Leaving the Crease
Irving Edgar Lewis(‘ Bobsie’)
One of Nottinghamshire’ s highly regarded cricketing characters, gentleman and an umpire for the last 20 years sadly passed away on 7 October at the age of 74, following a long illness.
Irving arrived in England in the very early 1950s as a young boy when his father emigrated from the West Indies, with the family soon adapting to life in Nottingham. In true West Indian style, Irving fell in love with the great game of cricket and became a prominent cricketer and administrator with the highly successful West Indian Caribs, a club that played a great part in helping the new immigrants to integrate into the culture of Nottingham.
During the 60s, 70s and 80s Irving set the standards for everyone to work to that were involved with the club, always demanding honesty, hard work and friendship. Unfortunately at times he failed to ensure that players always arrived on time – an aspect that always amused him. He was truly a special ambassador for the game and for West Indian cricket and culture in Nottingham, as well as serving for the past 17 years on the Nottinghamshire Premier League.
Irving was a great family man, always instilling into his two children( Irving and Natasha) the need to work hard and always strive to reach the highest possible academic standards; both of his children responded to dad’ s guidance in a positive manner.
He is survived by Lauretta, his wife of 53 years, son Irving, daughter Natasha and granddaughter Lotus.
A true gentleman who will be sadly missed by all.
One to Ponder...
Dawn Pugh
We are sad to report the death of Dawn Pugh, who has passed away after a long battle against cancer. She started scoring at Martley and Chantry School, and Rushwick CC, before spending a decade as the Worcestershire CCC Second XI scorer. In 2012 she was promoted to the full-time role with the First XI, making her the only full-time female scorer on the circuit at the time.
Dawn is described by Director of Cricket, Steve Rhodes, as being‘ a very loyal person to Worcestershire Cricket Club. She was good at her job and was part of the Worcestershire family. We have lost one of the team.’
The pinnacle of Dawn’ s career came during the 2013 Ashes series, when she scored for Australia in the Lord’ s Test.
Who’ s who on the field? What is the recreational scorer’ s biggest problem? Most of us would probably say being able to recognise the players.
I spent this last season in Jersey, which has 32 cricket clubs, recently became an associate member of the ICC, and has good sponsorship. I arrived early in the season, and as a Level 2 qualified scorer went along to a cricket match to introduce myself. Initially I just watched the match for an hour or so, but this was enough to put me completely off the idea of scoring there. There was absolutely no way to tell the players apart. Every player from a team wore identical kit.
In recreational cricket in England you make identifying notes in pencil in the scorebook, such as brown lid( helmet), orange boots, stripe on sweater, and that’ s just for the batsmen. Bowlers and catchers recognition is more problematic, but needed less frequently, and it’ s best to have a club member to give you a name when needed, such as who made a catch. Surprisingly most umpires are reluctant to use walkie-talkies, and probably don’ t know the names of the players anyway.
What is needed are Velcro numbers, similar in size to those used in ODIs, that can be attached to the backs of shirts and sweaters, and given on team sheets. What are the views of other scorers?
Peter Anderson, Northants ACO
email us at ecb. aco @ ecb. co. uk contact us on 0121 446 2710 31