday cricket match was arranged by John Sizer of Barkway at the Cokenach Cricket ground between two ancient village rivals. The last recorded cricket match between Barkway and Barley had been on June 12th 1943 when the Barkway Home Guard under the command of W Strange defeated the Barley Home Guard led by 2nd Lieutenant Walter Sermons in a two innings encounter. In the years leading up to World War II, Barkway could boast 3 teams as within the Parish there was Crossman’s Cokenach estate team, a Newsells estate team and a Barkway village team that played at the recreation ground. Following the war however, the three teams amalgamated as Cokenach Cricket Club and played at the estate on a pitch laid down under instructions from the Lords Ground staff and which had been used by Middlesex CCC for fixtures during the war. 69 years later, the next game between the two teams was played in front of a hundred or more spectators at the fabulous new Cokenach Ground on as perfect an English summer’s afternoon as could have been imagined.
Barkway, led on the field by Tom Warnham, were put into the field as Barley skipper Chris Allan wisely elected to bat first. Umpires, Eric Davis for Barley and David Catley for Barkway, looked on as openers, James Foy and Jerry Carlisle appeared untroubled by the bowling of Childs 2-0-0-20 and Styles 4-0-1-28. A four first ball by Foy set the tone for the batting until in the fourth over Styles deceived Carlisle with a quicker delivery that clean bowled him for 14. John Sizer went for 41 runs off his three overs as Foy pressed on with Ali Wallace. The pair bludgeoned boundaries to all corners of the ground until first, Wallace retired unbeaten on 26 and then Foy, 27 not out, gave way to new batsmen. Lorcan George played well for his 26, aided greatly by profligate wicket keeping from a bemused Peter Bolden. Jason Marple then made the long walk out to the middle only to immediately return to the pavilion clean bowled first ball by Jack Childs for a duck. Michael Strange, related to W Strange who played in the 1943 game between the two villages then swiftly put on 25 before also retiring, leaving Eddy Collins undefeated on 22 along with John Foy, a local eccentric, also undefeated on 2 not out. Any batting from Geoff Cash, Tim Drury and Chris Allan was unrequired as Barley had made 164 for 2 in their 20 overs.
In reply, Barkway started slowly as James Foy 2-0-0-13 tied down Tom Warnham and Tony Terry with an accurate spell of bowling. Marple 2-0-3-8 then clean bowled Terry for a duck and the very next ball repeated the feat against Tom Styles. Jack Childs fell LBW to Wallace for 5 and the still bemused Bolden also went for 5, bowled by Carlisle after losing his bat. Aided by some eccentrically excellent fielding from John Foy, Marple, a part time Oenologist, carried on his devastating spell and dismissed Vince Styles, sharply caught behind by Allan for 0. The excellent Wornham by now had retired undefeated on 27 leaving Craig Sleath and C. Bonfield to face some vicious in-duckers from Geoff Cash 2-0-0-11, playing his first game for 50 years, and some beguiling spin from Suzie Strange 2-0-0-5. Sleith made 13 until he was lured from the crease by Michael Strange and stumped by Allan. Cameron Bonfield was also bowled by Strange for a duck and Rob Bonfield, his father, was swiftly removed for 5, also by Strange who ended up taking three wickets for just 2 runs in his brief spell. Barkway finished on just 80 after their 20 overs and well short of the Barley total.
With a barrel of beer donated to the event by the Woodman at Nuthampstead, sales of beer, a barbeque and raffle all contributed in raising several hundred pounds for Barkway’s Jubilee celebration fund.
Barkway, led on the field by Tom Warnham, were put into the field as Barley skipper Chris Allan wisely elected to bat first. Umpires, Eric Davis for Barley and David Catley for Barkway, looked on as openers, James Foy and Jerry Carlisle appeared untroubled by the bowling of Childs 2-0-0-20 and Styles 4-0-1-28. A four first ball by Foy set the tone for the batting until in the fourth over Styles deceived Carlisle with a quicker delivery that clean bowled him for 14. John Sizer went for 41 runs off his three overs as Foy pressed on with Ali Wallace. The pair bludgeoned boundaries to all corners of the ground until first, Wallace retired unbeaten on 26 and then Foy, 27 not out, gave way to new batsmen. Lorcan George played well for his 26, aided greatly by profligate wicket keeping from a bemused Peter Bolden. Jason Marple then made the long walk out to the middle only to immediately return to the pavilion clean bowled first ball by Jack Childs for a duck. Michael Strange, related to W Strange who played in the 1943 game between the two villages then swiftly put on 25 before also retiring, leaving Eddy Collins undefeated on 22 along with John Foy, a local eccentric, also undefeated on 2 not out. Any batting from Geoff Cash, Tim Drury and Chris Allan was unrequired as Barley had made 164 for 2 in their 20 overs.
In reply, Barkway started slowly as James Foy 2-0-0-13 tied down Tom Warnham and Tony Terry with an accurate spell of bowling. Marple 2-0-3-8 then clean bowled Terry for a duck and the very next ball repeated the feat against Tom Styles. Jack Childs fell LBW to Wallace for 5 and the still bemused Bolden also went for 5, bowled by Carlisle after losing his bat. Aided by some eccentrically excellent fielding from John Foy, Marple, a part time Oenologist, carried on his devastating spell and dismissed Vince Styles, sharply caught behind by Allan for 0. The excellent Wornham by now had retired undefeated on 27 leaving Craig Sleath and C. Bonfield to face some vicious in-duckers from Geoff Cash 2-0-0-11, playing his first game for 50 years, and some beguiling spin from Suzie Strange 2-0-0-5. Sleith made 13 until he was lured from the crease by Michael Strange and stumped by Allan. Cameron Bonfield was also bowled by Strange for a duck and Rob Bonfield, his father, was swiftly removed for 5, also by Strange who ended up taking three wickets for just 2 runs in his brief spell. Barkway finished on just 80 after their 20 overs and well short of the Barley total.
With a barrel of beer donated to the event by the Woodman at Nuthampstead, sales of beer, a barbeque and raffle all contributed in raising several hundred pounds for Barkway’s Jubilee celebration fund.
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