Peter Colley very kindly sent me this photo. He thinks it is of the Colts cricket team and was probably taken in the Summer of 1964 (although it might also be the Junior Colts of 1963).

Back row: JWEC (Jonnie) Clark, NN (Capek?), LC (Leo) North, CT (Chris) Gardiner?, RW (Ron) Huggins.
Front row: PM (Peter) Colley, DH Whitwham?, DJ (Dave) Gatland, JS (John) Culley, KJ (Keith) Chamberlain.

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[Wycombiensian, Sept 1964, p653]

COLTS XI

Played 10, Won 3, Drawn 5, Lost 2

The Colts  has a better season than their record suggests, as they had the better of most of the drawn games, and of the two defeats one was by the narrow margin of two runs. And this was in spite of Clark, the most promising batsman in last year's Junior Colts, being "stolen" by the 1st XI for the whole season.

Fortunately Culley, who last year had wasted his talent for batting by besporting himself like a half-witted No. 11 in a village team, set about most opponents' bowling as if they had come to give him some practice. His straight driving was a joy to watch, although one or two umpires at the bowler's end blanched when he began to loft them. His scores of 61 not out against Emanuel, 39 against Slough, 80 against Watford, 65 against Newbury, 53 against Louth, speak for themselves. It is hardly surprising that such performances should dwarf the contributions made by the other batsmen, but Chamberlain always opened the innings watchfully and could usually be relied upon for a useful score. North, who failed to impress in the nets, only managed to get his chance to play in the team after several games had gone, but once established he proved himself an admirable opening partner. By contrast, Gardner and Newitt, who both appeared to have a full range of shots in the nets, failed week after week in matches. We can only hope that next season they will blossom, Culley-fashion. More successful with the bat were the main-stays of the bowling: Gatland, Colley and McIntosh.

Although a good spinner was missed, the bowling was generally well up to standard. Few opponents were accustomed to Colts bowlers as fast as Colley and Gatland. Colley took full advantage of his height and was able to cut the ball either way. He was always among the wickets and improved throughout the season. He should be a great asset to one of the senior sides next year. Gatland gained his reward for persistence and accuracy. Neither McIntosh nor Setterington finished with any remarkable analysis, but as support bowlers for the faster spearheads of the attack they played their part. When required Reitz and Huggins could fulfil a similar role.

The wicket-keeping of Culley was rather reminiscent of some continental goalkeeping - often very good but punctuated by strange mannerisms.

Gatland's captaincy was admirably resolute, but he did not always handle the bowling as well as one might have expected, and his field placing was at best eccentric.

Colts colours were awarded to: J. S. Culley (1963), D. H. Whitwham (1963), D. J. Gatland, P. M. Colley, K. J. Chamberlain, K. J. McIntosh and L. C. North.

COLTS' AVERAGES                          

Batting	Innings	Not Out	Runs	Average
Culley	9	2	350	50.0
North	7	1	114	19.0
Gatland	7	2	95	19.0
Chamberlain	10	1	123	13.6
Colley	6	1	59	11.4
McIntosh	8	1	70	10.0

 

Bowling	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average
Colley	103	47	133	31	4.3
Gatland	84	27	161	20	8.0
Setterington	31	8	64	6	10.6
McIntosh	31	20	138	10	13.8

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