Devon Cricket Board - Cornwood lose a true Stalwart

Cornwood lose a true Stalwart

Cornwood Cricket Club have announced that their club vice -president Dave Vanstone has sadly passed away after suffering a heart attack at his home on Sunday 10th August. As a mark of respect to Dave's family the Club have not been able, until now, to pay a formal tribute to someone who always had the best interests of the club at heart and was incredibly loyal.

Club chairman,Graham Baskerville, recalls that Dave came to Cornwood approximately twenty years ago when Darren Bartrop was playing at the club. Darren's uncle, Mike Bartrop, was Dave's boss at the United Friendly Insurance Brokers and introduced him to the West Devon Club. From that day onwards, Dave fell in love with their club and never really left the place! He started to help the groundsmen with various duties associated with getting the pitch ready for matches and over time took on more and more responsibility. He regarded their square and outfield as "sacred ground" and would not let anyone do anything that would jeopardise its overall condition. He loved the ground and everyone was touched by his enthusiasm and excitement of doing a good job. Dave regularly could be heard discussing the best treatments to put on the square , how much you need to roll the pitch to get the best playing surface, best methods for cutting the outfield and all other matters ground related. Even total strangers would get the same expert advice whether the needed it or not !!

Dave always took great pride in keeping the ground in pristine condition and earned compliments for his efforts from the cricketing community far and wide. There will not be many club members who did not have an affection for Dave, as up until recently he was always at the club in his football shorts and rolled down socks, huffing and puffing around the club. He was always there to open the pavilion in the morning and lock up in the evening. Often he would spend time when the place was quiet tidying up and painting over marks on the walls. He had many affectionate nicknames and was always keen to have a laugh and a joke with everyone. As club captain Jason Hall recently stated, his quirky personality always had their club members smiling. Dave had a truly generous nature and if you ever visited him at Christmas time there was always a glass of port and slice of best Stilton on offer.

Characters like Dave will be hard to replace, the Club are fortunate to have our other dedicated groundsmen who will continue to perform miracles on the ground to deliver quality playing surfaces for all their teams, but Oak Park will be a little quieter for a while, until they get used to Dave not being around. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Dave Vanstone's funeral will take place on Friday 5th September 2.00pm at Efford Crematorium.

DCB Ltd, University of Exeter Sports Hall, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QN Company Registration Number: 7024773