This Aint baseball - a convert to (Merstham) cricket from across The Pond
Thomas Kenny, one of our under-12s coaches whose accent suggests he is not from these parts, has written the following submission for the 150th anniversary Book of Memories.
We are grateful to him for letting us reproduce it here. Should anybody else wish to contribute to the Book, now the season is very nearly complete and they might have time to pen some words, please email Ian Lamont at ilamontnews@hotmail.com
If anybody had said an American raised on baseball, basketball and American Football would be in love with a game called cricket, you wouldn’t believe them.
Well, it’s happened. When I moved to this country 15 years ago, I only knew the name of the game cricket and nothing about it. I now know that when you talk about the crease that you are referring to the area between the wickets, not the crease along a pair of trousers. Slip is a position just behind and to the side of the wicket keeper, not part of a woman's skirt. They still have batters, although the bat is different.
How did this all come about? My oldest boy (Byron) joined Merstham Cricket Club five years ago. His two cousins (Jack and Callum Letts) played cricket at Merstham and he thought it looked like fun. His first coach Bob McGillivray proved him right. It was fun. Bob is knowledgable and taught the children all about the game while maintaining a sense of order. No mean feat with a bunch of Under 8s.
When Byron’s squad moved into the Under 11s they found themselves without a manager or a coach. Simone Murrough, the colts section manager, had always been a friendly face, along with Richard and Dan Fiest, and everybody else involved with the club. Nothing seemed too much to them. (I have since found out just how much all these people, and so many more, do behind the scenes to help make this the best club around.) Their kindness and persistence paid off. I took on the role of manager for the Under11 East Surrey Colts League squad and convinced a friend (Thomas Byrne), who is the dad of another player, to take on the role of coach. A steep learning curve however, it continued to bring home the friendly, fun, and ‘everybody is involved’ atmosphere of Merstham Cricket Club along with the joyful spirit of the game.
That winter I took a coaching course (along with Thomas Byrne) and became a Level 2 Coach for Children and Young Adults. I well and truly had caught the cricket bug and was thoroughly enjoying it. The following season I found myself managing and coaching. Halfway through the season, Mike Hanlon (senior coach of the colts squads), approached me and asked if I would like to play on a Sunday. They were short a few players and thought now that I was so into cricket I would like to actually try playing in a match.
Was he serious? The most I had ever done with cricket competitively had only taken place in practice with the squad I helped coach. He said it would be fun. Okay, I’ll have a go. WOW. He wasn’t kidding. I arrived at Smallfield for my first ever cricket match with the Sunday Second XI. I had heart palpitations already. I hadn’t played competitive sport since before I moved here 15 years ago. And that was football (known as soccer to me). I didn’t know anybody. William (Bill) Ash (captain) and the other players were great. Gentle ribbing started right away and soon I felt like I had been part of the squad all season.
I had borrowed equipment from the club storeroom. Pads that said they were for an Under 11 player (they fit so I didn’t mind), gloves and a helmet. I borrowed my son’s cricket bat (he is 12 so that should give you an idea of the size of the bat). I didn’t have spikes so I wore football turf shoes. Call it blind luck, expert captaincy, or even beginners luck. I managed to bat for 25, take two wickets and catch another as a fielder. The transformation was complete. I was well and truly hooked on cricket. (Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to recreate the same type of game since then however, I keep coming out and try). And I honestly believe it would never have happened if I had been at any other club. Merstham Cricket Club is the friendliest, most sociable, non-assuming club around.
Thomas Kenny