526 and Still Counting!
The more you put in, the more you get out!
Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister
when a fresh-faced youngster, aged
just 18 years and 29 days, made his
debut as 1st XI scorer for Torquay CC,
replacing the legendary Esme
Kingdon. Little did I think four decades
on that I would be the one described
as a ‘legend’.
The winter of 1991 saw me qualify as a
Standard Scorer with the ACU&S. My
first big break came in 1994 when I
scored for South Africa versus Minor
Counties in a match ruined by the rain.
Silverware finally came my way in
1996. Having been denied a fair shot in
a title decider the previous year, the
same two sides faced each other in
another final-day showdown. We won,
having reduced the opposition to 26
for 4.
Apart from a slight blip in 2006 when
our skipper got me to the ground late,
the 2000s didn’t really come to life
until 2008. The final game of that
season was going to be my 400th
consecutive league game, but on 7th
April (my 37th birthday), relegation
was a virtual certainty. To reach the
400, a major sacrifice was needed –
declining the opportunity to be an
usher at my best mate’s wedding. We
needed just six points to stay up, but
we could muster only 10 players that
day. That all-important sixth point
would be the 5000th I had recorded
for the 1st XI. Some of the lads who
played in that game hadn’t even been
born when I started out in 1989!
Post-season, I stretched my cricketing
knowledge by qualifying as a Level 1
umpire – a skill I do use very
occasionally. At the same time, I
started to become heavily involved
with the Devon Association of Cricket
Officials – I’m now both Scorers’ Rep
and Welfare Officer. Time to start to
put something back into scoring,
though seven years down the road it
has somewhat taken over my life (eight
meetings in a month I think is now my
record).
Prior to the 2012 season, I secured my
status as a Level 2 scorer, having been
grilled by Andy Scarlett. The 2012
season was a watershed with the
introduction of Total Cricket Scorer
(TCS) into the Devon Premier League –
now I can get into tea first. I was also
asked to pilot the Level 3 training
scheme and achieved another personal
goal. By the start of the 2013 season,
500 consecutive league matches was
just one-and-a-half seasons away. Early
season had seen me work as
Duckworth-Lewis (DL) Match Manager
at Lord’s at the invitation of Andy
Scarlett, and under the tutelage of Sue
Jones. Rain was not an issue but the
banter between the on-field and offfield umpires was certainly fun to listen
to. Later in the season, I made my
Minor Counties debut for Devon and
we had penalty runs for batsmen
running down the pitch – three scorers
in the box with 3000+ matches under
their belts and not one of us had ever
had penalty runs apart from a helmet.
Following that I scored for the MCC
Universities in the 2nd XI County
Championship – players not raiding the
sweet supply now.
The season of my 500th consecutive
league match finally dawned. Unlike
my 400th match, the teams failed to
read the script and we lost. However,
the following day was the big one – a
match to honour my 500. No shortage
of players wanted to play, so it ended
up 15-a-side – for once I was glad I
wasn’t scoring! I have forgotten the
result, as the real winner was the
Devon Air Ambulance Trust, to the
tune of £500. Another perfect script –
500 for 500!
A conversation at the end of the 2014
season got me thinking about 1000
consecutive league matches. By my
reckoning I will be 71 years and two
months old – no age for a scorer. For
those who might be around, the date
for your diaries is Saturday 7th June
2042, somewhere in Devon.
Nick Evanson
e-mail us at [email protected] contact us on 0121 446 2710
29