Nomads bat on to field events and celebrations

Founded in 1927, it celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, and is just embarking on what it hopes will be a successful 2002 season.

The club takes its name from the nomadic life it followed during its first 30 years of existence, when it had no regular home ground of its own and had to use a variety of match venues.

The Nomads Club was founded three-quarters-of-a-century ago by HF George, WR Chignell and DW Rowe. It was a case of a few keen young cricketers wanting to play the game without having to join Worcester City, then the only local cricket club and thought by some to be too selective.

In its formative years, the club was closely associated with the Chignell family, who lived at Thorneloe Bank, Worcester. The selection committee met there after Sunday services in St George's Church, Barbourne, where GS Chignell was organist. He became the club's first president, combining the role with his post as music master at the Alice Ottley Girl's School.

His son, one of the club's founders, became the Rev WR Chignell and was, in later times, a leading figure on the cricket scene in the county and in the Worcestershire CCC.

The original Nomads team members were all from Worcester and Malvern, and quite a few were bank clerks - D G T Carstairs and John Summers with the Midland, L H John with the National Provincial, and H A J Kewley and J H Timms with Lloyds. Two others, A F Jones and George Smart were in the law, and a tradition soon developed of masters from the Royal Grammar School playing for the Nomads.

The club's first game - on April 30, 1927 - was a promising start with an eight wickets win over Norton, but the Nomads suffered humiliation a few weeks later when trounced by Ombersley, who dismissed them for a paltry 14 runs.

In the early seasons, the club's main wicket takers were E E Smart and J Warburton while the best run-makers were Boulter, John, Hastings, Littlebury, Carstairs, Chignell and Warner.

In those times, travel was a problem, and the young cricketers of the late 1920s looked enviously at their captain, H F George and a senior team member, E E Smart, who were proud possessors of cars. Except for them, the team had to cycle or walk to matches, already changed into whites.

The club went into "mothballs" during the Second World War but was re-started in 1946, by H J C Dawes, who had been captain and treasurer in 1939, together with a band of other enthusiasts - FC Holland, J J McEwan, J J Roberts, A McEwan, R G Davies, G Rackstraw, B B Ward, R Blackwell, R D Wormwald and H Carmichael.

An amusing record survives of the Nomads match against Worcester Teacher Training College in 1946. AC Carter then headed the club's bowling averages, but he didn't turn up for this game, and sent along his brother instead. This sibling replacement was thanked for turning out and was asked whether he was a batsman or bowler. It appeared he "bowled a bit," and so when the time came, it was thought courteous to give this Mr Carter a bowl. He took all 10 wickets at a cost of 14 runs, including a hat-trick.

In the immediate post-war days, petrol rationing was a headache, and the constant problem was whether the basic ration would suffice to get the Nomads' teams to away matches.

Indeed, it was not until 1957, 30 years after its founding, that the club had its first home ground - a field at Stock End Farm, Bransford, which Nomads' secretary, John Hiles, the vet, had managed to arrange with the farmer Jack Williams. In fact, a great debt of gratitude came to be owed to Jack and his wife for their hospitality in entertaining the players in the days up to 1959, when there was no pavilion.

The nearby Bear and Ragged Staff pub, then run by Mr and Mrs Archie Maund, served as the club's social base and, occasionally, as changing accommodation too.

The Nomads continued to use the pitch at Stock End Farm until 1965, when the club moved only a short distance away to Whitegates Farm, Bransford, which has been its home ground and HQ ever since. In its first season there, teams had to change in an old chicken house, cleaned up for the purpose.

However, this lack of accommodation was soon corrected. Club vice-president Archie Maund of the Bear and Ragged Staff went so far as to stand guarantor for a loan from Whitbread Ltd to enable the club to build a pavilion. This was constructed by numerous volunteers under the direction of builder Tony Andrews, one of the Nomads' leading all-rounders of the time. The pavilion was completed in 1966, and three years later, the club went on to purchase the ground at Whitegates Farm.

In the late 1960s and through the 1970s, the club's top players included Peter Steven, Graham Haslam, Terry Allard and David Mayne.

In fact, team captain Terry Allard scored three not out centuries in one week in 1974, and in the following year Graham Haslam set up a remarkable club record, scoring no fewer than 2,163 runs in the season. During his swashbuckling batting years with the Nomads, Graham Haslam scored 53 recorded centuries - a tally way surpassing anybody else's in the club's history.

For details of the Nomads' milestones and achievements over the last 25 years I've been to chat with Malcolm Jones, who is the club secretary, assistant groundsman and First XI vice-captain. He was captain from 1987 to 1991 and, incidentally, is second in the club's century-making stakes to Graham Haslam. Malcolm has so far scored 22 "tons."

He stresses that through the 60s and 70s, Terry Allard was the Nomads linchpin and driving force, combining the captaincy over several years with the posts of social secretary and fixtures secretary. His era at the helm saw some of the club's heydays.

Not surprisingly, Terry Allard's sudden death in 1982, at the age of only 47 was a great shock and blow to the club and, with no one else coming forward to shoulder responsibilities, the Nomads fell into the doldrums.

To compound the sadness, the club also lost three other stalwarts at comparatively young ages in the mid-1980s - Keith Symonds, Geoff Disley and Sylvia Andrews, wife of Tony Andrews, who had done much in mustering female help and assistance to the club.

It was not until the late 1980s that the Nomads rebounded from these setbacks and saw a resurgence. Largely influential in the revival were Dave Pearson, chairman from 1987 to 1992 and the club's dynamic fund-raiser; Bill Jones, a Nomads player of 22 years and the club's administrative officer; Chris Marsh, a chartered accountant and the club's treasurer; and Terry Birt who has done so much for junior cricket with the Nomads.

A highlight of this year's 75th anniversary celebrations will be a summer ball in a big marquee at the Bear and Ragged Staff on Friday, June 14. The flamboyant ex-England and Notts cricketer Derek Randall will be the celebrity guest, and the Ledbury band Business As Usual will provide the music for dancing. Tickets are £25 each, and Malcolm Jones is keen to contact all past members who might be interested in attending. His home telephone number is 01905-429701.

There are also to be two special anniversary matches - one against the Worcestershire Gentlemen and the other against a Midlands Club Cricket Conference team. Further fund-raising events are also planned, and Malcolm Jones has painstakingly produced a brochure giving the club's history and a whole host of statistics regarding team and individual performances.

Only one founder member of the Nomads from 1927 is still alive - Don Arbuckle who is 92 and living in Surrey.

Another remarkable figure too is the club's longest playing member, John Prickett who first took to the field for the Nomads in 1970 when he was a master at the Royal Grammar School. He has now lived in Wales for a good many years but insists on travelling back to play in matches every season, even though it involves a round trip of 300 miles each time.

Fittingly, he is the current chairman of the Nomads.

SCOREBOARD:

Here are just a few highpoints from the Nomads' record books of the last 25 years as given me by Malcolm Jones:

1976: Junior section started.

1977: Scoreboard installed.

1980: Shower block and new lavatories installed.

1981: Nomads team wins Under-16s County Alpine Shield Competition. Steve Allard, then 16 and the son of Terry Allard, scores two centuries in a weekend - 142 not out and 144.

1982: Six oaks planted on the ground in memory of Terry Allard. The club joined the league system having previously played only "friendly" matches.

1983: Steve McEwan, later a Worcestershire and Durham county player, takes 10 wickets for 12 runs in a match against Moreton-in-Marsh. Nine of his victims were bowled and the other trapped lbw.

1984: Tony Andrews is named Cricketer of the Year by the Midlands Club Cricket Conference. Appropriately, he was the Nomads chairman the same year. 1987: New bar fitted in the pavilion to the memory of Geoff Disley, a one time Aston Villa footballer and a leading Nomads player who died in 1986 at the age of 46.

1988: Malcolm Jones hits 163 not out against Buckland St Mary of Somerset to set the club's highest First XI individual score.

1994: A Third XI started, and an artificial wicket introduced for the junior section.

1996: Danny Cullen named Under-16s Cricketer of the Year by the Midlands Club Cricket Conference. Terry Birt wins Tyler Trophy for Youth Cricket Administration.

1997: About £7,000 is raised for the building of a Juniors Pavilion in memory of Terry Birt's son, Ryan, tragically killed in a car crash.

1999: Kieran Rees named Young Cricketer of the Year by MCCC. Under-13s team wins through to National Final of the Subaru Club Championship and finishes in runners-up spot out of 1,000 sides. Thanks to a £32,000 grant from Malvern Hills Council, the pavilion is refurbished at a total cost of £46,000. A brick surround was added, and new floors and ceilings were installed. An outside balcony was also built.

2000: Russell Knight scores 263 not out for the Third XI against Evesham.

2001: New "state of the art" all electronic scoreboard installed.

Overall in its 75 years, the Nomads First XI has played 2,351 recorded games, winning 854, losing 616, drawing 625 and tying five. The other 251 games had to be abandoned.

During its life span to date, the club has had a total of 720 playing members, and last year alone, the Nomads had 120 juniors on its books who played in more than 100 games.