Caribbean cricket comes to Horsham

There was a fantastic atmosphere at Horsham CC on Sunday when a touring Barbados team came to town. Picture by Dave Hinkley

The weather was perfect – the summer’s best – and the club was thronged with happy spectators, steward Hugh Waller telling the County Times that he had welcomed over 200 visiting cars.

Former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner – who played 156 internationals, and was a Somerset regular alongside Ian Botham and Viv Richards – was delighted to be at the club.

Two-metre Garner – known as Big Bird - had a devastating spell of 5-4, and was twice on a hat trick, against England in the 1979 World Cup.

He told the County Times: “When a batsman was at the other end of the wicket he was my enemy, but off the field he was my friend!”

Ex-England players Monte Lynch and Neal Radford were also on the ground, along with present Sussex captain Tom Haines and his county colleague Will Beer, both graduating via Horsham’s conveyor belt of talented cricketers.

In the game, which brought down the curtain on cricket at Horsham for this season, Barbados posted 161-8 off 25 overs, which Horsham chased down in their 22nd over, courtesy of a spectacular 60 from Carlos Maynard, following his recent car-denting 50 for Horsham Thursday XI.

Horsham Cricket Club’s impeccable track record of staging red letter days was fully endorsed by Caribbean organiser Winston Weekes, who enthused: "We love it here – and we’ll be back!”