Club History
The club wishes to thank David Whittington for all his hard work compiling and writing up our club history.
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Part One
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Part Two
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Part Three
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Part Four
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Part Five
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Origins Following World War One
Early records of cricket in Keynsham are obscure and difficult to identify but the cricket club in it's current form was established in 1920 following the Great War.. At first there was no permanent home ground, but following good work by an enterprising committee led by the chairman, Frank Taylor, the present field was purchased in 1927 for £1,500 on a mortgage at 5% guaranteed by trustees, who included the local GP, Dr Claude Harrison. A generous, if eccentric, man Claude Harrison later took over the mortgage and wrote it off on the declaration of war in 1939.
Despite having no secondary school in Keynsham until Broadlands was opened in the 1930’s, there were sufficient numbers of cricket playing men and boys in the local area to support two separate clubs, Keynsham CC and Keynsham Amateurs CC. Over the years a healthy rivalry developed between the two clubs.
Although the club played good cricket in the inter war years they did not play at the same level as the other local clubs, such as Lansdown, Optimists, Westbury and Schoolmasters. Consequently, young players hoping to get close to county standard were obliged to transfer to these clubs. A further barrier to recruitment was the residence rule, not rescinded until 1957, which denied membership to players who did not live locally.
Unlike the Great War, cricket was kept going at a modest level during the Second World War, thanks to the captaincy of Dr Norman Gerrish and the dedicated labours of “Sapper” Clarke. The facilities were shared in the summer with various cricketing regiments, numerous military parades and in the winter with sheep. The privations of wartime rationing did not permit refreshments beyond cups of tea.
Full Time Resumption in 1946
In 1946 there were plenty of players, grateful to have survived hostilities, to enable two teams to be fielded. Still skippered by Norman Gerrish, the first team was much stronger than in the inter war years with Doug Meredith, Ben Reynolds, Geoff Whittington and John Currie leading the batting and Alan Heseltine and John Reynolds, the bowling. Occasionally a recruit from first class cricket made a brief appearance, in particular Tom Dickinson, who had opened the bowling for Lancashire in the mid 1950’s alongside Brian Statham. Indeed he was so clearly a class above the standard that the then captain, Ben Reynolds was often obliged to take him off after he had done his damage to the opposition’s top order.
In front of large numbers of spectators, with no real alternative entertainment, the first eleven performed increasingly well against the very opponents that had formerly been too powerful. Similarly, all other teams became stronger, boosted by the rapidly expanding population of Keynsham, and subsequently the removal of the residency rules allowing non-residents of the town to represent the club.
The wartime spirit of “can do” improvisation was still in evidence as members worked hard to improve the facilities. The large ex-army hut that stood on the site of the previous pavilion was purchased for £150 and the formerly high tech ratchet driven metal sightscreens were constructed from surplus war materials.
The club had made by now sufficient progress to be awarded the hosting of Somerset 2nd eleven fixtures that were played over two days. Few complaints were expressed about the wickets prepared by the local groundsman, Bill Symes. Similarly, Somerset players who were in the benefit seasons often chose to play one of their fund raising matches at Keynsham. Few, who were there in 1956 could forget Yawar Saeed (Somerset and Pakistani first class player and later his country’s Chairman of Selectors) peppering Burden’s bungalow with towering sixes, before being caught on the boundary by Ben Reynolds off the bowling of his brother, John.
Early records of cricket in Keynsham are obscure and difficult to identify but the cricket club in it's current form was established in 1920 following the Great War.. At first there was no permanent home ground, but following good work by an enterprising committee led by the chairman, Frank Taylor, the present field was purchased in 1927 for £1,500 on a mortgage at 5% guaranteed by trustees, who included the local GP, Dr Claude Harrison. A generous, if eccentric, man Claude Harrison later took over the mortgage and wrote it off on the declaration of war in 1939.
Despite having no secondary school in Keynsham until Broadlands was opened in the 1930’s, there were sufficient numbers of cricket playing men and boys in the local area to support two separate clubs, Keynsham CC and Keynsham Amateurs CC. Over the years a healthy rivalry developed between the two clubs.
Although the club played good cricket in the inter war years they did not play at the same level as the other local clubs, such as Lansdown, Optimists, Westbury and Schoolmasters. Consequently, young players hoping to get close to county standard were obliged to transfer to these clubs. A further barrier to recruitment was the residence rule, not rescinded until 1957, which denied membership to players who did not live locally.
Unlike the Great War, cricket was kept going at a modest level during the Second World War, thanks to the captaincy of Dr Norman Gerrish and the dedicated labours of “Sapper” Clarke. The facilities were shared in the summer with various cricketing regiments, numerous military parades and in the winter with sheep. The privations of wartime rationing did not permit refreshments beyond cups of tea.
Full Time Resumption in 1946
In 1946 there were plenty of players, grateful to have survived hostilities, to enable two teams to be fielded. Still skippered by Norman Gerrish, the first team was much stronger than in the inter war years with Doug Meredith, Ben Reynolds, Geoff Whittington and John Currie leading the batting and Alan Heseltine and John Reynolds, the bowling. Occasionally a recruit from first class cricket made a brief appearance, in particular Tom Dickinson, who had opened the bowling for Lancashire in the mid 1950’s alongside Brian Statham. Indeed he was so clearly a class above the standard that the then captain, Ben Reynolds was often obliged to take him off after he had done his damage to the opposition’s top order.
In front of large numbers of spectators, with no real alternative entertainment, the first eleven performed increasingly well against the very opponents that had formerly been too powerful. Similarly, all other teams became stronger, boosted by the rapidly expanding population of Keynsham, and subsequently the removal of the residency rules allowing non-residents of the town to represent the club.
The wartime spirit of “can do” improvisation was still in evidence as members worked hard to improve the facilities. The large ex-army hut that stood on the site of the previous pavilion was purchased for £150 and the formerly high tech ratchet driven metal sightscreens were constructed from surplus war materials.
The club had made by now sufficient progress to be awarded the hosting of Somerset 2nd eleven fixtures that were played over two days. Few complaints were expressed about the wickets prepared by the local groundsman, Bill Symes. Similarly, Somerset players who were in the benefit seasons often chose to play one of their fund raising matches at Keynsham. Few, who were there in 1956 could forget Yawar Saeed (Somerset and Pakistani first class player and later his country’s Chairman of Selectors) peppering Burden’s bungalow with towering sixes, before being caught on the boundary by Ben Reynolds off the bowling of his brother, John.
The Sixties and Seventies
The greater part of this period was dominated by the captaincy of Frank Phillips. Outwardly a genial expatriate Cornishman he was a true sergeant-major in his man management. By no means a brilliant cricketer, he was able to develop a young team of very talented players of whom approximately half were around county second team standard. As the pre-war generation represented by Ben Reynolds and Doug Meredith faded into retirement they were replaced by a group of including Nick Hillier (by now a Gloucestershire staff player), Roger Beese, Mike Beese and Martyn Trescothick that all improved rapidly.
Towards the end of the 1960’s they were reinforced by Barry Deadman, an experienced London club cricketer, Martin Wiseman, a county second eleven performer, and Bruce Thompson, a good batsman better known as a reliable full-back for Bristol RFC. The result was the club’s first silverware; the Somerset 20 over competition won at the County Ground in Taunton.
By the early 1970’s, Frank’s team had been further strengthened by Bob Brooks and influential cricketers, Graham Kendall, Trevor Brooks, and possibly the strongest recruit of all, Jim King, who scored heavily in the years ahead. Not only did Jim prove to be a fine player, but he also became legendary in his fanatical determination to produce a featherbed batting surface at the Frank Taylor ground.
The club clashed briefly with greatness when they encountered Viv Richards then earning his residence qualification by playing for Lansdown. The great man’s first action was to run out Bob Brooks by half the length of the pitch with a direct throw during a Sunday game. Simon Butterfield, who at the time was a highly promising off spinner, gained revenge for Keynsham by dismissing the future West Indies skipper in successive matches.
At this stage, the Western League had been formed, although the absence of a pyramidal structure meant that there was no relegation. Keynsham took a little time to adjust to this different form of the game, but finally under the leadership of Roger Beese, the title was won in 1979.
The Eighties and Nineties
At the start of the 1980’s the team created by Frank Phillips had aged, and begun to disintegrate. There were bright spots, of course. Both Martyn Trescothick and Adrian Hillier manfully attempted to make the team competitive in the Western League, an easier task when Richard Ollis Jnr was available and not required by Somerset.
In playing terms the highlight was the run in the National Knockout Cup in 1983. There was a memorable quarter-final away to Paignton when left arm spinner Nick Maslen, aided by Jim Nicholls’ vociferous wicket keeping enabled the team to defend a meagre total on a sandy turning wicket. Unfortunately the semi-final at Hastings a few weeks later proved to be less successful.
It was clear by 1989 that the old wooden pavilion was no longer fit for purpose. Accordingly, Trevor Watts, a local man and civil engineer, oversaw the sale of a patch of land for housing development at the top entrance to the ground, the proceeds being used to fund the construction of the present pavilion. It was officially opened by the Wansdyke MP, Jack Aspinwall, in the summer of 1990.
Although a succession of skippers such as John Courtney, Pete Sanderson and the former Somerset batsman, Julian Wyatt strove to produce a winning team, it would not be until the emergence of another group of young players that results would improve. Richard Pannell was followed by Colin Arblaster, Pete Tweedie, John Prosser, Jon Baker, Steve Gurnsey, Ben Whittington, and of course Marcus Trescothick who played a number of critical innings when his Somerset commitments permitted.
There were two catalysts that that helped this improvement. Firstly, the recruitment of overseas players increased the playing strength, and certainly in the case of Brendan Clancy, the overall team spirit. Secondly, the decision to split the Western League into higher and lower divisions concentrated minds sufficiently to ensure that the club started the revised structure in the higher league. The result was an honourable second place to Bath in 1998 and a victory in the Somerset 20 over competition in 1999. The second team had already won their equivalent competition in 1997.
The greater part of this period was dominated by the captaincy of Frank Phillips. Outwardly a genial expatriate Cornishman he was a true sergeant-major in his man management. By no means a brilliant cricketer, he was able to develop a young team of very talented players of whom approximately half were around county second team standard. As the pre-war generation represented by Ben Reynolds and Doug Meredith faded into retirement they were replaced by a group of including Nick Hillier (by now a Gloucestershire staff player), Roger Beese, Mike Beese and Martyn Trescothick that all improved rapidly.
Towards the end of the 1960’s they were reinforced by Barry Deadman, an experienced London club cricketer, Martin Wiseman, a county second eleven performer, and Bruce Thompson, a good batsman better known as a reliable full-back for Bristol RFC. The result was the club’s first silverware; the Somerset 20 over competition won at the County Ground in Taunton.
By the early 1970’s, Frank’s team had been further strengthened by Bob Brooks and influential cricketers, Graham Kendall, Trevor Brooks, and possibly the strongest recruit of all, Jim King, who scored heavily in the years ahead. Not only did Jim prove to be a fine player, but he also became legendary in his fanatical determination to produce a featherbed batting surface at the Frank Taylor ground.
The club clashed briefly with greatness when they encountered Viv Richards then earning his residence qualification by playing for Lansdown. The great man’s first action was to run out Bob Brooks by half the length of the pitch with a direct throw during a Sunday game. Simon Butterfield, who at the time was a highly promising off spinner, gained revenge for Keynsham by dismissing the future West Indies skipper in successive matches.
At this stage, the Western League had been formed, although the absence of a pyramidal structure meant that there was no relegation. Keynsham took a little time to adjust to this different form of the game, but finally under the leadership of Roger Beese, the title was won in 1979.
The Eighties and Nineties
At the start of the 1980’s the team created by Frank Phillips had aged, and begun to disintegrate. There were bright spots, of course. Both Martyn Trescothick and Adrian Hillier manfully attempted to make the team competitive in the Western League, an easier task when Richard Ollis Jnr was available and not required by Somerset.
In playing terms the highlight was the run in the National Knockout Cup in 1983. There was a memorable quarter-final away to Paignton when left arm spinner Nick Maslen, aided by Jim Nicholls’ vociferous wicket keeping enabled the team to defend a meagre total on a sandy turning wicket. Unfortunately the semi-final at Hastings a few weeks later proved to be less successful.
It was clear by 1989 that the old wooden pavilion was no longer fit for purpose. Accordingly, Trevor Watts, a local man and civil engineer, oversaw the sale of a patch of land for housing development at the top entrance to the ground, the proceeds being used to fund the construction of the present pavilion. It was officially opened by the Wansdyke MP, Jack Aspinwall, in the summer of 1990.
Although a succession of skippers such as John Courtney, Pete Sanderson and the former Somerset batsman, Julian Wyatt strove to produce a winning team, it would not be until the emergence of another group of young players that results would improve. Richard Pannell was followed by Colin Arblaster, Pete Tweedie, John Prosser, Jon Baker, Steve Gurnsey, Ben Whittington, and of course Marcus Trescothick who played a number of critical innings when his Somerset commitments permitted.
There were two catalysts that that helped this improvement. Firstly, the recruitment of overseas players increased the playing strength, and certainly in the case of Brendan Clancy, the overall team spirit. Secondly, the decision to split the Western League into higher and lower divisions concentrated minds sufficiently to ensure that the club started the revised structure in the higher league. The result was an honourable second place to Bath in 1998 and a victory in the Somerset 20 over competition in 1999. The second team had already won their equivalent competition in 1997.
Recent Years
After surviving on the last Saturday of the 2001 season, Dave Burston’s powerful team were crowned league champions in 2002. Helped by the runs of Gareth Andrew, who was later to have a long career with Somerset and Worcestershire, Naseer Ahmed and Gavin Armstrong and all round contributions from the captain and Richard Pannell, the title was won with a convincing win against Taunton St Andrews.
The last few seasons have seen Keynsham’s first team as something of a “yo-yo” outfit. In 2012, Gary Worgan’s team, aided by a number of centuries by teenage New Zealander, Ben Ward, won promotion in a dramatic final game against Goatacre – overturning a 20 point deficit on the last day of the season, only to be relegated in the following season. However, there is now evidence that there is a core of players who are approaching their best years, much as Dave Burston’s did in 2002. In particular Dan Jarman, Russ Wakefield, Sam Weller, Richard Wilton have formed the core of the side in recent years.
Second eleven cricket at Keynsham has suffered less with the team never relinquishing their place in the very competitive Premier One second team league. The best result was third place in 2013, but in recent years there have been wins over prestigious opposition such as Bath, Bridgwater and Frocester.
Cricket in the lower teams has reflected the drop off in both older juniors and seniors in their late twenties. In the early years of the millennium it had been possible to raise four Saturday teams, but in recent seasons the concentration on a Saturday third eleven has proved to be sensible. Now that the venue for home matches is Frys ground, with its redeveloped facilities, older players coming down from a higher level may be persuaded to continue.
Sunday cricket throughout the country is generally less well supported than even fifteen years ago. Keynsham has bravely tried to buck the trend, and still manages to produce a first eleven that is competitive, and a second team that provides cricket for players at both ends of their careers.
Improving Facilities
By the late 1990’s the playing surface at Keynsham had become lifeless from constant use over a period of fifty years. Diligent groundsman such as Pete Banfield and Geoff Taylor fought a losing battle against the effects of wear. Little was done to make any radical improvements until 2008 when the ECB groundsman, Jason Hobbs, visited the club to take soil samples. His analysis was frank, showing that attempts in the 1980’s to introduce red marl in order to produce a quicker, bouncier wicket had only served only to make matters worse by inhibiting root growth. He reinforced his argument by pointing out that the deep levels of cheap loam used to fill the void left by the removal of the old artificial wicket had produced a strip of far greater potential than the remainder of the square.
His recommended solution of annual deep drilling has been followed for several years and the preconditions for improvement are now much better. A more favourable financial climate at the club has enabled the current groundsman, Alan Webster, to have much better equipment to work with. With a professional firm contracted to improve the outfield, there is a also good chance that the improved marks granted by official umpires for the wicket will get better still.
The Beer and Cider Festival and Other Events
The first decade of the millennium was challenging for the club’s finances with a shortage of income and the groundsman’s equipment rapidly wearing out. In 2008 the club hosted Marcus Trescothick’s benefit match which was successful on every count and helped the club begin to turn a corner.
But, of course the need was for a more permanent income and this has been provided by the Beer and Cider Festival that took place for the first time in 2013. Great credit must go to Chairman, Derek Joyce and his young colleagues, Joe Tarring, Mark Branton and Sam Wheller who have shown incredible professionalism in putting together a complicated event that now attracts around 1500 people to the club every year on the first May Bank Holiday Sunday of the year.
After surviving on the last Saturday of the 2001 season, Dave Burston’s powerful team were crowned league champions in 2002. Helped by the runs of Gareth Andrew, who was later to have a long career with Somerset and Worcestershire, Naseer Ahmed and Gavin Armstrong and all round contributions from the captain and Richard Pannell, the title was won with a convincing win against Taunton St Andrews.
The last few seasons have seen Keynsham’s first team as something of a “yo-yo” outfit. In 2012, Gary Worgan’s team, aided by a number of centuries by teenage New Zealander, Ben Ward, won promotion in a dramatic final game against Goatacre – overturning a 20 point deficit on the last day of the season, only to be relegated in the following season. However, there is now evidence that there is a core of players who are approaching their best years, much as Dave Burston’s did in 2002. In particular Dan Jarman, Russ Wakefield, Sam Weller, Richard Wilton have formed the core of the side in recent years.
Second eleven cricket at Keynsham has suffered less with the team never relinquishing their place in the very competitive Premier One second team league. The best result was third place in 2013, but in recent years there have been wins over prestigious opposition such as Bath, Bridgwater and Frocester.
Cricket in the lower teams has reflected the drop off in both older juniors and seniors in their late twenties. In the early years of the millennium it had been possible to raise four Saturday teams, but in recent seasons the concentration on a Saturday third eleven has proved to be sensible. Now that the venue for home matches is Frys ground, with its redeveloped facilities, older players coming down from a higher level may be persuaded to continue.
Sunday cricket throughout the country is generally less well supported than even fifteen years ago. Keynsham has bravely tried to buck the trend, and still manages to produce a first eleven that is competitive, and a second team that provides cricket for players at both ends of their careers.
Improving Facilities
By the late 1990’s the playing surface at Keynsham had become lifeless from constant use over a period of fifty years. Diligent groundsman such as Pete Banfield and Geoff Taylor fought a losing battle against the effects of wear. Little was done to make any radical improvements until 2008 when the ECB groundsman, Jason Hobbs, visited the club to take soil samples. His analysis was frank, showing that attempts in the 1980’s to introduce red marl in order to produce a quicker, bouncier wicket had only served only to make matters worse by inhibiting root growth. He reinforced his argument by pointing out that the deep levels of cheap loam used to fill the void left by the removal of the old artificial wicket had produced a strip of far greater potential than the remainder of the square.
His recommended solution of annual deep drilling has been followed for several years and the preconditions for improvement are now much better. A more favourable financial climate at the club has enabled the current groundsman, Alan Webster, to have much better equipment to work with. With a professional firm contracted to improve the outfield, there is a also good chance that the improved marks granted by official umpires for the wicket will get better still.
The Beer and Cider Festival and Other Events
The first decade of the millennium was challenging for the club’s finances with a shortage of income and the groundsman’s equipment rapidly wearing out. In 2008 the club hosted Marcus Trescothick’s benefit match which was successful on every count and helped the club begin to turn a corner.
But, of course the need was for a more permanent income and this has been provided by the Beer and Cider Festival that took place for the first time in 2013. Great credit must go to Chairman, Derek Joyce and his young colleagues, Joe Tarring, Mark Branton and Sam Wheller who have shown incredible professionalism in putting together a complicated event that now attracts around 1500 people to the club every year on the first May Bank Holiday Sunday of the year.
Tours by KCC
The period during which the club undertook serious cricket tours, under its own name, was relatively brief. For many years in the 1960’s and 1970’s tours were made to Shropshire in late June/early July, initially in conjunction with Lansdown CC who coined the name “Parrots”. Once the 1990’s were reached, a number of tours were undertaken by a group largely comprising first team players. In 1995 and 1996 the venue was the Wirral where hard fought, but entertaining games were played against Oxton, New Brighton and Wallasey. For the remainder of the millennium, the club toured East Devon with matches played on superb wickets against Sidmouth, Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton, in the latter instance the opposition being skippered by the ultimately tragic, Peter Roebuck. Into the 2000s Newquay became the favoured tour venue with a mix of younger and more senior players partaking in trips where somewhat less cricket was played than during earlier tours.
Touring Visitors to KCC
It is a pity that the onset of serious league cricket and more rigid working conditions has led to the near demise of regular touring teams visiting Keynsham. In the 1980’s and early 1990’s there was a near weekly programme of matches against touring teams, Keynsham often being captained by Richard Ollis Snr. There was particularly notable period from 1994 to 2000 during which matches were played against exotic opposition from locations such as Calcutta, Bombay, Canberra and Rawalpindi. Keynsham generally managed to give account of themselves although Rawalpindi’s Pakistani test opener, Saeed Anwar savaged the local bowling in 1992 with a very big hundred. Some English clubs even brought their overseas player with them, especially the Birmingham League’s Old Edwardians who included a youthful Jacques Kallis. Not surprisingly he scored a rapid century, but sportingly chose not to bowl his lively seamers at the veterans in Keynsham’s line up.
Overseas Players
Since 1995 there has always been an overseas player for at least some part of the Saturday first team league season. Most have been very young and learned their cricket in very diverse backgrounds in Pakistan, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Their ability to adjust to alien English conditions has varied considerably, but the best contributions were made by Naseer Ahmed in 1996, Brendan Clancy in 1998, Michael Wood in 2004, Praful Waghela in 2006 and Ben Ward in 2012. The club has a strong track record of recruiting overseas players who have been able to fit in with the existing playing members and most have participated enthusiastically in coaching juniors on Friday evenings.
Junior Cricket
There are records of twelve year old junior players in a 1928 Keynsham club photograph. Nevertheless, one of those youngsters asserted many years ago that there was very little in the way of coaching. The first real systematic training came with the arrival of Alan Butler in the late 1950’s. Aware of the potential of juniors such as Martyn Trescothick, Nick Hillier, Roger Loader and Roger Beese he began to provide tuition as well as organise fixtures against other clubs.
For at least a decade, the majority of Keynsham’s youthful recruits, including Richard Ollis Jnr, Nick Marsh, Kevin Robbins and Pete Tweedie, chiefly owed their development to the coaching of Tony Weaden and Jim Nicholls at Wellsway School.
The next real golden age of junior cricket was initiated by Adrian Hillier and Martyn Trescothick when they had reached the veteran stage and become parents. In the late 1980’s they coached a group of young players, Richard Pannell, Ian Payter and Ben Whittington who would be important members of the team that won the West of England Premier League in 2002.
It was not until the present first team regulars, Russ Wakefield, Tom Bryan, Sam Wheller, Mark Branton and Richard Wilton, went through the junior programme under the guidance of Greg Bryan that a renewed dividend has been enjoyed. Despite the later sterling efforts of Keith Bancroft and his fellow coaches there remains a challenge to prevent talented juniors being lost to the game. It is to be hoped that the current excellent crop of teenagers are able to stay the course.
The period during which the club undertook serious cricket tours, under its own name, was relatively brief. For many years in the 1960’s and 1970’s tours were made to Shropshire in late June/early July, initially in conjunction with Lansdown CC who coined the name “Parrots”. Once the 1990’s were reached, a number of tours were undertaken by a group largely comprising first team players. In 1995 and 1996 the venue was the Wirral where hard fought, but entertaining games were played against Oxton, New Brighton and Wallasey. For the remainder of the millennium, the club toured East Devon with matches played on superb wickets against Sidmouth, Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton, in the latter instance the opposition being skippered by the ultimately tragic, Peter Roebuck. Into the 2000s Newquay became the favoured tour venue with a mix of younger and more senior players partaking in trips where somewhat less cricket was played than during earlier tours.
Touring Visitors to KCC
It is a pity that the onset of serious league cricket and more rigid working conditions has led to the near demise of regular touring teams visiting Keynsham. In the 1980’s and early 1990’s there was a near weekly programme of matches against touring teams, Keynsham often being captained by Richard Ollis Snr. There was particularly notable period from 1994 to 2000 during which matches were played against exotic opposition from locations such as Calcutta, Bombay, Canberra and Rawalpindi. Keynsham generally managed to give account of themselves although Rawalpindi’s Pakistani test opener, Saeed Anwar savaged the local bowling in 1992 with a very big hundred. Some English clubs even brought their overseas player with them, especially the Birmingham League’s Old Edwardians who included a youthful Jacques Kallis. Not surprisingly he scored a rapid century, but sportingly chose not to bowl his lively seamers at the veterans in Keynsham’s line up.
Overseas Players
Since 1995 there has always been an overseas player for at least some part of the Saturday first team league season. Most have been very young and learned their cricket in very diverse backgrounds in Pakistan, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Their ability to adjust to alien English conditions has varied considerably, but the best contributions were made by Naseer Ahmed in 1996, Brendan Clancy in 1998, Michael Wood in 2004, Praful Waghela in 2006 and Ben Ward in 2012. The club has a strong track record of recruiting overseas players who have been able to fit in with the existing playing members and most have participated enthusiastically in coaching juniors on Friday evenings.
Junior Cricket
There are records of twelve year old junior players in a 1928 Keynsham club photograph. Nevertheless, one of those youngsters asserted many years ago that there was very little in the way of coaching. The first real systematic training came with the arrival of Alan Butler in the late 1950’s. Aware of the potential of juniors such as Martyn Trescothick, Nick Hillier, Roger Loader and Roger Beese he began to provide tuition as well as organise fixtures against other clubs.
For at least a decade, the majority of Keynsham’s youthful recruits, including Richard Ollis Jnr, Nick Marsh, Kevin Robbins and Pete Tweedie, chiefly owed their development to the coaching of Tony Weaden and Jim Nicholls at Wellsway School.
The next real golden age of junior cricket was initiated by Adrian Hillier and Martyn Trescothick when they had reached the veteran stage and become parents. In the late 1980’s they coached a group of young players, Richard Pannell, Ian Payter and Ben Whittington who would be important members of the team that won the West of England Premier League in 2002.
It was not until the present first team regulars, Russ Wakefield, Tom Bryan, Sam Wheller, Mark Branton and Richard Wilton, went through the junior programme under the guidance of Greg Bryan that a renewed dividend has been enjoyed. Despite the later sterling efforts of Keith Bancroft and his fellow coaches there remains a challenge to prevent talented juniors being lost to the game. It is to be hoped that the current excellent crop of teenagers are able to stay the course.
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus, as the son of one of our own best home grown batsmen is a real Keynsham product. Indeed his roots were well publicised on worldwide television when he made his test debut against the West Indies at Old Trafford in 2000. A schoolboy prodigy, and the scorer of a first class century as a teenager, he had a mixed career until the England head coach, Duncan Fletcher surprisingly chose him in 2000 to represent his country in all forms of cricket. When he retired from international cricket in 2006 he had scored heavily in both red ball and white ball versions. During an era of outstanding pace and spin bowlers such as Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Anil Kumbli, Alan Donald, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Muttiah Muralitharan he managed a test average marginally under 44. During the classic Ashes winning series of 2005 he batted with great consistency at the top of the order with Andrew Strauss and, with his all England colleagues, was subsequently awarded the MBE.
After his England career ended for well-documented reasons he has scored heavily for Somerset, and even after his fortieth birthday is adding first class hundreds to an impressive tally. Marcus has not forgotten his roots and has since been awarded a vice-presidency and life membership.
Keynsham Cricketers Football Club
There have been two incarnations of Keynsham Cricketers Football Club. The longest spell lasted from 1964 into the 1990’s, by which time the football team’s link with the cricket club had become tenuous. By contrast, the founder members were nearly all cricketers, including Frank Phillips, Martyn Trescothick and Roger Beese. Bob Brooks, who played a bit later on, has stressed that the togetherness and team spirit created by the football team contributed in no small measure to the success enjoyed in their Western League fixtures.
It was not until 2009 that a new KCCFC was formed, chiefly through the drive and initiative of “Iron Mike” Branton. This newly formed club played for a period of five seasons, climbing the Sunday leagues rapidly and winning a cup final at Twerton Park in 2010. Although there were a few recreational footballers, the majority such as Mark Branton, Sam Wheller, Richard Watkins and Sam Pollinger had all played at a much higher level, with the result that in the early seasons many games were won easily. The club disbanded in 2015 but only after completing an impressive haul of trophies.
KCC Players Who Made Their Name in Other Sports
From time to time the club has enjoyed the cricketing services of players who achieved international recognition in other sports. For example,
Harry Shewring: Played rugby for Bristol and won 10 caps for England including an appearance in 1905 against the first All Blacks.
John Currie: Played rugby for Oxford University, Harlequins, Northern and Bristol.. A member of England’s Grand Slam team of 1957, John won 25 caps.
Mike Beese: Played rugby for Liverpool and Bath, making 4 appearances in the 1972 Five Nations Championship.
Mat Stanford: A distinguished golfing career, including an appearance in the 1993 Walker Cup.
Marcus, as the son of one of our own best home grown batsmen is a real Keynsham product. Indeed his roots were well publicised on worldwide television when he made his test debut against the West Indies at Old Trafford in 2000. A schoolboy prodigy, and the scorer of a first class century as a teenager, he had a mixed career until the England head coach, Duncan Fletcher surprisingly chose him in 2000 to represent his country in all forms of cricket. When he retired from international cricket in 2006 he had scored heavily in both red ball and white ball versions. During an era of outstanding pace and spin bowlers such as Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Anil Kumbli, Alan Donald, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Muttiah Muralitharan he managed a test average marginally under 44. During the classic Ashes winning series of 2005 he batted with great consistency at the top of the order with Andrew Strauss and, with his all England colleagues, was subsequently awarded the MBE.
After his England career ended for well-documented reasons he has scored heavily for Somerset, and even after his fortieth birthday is adding first class hundreds to an impressive tally. Marcus has not forgotten his roots and has since been awarded a vice-presidency and life membership.
Keynsham Cricketers Football Club
There have been two incarnations of Keynsham Cricketers Football Club. The longest spell lasted from 1964 into the 1990’s, by which time the football team’s link with the cricket club had become tenuous. By contrast, the founder members were nearly all cricketers, including Frank Phillips, Martyn Trescothick and Roger Beese. Bob Brooks, who played a bit later on, has stressed that the togetherness and team spirit created by the football team contributed in no small measure to the success enjoyed in their Western League fixtures.
It was not until 2009 that a new KCCFC was formed, chiefly through the drive and initiative of “Iron Mike” Branton. This newly formed club played for a period of five seasons, climbing the Sunday leagues rapidly and winning a cup final at Twerton Park in 2010. Although there were a few recreational footballers, the majority such as Mark Branton, Sam Wheller, Richard Watkins and Sam Pollinger had all played at a much higher level, with the result that in the early seasons many games were won easily. The club disbanded in 2015 but only after completing an impressive haul of trophies.
KCC Players Who Made Their Name in Other Sports
From time to time the club has enjoyed the cricketing services of players who achieved international recognition in other sports. For example,
Harry Shewring: Played rugby for Bristol and won 10 caps for England including an appearance in 1905 against the first All Blacks.
John Currie: Played rugby for Oxford University, Harlequins, Northern and Bristol.. A member of England’s Grand Slam team of 1957, John won 25 caps.
Mike Beese: Played rugby for Liverpool and Bath, making 4 appearances in the 1972 Five Nations Championship.
Mat Stanford: A distinguished golfing career, including an appearance in the 1993 Walker Cup.
