The Club was founded in 1982 by Mick Keay

The Ploughmans Story

The Club was founded in 1982 by Mick Keay. The first team consisted mainly of employees from Ealing Council and a local Air Freight firm. The first match was played at Northolt Park in that summer and whilst no official records were kept, the seeds had been sown. In1983 the first full season, the Club was known as Lord Wolsey CC, the name taken from the pub where the first meeting took place. That pub was run by our benefactors and "sponsors"; Dave and Maureen Beattie (pictured below). The name of the club changed when Dave and Maureen moved to The Plough in Tentelow Lane, Norwood Green, where the meetings of the Club used to take place. Dave and Maureen continued to support us throughout the years, providing teas, much needed post-match refreshment and excellent hospitality to our opposition and guests. It was a sad evening in March 2002 when we waved goodbye to them as they began their new life in the New Forest, they left with our heartfelt thanks and very best wishes.

In those early days, it was the organisation and commitment of Mick Keay that kept the Club going. He acted as Captain, Treasurer, Fixture Secretary and Secretary though he did receive valuable support from Gary Buckner. The names and faces of the players may have changed over the years but the ethos of the Club remains. We have always tried to attract new players through personal introduction, a new player's personality being more important than any outstanding ability on the field. This has proved a successful method over the years and has ensured a happy and lively dressing room. Whilst the Club has moved on since those early days and we have managed to improve the standard of our cricket and the quality of our opposition, this has been achieved without compromising the original goal: to have fun!Mick Keay retired from playing in 1990 and handed over the Captaincy to Ian Berry but he stayed involved on the administration side until 1993. The Club AGM at the end of that season saw an official Club Committee formed; Ian Berry remaining as Captain, supported by Treasurer; Simon Wilkinson, Fixture Secretary; Nasser Khan and Secretary; Robert Cox. One of the first acts of the committee was to make Mick Keay our first Honorary Life Member. At the AGM in 2001 the Club voted to make Mick our Club President, there could be no more fitting tribute paid to the man who laid the foundations of the Club. A few years later John Meade, an original member in 1982, who has also continued to support the Club on and off the pitch was made the second Honorary Life Member.

To the right is an early PCC team on tour in the Forest of Dean in 1993. Back Row: Paul Peters, Phil lewis, Keith Marriage, Harry Willden, Nasser Khan, Alan Tolhurst. Front Row: Robert Cox, John Farndon, Gary Buckner, Ian Berry and Simon Wilkinson. While below the first two honorary life members of the Club; John Meade and Mick Keay pictured together, at the bar (strangely enough) on one of Ploughmans famous tours.

The Club continued to grow and improve, especially with the arrival of our three "Highgate CC rebels"; Dyll Davies (scorer of the first century for PCC), Con Pilavachi and Steve Houchin. We also enjoyed an important period of stability with the same Committee members remaining in post for the next five years.

At the end of the 1997 season Ian stepped down as Captain and handed over the reins to Dyll Davies who remained Club Captain up until the end of the 2002 season. Nasser and Robert also stood down and were replaced by Lal Patel and Con Pilavachi respectively, with only Simon remaining as Treasurer. The next year Nasser returned as Fixture Secretary and when Simon yielded to work commitments Robert Cox returned to the committee, this time as Treasurer.

In 1999 when Ian Berry finally and officially retired from playing, Con Pilavachi agreed to stand down as Secretary to allow Ian to remain involved with the Club. Then at the end of season 2000, Nasser Khan left to concentrate on commitments elsewhere (thankfully he returned to the fold during season 2002) and Gary Buckner became Fixture Secretary.

At this year's AGM (2002) the members unanimously voted for a third Honorary Life Member; Con Pilavachi (pictured right). This "gift" was made in recognition of Con's efforts over the nine years he has been associated with the Club, as a player, secretary, kit-man, driver, sponsor of the Champagne Moment and Message Board, his support has been unwavering. The presentation at the end of season dinner was a very emotional moment, the inscription on his award bore the legend "…a true Ploughman".

The AGM also marked the beginning of a new era for the Club, with Dyll Davies standing down; Tom Lonnen became only the fourth Captain of Ploughmans Cricket Club. Whilst looking forward it is only right that we also look back and pay tribute to Dyll's unstinting work over the last five years.

When he joined the Club in 1994 we were basically a collection of people who enjoyed cricket. His attitude and commitment from day-one was first class and it was clear that he wanted to win. Dyll managed to illustrate to many of us that it is possible to be competitive and enjoy the game. When he became Captain in 1998 he took this a stage further; by attracting younger players into the Club and showing one or two of us older hands what we might achieve, he has absolutely transformed the team we see on the pitch. We are now a thoroughly competitive TEAM quite capable of giving larger Clubs' 1^st and 2^nd elevens a good game on our day. Thankfully all this has been achieved without compromise to the ethos of the Club; that is to have fun- the various pages on this site are a fine illustration of that fact.

At the beginning of the 2004 Season, the Club is in excellent shape and this is largely due to the effort and commitment of those named above. We can look forward to a second season in the Middlesex Championship in Division Four (First XI) following our success and Division Six title last year.

In addition to the League fixtures, we will continue to play the social cricket traditionally associated with the Club. Gary Buckner is already arranging friendly matches for Saturdays at the beginning and end of the league season, he is also drawing up fixtures for about a dozen Sunday matches. The current Committee have worked hard to get us into a League but the efforts of those who went before will not be forgotten. With a growing (and more youthful) membership supporting the Committee and playing an active part in our development, the future looks very bright. In addition to our long-standing membership of the Club Cricket Conference, we are also members of the Middlesex Cricket Board.