In a 3rd XI full of friendly loons, Sappy still manages to stand out. A long post-match shower connoisseur, he is often seen turning up to games in a quite outstanding cowboy hat that would make Clint Eastwood go weak at the knees. He can also be spotted driving one of what seems like a fleet of rather nice cars. Sappy used to be a local politician, a point which Bentley CC must legally point out has no relation whatsoever to the flash cars. With the bat, he has a remarkably solid technique and temperament for someone whose inner chimp simply must be telling him to belt every ball out of the county, and can often be seen chiseling runs in the top 4. This is backed up with some increasingly occasional impish wicket keeping.

Describe yourself in one word.
Annoying.

How long have you played for Bentley CC?
Played my first match as a ten year old. I was so small I wore keepers pads for batting.

Fantasy tea (2 x sandwiches, 1 x savoury, 1 x cake, 1 x wildcard)
Cheese & Cucumber & BLT. Pizza, Carrot cake. Scones & Jam.

If you could share a century partnership with any cricketer from history, who would it be?
Monty Panesar. That would be pretty fun.

What’s the best thing about playing for Bentley CC?
I play cricket with my mates. Perfect.

Who would play you in a film of your life?
Knowing my luck, David Walliams.

What’s your earliest memory of Bentley CC?
Playing kwik cricket till dusk on Friday evenings in the summer.

What’s the best shot you ever played?
That one time I connected with an on drive. It was cricket porn.

What’s the best ball?
Ironically, also the worst ball. In fact the only ball. I cannot describe how bad it was. I haven’t bowled since.

The best thing I can cook is….Pizza. From scratch.

Who do you travel to away games with and why?
Stimmo. There’s not enough room for 2 bags in my car.

How do you see the rest of your cricket career going?
I’ll meander along until I really cannot play anymore. I’d like to try and get some exposure to first team cricket at some point.

Which Bentley CC player do you hate facing in the nets and why?
I haven’t had a net for years, which admittedly shows in my performances.

Whats been your biggest cricketing disappointment?
Stanford Le Hope, U-16 Matchplay game. We finished 402-1. I opened the batting with Stuart Doncaster. The scorecard read as follows:
S. Doncaster NOT OUT 113
J. Sapwell LBW 13
L. Gregory NOT OUT 253

I missed out that day.

Describe your Bentley career in three words?
Should do better.

Which cricket game do you wish you could scrub from history and why?
Either that game against Stanford le Hope for obvious reasons or the second test of the of the 2006/2007 Ashes at Adelaide.

A day at the Test match, an evening T20, or watching a game at home?
A day at the test unquestionably. Preferably the second day, in a box.

What is your dream job?
Political campaign manager in the States.

What is the worst thing about cricket?
Cheating umpires.

Who wouldn’t Bentley CC be the same without, and why?
Luke Wilding. The strangest man I have ever met.

Sachin, Ponting, Lara or Kallis - who is the greatest?
Of those 4, Ponting. Would always make runs when he needed to. Not the best technically, but the one I’d want in my team.

We will be putting up a player profile almost weekly on a Friday until then start of the season, then more through the year if there is enough take up. If you want some questions to do your own profile, just email Steve Coleman here