50 Years on The 1970 Cricketer Cup Final Old Tonbridgians v Old Wykehamists

This account of the 1970 Cricketer Cup final was written by Richard Priestley (Old Wykehamists) and was due to be published in the 2020 Cricketer Cup Yearbook.

’Both Old Wykehamists and Old Tonbridgians had reached the final with resounding victories over semi-final opponents. Winchester beat Oundle Rovers by 9 wickets thanks to an opening partnership of 88 between Barry Reed of Hampshire and Richard Burchnall of Oxford University. The Nawab of Pataudi, formerly captain of India, was not required to bat in that match, but had made a substantial contribution in the quarter-final scoring 88 against Malvern. He was not available for the final, but Hubert Doggart, the former England batsman and now a Winchester housemaster, took his place. Tonbridge beat Haileybury Hermits in their semi- final with Peter Rylands scoring 66 and Richard Gracey taking 3 wickets after he and Nicholas Heroys had bowled Old Amplefordians out for 87 in their quarter-final. They had a consistent batting side full of high-class rackets players.

Both sides were strong in bowling on a day with overcast conditions and a wicket that was soft and wet at the start. Barry Reed and Johnny Townsend put on 81 for the first wicket, which really dictated the match, as after that the next highest partnership on either side was 36. Reed showed great application, as he had done for Hampshire, and Townsend played with more freedom than anyone else achieved on the slow, stopping pitch. At lunch Winchester were 126-2 with 19 overs left and a score of well over 200 seemed feasible, but the later batsmen all found scoring difficult, apart from Christopher Van Der Noot who timed several strokes remarkably well in the conditions. The final total of 199-9 was a touch below par but Winchester’s bowlers were confident that the wicket would not improve.

When Tonbridge batted, the Oxford blue David Toft, though apparently short of practice on his return from abroad, made 52 out of a total of 81 before he was eighth out. He missed little that could be driven, but, of the rest of the batsmen, only Peter Fuente made double figures as the Winchester bowling tightened its grip. Richard Jefferson, formerly of Cambridge University and Surrey, and Philip Whitcombe, Oxford University and Middlesex, took a wicket each, conceding only 27 runs off their combined 16 overs of seam. Whitcombe, who was forty-seven years old in 1970, had in 1948 bowled out Len Hutton twice in the same match for Oxford, and then dismissed Don Bradman in only his second game for Middlesex. Richard Priestley’s tidy off-spin gave Tonbridge no respite as he took 4 wickets for 17 runs in 12 overs. Tonbridge were all out for 105, which took them 50 overs to compile, but in the whole 1970 competition no side scored more than 140 against the Winchester attack.

Tonbridge must have yearned for the services of Colin Cowdrey and Roger Prideaux, but they were both playing elsewhere. When the Cricketer Cup began in 1967, first-class cricketers were available to play on a regular basis, but by 1970 County matches and the John Player League made this more difficult and the Cricketer Cup suffered as a result. The MCC president Maurice Allom presented the trophy to Richard Jefferson, the Burton Court ground looked at its best and everyone present enjoyed the excellent champagne.’

Old Wykehamists 199 (Barry Reed 62, Johnny Townsend 45, Richard Musson 3-29, Nicholas Heroys 3-48) Old Tonbridgians 105 (David Toft 52, Richard Priestley 4-17)

Richard Jefferson receives the cup from Maurice Allom, MCC president