I was both surprised and highly delighted as a RAF Veteran to be informed by UKAF early in the season that I had been appointed to officiate the UKAF Women vs MCC Women fixture at Lord’s on Thursday 22nd May as part of the UKAF IST20 Tournament programme.
I had never officiated at Lord’s before so imagine the questions that were going through my brain? Fortunately Alex, Frank and Sharon of UKAFCA had it all figured out like the well-oiled machines they are and over the next few weeks things started to come together, and the picture of the day’s events became very much clearer.
On Wednesday 21st May I drove from my home in Chippenham to St Omar Barracks, Aldershot and then with Frank, Sharon and the Army men and women’s selected players and support staff travelled by coach to the Danubius Hotel, just a stones throw from the holy grail of Lord’s itself.
Once we arrived it was then a quick check in where I linked up with Frank, Sharon and others to help deliver trophies, Service flags, programmes and information leaflets etc. to the Lord’s Officials room and then went to the Lord’s Tavern for a spot of lunch.
I headed back to the hotel, changed into my supplied IST20 Officials representative t-shirt then met up with rest of the officials in the foyer, then off to the ground for a quick tour and team photographs. What initially struck me going from the officials’ room, down the stairs and through the Long Room onto the pitch were the many photos of great cricketers of the past and present adorning the walls. However, when walking down the steps from the Long Room through the MCC enclosure and the MCC gate it was most clear to me the ground was in perfect condition and the softness of the outfield grass with not a blade out of place when I walked onto it immediately apparent and without doubt the best I had ever seen in my umpiring career.
Once the formalities of taking photos was over it was then a case of all UKAF officials getting together and discussing the next days arrangements before returning to the Lord’s Tavern for a very pleasant, teams and officials evening meal, washed down with a few beers. Last orders were called and most of us then retired back to the hotel looking forward to the next day’s early start!
The day had come with an early 07:00 breakfast then a brisk walk to the ground with my fellow officials for a 08:00 robust security gate check and then heading towards the officials’ room. This is where I first meet my MCC colleague for our match Charles Fellows-Smith, a true gentleman. All officials then changed, and we continued to the ground for more pictures and the all-important safety brief before finally doing the toss with the women’s teams for our first match of the day which the MCC women won and elected to bat. Then before you know it, both Charles and I are making our way again from the official’s room down the stairs through the Long Room then past the gates to start the match at 10:00.
Then, in a blink of an eye it was all over with the MCC women winning a well contested match with some laudable performances by both teams before the shaking of hands all round then going back to freshen up for lunch in the Teams/Official dining room oblivious of the fact that the main IST20 tournament had just started at 13:15!
After lunch, Charles kindly took me on a quick tour of the ground to show me where the MCC Museum, score box and Nursery ground were, we then entered the score box and I was delighted to be invited to stay and see the ongoing Army vs RN match which the Army won. In the score box I had a superb view of the match and ground, but the close interaction and humour both scorers, statisticians, media broadcaster and presenters had with each other which I found quite absorbing during my stay.
At the end of Army vs RN match, I decided to go back quickly to the hotel to change into my jacket and tie as I knew that after the last match between the RAF and RN there would be a short presentation of the IST20 Trophy and medals on the ground, followed by a teams and officials get-together for light refreshments and canopies in the Long Room.
Suitably dressed, I then quickly returned to the ground, visited the Museum to see the iconic Ashes Urn and instead of going to visit the VIP boxes as planned, as I knew Frank and Sharon were hosting the VIPs who were clearly enjoying the hospitality, I chose to go back to the score box again to watch the conclusion of the final match which the RAF won comfortably winning the IST20 Tournament. As a RAF veteran I cannot say I was not proud of the team’s performance. I then thanked all the officials in the score box for their hospitality and made my way to the Long Room whilst the stage was set for the presentation.
The presentation went extremely well, and it was quite a surreal moment when I collected my medal and like my match earlier it seemed all over in a flash. A brief time later all the teams and officials got together in their best dress for about an hour or so in the Long Room to chat about the day’s events which ended shortly after an address by Vicky Griffiths, the MCC Chair of Membership and General Purposes which reiterated the strong ties the MCC and UKAFCA has and will continue to have going forward before retiring again to the Lord’s Tavern to let our hair down and relax with friends and colleagues. We stayed until closing time and then reluctantly retired to the hotel for a well-earned rest.
After having breakfast, those returning to St Omar Barracks checked out of the hotel and got on the bus around 10:30 for the trip back. After a couple of hours enduring the London traffic, we eventually arrived back and after saying our goodbyes before going our separate ways, in my case another couple of hours in the car back where I started this memorable journey to Lord’s in Chippenham.
In summary, a fantastic ground, tournament, teams and officials and many memories that will be with me for always and I thank UKAF sincerely for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime.
Thanks for the Journey
Dave
