EVO – THE CLUB SCORER (AND VERY MUCH MORE) AT 700 (PART 4 - 1998 TO 2000)
“Poke me if a I start to dose off” was the order of the day in 1998 when Torquay visited Exmouth – it could be safely said back in the pre-PC world. Evo had been to Wembley the night before to see Torquay United lose so had got back at stupid o’clock in the morning. If the positioning of the wicket was a nightmare in itself – about the furthest away from the scorebox if you could have tried then also finishing in virtual darkness was the ultimate nightmare. The match ended up in a last over win thanks to a catch by Chris Needham with the quote, “thank god he was wearing his own armed services jumper.”
Actually, during the 1998 season. Evo came to the conclusion that school teachers don’t make the best captains in terms of organisation. The colleague in the above story would agree. The stories to demonstrate this which spring to mind for Evo are when the League Sheet which needed to be posted went on tour to the Home Counties with Devon CCC and when the captain phoned Evo’s mum to ask whether the league table in the Herald Express was right. The response was, “how am I supposed to know but Nick is waiting for you at The Rec.” It could actually have been the same Friday afternoon, that Evo and the skipper pushed on the original “heavy” covers alone and that is when Evo was much lighter – his words not mine.
During the Emmett Craik years as the club’s overseas player. Evo remembers one Sunday 1st XI away to Taunton Deane CC when he was pressed into service as a driver despite being a tradition of the club that scorers don’t drive to away matches. If he had to give instructions to find it, he wouldn’t have been able to but pure instinct meant he only got in the wrong lane once.
The New Millenium saw new kids on the block – Plympton CC and their first ever fixture was home to Torquay. The two memories of a quick victory for Torquay were, scoring al fresco – sweating so much a whole jug of squash was drunk and no need for a call of nature, and the debut of Liam Rice (son of current Club Treasurer, Simon). Liam a young leg spinner in the words of Evo, “was going to either get hit for six or take a wicket in his first over.” It was the latter! Actually, Liam making his debut brought back a memory from Cricketfield Road in 1997 when asked Evo for his autograph after the triumph – the only time Evo has ever been asked for his autograph.
It is also little-known secret until now but Evo nearly got “run out” as early as 2000, when a meeting about his trip to the Sydney Olympics was planned for a Saturday, as Chris Kelmere snr famously said, “on a cricket day.” Fortunately, it was changed to the Sunday but as Evo said, “back then breaking the run of consecutive matches wouldn’t have meant so much.”