Cricket coach ?

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Fidésien
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Cricket coach ?

Post by Fidésien »

I am just recovering from watching Saturday's rugby ['Scotland were robbed' … … 'Farrell should have ben red-carded'] by reading Stephen Chalke's book Runs in the Memory.On pp.57-71 there is an account of Lancashire v. Northamptonshire, August 1953. Opening the bowling for Northants with Frank Tyson is RW 'Bob' Clarke, described as 6'5", barrel-chested, ex-Navy and a good man in a late-night brawl. The book says that he went on to be cricket coach at the Redcoats School in Horsham [sic]. Is this the Clarke who was cricket coach at CH in the 1950s-60s ? Confusingly there were two Northants fast bowlers called Clarke. I had always thought that the CH coach was Edward Winchester 'Nobby' Clark, a shortish but fiery fast bowler for Northants and England, who was said in the 1930s to be the fastest professional bowler in England after Larwood. Before I write to the author/publisher to correct them - a favourite occupation in retirement - Does anyone know [or care] which Clarke was which ? If so, please tell me. Though it won't affect BREXIT. PS For those who want to know we were pleased to have PS Pete Ledeboer staying with us in Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago.
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Re: Cricket coach ?

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I have moved this post into the correct forum.
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Mid A 15
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Re: Cricket coach ?

Post by Mid A 15 »

Fidésien wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:39 pm I am just recovering from watching Saturday's rugby ['Scotland were robbed' … … 'Farrell should have ben red-carded'] by reading Stephen Chalke's book Runs in the Memory.On pp.57-71 there is an account of Lancashire v. Northamptonshire, August 1953. Opening the bowling for Northants with Frank Tyson is RW 'Bob' Clarke, described as 6'5", barrel-chested, ex-Navy and a good man in a late-night brawl. The book says that he went on to be cricket coach at the Redcoats School in Horsham [sic]. Is this the Clarke who was cricket coach at CH in the 1950s-60s ? Confusingly there were two Northants fast bowlers called Clarke. I had always thought that the CH coach was Edward Winchester 'Nobby' Clark, a shortish but fiery fast bowler for Northants and England, who was said in the 1930s to be the fastest professional bowler in England after Larwood. Before I write to the author/publisher to correct them - a favourite occupation in retirement - Does anyone know [or care] which Clarke was which ? If so, please tell me. Though it won't affect BREXIT. PS For those who want to know we were pleased to have PS Pete Ledeboer staying with us in Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago.
Indeed there was one Clark (Nobby in the thirties) and one Clarke (RW 'Bob' in the fifties), both left arm fast confusingly, who played for Northamptonshire.

'Our' coach was RW 'Bob' Clarke. Apart from 'Redcoats' the only other obvious error I can see in that extract is his height. He was closer to 5' 6" rather than 6' 5"!

I knew Bob, and his wife Hilda who helped in the Tuck Shop, well as I was a keen but untalented cricketer. Bob left CH in the mid seventies for Sherbourne (? spelling) and sadly passed away around 1981.

Whilst writing I believe Bob actually arrived at CH around 1960 (ish) as successor to Len Bates. John Snow wrote of Len Bates with great affection in his autobiography 'Cricket Rebel' and even wrote a published poem about him.
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Re: Cricket coach ?

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The CH Bob Clarke inherited the nickname "Nobby" from his predecessor at Northants. He was a fine coach, a fearsome competitor and a highly dedicated groundsman. I have many, many fond memories of him and a whole raft of anecdotes about him.
I believe he also played left-half for West Brom.
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Re: Cricket coach ?

Post by michael scuffil »

I remember my father once instructing me that all Clark(e)s were 'Nobby' just as all Wilsons were 'Tug' (and, for more obvious reasons, all Whites were 'Chalky' and all Millers were 'Dusty').

My contact with serious cricket at the Redcoats school was nil, though for some reason I do remember Len Bates.
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Fidésien
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Re: Cricket coach ?

Post by Fidésien »

Thanks very much for sorting that out for me. It is confusing that there were two Northants fast bowlers called Clarke(e); both apparently left-arm. I will write to Stephen Chalke when I get round to it in the event of any future reprint of Runs in the Memory. Like Herr Dr Scuffil my involvement with cricket at CH never got beyond First Leagues. But I did have a prized collection of cricketers' autographs; that spanned from Jack Hobbs (who presumably wrote The Leviathan in the dressing room at The Oval in a very wet season ?) to a very young Gary Sobers, playing at Motspur Park with the 1957 West Indians. Which encourages me to go and look for my autograph album !
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Re: Cricket coach ?

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harryh wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2019 11:08 pm The CH Bob Clarke inherited the nickname "Nobby" from his predecessor at Northants. He was a fine coach, a fearsome competitor and a highly dedicated groundsman. I have many, many fond memories of him and a whole raft of anecdotes about him.
I believe he also played left-half for West Brom.
Howard's mention of Bob Clarke being ...'a highly dedicated groundsman'... reminds me that around 1970, give or take a year, Sussex CCC played a first class match against Cambridge University on the first XI square. The University side included former Pakistan international Majid Jahangir (later known as Majid Khan), former England international Mike Selvey and former Sussex CCC bowler John Spencer. Other members of that Cambridge side also played county cricket.

That is the only first class match I am aware of being played at CH does anyone know of any others or even one day matches?

The thought occurs that with the children on holiday the square and other facilities would theoretically be available throughout August and back in Bob's time in particular it was a very decent wicket.
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harryh
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Re: Cricket coach ?

Post by harryh »

I hate doing this, Andy, but time has blurred your memory.
On the preceding Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Cambridge University had played away at Aldershot v Combined Services. They came to stay at C.H. at the behest of new Head Master, David Newsome - he had known Majid and others previously from his time at Cambridge. They were due to have a rest day on the Tuesday before taking on Sussex at Horsham CC from Wednesday to Saturday. Newsome persuaded them otherwise. The 1st XI and the Cambridge XI were mixed and a limited overs afternoon game took place.
I have three vivid memories of the day :
1. Majid Khan being bowled by occasional bowler Andrew Heath for 27. It was momentous for Newsome referred to this on his final report saying "Andrew will always be remembered as the boy who bowled current test player Majid Khan on Big Side"...... making absolutely no reference whatsoever to the fact that Andrew had been awarded the top Classics scholarship to Oxford!!!!
2. The sight of Mike Barford, who later taught at CH and who has done such splendid work at the museum, running round in circles in the deep as he tried to locate a skier.... He was the first person I met who wore contact lenses. He was ribbed mercilessly by his teammates.
3 The image of Majid Khan in whites sitting on the grass outside Dining Hall before Late Tea utterly enthralled by the Band at a Beating Retreat rehearsal.

Aah... Happy days!
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Re: Cricket coach ?

Post by Mid A 15 »

harryh wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2019 3:47 pm I hate doing this, Andy, but time has blurred your memory.
On the preceding Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Cambridge University had played away at Aldershot v Combined Services. They came to stay at C.H. at the behest of new Head Master, David Newsome - he had known Majid and others previously from his time at Cambridge. They were due to have a rest day on the Tuesday before taking on Sussex at Horsham CC from Wednesday to Saturday. Newsome persuaded them otherwise. The 1st XI and the Cambridge XI were mixed and a limited overs afternoon game took place.
I have three vivid memories of the day :
1. Majid Khan being bowled by occasional bowler Andrew Heath for 27. It was momentous for Newsome referred to this on his final report saying "Andrew will always be remembered as the boy who bowled current test player Majid Khan on Big Side"...... making absolutely no reference whatsoever to the fact that Andrew had been awarded the top Classics scholarship to Oxford!!!!
2. The sight of Mike Barford, who later taught at CH and who has done such splendid work at the museum, running round in circles in the deep as he tried to locate a skier.... He was the first person I met who wore contact lenses. He was ribbed mercilessly by his teammates.
3 The image of Majid Khan in whites sitting on the grass outside Dining Hall before Late Tea utterly enthralled by the Band at a Beating Retreat rehearsal.

Aah... Happy days!
You are of course correct Howard. You have no peer when it comes to cricketing matters, particularly CH cricket.

I sneaked off to Horsham to watch some of the 3 day county game and am thus conflating the two events.

How could I forget Andrew Heath bowling out Majid? It was a sensational moment.
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