Every club cricketer dreams of playing at Lord’s. Wisbech captain James Williams did that last summer.
In a story that seems to have so far missed the local sporting headlines James struck 80 on 25 July when he was invited to play for MCC South against MCC North at the home of cricket. Perhaps everyone in local Wisbech circles knows about James’s magical day at Lord’s but read on for the whole story.
I spoke to James on my podcast The Paddock and The Pavilion about his first ever appearance at the iconic venue
“I actually got asked if I wanted to open the batting a few days before it, but I got a little bit nervous and didn’t want to get out too early in the game,” said James. On the day James was the first one inside the ground. “I got the pick of the spots in the away changing room. It was such a great opportunity to play there,” said James.
He nearly achieved what Nasser Hussain did for England against New Zealand in 2004 who retired immediately after scoring a Test century at the famous venue.
“It was a fantastic day with family and friends there at Lord’s. I was actually twenty runs away from retiring from cricket. I had said before I went over there to play, if I score a hundred at Lord’s, I’m done. I’m never beating that; I’m never going to top that particularly at the back end of my playing days. I got to 80 and then obviously the cricketing gods didn’t fancy me retiring just yet,” said James.
James remarked that it took him eighteen balls to get off the mark “It would have been lovely to score a hundred, but I was happy to get one.”
MCC South won the game comfortably and after scoring 80 James decided it wasn’t yet time to put the bat away for the last time. Having made his debut for Wisbech in 2000 James is still leading the club in the Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire premier league division 1 this summer.
Interestingly my research revealed that two former Wisbech greats Derek Wing and Tony Shippey both made their first-class debuts at Lord’s in the same game. On 10 June 1967 Derek and Tony played for MCC against Cambridge University in a three-day match. For the records Derek opened the bowling for the MCC, with the then England player Barry Knight, and took three wickets in the match while Tony opening the batting scored 15. MCC won the game by an innings and 81 runs.
James also remembered watching his great friend and longtime Wisbech 1st XI colleague Gary Freear strike the winning runs for Cambridgeshire against Cheshire in the 2003 Minor Counties final at Lord’s.
Lord’s clearly has a special place in the history of Wisbech Town cricket Club. And for their current skipper James Williams dreams do come true at the Home of Cricket.