Cobham

Cobham was the final destination for this trip and we booked into the Cobham Hilton for five nights.

The hotel was approximately a thirty minute walk from the town.

In the hotel grounds we found two rabbits enjoying a feed.

This building contains the main restaurant and the room were our final team dinner was held. A passage connects the building to the main hotel complex.

We crossed the bridge over the river and then continued on over the main road to a series of roads connected to a roundabout.

A little further we saw the Loch Fyne hotel which specialises in seafood.

It was then time to return to the hotel for dinner.

After our visit to Windsor on the Saturday we had had our final team dinner in the George Room at the hotel. The food was good but there were service issues at our table with only some of us receiving bread rolls and then two of the entrees being served without the main ingredients. This was eventually resolved.

Captain, Ian Petherick, gives his report of the cricket tour.

Tim Spear provides a continuation of the banter that has occurred at 'the back of the bus' during the tour.

On the Sunday the weather was cool with the threat of rain so we decided the best time for a walk was the early morning.

A staff member at the hotel had told me that the Painshill Gardens were worth visiting. They were a small distance from where we had stopped walking on Thursday so we set off to locate them.

The park was designed as a pleasure garden in the eighteenth century - between 1738 and 1773. Charles Hamilton created the garden with its series of follies after travelling to Europe on Grand Tours.

As we crossed the River Mole to the park entrance it began to rain so we decided to return to the hotel. I am sure that Painshill Gardens would be an interesting place to visit on a sunny day.

It rained for the rest of the day so the decision not to travel to London for the day approved to be a good one.

Sutton - Third ODI

The Third ODI was held at Sutton Cricket Club in Surrey on Monday 27 August.

This club has a long history being established in 1857.

Framed photographs show memories of past games.

One photograph is of the Captain of the Club, G R Blades, with W G Grace.

It was therefore a fitting ground to stage the deciding game between Australia and England on the over 70s cricket tour.

 During this game we once agian caught up with many of the friendly wives of the England players that we had met throughout the tour.

Members of the two teams lined up for the team photos before the game.

The national anthems of the two countries were then sung.

The scorers were ready in their box and the game began.

Australia bowled first and England scored 6 for 251 off their 50 overs. Ron Kasputtis and Tom Wood each took two wickets while Phil Smith took one. There was also a run out. Robin did not play in this match. Andy Barnes top scored for England with 60 runs. This proved to be an exciting game with Australia needing to score six runs in the final over. However the final score for Australia was 9 for 247. Ian Petherick scored 140 runs. England therefore regained the Silver Ashes by winning two matches to one.

During the game, when I walked around the ground, I noticed a small building in the far corner.

When I investigated there was a sign confirming that this building was probably the first pavilion. Before then it had been the railway station for Sutton from 1845-1865.

One of the photos in the clubrooms shows the pavilion many years ago.

In the afternoon I went for a walk to explore the surrounding area. As it was a bank holiday it was relatively quiet.

Sutton appears to be well serviced by buses which ran regularly.

After the game the dinner was served in grand style - a fitting end to a great tour.

Hampton Court Palace

While visiting East Molesey on 30 July I went for a walk along the banks of the Thames to Hampton Court Palace. Built 500 years ago this Tudor palace is a most impressive building.

The palace is an easy walk along the banks of the Thames River from the East Molesey cricket ground. Numerous water birds, including swans, can be seen during the walk.

It is quite a busy stretch of river with a variety of boats.

When crossing the bridge the castle comes into view.

The gates announce the celebration of the 500 year history of the palace.

The impressive palace buildings can be viewed from the driveway.

Although there is a charge to view inside the palace buildings and the inner gardens including the maze members of the public can freely wander around the outer grounds.

The extensive rose gardens also provide another panorama of the palace buildings.

Some of the roses are very beautiful.

The vegetable gardens are also worth a visit.

Lavender bushes line the path.

Flower pots on sticks support the mesh used to protect the cabbages and other vegetables.

There are also more colourful floral displays.

Back across the bridge and a view of some of the houses lining the river banks.

I also passed the shopping centre on the way back to the cricket ground.

An enjoyable way to spend an hour or two.

Game 13 against Surrey at East Molesey

The final game on this VOSCA tour of England was against Surrey at East Molesey Cricket Club on 30 June. The Australian team had played a game against England on this ground at the end of June. It is not just a good ground on which to play cricket but as it is also close to the Thames so it is a good place to go for a walk.

After taking their bags into the Changing Rooms a number of the players from both teams went out to inspect the pitch and discuss the prospects for the match.

Meanwhile Karen, Nola and Lyn chose their initial position to watch the game.

Members of both teams posed for the pre-match photo and then the match began.

The sun came out and Surrey batted first. Gordon Cowling and Robin opened the bowling and, as usual, bowled tightly making it difficult for the batsmen to score runs. However the out-field was quick and the small boundaries meant that when a batsman did get the ball away it often went for four runs. Gordon got two wickets during his eight wicket spell while Robin was unlucky not to also pick up wickets although he did bowl two maidens during his eight overs. Graeme Cook and Greg Watsford each took one wicket and David Green was again successful with three wickets. At the end of the innings Surrey had scored 220 runs with the loss of seven wickets. In reply Victoria could only manage 175 runs losing six wickets in the process. Dick Stumbles again batted well retiring after making 53 runs.

It was a convincing victory to Surrey but once again the match had been played in good spirit and the players enjoyed the game.

Sunbury on Thames

After the conclusion of the Australian over 60s cricket tour of England we shifted location from Hounslow to the Travelodge at Sunbury where we stayed for three days. This gave us time to relax a little after a hectic month of touring and also to meet members of the Victorian over 60s team as they arrived. We also explored Sunbury on Thames.

The first challenge is this subway under the road which has multiple entrances and exits. By the end of the stay we had almost worked it out.

We found that the easiest way to get to the river was to walk a couple of kilometres down Green Street. The houses in this part of Sunbury are very different from what we saw in Hounslow, only a few miles away.

We walked to the river on a couple of days. Access to the river from Sunbury is limited however there are a few places where you can walk short distances along the banks.

The first evening at Sunbury a group of us had dinner at the Magpie Hotel overlooking the river. We passed the hotel when we went for a walk the next day.

We went back to Rivermead Island and watched rowers pass by.

At the end of the island there is a view of the residential area from the river.

Further on we found a small bridge that leads to another island of private homes.

There were some river views from the bridge.

The next day we went back to find the Walled Garden that we had seen signs for previously.

It was very colourful and tranquil though we found some squirrels enjoying a feed of the flowers.

Many of the others in the group went exploring on the local buses or train but we decided to conserve our energy for the next part of the adventure.