A Brief History of St. John Fisher Cricket Club
(1981 to 2003)
- 1 Introduction
This history is based mainly upon such documentation, which remains in existence at the present date (i.e. autumn 2003). This is rather sketchy for the formative years and relies heavily upon the memories of Vincent Cosimini, whose assistance is acknowledged in piecing together the early parts of the story to form a coherent narrative.
Particular attention is drawn to all of the attached appendices which give far more detailed factual information than contained in the text, and from which alone can the reader obtain much of the bare historical information sought.
2 Formation
From the early 1970s the Parent Teachers Association of St. John Fisher School in Hazelmere Road, St. Albans had run a badminton club in the school hall on term time evenings. This was enthusiastically enjoyed by many people, but in particular by the then head teacher, Bernard Higgins and Vincent Cosimini, whose children attended the school at that time. Both of these gentlemen were sports fans, and were mindful of the social aspects and other benefits to the school, both financial and in terms of its reputation in the city that such activities might bring.
In the mid 1970s, the PTA started to organise outdoor football on a similar basis and then in 1979, Bernard suggested to Vincent that he might try to organise a few cricket matches. Vincent contacted the PTAs of some of the other Catholic schools in the area and a few games were arranged (although no records remain).
In March 1980 the then head teacher of Nicholas Breakspear School (one of the largest comprehensive schools in the area), Malcolm Eastham (a Lancastrian, very keen cricket enthusiast and no mean player himself in his day), whose school had very good facilities, called a meeting to discuss a possible cricket competition between the parents of all the Catholic schools in the area. This was attended by representatives from Nicholas Breakspear, St. John Fisher, Ss Alban and Stephen, St.Adrian’s, St. Dominic’s, Loreto College and St. Columba’s College. In the end St Columba’s College along with St. Teresa’s and St. Bernadette’s decided not to participate, but a league type structure was agreed where matches would be played between each of the six remaining schools with all matches being played at Nicholas Breakspear using their cricket equipment.
Matches would be played over 15 overs a side, with retirement at 25 for batsmen and a maximum of 3 overs a bowler to give every player a reasonable chance to take a significant part. A match fee was set at 10p (!) per player, but there is no record of what happened to this sum. Presumably it went into the school funds of Nicholas Breakspear.
Although a few matches fell by the wayside (probably due to rain), the effort was generally successful and St. John Fisher arranged a number of extra games. There is no record of any results, but judging by the additional fixtures, the St. John Fisher players must have enjoyed the experience.
Regular players that season were Bernard Clark, Vincent Cosimini, Pat Curtis, Ted Eacope, Gerry Foster, Bernard Higgins, Dave Jordan, Pat Lacey, Andy Lewis, John Melville, James O’Hare, Steve Potter, Pat Roe, Richard Waldron and Paul Watkins.
The following year (1981), Vincent organised another 9 matches for Wednesday evenings during June and July playing at Sandridge against the same opposition plus new fixtures against Sandridge School and the National Westminster Bank, of which Pat Curtis was a local branch manager.
This was so successful that at the end of the season, the players agreed that it was time to establish a properly constituted club. The inaugural meeting of the St. John Fisher PTA Cricket Club was held at Sandridge CC (Bernard Clark being an active member) on 29 July 1981 (coincidentally the same day as the wedding of HRH the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer), at which a draft constitution was accepted and officers elected. Life membership was set at £10,which 11 of those present agreed to pay, so that basic equipment could be purchased.
In addition to the original committee (see Appendix 1), Pat Curtis was elected to be the Honorary Auditor (and in fact kept this duty for many years).
The constitution incorporated what was considered to be a vitally important clause defining a principle that was to be central to the club’s philosophy for its entire existence. This was that team selection would be on the basis of availability (not ability) with the aim of, as far as possible, giving each member an equal number of games and the opportunity to participate in both batting and bowling. The constitution laid down comprehensively how the club should be managed and also included a clause on discipline giving the committee the power to expel a member who misbehaved!
The first management committee meeting authorised the purchase of 2 bats, 4 pairs of pads, 3 pairs of batting gloves, stumps, balls and scorebook; and arranged a match in September and a cheese and wine social evening in October. All seemed set fair for the future.
The records show that a single wicket competition was held in September, which was won by Bernard Clark who beat Pat Curtis in the final
At the end of the first year the accounts show that the club was just in the black thanks mainly to the profits from the cheese and wine social. This was boosted further prior to the start of the next season by another profitable booze up!
3 Early Years
The first Annual General Meeting was held at the school in April 1982, when the match fee was increased to £1 per player per game! Public liability insurance was arranged and 11 games were played in the season including new opposition in Rothamsted and Midland Bank through contacts of club members. Financially, the club was only just solvent.
The following year (1983) was the first year that the club played regular home games at Sandridge, mainly through the good offices of Bernard Clark, who was able to arrange for us to play as the Sandridge mid week team with a suitable consideration to the funds of Sandridge CC and their groundsman, Mr Fred Munt. This arrangement worked very well and good relations with Sandridge CC continued for some years. Matches were played on Thursday evenings and the match fee was increased to £1.50. A summer barbeque and the first annual Christmas Dinner (as the winter social was originally known) were successfully held during the year.
In 1984, the number of games increased to as many as 18, but despite a stated desire, included very few weekend games. The Catholic schools fixtures seemed to have fallen away somewhat, but a number of new opponents, some of whom would become very familiar in future years had appeared. These fixtures included Farrier’s Arms, Inland Revenue, Garden Fields, Schweppes, Marshalswick Baptist Church, Six Bells and Codicote. The regular social events, which contributed to the healthier bank balance, were held successfully.
4 The Mid 1980s
It had become the custom for a team member to provide sandwiches after each game and this continued in 1985 with a limit of £6 placed upon the cost of food, but visiting teams were to be asked for a contribution to match costs of £11 per game (very few return fixtures were played in those days and St. John Fisher were providing all the facilities and equipment). Twenty-two fixtures had been arranged (although some were cancelled because of rain) including three longer Sunday afternoon games against Hill End Hospital (the staff, not the patients), Farrier’s Arms and Alma Bounders. A number of social events were also planned including the usual barbecue and annual dinner and also cheese and wine and Elizabethan evenings. All seemed to be in place for an enjoyable and successful season, both playing and socially.
However, after an extremely heated management committee meeting, called to discuss future social events, on 6 June 1985, during which some personal friendly relationships between certain members deteriorated, Pat Curtis submitted his resignation from the committee, and although subsequently he tried to withdraw it, the remaining members at another rather heated meeting finally decided to accept the situation and Vincent Cosimini (as vice captain) agreed to take on the captaincy for the remainder of the season. Morale appeared to be at rock bottom, but good sense all round eventually prevailed, fortunately, since the future of the club would otherwise have been at stake. As was his right, Pat subsequently gathered support for an extraordinary general meeting, and the whole issue was discussed by fifteen members. Although no official minutes exist, it is known that the decision to accept Pat’s resignation and to appoint Vincent as captain was ratified. Although there were a few rumblings, bygones were generally accepted to be bygones and the season finished more harmoniously, most members wishing to put the strife behind them and get on with playing cricket. It is suggested that the existence of a proper constitution, which was adhered to by all concerned, probably enabled the club to overcome the turmoil and grow into mature body it is today.
At the AGM in April 1986, a more conciliatory atmosphere prevailed, a new committee being elected under Chairman John Warriner, Pat Curtis returning to captain the team with Vincent Cosimini becoming Secretary. A new principle was accepted in that it was no longer essential for a new member to have or have had children attend St. John Fisher School. Match fees were increased to £2 and it was agreed to set up a sub committee to draw up a revised constitution.
The new Constitution was finally adopted at a Special General Meeting in mid summer. Among changes made to enhance the smooth running of the club were a change of name (dropping of the PTA reference), the financial year to end on 30 September annually, and the AGM to be held in November.
Also in 1986, a serious spat with Sandridge CC was avoided, when they apologised after wrongly accusing us playing in the middle of their square in pouring rain whilst using their umpires’ coats. In fact it had been a team from Sandridge School, playing without permission, which had included a number of their own members!
Finances were quite buoyant and at the November AGM match fees remained the same although it was decided to increase annual and life membership fees substantially, in fact to the amounts still in force today.
A new innovation in 1987 was the team photograph organised with a local photographer.
Back row: Dave Jordan, Pat Curtis, Dennis Parker, Brian Quinn, John Warriner, Vincent Cosimini, Ray Clarke.
Front Row: Les Gartland, Ted Eacope, Alan Lawrence, Anne-Marie Warriner (Scorer), Ainsley Lambert, Brian Graham.
For the next couple of years, all ran very smoothly, plenty of good and enjoyable cricket being played and a number of social functions including regular cheese and wine evenings and summer barbecues and of course the winter social/Christmas dinner which was by now a fixture.
The Late 1980s and Early 1990s
A major problem occurred in late 1988 when after having played happily at Sandridge for a number of years, we received a letter from Sandridge CC stating their intention to introduce a junior midweek team, and therefore St. John Fisher would no longer be able to play because it would place an intolerable strain on the square. We considered that we were left with no alternative but to apply directly to Sandridge Parish Council rather than remain beholden to Sandridge CC, who clearly wanted to get rid of us! This was agreed at a fee of £10 per game for the first season, and in fact similar arrangements are still in use to this day, although there is no doubt that the quality of pitch we are allocated (by Fred Munt) has deteriorated over the years. Sandridge had no option to accept, albeit reluctantly, but were sweetened somewhat by our contribution of £50 per season for the hire of their pitch equipment and gratuity of £50 to the groundsman, Fred Munt.
It was in 1989 our club joined what we though was a terrific league at ‘Bumpers Indoor Cricket’ in Stevenage on the Roaring Meg Retail Park Site. Eight fixtures were played weekly during March to early May. Unfortunately we did not make the play offs but neither did we disgrace ourselves and thoroughly enjoyed the experience to boot. We resolved to play in the next competition in the autumn, but the place was suddenly and unforgivingly converted into a bowling alley and our dreams for the following winter were shattered!
During the summer, the single wicket tournament was revived, one summer evening when the scheduled opposition cancelled, and was won by Ted Eacope who beat Ainsley Lambert in the final.
1989 was the year that the Players’ Player of the Year (chosen by secret ballot of players) and the Captain’s Trophy (chosen by the Captain) were first awarded, in fact at the winter social which was held in February 1990. Both trophies were donated by Pat Curtis.
After the disappointment of the closure of ‘Bumpers’ at Stevenage and the travel difficulties involved in getting to equivalent facilities elsewhere (Pickett’s Lock), some effort was expended to find some other place where a form of indoor cricket could be played during the long winter evenings of the close season. This eventually bore fruit at the second attempt when the head teacher of St. John Fisher School (now Mrs Roe) agreed to allow it in the school hall from the autumn of 1990. This continued for a couple of winters but in addition, during the winter of 1992/3, 1993/4, and 1994/5 indoor cricket was also played in the Pioneer Club, next to the fire station in Harpenden Road on Sunday mornings. However losses began to mount due to poor attendances and this was abandoned in 1995.
The early 1990s was a relatively quiet period in the history of the club and nothing controversial occurred. Cricket, both summer and winter was enjoyed and a few social occasions took place especially the winter social which was now always held around February (instead of just before Christmas) and when the previous season’s trophies were presented. A notable guest in February 1993 was Mr Colin Murphy, then manager of Southend United, whose record was later shown to be the worst ever of any league football manager, by one of the football magazines! He seemed to be such a nice chap too, – too nice probably! Messers Bernard Tominey (Chairman) and John Mitchell (Manager) of St Albans City FC and their wives accepted invitations to this special occasion. Bernard is of course a life member of St. John Fisher CC. In the event neither appeared and the club was left to foot the bill for their meals which had been provided by the hotel. When asked to reimburse us they refused thus costing the club around £60.
The fixture list during this time was fairly static, a few of the opposition teams falling away but new ones coming along to take their places. New Greens, Garden Fields, GEC Borehamwood, St Albans Colleges, Denis Bozier, David Ring’s Xl and Two Woods being regular opponents for some years.
1994 was the year that the Brian Johnston Trophy was first presented to the club member who scored the most 0s during the season. Brian was of course the BBC commentator who had recently passed on after a long career on both radio and TV and always gave a plug to the ‘Primary Club’ (a charity, membership of which is open to anyone who has ever been dismissed first ball in any form of cricket – it would be surprising if any of our club members are not eligible several times over!) during every test match.
Towards the end of that season, a letter was received from the council claiming that they had had complaints from the groundsman (Fred Munt) that we had played a game when instructed not to, and caused considerable damage to the square. This we refuted since the evening in question had been fine and dry and no such instructions had been given to us. After a meeting with the council, their threats to make us pay for the alleged damage were withdrawn and a new procedure was introduced to ensure no repeat. Nevertheless, it was clear that the quality of our pitches was deteriorating and a number of alternative venues were seriously considered at the time. After friendly relations had been restored and 1995’s fees agreed, the council announced they were purchasing a new motorised roller, which would presumably enhance pitch quality. To show our good faith we donated £100 towards the cost of this. I think that these hopes concerning pitch quality have not been fulfilled! It is uncertain if the roller is currently in use.
Recent Years
1995 had been a very comfortable year for the club with plenty of cricket played (all midweek evening matches) and the bank balance well in the black, but after abandonment of the Pioneer Club indoor cricket, something new was needed to replace it. Evening nets at the Hertfordshire Cricket School facility at the University Campus in Hatfield was arranged for the first few months of 1996 and became a regular function for a number of years after that. 1996 also saw the first issue of our ‘Year Book’, which had been talked about without action for a couple of years, thanks to Paul Sands dynamism and assistance in production. The opportunity was taken to publish the previous season’s results, fixtures the updated constitution and many other vital pieces of information for the membership.
By this time all of the social functions had disappeared, except for Annual Dinner, normally well attended by members and wives/partners and usually held in February, where all the trophies were presented. An ongoing task was the recruitment of new (and younger) members in order to keep the team fresh and maintain its athletic prowess! As will be seen this was very successful, despite certain players doing their very best to raise the average age as high as possible!
At the AGM in 1996, it was disclosed that the club had run at a loss, mostly due to a few non-recurring items. Nevertheless it was decided that match fee would be increased to £4 for home games (£2 for away games and for those in full time education), which would keep the accounts healthy, especially since it was many years since it was last increased.
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