Family affair as Dumbleton get set for day out at Lord’s
FOUR cricketing fanatics, three generations, two clubs, and one shared dream to lift a trophy at the home of cricket.
That is what one Gloucestershire family is preparing for as they look towards the final of the UK’S largest grassroots cricketing competition.
For Dumbleton CC’S Nick Holland, it will be a battle between past and present as the club faces his old side Calmore Sports CC in the Voneus Village Cup final at the home of cricket on Sunday, September 18.
While Nick’s playing days are over, having moved into a role as committee member, bar manager and youth coach for Dumbleton, his sons Daniel and Myles will be taking the field in the showpiece event as they hope to down the defending national champions at Lord’s.
It’s not the first time the two teams have met, with the pair going head-tohead when Dumbleton toured the New Forest in the early 1990s – Nick playing for the visitors at the time – but it’s certainly the most important fixture.
For Dumbleton’s opening batsman Daniel, who warmed up for the final with an unbeaten double century from just 171 balls in the league against Cirencester, the feeling of playing at the home of cricket is something which is still yet to sink in.
“I remember my grandfather taking me onto the outfield when I was five or six before the toss of an international game, and 15 years on I’m going to play at Lord’s,” Daniel said.
“It’s surreal even being able to say that out loud and to spend time thinking about batting and how to combat the famous Lord’s slope.
“We’ve seen Dumbleton teams in the past get to the latter stages, including one my dad played in which reached the semi-finals, and we want to win the trophy for the people at the club who have dreamed about getting this far.”
He finished the league season with 104 in their final game with Bourton Vale, which Dumbleton won by 285 runs.
Dumbleton were involved in a successful West of England Premier League title push as the season entered the home straight, but shaking Lord’s from the minds of the players was tricky.
“Throughout the competition the talk has been about getting to Lord’s, so now we have ticked that box, we want to go out and win the trophy,” Daniel added.
“Scoring a century at Lord’s has been mentioned once or twice - but I just want to get off the mark.”
Nick, who played for Hampshirebased Calmore between 1982 and 1987 before a one-season return in 1999, said: “It will be great to see plenty of old faces from my time playing for Calmore, which is a fantastic club.
“It seemed written in the stars that the two teams were going to meet in the final, even from a few rounds in.
“It will be a special occasion seeing the pair come together, but I will be rooting for Dumbleton with Daniel and Myles playing and my long-standing association with the club stretching back over 20 years.”
Sat by Nick’s side will be Daniel and Myles’ grandfather Ray Julian, a former first-class cricketer with Leicestershire and ex-international umpire who, alongside wife Megan, never misses a game the boys are playing in.
Nick continued: “I used to take Ray to Lord’s to watch cricket and it would take two hours to get around the ground because he knew everyone.
“The boys love the game and that has come from Ray, who has watched more cricket than anyone I know.
“One of the major reasons they are good cricketers is because of him and playing the game as children in his garden and garage.”
We want to win the trophy for the people at the club who have dreamed about getting this far Dumbleton CC’S Daniel Holland