Batting with West Acre and Fakenham cricket legend Brian Whitwood was a blast

Starting an occasional series on well-known local cricket players: Brian Whitwood, writes Jeremy Cameron.

Brian averaged 58 last season playing for Bradenham (two teams in Norfolk Alliance). Twenty-five years ago it would have been many more.

Brian came to play for West Acre when we were a reasonable side. Win some, lose some. Suddenly Colin Bear, the captain, announced that Brian would be playing for us the next season. A chill ran round the dressing room.

There was a serious danger that we might become good.

In his first match I was told to open the batting with Brian.

What would it be like? Would he score a hundred? We had several batsmen at West Acre who scored a hundred every year. This, however, was a total of all their innings put together. Brian was known to do it all in one innings.

We said hello in the dressing room. Then Brian picked his bat out of his bag. It had been there since the previous season. Brian didn’t play friendly matches and he certainly didn’t practise.

I prepared for a tactical discussion before we went out. Where was Brian?

He was on his way out to the middle, bat under his arm. I ran to catch up.

It was the same every week. When it was time to go, Brian went. He never exchanged words with me on the way out to the wicket. In fact all he said throughout the innings was yes, no or wait. And, from time to time, sorry.

My job was to stand at the other end and run when I was told to. Which was very often. A typical score at the fall of the first wicket (me) would be 70-1, Whitwood 65 not out, extras 3.

Brian was a wonderful judge of a run. Most of the time. The rest of the time, about three times a season, he would run me out. Or himself out. When we weren’t run out, under his direction we took about 500 singles in a season.

I once came back from some work in Yorkshire to a night match at Hunstanton.

The train was very late, I missed my lift at Lynn and I had to take a taxi.

Late for the match, I changed and went out to bat at the fall of a wicket. Brian ran me out after four balls.

Most of the time he hit boundaries anyway. Along the ground, in the air, on the off, on the leg, on the front foot, on the back foot. But, unlike everyone else who had ever played for West Acre, if times were tough he was prepared to wait.

He could bowl as well, of course. To be honest his bowling wasn’t in the same category but he frightened a lot of people out. And they were already terrified by his brother Andy. As far as I know his other brother Paul never bowled or they might have been terrified by him, too.

And Brian could catch.

In a big cup final at Fakenham Mark Jarvis (‘Walker’) of Hillington hit a ball from Robert Taylor (‘Bonnie’) into the stratosphere. Fakenham is a big ground. At West Acre this would have been six, or 12. Up it went. Higher and higher. There was time to eat your tea before it came down.

Underneath stood Brian, placed there for the purpose. Down it came into those huge grasping hands. He clasped it like a banana sandwich. ‘Walker’ was out and with him went the match.

Brian loves banana sandwiches.

What will his average be this year?