Decade

1989 Season

Results

Appearances, runs, wickets and catches totals

Priceless memories - cheers, Bob

1989 - tragedy and despair as cricket loses a dear friend

 season which began on a beautiful spring day at Wimbledon Park ended in scenes of utter desolation at Bob Ashton’s funeral service held at St Peter’s Church in Windsor Great Park on 11 September. All cricket clubs know the rush and thrill of the first victory. It is difficult to imagine that there has ever been a happier side than The Gents on the evening of 30 July. Nor, thirty-six days later, a more distraught one.

                The visible signs of Bob’s illness began around the time of The Gents’ first win. After his brother had captured the winning wicket, Bob did not come for a drink with a side understandably well up for one. He was clearly unwell, but any young man would put feeling bad down to a cold and carry on. As his health declined over the next week or so, he was admitted to Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot. When it became clear that his illness was serious, he was transferred to Brompton Hospital in Kensington. Many of the team visited him often, and some, like Frank Gallagher, nightly, to keep his great friend Mark company in his vigil. Bob’s condition slowly deteriorated and he lost his final battle on Monday, 4 September, a sunny, glorious morning entirely befitting the last day on earth of a wonderful person. The post mortem showed that the cause of death was the rare viral infection bronchiolitis obliterans. These are the material facts of the end of a life cut short after a mere 24 years. The effect on Bob’s friends of his passing was profound and endures to this day. The effect on his family must, therefore, have been beyond computation. Everyone who knew him, and Bob had many friends, regards themselves as privileged.

                Those who never saw him play may be interested in what sort of player Bob was. First, he was a genuine quick bowler, perhaps a little below Stuart Snelling’s pace but more orthodox in the delivery stride. He was a brutal batsman with huge, powerful shoulders and a good fielder. Above all, he was a team man. Clearly one of the best two players in the team, he was always very supportive of other players. For this alone, he was quickly forgiven the many cheap dismissals in his career due to rash strokeplay at the start of the innings, a phenomenon of course unknown elsewhere in the Ashton family. He above all played to win. There was no point in just turning up.

                The cricket played in 1989 is secondary, but as a matter of record a fair display against Enterprise, including the first Gent fifty (Mark Ashton 76) and a 76-run stand between the Ashton brothers, was followed by three defeats in which The Gents were little more than a shambles. Wimbledon Park sometimes boasts very good batting wickets, although they have declined a little in recent years. Still, 129 all out was riches compared to what had gone before. It was The Gents’ best chance of victory yet, but it was not to be as a composed Scottish left-hander, Brian Hutchinson, batted throughout the Enterprise innings to give his side a close, but deserved victory.

                The first Cheetahs game is possibly The Gents’ worst-ever display, with tarting West XI guest Phil Hill being no help at all, although in fairness co-Beggar Colin Hunter did at least play to his potential. Two of the games in this dismal period figure in the Bottom Ten displays recalled later, although The Gents did at least show some fight in the West XI innings at Boston Manor, after an easy away win at Cranford Park, not helped by a plethora of extras, many conceded by stand-in wicketkeeper Andy Burman! Four defeats on the trot and it was difficult to see where a win was going to come from. The squad looked better than 1988’s. The Gents had proved at different times that they could bat, or bowl, or field, but putting these separate elements together for one afternoon, or even two-thirds of an afternoon, was proving beyond them. The team had been strengthened by further York alumni in Marty Renvoize and Roger Farr, together with Simon Alderman, a friend of John Townley. All would make a contribution, but it was Bob’s friend Ian Maughan (“a mate of mine who can keep wicket and bat a bit”) who made an immediate impression.

                Ian kept wicket for the first time on 24 June, replacing George Gray in the second Cheetahs match. One wondered if he knew what he had let himself in for, as the usual hefty total against The Gents’ attack followed. The visitors’ reply was, however, a turning point as Bob and John Townley put on a brilliant, unbeaten 76 before both batsmen were badly injured by lifting deliveries and retired hurt, bloody but unbowed. The draw was offered, and accepted, with the game on a knife-edge, Bob having moved to a magnificent maiden 50, blasting 54 not out in only 27 balls. Finally, The Gents had halted their losing run and the ensuing celebration, in the Plough in Northfields, was one of the best ever. Both batsmen were proud of their war wounds, in John’s case resulting in a three-figure dental bill.

                Then at last, came the much dreamed-of first victory as Mark Ashton and Ian Maughan posted a still-unbeaten 111 for the fourth wicket against Enterprise in Hounslow, after the usual early innings trauma, securing The Gents’ then-record score. A long stand between the friendly, long-haired Aussie, Dave Marsh, and Tony Hill then saw Enterprise well on their way before guest Pete Moor bowled them both. For the first, but certainly not the last time, Mark Ashton came back to capture the last three wickets, including the dangerous Gupta for 28, with the oppo in sight of victory. It was a marvellous match, The Gents taking several Authentic Dismissals. Bob Ashton bowled as well as anyone had ever seen him. After Bob’s death, the remaining fixtures were cancelled. Reaction from the circuit was swift and generous. West XI cancelled their proposed tour of Bradford as a mark of respect; Bob and Mark had toured there in 1988, although it was Frank Gallagher who amazingly stole the show with a series of gritty double-figure scores! Milton Jolin, a real sportsman, was instrumental in securing a trophy in Bob’s name that would be contested every year between West XI and the Gentlemen of West London. It would see much good cricket in the ensuing years, as well as several unsavoury incidents, at which one suspects that a former player of both clubs is up there having a good laugh. These games would always be played hard, principally because the man they commemorate was such a good friend to both teams. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of passion on the cricket field! As a postscript, in the close season the club decided, after much thought, to continue playing in 1990. It was Mark’s call really; if he could do it, so could everybody else.

©The Gentlemen of West London Cricket Club 2006