Family Cricket Day at Stanborough Park
Ambitious plans for developing church buildings call for innovative fund-raising ideas. One such idea was for some ‘fun in the sun on Stanborough Park’ with a ‘Family Cricket Day’ on 7th July which included stalls, cream teas, a bouncy castle, paddling pool, the ‘Blue Watch’ firemen and, of course, two cricket teams: the Pastor’s Team captained by Stanborough Park Church’s Senior Minister, Pastor Jacques Venter which included several of the church elders (including Kish Poddar now recovered from his gruelling charity bike-ride to Paris!) and the Members’ Team captained by Alain St. Germaine who had included several relatives in his team.
Some of the players had never played cricket before and had clearly had their arms twisted to join in the occasion! At 11 years of age, Joshua McCrow was the youngest player and not only scored a creditable 18 runs but also bowled out a church elder.
The game commenced on time at 11:30 and in temperatures exceeding30º C with a prayer from Pastor Venter reminding everyone of the need to remember the purpose of the game and to approach it in the spirit of friendship. It was soon clear that he had no need to be concerned on that score. Opening the batting were father and son, David and Michael Burgess, members of the Pastor’s Team, with Michael, a teenager, scoring 30 runs against his father’s 17. An impressive effort came from ADRA Trans-Europe’s Stephen Cooper who had never played cricket before and still managed to score a 4 and a 6 before being caught out at the boundary. The team finished with a score of 134 runs.
The Member’s Team knew that they had a difficult task ahead of them as two batsmen failed to turn up, including one who was acting as wicket keeper, and were having to use substitutes but they rose to the challenge finishing the innings with 132 runs being scored.
The international and friendly atmosphere of the match was summed up by participant David Burgess, “A South African captain succeeding in a close match against England, ably supported by Indian and West Indies players on both teams. The square was on a slope that made running singles uphill an achievement in itself. Yet, all done in the best spirit where surviving the heat was the first priority, having fun the second and winning somewhere else. The batting side provided the umpires. The scorer sat in the shade of a nearby tree vaguely keeping up with play. Was it T20 or T22? Nobody knew or cared. A winner - but only just.”
He added, “It wasn't without injury. Bruised hands and fingers trying to catch a ball, bruised legs for those who thought pads were a luxury item. But it didn't stop the smiles all round. Replays are in the offing for September.”
“The result was not important as the whole idea was to raise funds for the Church Development Fund,” said Esther Ware who helped to organise the event. “The teams were kept well fed and watered during the whole day and everyone who participated thoroughly enjoyed it, including the non-Adventists who took part. To complete the day ‘Players of the Match’ were chosen by the captains and the titles were awarded to Michael Burgess and Joshua McCrow for their excellent efforts and team work.
Once all money comes in from the eight companies sponsoring the match Esther estimates that the event will have raised £1000 for the Church Development Fund.
Article by June Coombs, 13 July 2013
Match Report by Alain St.Germaine
Photos: Dan Sabatier, Jonathan Valls.
