Tipton St John Playing Field, 4 th May 2024
As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, Tipton St John Cricket Club was
delighted to take the opportunity to host this 20/20 match – part of a three-
cornered tournament which concluded at Sidmouth CC on the following day – and
was rewarded with a rare afternoon of glorious sunshine and a good-sized
number of spectators.
The Taverners were led by Scottish actor Gordon Kennedy, notable for his
appearances in the TV series Robin Hood and Redcap, and The Lords and
Commons were skippered by James Daly MP for Bury North, who opted to bat
first. The Taverners were boosted by the presence of Tipton, Ottery and Devon
junior players Brendan Coles and Will Smart, and last-minute Tipton recruit Tom
Birch.
The Lords and Commons innings was bolstered by a solid 31 not out from
Pragash Sharma, who steered his team to a respectable 116 -9 on a slow, damp
wicket. The stand-out Taverners bowler was Brendan Coles, whose wrist spin
yielded 3-6 from 4 overs.
In their reply, the Taverners fell 13 runs short, reaching 103-6 despite a fluent 26
from Coles and 16 from Kevin O’Donnell. Pragash Sharma was as effective with
the ball as the bat, taking 2-5 from 3 overs and Sidmouth Ladies’ player Albertine
Symes produced excellent figures of 2-15 from her 4 overs.

Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle was present at the match and local MP Simon Jupp made the post-match awards. Brendan Coles was the Player of the Match
and presentations were made to The Tipton officials, umpires David Birch and
Jem Gillham and scorers Dave Alford and Phil Wright.
The healthy crowd’s generous donations raised over £550 which will be shared
between the cricket club and the Playing Field’s plans to redevelop the pavilion.

Photos by Phil Mingo: Copyright Pinnacle Photo Agency -PPAUK