The good and bad of Knockers’ history came together during the 1980s, when the team came to be based at the Royal Oak Tap (“the Tap”). This public house had never been noted for its sophistication, more for its quality beers. In the late 1970s it was taken over by Graham Styles, who played for the club, and then there arrived one Peter Lusted, mine host extraordinaire, who welcomed the team to his pub, seduced them with refreshments and played cricket when asked, ultimately becoming team captain for the 1991 and 1992 seasons.

Knockers had always had a regular pub - the Rifleman, Black Boy and Compasses in their early days - but, when Hollybush became the regular venue, the Vine Tavern was the Knockers’ watering hole. Next the Tap became the after-match rendezvous and, with the arrival of Peter Lusted, soon acquired the status of the “pavilion” which the predominantly wandering team lacked. In 1988 Hollybush Lane was taken for the all-weather sports pitch and we were forced to play the majority of our matches away from home.

The 1980s captains: Ian Dunlop, Martin Crowhurst, Richard Botting and Joe Wood, could not deny that the Tap fostered a spirit (two loaded words there) of bonhomie, leading to happy relations on and off the field. Unfortunately, there were days when the bonhomie outdistanced the sporting performance of the team. Nonetheless, this period helped to define, if definition was necessary, the essence of Knockers - a sociable club, strong enough to play good Sunday cricket, but always ready to party.

The Tap remains the Knockers base and centre of operations, thanks to the current licensees, Julian and Denise, a home from home where you will generally find some team member to drink a pint or two with. It has also frequently been the last resort for the team secretary (Pete the Feet in particular), searching for that elusive eleventh player at five to two on a Sunday afternoon.

SOME OF THE CHARACTERS

John Watson-Simpson

The founder of Knockers, John was senior partner of Knocker and; Foskett in the early 1950s. His enthusiasm, it is not unfair to say, considerably exceeded his cricketing ability. Like an England skipper of that era, Freddie Brown, John was a middle-to-lower order player not especially noted for his bowling or his batting, but without his pioneering spirit the team would have sunk without trace. On the contrary, he saw the club through to a period when it was playing a high standard of Sunday cricket.

John suffered from asthma and, in his favourite captain’s position of mid-off (from where he offered mild encouragement to the bowlers), he would often be seen puffing at his inhaler at inappropriate moments.

Having looked after his aged mother for many years, John married late in life, in fact after retiring from Knockers. He continued, like Norman Oldale, to support Kent club cricket, being an AKCC committee member - and ultimately county chairman - for many years. This involvement helped the profile of the club and respect for it in the district. Strange to relate, one of the most modest of the club’s players in cricketing terms was actually a leading light in developing cricket in the Sevenoaks district.

Ned Hutton

Edwin A. Hutton, Ph.D, was an explosives expert who worked at Fort Halstead, but who played cricket 4 days a week (Sevenoaks Wednesday, Blackheath Thursday, Holmesdale Saturday, Knockers Sunday), keeping his cricket bag handy in his lab in case he was called up for a game.

Ned had played league and county seconds cricket in Yorkshire and minor county cricket in Staffordshire before being posted south. He was probably the most adhesive opening bat this district has ever seen. He never lightly gave away his wicket. In fact he would occupy the crease well into a Sunday afternoon, often calling “Come one!” off the last ball of an over to keep the strike. Ned kept his own score in his head; once when his son Billy was in the scorebox and Ned was dismissed with the total on 206 for 1, his score was posted as 98 - Billy got no tea that day because Ned knew he’d scored 102!

Ned was an unlikely-looking sportsman. He would appear at matches with his little scruffy dog Curly and a big scruffy cricket bag, recounting stories of his Friday night at Raymond’s Revuebar in Soho, where he was the holder of a gold-plated front-row seat. Later in his career he fought the cold September weather by strapping hot-water bottles round his waist - not conducive to swift movement in the field. But appearances were deceptive; Ned compiled huge totals and no Knocker before or since has come near his scoring records. For example, in the 1959 season he scored 911 runs, surely impossible to better. He broke the hearts of opening bowlers by his crashing square cuts, tending to progress by boundaries rather than quick singles. Ned was a complete “one-off”, the like of whom we shall never see again. He dominated Knockers cricket for a decade and a half and it was a very sad day when he died in 1975, soon after having retired from work - and the sport he loved.

Mike Woodman

Mike joined Knockers with his schooldays ‘mucker’, Dick Bates, and both helped to transform the club into a strong Sunday side. Mike, who played for Knockers from the 1950s until his untimely death in 1991, was principally an opening batsman. With his flamboyant hooks and lofted drives, always impatient to dominate the opposition bowling, he was the perfect foil for Ned Hutton’s steady progress. As an opening pair they invariably got Knockers off to a good start

Mike was also a wily left-arm bowler, sometimes speeding up if required to open the bowling. His star turn, though, was as a gully fielder with lightning reactions, improbably pouching any hard slash which came near him.

Long before sledging was heard of, Mike indulged in abrasive repartee with batsmen he didn’t appreciate for one reason or another. This occasionally generated a bit of heat on the field, but everything was sorted out in the bar afterwards and he was a great favourite with our village oppositions.

When he retired from active cricket, Mike regularly stood as umpire until ill health prevented him. Off the field, as Chairman from 1976 and both President and Chairman from 1982 to 1990, Mike was a strong and likeable personality and gave great encouragement to new recruits to the club.

Mike Martin

‘Guru’, as Mike was known from the Beatles’ Maharishi period, played for the club for almost 40 years. What made this more remarkable was that he lived for most of that time in Putney, S.W.15 and at one period often travelled down to matches from Oxfordshire. The eternal student, he could often be found in a corner deep in conversation about politics or economics while other team members were shifting several pints of beer.

Guru was the original English ‘pie-thrower’ and, as is so often the case with slow medium bowlers, he picked up loads of wickets through his deceptive pace or lack of it. On pitches where the faster bowlers struggled to make an impression, Mike would clean up.

Yet it was as an adhesive tail-end batsman that he will be mostly remembered. Early in his Knockers days he scored a hundred against Chelsfield Park; and followed it the next season with another against Folkestone. His journey from Putney meant that he often arrived late, so he gradually dropped down the order. His scoring speed is illustrated by the unbroken stand of 110 with Roy Taylor at Weald in which Roy scored 99 not out. Guru became involved in some extraordinary last-wicket vigils in which runs were less important than survival, lasting out 15 or 20 overs to save the game. At Frant in 1996 however, his stand of 49 with Alistair Donaldson won the match.

…and many others

Over the half-century there have been so many cricketing characters who have played for Knockers. For example, in the early years:-

Geoff Enderby, a burly Northerner, who put the fear of God into local village players and who still holds two bowling records for the club. Geoff took 123 wickets in the 1958 season.

Bill Andrews, a dominating opening batsman who in the 1950s before the Vine players arrived, was Knockers’ leading scorer.

Norman Oldale, wicket-keeper and batsman, who went on to figure - and still does - in the AKCC and was largely responsible for the introduction of the indoor nets at Knole Paddock, quite an innovation in the 1960s.

David Daniel, the club’s only fast bowler in the early 1960s, bowled usually from the end at which his father umpired, but that was not the reason for his success. A very kind soul, David would always applaud a batsman who scored a 4 off him. He was tragically killed in a road accident in his 20s.

Dick Bates, a high-scoring batsman when in form, Dick had a natural eye for a cricket ball and defence was alien to him. His straight driving could be awesome, notably when collaring the Holmesdale attack of Cotton and Cruttenden or the Sussex spin bowler Giles Cheatle at Limpsfield - and when he hit Phil Edmonds into the tea-hut at Tenterden!

Ian Miller, originally an off-break bowler (he and Chris Corbett were a very effective dual off-spin attack) , Ian had ambitions as an opening batsman and became quite successful, using the theory that fast bowlers are often wayward in their first overs. His bowling was pragmatic, switching to a quick off-cutter if the pitch was not suited to spin - in fact, anything so as not to be taken off!

Tony Martin, Mike’s brother and usually known as “Esra”, was probably the most consistent batsman Knockers have ever had. He could always be relied upon to score a 40 or 50 and to fight through any crisis. He was also a top fielder and, bowling at a sharp medium pace, he could often break partnerships.

Down to more modern times

In recent years, some of the prominent Knockers have been Graham Sagar, Ian Dunlop, Martin Crowhurst, Richard Botting, Peter Smith, Stephen Trounce, Ian Hitchcock.

If you have any thing you would like to add to this please tell us. If you have any stories from the past that you think would be of interest/ humorous value etc then email webmaster@knockers.org.uk and let us know.