Devon Cricket Board - Lord's day out to remember for Devon officials

Lord's day out to remember for Devon officials

MCC Corporate Cricket Challenge officials at Lords’ Back (left to right): Nick Cousins, Luke Hearn, Natalie Roach, Murray Carlson, Lynn Allen, Alan English, David Moseby (Brixham), Chris Fortune, Carl Kneale, David Tooth, Geoff Trett, Sue Drinkwater, Sue Jones, Deidre Skinner, Martin Williams. Front: Nathan Bradley (Bideford), Sam Griffin, Jasper Heaver (Ipplepen), Gilad Lipschitz, Liam Spires

BIDEFORD’S 2^nd XI scorer Nathan Bradley had a day to remember when he scored at Lord’s during a Professional Cricketers Association Tournament.

Twelve teams of six players each took part in the competition on the most famous pitch in the world.

Each team has a nominated professional and the stars on show during the day included ex England players Paul Nixon, Devon Malcolm, Neil Fairbrother, Alex Tudor, Sean Udal, Chris Schofield and Matthew Maynard.

Nathan, who is a wheelchair user, was nominated for a place on the scoring team by the Devon Association of Cricket Officials, of which he is a member.

Nathan, who only took up scoring this season, said it was an experience he would never forget.

“I opened my iPad to find an unexpected email from ECB asking me to score at a corporate cricket day at Lord’s – and 48 hours later I was on my way to London,” said Nathan.

“There were quite a lot of nerves, as I realised I’d gone from knowing nothing at all about scoring to Lord’s in a month.

“On Thursday morning, after not sleeping very much and donning a smart shirt, I was on my way to Lord’s.

Then it was on to breakfast in the Long Room. By this time the nerves really were jangling, so I couldn’t enjoy breakfast, though my mum assured me it was very nice!

“Due to my wheelchair, everyone was very helpful, and I had been set up just outside the Pavilion, to score on the Grandstand Pitch.”

Nathan scored two matches before lunch, when he was treated to a to the main scorebox at Lord’s

“It is small! You’d be cramped in there, and there are books everywhere. Wisdens, stats books and biographies abound, even under the desk,” said Nathan.

Then it was back to business to score on of the semi-finals before relaxing with the other scorers during the final.

“All in all, a very enjoyable and informative day” said Nathan.

There was a sizeable Devon contingent at Lord’s as DACO trainer Dave Moseby from Plymouth took rookie umpire Jasper Heaver with him.

And the PCA Pirates, a team containing Bradninch players Tim Piper and Ross Acton with Fairbrother as their old pro, won the competition by beating BVM Oil in the final.

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