JohnBurley ended some wonderful memories from the ‘60s and ‘70s athte 70th anniversary celebration of Straggler cricket, with the Straggler alphabet, first published in the books in 1970:
A is for Alvingham, record holder proud
B is for Budden, now there’s a crowd
C is for Canney, vanished overseas
And D is for Denne, Demery and DTs
E is for Eckersley, Erle Drax etcetera.
F is for fingers, Fingers Fletcher.
G is for Gordon, Gibbon and gin,
And H is for the hangover Herbert plays in
I is for the innings that Grugeon once played.
J is for Jim’s jockstrap, all tattered and frayed.
K is for Kenny, our own Cambridge blue,
And L is for Loudon, to be found in Peru.
M is for McCausland, of menacing mien.
N is for the Neames, not as bad as they seem.
O is for openers, both bowlers and batters,
And P is for Paul, whose kit is in tatters.
Q is for quarrel, when Wood’s given out.
R is for Rodney who started the rout.
S is for silence, when the slip’s finished speaking,
And T is for the Thomases, always bottom tweaking.
U is for the umbrella field, we have just set.
V is for victory, dare we forget.
W for Wyndham, Walters and wine
And X for the extras, move round a little more fine.
Y is for yawning, this nonsense has induced,
And Z is for the God, who these mortals produced.