The B Sharps are a musicians cricket team in the great English tradition of wandering cricket clubs forming from groups of people sharing the same profession or interests.
Whilst playing for Braywood in the South East we used to have an all day fixture v The Ravers CC made up of jazz musicians then lead by former Lancashire ‘keeper Frank Parr which was a memorable fixture each year mainly as it had a luncheon interval. The Stage made up of actors had a team and one of the oldest such teams are The Authors CC who had Woodhouse P.G. and Conan-Doyle A among their former players. The book Herding Cats written by Charlie Campbell of the Authors CC is one of my favorite cricket books giving a much more relevant insight into the art of cricket captaincy than Mike Brealey’s book on the subject.
I encountered the B Sharps at The Cropredy Festival which is run by Fairport Convention every August. They have an annual fixture against Cropredy CC each year on the Sunday after the last night of the festival. Originally it was Cropredy CC v Fairport Convention Festival XI in which members of the band and associates played against the village side. Dave Pegg responded to the challenge by the village club for a fixture after the festival and in 1996 the first fixture was played. Steve Sheldon being a keen cricketer and Fairport associate was suggested to organise the fixture by Dave Swarbrick, the bands legendary fiddle player not to be confused with Derbyshire slow left arm bowler Fred Swarbook.
As the band members and associates latterly preferred to relax with a glass of Hook Norton after their considerable efforts on and off stage over the previous three days the B Sharps took over the fixture as many of their players were at the festival anyway.
I wandered down to the cricket ground after one festival having an interest in cricket and the aforementioned beverage which was dispensed from the cask throughout the festival at the club. I offered to don the umpires coat to get an even better view of the cricket and was soon drafted into the team by Steve for following year’s fixture on hearing that I still played the game.
Although no current members of Fairport Convention turn out for the cricket anymore one of their founder members and legendary guitarist Richard Thompson still plays the game and is an avid cricket fan. Despite playing all round the world to packed audiences including filling the Albert Hall on occasions he is much more proud of his appearance on Test Match Special View From the Boundary. He played his guitar on air and the recording was joined by Geoff Boycott coming into the commentary box asking what the row was.
I played for in the B Sharps the match v Cropredy CC over a period of 5 years with a couple rained off and was fortunate enough to play with Richard Thompson on two occasions. He had headlined the Friday night one year to great acclaim but that would hardly warrant a cursory mention when he was there to play and talk about cricket. With his long fingers being ideal for imparting leg spin to a cricket ball as well as playing guitar he would toss up some well flighted deliveries in his allotted overs. His love of the game did briefly threaten his music career when breaking a finger in a match once which put him out of playing cricket and music for six months. I think he insured his fingers after that but probably playing cricket carried a high excess fee. I know professional goal keepers are not allowed to play in cricket matches by their clubs whilst in full time employment
Another illustrious player for the B Sharps at Cropredy is Catherine ‘CJ’ Jones an England International cricketer. Here she offers some coaching to one of the Festival XI’s newest recruits
In my last appearance for the B Sharps I could at least count myself as a musician albeit an amateur one having joined Truro Male Choir as a baritone in 2017. It will be very tempting to pack the whites for the next festival but having not played since 2019 it would not be wise to attempt a one-off comeback 2 years later but can once again umpire or watch from the comfort of the pavilion with a Hook Norton in hand.
Fifty Five Years of Cricket Memories 