2020 will forever be the season of Covid-19, a virus, possibly originating from a Chinese bat, that turned the world upside down. No cricket was played in a glorious English April and May, or in a very slightly damper June. The season finally came to life in mid-July (although most July fixtures had already been cancelled). We were left to play under strange anti-viral conditions, without use of pavilions and in the tragic absence of substantial cricket teas.
Some 60 batsmen donned pads for the Stragglers in the foreshortened season, 45 bowlers turned an arm over, and we welcomed 14 debutants. This latter group included the next generation of Stabbs (Ed and Will), Giles’s son, Archie and Joffy’s nephews, William and Freddie Evans. Hugo is not waiting for procreation to take its natural course, and is marrying into a cricketing family, three of whom, Tim, George and Alex Martin, turned out at Folkestone.
Rather later than intended, the Straggler Committee are delighted to announce that the third Peter Budden Shepway Straggler award was confirmed by the Committee and awarded to Harry Heming. Harry joins a select group, Inigo Pullen and James Felton, both of who played Straggler cricket in 2020. We look forward to seeing Harry in 2021.