Captain’s Blog #1 – by Sam Brooks

On the eve of another season with my beloved cricket club Anson St George, I find myself digging out the cricket bag looking through all the gear and preparing accordingly for yet another exciting summer ahead! Although this season is a little bit more special, as I have the honour of having been elected Captain of the club.

The leaders that stood before me in the history of Anson is ‘no mean feet’ to step into, but ultimately it’s for myself and the younger lads to take the club forward and I know I can lean on the experience of many former/current players where necessary.

Backyard cricket was a staple in my household growing up. I’d pretend to be all the England players playing test matches with my brothers! The shed would be point, wall is slip and the garden gate the wicket keeper. I’ll never forget some of those games, and our parents will never forgive us for the state of the compact garden ‘pitch’ which resembled something you’d see in Chennai or Galle not Essex. It was a spin bowlers paradise.

I love cricket. I’d wake up early on a Friday morning to play indoor cricket at my school throughout my childhood, where I caught the bug but never the ball. Our school team competed in the Friday evening indoor cricket competition at Ilford where we would face the Saturday teams each week. It was here where I first came up against some Hornchurch lads, and was invited over to play colts cricket for them.

Through training and matches I became good mates with Mitchell Gilbert and was asked to make a guest appearance for his Sunday team Anson St George. The rest is history…

I probably had my best season to date for the club last year. In 13 innings I totalled 704 runs averaging 64. (Not bad for a spin bowler) A top score of 159 (despite losing the game). More impressive to me was the 14 catches, I’d never imagine taking more than a few in a season before this. I do recommend the Aussie style fingers pointing upwards!

What makes this club so special is the “band of brothers” relationships. It’s a family club, from schoolmates, father & son, as well as brothers. (My 2 brothers are members now for instance) We all share the field but really it’s an excuse to be around each other, coming together for all the big occasions like weddings, birthday’s, anniversaries and Butlins!

Anson St George is a cricket club that dates back to 1952, and part of what makes the club special is that we have up to date records of the history since 1960… (big shoutout to Lee Gilbert for doing this) So yes we can see how many Ducks a player has but also aim to beat highest scores, partnerships and all stats we measure on the cricket field.

I am player No.311 for Anson St George, since making my debut for the club back in 2013. Would I be able to remember this without the History, probably not! From the beginning I felt like I wanted to be apart of the club and 126* games later I’m hoping to keep going for many more years…

Looking ahead to the season, and the first coin toss, I’m told I’m a bit of a tosser, so I should be okay. Ultimately my aim is to win games whilst bringing on new members aligned with the values of the club. Making more memories on and off the field and Anson St George CC.

“A drinking team, with a cricket problem”

Sam Brooks Aka “Cheeks”