The Lord’s Taverners v the Lords and Commons, Tipton Playing Field, 4th May 2024
As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, Tipton St John Cricket Club was delighted to take the opportunity to host this 20/20 match, part of a three-cornered tournament which concluded at Sidmouth CC on the following day – and was rewarded with a rare afternoon of glorious sunshine and a good-sized number of spectators.
The Taverners were led by Scottish actor Gordon Kennedy,notable for his appearances in the TV series Robin Hood and Redcap, and The Lords and Commons were skippered by James Daly, MP for Bury North, who opted to bat first. The Taverners were boosted by the presence of Tipton, Ottery and Devon junior players Brendan Coles and Will Smart, and last-minute Tipton recruit Tom Birch.
The Lords and Commons innings was bolstered by a solid 31 not out from Pragash Sharma, who steered his team to a respectable 116 -9 on a slow, damp wicket. The stand-out Taverners bowler was Brendan Coles, whosewrist spin yielded 3-6 from 4 overs.
In their reply, the Taverners fell 13 runs short, reaching 103-6 despite a fluent 26 from Coles and 16 from Kevin O’Donnell. Pragash Sharma was as effective with the ball as the bat, taking 2-5 from 3 overs and Sidmouth Ladies’ player Albertine Symes produced excellent figures of 2-15 from her 4 overs.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, offers tips on keeping order to the umpires
Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, attended the match and local MP, Simon Jupp, presided over the post-match awards: Brendan Coles was the Player of the Match and presentations were made to the Tipton officials, umpires David Birch and Jem Gillham and scorers Dave Alford and Phil Wright.
The healthy crowd’s generous donations raised over £700 which will be shared between the cricket club and the PFA’s plans to redevelop the pavilion.
David Birch, Chairman Tipton St John CC
Photos by Phil Mingo: Copyright Pinnacle Photo Agency -PPAUK
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