His son Chris brought a team of Thornbury legends to face a Winterbourne Select XI that included not only Ken's peers but also some of the guys that he had helped to bring through our junior section.

Batting first, Thornbury scored a huge 286 all out, the cornerstone of their innings a century from Chris himself. Never has an opposition century been so welcome at WCC. The youngsters acquitted themselves well, Jim Bob taking 4-45 and George 4-51, with Damo entertaining the crowd with a remarkable display of comedy juggling.

In between innings, Beryl and Tonia produced an exquisite tea, and both sets of players tucked in with aplomb. The Lemon Drizzle was a firm favourite, and the salad bowl was given a wide berth.

Post prandial matters were a fascinating mix of past and present as young Sladey and Jon Oakes tucked into the run chase. Sladey retired after a great century and Oakesy fell for 70, a disappointment for the huddled throng who would dearly have loved him to reach three figures.

A flurry of wickets and suddenly it was game on again, and as the game reached its climax it was George and Marcus at the wicket, attempting to finish the job. In the end four runs were required off the last four balls and when Marcus went agricultural over deep mid wicket for 6 it was a fantastic end to an amazing game.

The evening was no less enjoyable, swapped stories, some beers and the football from Brazil. We hope the charity raffle raised some good funds in Ken's honour, Beezer had a glass of red to toast his old mate and we all went home with a warm glow.

Thanks must go to Chris, his players, and his army of friends and family that turned up to watch. Yet again the WCC hospitality team swung into action, special mentions to Liz, Gina, Rachel and Sarah for all their work, as well as Sir Nick and Keith. Apologies if we've missed anyone off the list. It truly was a special day, as the empty fridge will testify....

Hon Chair