On Sunday 26th June Tim’s cricketing families from West Chilts and Wizzy Green did much more than remember the big guy…..we spent the day with him. We felt his smile, heard his infectious laugh, felt his bear hugs around friends old and new & heard him encouraging the youngsters. We could see him bowling from the bottom end and shuffling through for a “comfortable” single with his sun worn cap. He sat with us on the pitch afterwards with his Fosters laughing out loud about the good old days ….. he was with us all. JEM you were there too along with your family in everyone’s thoughts….it was a hard day, but it was a good day.
It was fantastic to get many of the players who played with Tim during the 2017 season out onto the park, and it is testament to his contribution to the club that Hugo Gillespie, Charlie Davies, Reuben Taylor and Ben Lucking are now such an integral part of the 1st XI pushing for promotion to the Premier Division. There were obviously a few creaking bones out there amongst a few of us older folks, but we managed to get through 25 overs with the help of some slightly unorthodox drinks breaks! Wizzy Green brought a side packed with future stars and were magnificently skippered by the very talented Will Dixon who is only 15. Wizzy put on a very respectable 171 off their allotted overs, and the highlight of the West Chilts bowling performance was probably the 5 penalty runs awarded when the ball struck the Fosters Helmet! Once again Tim was there in the field…. Some very tidy bowling from the Wizzy Green youngsters pushed the Windmills all the way who only crossed the line with a few overs to spare. Reuben “Popeye” Taylor finishing the game with an extremely aesthetically pleasing lofted straight drive.
We all know days like this are successful because of good people. First of all to Wizzy Green and in particular Tony, Peter, Dan and Will thanks for all your efforts in organising and running a fabulous team. Jim Gee thanks for your efforts in a very busy season to prepare the wicket that Tim played his final game on, and also to Mike Charman for umpiring perfectly in the spirit of the day. Jason and Mandy it goes without saying as well as Dan running the bar and Morne cooking up some tasty BBQ treats! Finally, and most importantly to all the supporters who came down from both clubs and gave the day a really great vibe that it deserved.
We miss you big guy, but catch up out in the middle again soon.
