Kelvin Hill - A Tribute

Like most people I was very shocked and then saddened by the passing of Kelvin on Sunday. Kelvin, an absolute gentleman.

When I think of Kelvin, I think of three things: his enthusiasm for cricket, his passion for the community of Over Stowey and his love for his family; all somewhat are interrelated. 

On a Saturday afternoon during the summer months you would always find Kelvin at the cricket ground in Over Stowey watching the game at the club dearest to his heart.

He would watch his two grandsons, play for either the 1^st XI or the 2^nd XI, with his two daughters and two granddaughters cheering on, which no doubt, would make him one happy grandfather. 

After the game, you would then find him behind the bar at the Social Club, pouring a pint or two for the thirsty players, supporters (and an umpire!). He would always have his own thoughts about the game played that afternoon, and players would listen and take note.

I would like to share just a few stories about Kelvin, which always warm my heart when I think about them.

I was once captain of the 2^nd XI, and Kelvin would still be playing then. One rainy afternoon at Brompton Ralph it looked as if play would be abandoned for the day. Eventually the rain stopped and it was agreed that we would have a reduced game on their artificial wicket. Kelvin refused to play. He said: “it’s my Daughter’s wedding next weekend, and there is no way I am going out there, get wet, come down with a cold and spoil my Daughter’s wedding.” After a while he somewhat relented, put his whites on, played, and the following week he walked his daughter down the aisle without a cold.

Kelvin would always find time to talk to you, no matter what. When I was still at mothers living, I would always walk the dog first thing in the morning. When Kelvin was on the early shift as he drove to work, he would always stop and we would have a chat. The subject would always be cricket, if it was the middle of winter we would usually compare notes about the England team in some foreign field, usually in how badly they were performing; or in the summer months, talking about Somerset and of course Over Stowey. 

One last story: One of Kelvin’s most important roles in the community was barman at Over Stowey Social Club. Saturday afternoon’s as the cricket would draw to a close, Kelvin, along with Wendy, would be ready in their car (the little red Escort was the one I would look out for most) to leave the ground to go and open the social club. I, along with a few other spectators, would be willing for the final wicket to fall or the winning run to be hit, as by then we would normally be out of cider. As soon as Kelvin would leave, I was not that far behind him. Somehow Kelvin would know I would be first in the bar as my tankard would be on the bar ready to fill up.

As the shock of Kelvin’s passing slowly sinks in, my thoughts, along with many, go to his family. Wendy, such a loving wife; his two daughters: Sharon and Tina; his grandchildren: Micheal, Courtney, Stephen and Amy; and to all his extended family.

Yes we will mourn; but we will always remember the legend and absolute gentleman Kelvin. His smile of contentment driving home from Bagborough as Stowey celebrated winning the Division Two title is one lasting memory I’ll never forget.

I am privileged to have known such a wonderful man.

The Ashes 2015

Part One - note: this was written before the England squad was announced earlier today

The biggest prize in sport will begin on Wednesday, 8^th July, when England will attempt to regain the Ashes as the 1^st Test begins at Cardiff.

The build up has been quite quiet, probably because Test’s are being played in England and not in Australia. The gutter press down under do enjoy a bit of Pom bashing, using words of new more than two syllables to try and rubbish the English cricketers. Whatever keeps you happy I suppose, little things etc.

What have we learnt so far? Mark Wood is looking forward to giving Shane Watson a few bouncers, as apparently there was an incident in the past during an Aussie net session. Me thinks be careful Mark.

The afore mentioned Watson also believes that new England Coach, Aussie Trevor Bayliss, could give England the edge as he has inside knowledge.

A lot of this is just rhetoric. For me there are three key things which will determine if England can regain the Ashes:

1. Jimmy Anderson needs to rediscover his swing
2. England top order need to cope with Starc and Johnson
3. Steve Smith needs to be kept quiet; England need to dismiss him cheaply enough throughout the series.

Off course who’s selected to play for England is critical. Everyone has their thoughts, ideas and reasons why. There is also some England players looking over their shoulders as places could be up for grabs.

For what it’s worth, here is my preferred line-up:

1. Alastair Cook
2. Adam Lyth
3. Ian Bell
4. Gary Ballance (just)
5. Joe Root
6. Jos Buttler
7. Ben Stokes
8. Adil Rashid
9. Stuart Broad (just)
10. Mark Wood
11. Jimmy Anderson

There are still a few places in jeopardy; Jack Brooks and Jonny Bairstow are in the waiting if others fail.

Come on England. 

Sellsy's Cricketing Thoughts

Tuesday 5^th May

Go on holiday for a week, and come back to cricketing turmoil.

England lose the last Test in the Caribbean and therefore tie the series, and as for Somerset, well less said the better.

Before I start, I would like to see thank you to Jonathan Trott for being a rock in the England middle order throughout his international career, with the highlight being winning the Ashes down under. Great servant Jonathan, now I expect you’ll score a hatful of runs for Warwickshire.

So firstly, onto England, oh dear, something I predicted back in March; the statement from Colin Graves about the West Indies being mediocre has come back to bite Graves on the backside. Will he have his enquiry now before the hectic summer / winter schedule, which includes the Ashes.

Well he better hurry up, the Test matches with the Kiwis will be here soon. Somehow appointing Andrew Strauss as the new Director of Cricket may not be the answer. The answer is getting the selection right otherwise this summer could get embarrassing. If they (ECB) say England are rebuilding, well that won’t sit with a number of critics as they said that after the last drubbing down under.

Now onto Somerset, well I hate to say I told you so, but they are struggling, at the time of writing Worcestershire were going straight through the Somerset batting, thus making it three loses in their opening three County Championship games, I just hope they do enough to stay up!

That’s enough about England and Somerset for now, and even for the summer. It is all about Over Stowey over the next four months and their adventures in the West Somerset League. But please don’t forget that I told you so about the predicament of both England and Somerset, I just hope they prove me wrong. PLease prove me wrong.

Ok, birthday celebration time, a day early I know. Look out next week for Over Stowey’s Adventures in the West Somerset League.

Sellsy's Cricketing Thoughts

Monday 20^th April

Matthew Hoggard England’s best ever bowler, well that is one is certainly up for debate.

The BBC Sport website came up with this little gem over the weekend, giving a breakdown on why Hoggy is England’s No.1, ok, I am good at maths and I can see the BBC’s reasoning behind why he is rated number one, but surely it goes on your average surely?

Hoggy, who played the same amount of Test matches as Fred Trueman, 67, and took 248 Test wickets at an average of 30, whereas Fiery claimed 307 scalps at an average of 21.57, surely these figures speak for themselves.

But if you want to just go on averages we have the likes of George Lohmann who claimed 112 wickets, averaging 10.75 in his 18 Tests. This was in the late 1800’s where there was only Australia and South Africa to play Test Cricket against. And then it took an entirety to travel to such places to represent your country, but still a great return.

Then there is Billy Barnes, again in the same era as Lohmann, who only claimed 51 wickets at an average of 15.54 in his 21 Test matches for England.

We mustn’t forget the great Sydney Barnes who played his Test cricket in the early 1900’s, right up until the outbreak of WW1. In his 27 Test appearance for England he claimed an astonishing 189 wickets at an average of only 16.43. Once he claimed 17 wickets in a match, this is only bettered by the great Jim Laker who took 19 Aussie wickets. Most cricketers and students of the game belonging to the period in which Barnes played were agreed that he was the bowler of the century.

Enough said about this BBC Sport study, it has Stuart Broad as third for crying out loud, you can’t tell me Broad is better than the likes of Ian Botham, Alec Bedser, Jim Laker, Derek Underwood, Brain Statham as well as Trueman, Barnes et al. Not a very good piece of work done there by the BBC, I would think it may have had a lot of comments, the majority of it very negative.

Test cricket has changed and developed more over the years, especially over the past two decades. I think there is no way you can pick the greatest English Test bowler; everyone with any cricket knowledge will have their own thoughts and ideas in what the criteria should be.

For me I wish I could of watched Sydney Barnes bowl, from what I read and understand he was virtually unplayable.

Right, that’s it for a couple of weeks, on my jolly holidays – going on a cider tour of southern England, then straight in to the Over Stowey 2015 West Somerset League Division Five campaign.

Sellsy's Cricketing Thoughts

Monday 13^th April

The County Cricket season is now up and running, and with that in mind I am already thinking of those long summer days and evenings.

Somerset are already in action, playing against Durham in a four day County Championship match at Taunton. As of yet I am yet to see a ball being bowled, but plans are afoot to watch some quality cricket during the week ahead.

So what are Somerset’s chances of silverware during the 2015 campaign? Well according to most experts – none. No surprises there then, these so called experts aren’t worth the column inches given to them. I always look at the bookies to see what the odds are, they are generally near the mark (have you ever seen a poor bookie?). Guess what, Somerset odd are quite long, especially for the County Championship, the Holy Grail amongst the majority of the Somerset faithful.

So who will win the County Championship? Yorkshire are favourites to retain their title, a title they emphatically won last year - they didn’t beat Somerset though did they. However, I am pretty sure half their 1^st XI starting line-up will be on England duty throughout the summer, therefore weakening their chances.

Nottinghamshire look like the team to fear / beat. Shrewd signings, with the likes of Will Gidman and Brendan Taylor; quality overseas bowlers, namely Vernon Philander and Ben Hilfanhaus; plus if James Taylor can avoid being selected for England, Nottinghamshire do look very strong indeed.

Warwickshire will push both Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire close, but I think it will be between those two counties. That leaves Durham, Hampshire, Middlesex, Sussex, Worcestershire and the mighty Somerset all fighting for positions and not wanting to finish 8^th or 9^th.

Somerset are in a transition period which is a bit of an understatement, losing a hatful of players over the winter. However, Matthew Maynard has already been out and got some good replacements, the likes of Tom Cooper and Jim Allenby. However me thinks the batting is still lacking one quality batsman. Young Tom Abell looks like a ready-made top order batsman, who made a handful of appearances towards the end of last season; I do hope he gets selected very soon. If Somerset finished 7^th I will be happy, and I will be even happier if they get to quarter-final (especially a home one), and what then?

Regulars would of noticed that I haven’t been talking about my annual Somerset bet I place. Well put it like this, I think William Hill has had enough money of me over the past few seasons, so I will leave it for 12 months.

Right, time to go and watch a bit of cricket and enjoy a drop of Thatchers or two!

Sellsy's Cricketing Thoughts

Monday 30^th March

Australia wins the World Cup – so what? Does anyone here in England care?

The only thing which has really annoyed me that I owe my Cricket Correspondent in Australia a pint when he is next back in the UK, just hope I am on my honeymoon when he is back. Not that I have any sour grapes whatsoever!

I would love to talk about what is good about cricket – Over Stowey and Somerset – however the England problem does not go away, and is always whirling in my mind. The problem is that England’s best batsman is making himself available to play international cricket again, but the hierarchy does not want to select him. What the hell is going on?

Over the next 12 months England are playing: West Indies, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia for The Ashes and lastly South Africa. Can anyone tell me where any type of victory is going to come from? I believe Ireland will do England as well this summer, unless it decides to rain in Dublin which will save English blushes.

The new ECB Chairman, Colin Graves, has set down his marker saying that there will be “some enquiries” if England don’t beat “mediocre” West Indies. Wow, what a statement, what bigger incentive there is for the West Indies to go out and give England a right hammering. Remember Tony Greig and the “grovelling” incident, plus David Gower saying they’ll be “quaking” in their boots. What happened, well let’s just say England failed to win a Test match.

I am with Jonathan Agnew, I fear for England this year, I can see Test series victories for the West Indies, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa; as for the ODI’s and T20’s I can’t see England even getting close.

It seems that the England selectors have a different point of view to Colin Graves about Kevin Pietersen. Paul Downton and James Whittaker saying that KP will never play for Engalnd again; whereas Graves saying that if KP hits runs in County Cricket he will be considered for selection. Go on KP, hit a ton of runs and give those selectors a headache.

Alas, I don’t think KP will get selected for England as long as Peter Moores is Head Coach – remember the fall out in the West Indies all those years back? So Surrey will no doubt benefit from having KP all summer. But what will happen to Moores when England get a right thumping against all sides this year?

I want England to succeed and win every time they go onto the field. But I feel so negative about things at the moment, and somewhat jealous looking at Australia, I can’t see how things are going to get better as long as we have crap selectors who pick mediocre players, an awful coaching team with a rudderless Head Coach and an ECB Chairman who likes the sound of his own voice.

I have no answers, and it is easy to be negative about things when things are going wrong. But surely KP should be back wearing an England shirt this summer, surely?

Sellsy's Cricketing Thoughts - Fred Ham Tribute

Monday 23^rd March

On hearing the sad news of the sudden passing away of Fred Ham, my thoughts, as many others, were for his family at such a tragic time.

My thoughts then tuned to his exploits on the cricketing field, and someone who inspired me to get heavily involved in the game I now love. As a youngster I would cycle up to Over Stowey to watch cricket, do the scoreboard and get some cake at the tea interval.

Fred, naturally, would be playing. Opening the bowling in tandem with Roger Shepherd, the most formidable pair of opening bowlers in the West Somerset League and then batting at his favourite / usual spot at number 11. One Saturday the side was short, I being an enthusiastic young 14 year old, played that day, and almost immediately upset Fred. Fred was moved up the order to bat at number 10 to accommodate myself at 11; I can still hear the surprise and disbelief in his voice today as he questioned the decision with the then Stowey captain.

Fred’s bowling style was always one for debate, not the action when he bowled, no one really questioned that, but it was his run-up. Standing up straight at the top of his run-up, the a small crouch as he began, a few hops and skips as he would start to run in a bit sideways, as he approached his delivery stride his run up would then sought of stutter to almost stopping, then in to his delivery stride sending the ball down at some pace to the awaiting batsman. Colleagues and opposing players would pass comment, saying he doesn’t need that run-up, but hey it worked, Fred was used to it, so why change it.

As for appealing for a wicket, especially for LBW's, Fred’s appeal could be heard all around Stowey, both Over and Nether Stowey. Fred was from a breed of fast bowlers that if it struck the pad it was out, as he would always bowl straight at the wickets. I think his appeal got him a lot more wickets as the umpire would nervously raise a finger to give the batsman out from the strength of the appeal.

Fred would always remind me the day he took all ten wickets in an innings. He would say five became six, then seven, then the eight, Roger hadn't taken any and before he knew it he had taken nine wickets. He took that ninth wicket on the last delivery of the over, and with his formidable opening partner, Roger, bowling the next over, Fred had six agonising balls to wait before he could begin his next over, and hopefully claim his 10^th scalp, a wait that felt like an eternity.

Roger’s over was unsuccessful, thankfully for Fred. So there he was, at the top of his mark, six balls to claim a wonderful achievement. He found the edge during that over, and it was Roger who snapped up the catch, and Fred, as he often told me, thought Roger was more excited than he was. A fantastic achievement, and not done at Over Stowey since.

After Fred hung up his boots, I often bumped into him in The George Hotel, where sometimes he would reminisce about his playing days amongst other things, like telling the odd joke or two.

Tonight, at skittles, I will raise a glass to you Fred – R.I.P.