At a bit of a loose end during the winter of 1985/86, having just given up rugby a fraction before it gave up him, Phil Harvey decided that a new "team fix" was required and at the advanced age of, well never mind that, realised cricket was the only option. Having played infrequently since leaving school he felt that he would be unlikely to walk into any established club team. Then the brainwave - start your own club. Not only would he walk straight into the team but he could never be dropped! An excellent concept needing only the addition of quite a few like minded sad individuals.

So moving rapidly onto the next stage, that of recruitment. Not so easy before the invention of emailing it meant actually writing to about thirty male persons of mature years, none of them strangers it should be mentioned, and suggesting that they start running about again, playing with a bat and ball, having showers with each other and, the icing on the cake, sending money for the privilege of potential ritual humiliation.

Amazingly the simple strategy worked wonderfully and everyone sent in a cheque for twenty five pounds, more than sufficient to buy the kit, and thus The Philanderers Cricket Club was founded in 1986.

Since then much fun has been had by a collection of might have beens, have beens who thought they'd retired before embarrassing themselves, ought to have beens but couldn't be bothered and some who didn't know if they had been or not. A slowly evolving eclectic bunch who shared a good sense of humour, the promise of eternal improvement (vague) and never growing old together (since disproved).

 

Many tours have been undertaken to destinations such as Amsterdam, France (possibly!!), Gloucestershire, Kent, North Devon, North Norfolk, Suffolk & Yorkshire. These are always well attended and seemingly much enjoyed by all involved although the recollections of some are distinctly vague. Our fixture list takes in some lovely venues and currently comprises in excess of twenty matches each season.

Having now survived to our 37th year the club is in positively rude health - a surge in playing membership numbers of late and which includes the acquisition of a very successful youth policy (the Academy!!). The aching limbs of several stout elders are being massaged by the addition of a group of younger  talented lads who seem to share the same spirit as their elder brethren. Hopefully this means that the club now has, somewhat surprisingly, a future direction other than one merely down memory lane! Indeed the fixture list for our successful Sunday XI, now unbeaten in 55 matches since June 2015, remains strong with games against several of England's oldest and best known wandering clubs. So onwards and upwards it is!