The Adventure Begins

July 26 - the time for last minute packing for the trip to England for the Australian Over 70s Cricket Team tour of England. This was our second opportunity to travel to England with an Australian Seniors  Cricket Team - the last time was three years ago with the Australian Over 60s Cricket Team.

Timothy drove us to the airport and he and Aiden helped us with our bags. Aiden insisted on guiding my suitcase from the the car to the airport. Once we were in the queue Aiden gave me instructions as to how move the suitcase to the desk.

The first queue

Aiden filled in time eating ice cream, including dropping some on the floor. As Aiden had school the next day Timothy took him home. Aiden, however as they left, provided me once again how to look after my suitcase.

On this trip we flew with Malaysian Airlines. The plane was due to leave Melbourne at 11.25 pm. While we were waiting, we met two other team members waiting for the same flight - Brian Pooley and Ian Gibson.  We arrived at Kuala Lumpur early in the morning and had a three hour break before the next flight to London. Harry Solomons joined our flight at KL. We eventually arrived at Heathrow at 3.30 in the afternoon of July 27 after a long journey.

Waiting for the rest of our party to arrive

At Heathrow we met up with four other members of our touring team before travelling by coach to the Waltham Abbey Marriott Hotel in Essex.

Waltham Abbey Marriott Hotel

We slept well that night.

Waltham Abbey

Waltham Abbey is a market town in Essex.

The township is approximately a 30 minute walk from the hotel.

We decided to explore Waltham Abbey late on a Sunday morning so not many people were about, especially as rain was threatening.

The passage way on the left leads into the grounds of Waltham Abbey church.

There has been a church in Waltham since Saxon times and the Waltham Cross was once considered a place of pilgrimage.

In 1060 Harold Godwinson had the church rebuilt. In 1184 Henry II raised the status of the church to an abbey.

At the back of the church is a stone purporting to mark the place of the burial of King Harold in 1066. A number of other locations in England also claim the burial of Harold.

Much of the abbey complex has been destroyed over time but there are still remnants of the walls of part of the structure in the grounds.

This section was the entrance to the former cloister passage.

A section of abbey walls showing the size of the complex.

The remains of the abbey gateway.

Much of the stonework has been reused in other building projects such as the remaining walls of Abbey House which was built by the Denney family after the dissolution of the monasteries. The house was demolished in 1770.

Birds enjoy the relative solitude of the abbey grounds.

A wooden carving of a monk stands among the trees.

Interior of the present church - Church of the Holy Cross and St Lawrence. This building was part of the west end of the abbey.

The church entrance today.

A history of Waltham Abbey
Waltham Abbey Church history

Chelmsford

A practice session had been organised at the Essex Cricket Ground on the day after we arrived in England so we set off in the coach to Chelmsford after lunch.

We were welcomed to the ground and then had a chance to view the oval.

The players then went to the indoor nets for their practice session.

I then set out to explore Chelmsford.

Walking through the back of the cricket ground you come to the River Can. Central Park is on the other side of the river.

It was market day.

An arcade in Chelmsford.

The Slug and Lettuce - one of a chain of pubs in England - on the River Chelmer.

And like all good cities there is a public library.

Maldon - County Game 2

The second County Game for the tour was against Essex at Maldon.

The game was played at Maldon Cricket Club, Drapers Farm, Heybridge.

The clubrooms were formerly an old barn which has plenty of character.

Drapers Farm dates back to the 1500s.

The interior of the barn was quite impressive.

The Australian players had their warm up session before the game.

The players then posed for the team photo.

Australia batted first and at the end of the innings were 5 for 226. Ian A Gibson 51 retired, John Terrell 50 retired, Harry Solomons 33, Roger Edmunds 16, Ian Petherick 15, John Costello 15 (retired hurt), Ron Kasputtis 15 not out, Alan Reid 13 and Robin Court 10 not out.

In their 45 overs Essex managed a score of 9 for 120 - Robin Court 2 for 7 off 4; Ron Kasputtis 2 for 10 off 5; Bruce Pooley 2 for 19 off 5; John Terrell 1 for 13 off 4; Phil Smith 1 for 22 off 9; Alan Reid 1 for 28 off 8. Colin Cooke took two catches while Phil Smith and Ian Petherick each took one.

It was a comfortable win for the Australian team however two of our players were injured - John with a hamstring injury and Harry with a shoulder injury.

A member of the Maldon Cricket Club arranged for the ladies to be taken into Maldon to have a look around.

We were left at Promenade Park on the Blackwater Estuary. A number of Thames barges are moored at Hythe Quay.

These barges are a reminder of the past when they were a regular sight on the Thames in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

These were just some of the variety of boats to be seen on the mud flats.

I then wandered into the town.

The church of St Mary the Virgin at the Hythe. A Saxon church was originally on this site to be replaced by a Norman church in 1130. It served as an important church for seafarers.

There were many interesting buildings and streetscapes.

The Moot Hall dates back to1420 when it was built as a tower attached to a timber manor house.

We found taxis to return us to the cricket ground and arrived back to watch the second half of the game.

After the match there was a spread of salads and cold meats to enjoy.

Game 10 - against England at Halstead [also Game 11 against Essex]

We travelled from Bedford to Halstead in Essex for the first Test Match against England.

Halstead Cricket Club was founded in 1885.

After the normal warm-up for the Australians, the English players posed for their team photos and then a group photo with the Aussies.

After new Australian players Robin Court and Graeme McIlwain received their baggy green caps, the Australians then had their own team photo.

 Both teams then sang their national anthem.

The Australians won the toss and elected to field and after 50 overs England had made 7 for 237. Colin Cooke had 4 for 33 off his 10 overs supported by Rex Bennett with 2 for 19 off 8 overs. Robin bowled 8 overs - no wickets for 36 runs but the scoring of runs slowed when he was bowling.

 The Australians then batted but could only make 8 for 166 allowing England to win by 71 runs, a disappointing result. England therefore maintained their winning run against Australia.

A large  crowd came to watch the game including many families supporting the English and sometimes the Australian players.

Next day we were back at Halstead for a game against Essex.

Australia batted first and made 6 for 238 off 44 overs when rain finished the innings. The second innings was delayed and the Australians worked to complete the 20 overs to have an official match. The final score, when players were forced to leave the field, was 4 for 97 off 33 overs. Robin and Brian Scott once again slowed down the run rate while picking up a wicket each. Greg Quinn contributed 2 wickets for 37 runs. Australian won on run rate.

Halstead has won prizes for its floral displays and a number of examples were near the cricket ground.