Chippenham v The Philanderers, Sunday 18th May, 2025 at Chippenham Park

Opening night of farewell tour strikes all the classic notes

Roll-up, roll-up, The Philanderers are heading out on the road one last time, the greatest show in post-war Cambridgeshire-Suffolk wandering cricket is winding up, enjoy it whilst you can on the 40th anniversary “armageddon” tour, this one really is a final farewell…

For performances like this you don’t want new songs, nor do you want an arty rework of something familiar, you want the classics played as they always were. And so it was on the opening night at Chippenham... Win the toss, bat first, bat big (and quick), and build to a crescendo of Davo trying to bowl them out before the 20 overs after six elapse… then get home at 9pm. The bodies might be ageing,the club may not be what it once was but the opening night at Chippenham ran just as it always has…

The first (batting) half jumped around the back-catalogue with the openers of Pearson (C, 52), from the early noughties album The Saviour, contrasting with the more expressive Lockie (101 - the standout single from the more recent The Demise. What followed was the faster pace of the 2010s in the shape of Davidson (from the album, “The Academy”) who hit 32 from 21 and the one new release Louis Ayres (43 off 27). There was also time for a brief rendition of eternal favourite Hegarty (from the album, The Glory Days) which had the crowd on their feet. Remarkably Hegers is the only member of the original line-up still playing, but if the Sugababes have taught us only one thing, which feels unlikely, it’s that the essence of a group can survive numerous line-up changes. All in all a total of 248 from 32 overs.

The second half of the set belonged to Davidson. He might not be the tearaway, earring wearing, substance taker of old, rather now Volvo driving dad, but he still played the front man with conviction. Five overs delivered, four wickets taken and just one run conceded, that single an edge through the ‘keeper which, had it been taken, would have given him a hat-trick, five-for and the perfect figures of 5-5-0-5.

Pardess, Campbell and Coteman filled out the wickets column, whilst skipper Pearson (E) kept the boys in beat on percussion in a typically understated way, neither batting or bowling, but holding a lovely slip catch to remind us all of his class. Dean was wheeled back on for the encore, you might be tempted to say a pathetic stick like version of his youth, but that would be forgetting that was how he’d always looked, and how slow he’d always bowled. It mattered not, by now the crowd were lapping up anything, regardless of quality, and he creaked his way taking the final two wickets. Chippenham all out for 122 with 8 overs remaining. Phil, a man now with more farewell tours than Elton John, refused to crack a smile, this one really would be it…

They might be a hangover from a bygone era, something your dad probably liked once, but there’s still just a little magic left in The Philanderers tank and you can’t help but nod along as they play the hits on a lovely summer’s day at a place like Chippenham. The Times They Are A-Changin for sure, but this critic can’t help but feel the scene will be a poorer place without The Phillies and, with just six more dates to come, recommends you see them one last time whilst you can.

Boy George Dean