In the days of easier air-travel, BEWCC – the Bar of England and Wales Cricket Club – took itself piece by piece to Hamilton, New Zealand, for the Seventh Lawyers Cricket World Cup just after Christmas 2019. The New Zealand Lawyers’ Cricket Association under barrister Roddie Sim and Scott Donaldson kindly, unstintingly and successfully hosted the tournament with help from the Australian Lawyers’ Cricket Association, headed by Ron Heinrich AM and Karl Prince.

The format was 35-overs a side in coloured clothing. There were two pools with four matches, semi-finals and finals, and losers’ play-offs.

The BEWCC squad consisted of John Brinsmead-Stockham (captain), Jamie Williams (veteran), Ollie Kavanagh, Gordon Lee, James Waddington QC, Jasraj Sanghera, Robert Percival (wicket-keeper), Edmund Gross, Yasin Patel, John Jolliffe, Paul Stewart (wicket-keeper), Tim Flood (wicket-keeper) and Charles Prior. Jamie W Williams, once a slip of a lad, was the sole remaining player to have played in all seven World Cups. Thus wicket-keeping duties rotated between Bob Percival and Tim Flood.

BEWCC played five matches. The first against Pakistan at Galloway Park was a heavy loss attributable to long flights and opening ceremony. The second against West Indies A at Jansen Park was a win, after chasing 210 (Brinsmead-Stockham 87 no, Patel 34, and Sanghera 48 no). Third match, Sri Lanka whacked 276 runs for six wickets, although Gross took three wickets and Kavanagh two creating an early scare against a pre-tournament favourite with a fine opening partnership of bowling. BEWCC batted to 155 for a draw (Gross 75 no).

Next up were Australia and then India A. At Hamilton Boys’ High School BEWCC made 160-4 (Brinsmead-Stockham 31 retired hurt, Patel 26, Sanghera 33 and Gross 43) but likewise failed to bowl out Australia, indeed any Australian. India A made more of a game of it, posting 351 at Jansen Park, as Sanghera, Gross and Patel each took two wickets. In Cavalier fashion, perhaps unrealistically, BEWCC reversed some of its batting order and got to 155 (Gross 52 no, Patel 16 no).

The play-off game at Clyde Park was against Bangladesh A, and perhaps BEWCC’s most disappointing. Ed Gross led with 68 runs and one wicket. However, alongside Bangladesh A’s 275-6, BEWCC mustered only 168-5.

Most of BEWCC stayed at the University of Waikato. So far, no publisher has gone near the various sporting memoirs, which elegantly recorded the dynamics of the touring party. The Australian Lawyers’ Cricket Association also put on the Sports Law Conference in the Gallaher Performing Arts at the University of Waikato, Hamilton.

BEWCC did field the best player of this World Cup, Ed Gross, who made 244 at an average of 81.3, and took eight wickets, but not quite the eleven best players.

In the semi-finals, Sri Lanka beat Pakistan, and Australia, India. In the final at Seddon Park, Australia beat Sri Lanka by a ruthless run-chase for its third title, having overturned its loss to Bangladesh A on account of Bangladesh A fielding too few players over 35. BEWCC, despite sharing this common-law heritage with the other countries, had always interpreted this rule to mean that it was compulsory for everyone to be over 35.

The next Lawyers Cricket World Cup has been postponed, COVID the culprit, and a new date will not be decided until October this year. BEWCC needs players. Talent at cricket has never been a bar to playing for BEWCC. Nor, some would say, has a lack of talent.

Please contact bewcc@icloud.com if you are interested.