Twenty years ago today!
A good quiz question might be: who were the first team to win a trophy at the Ageas Bowl? Well that honour belongs to Lymington Cricket Club.
August 1st 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Lymington’s victory at the Ageas Bowl in the final of the Southern League evening knockout competition, the SEC Cup (formerly the Echo Trophy and nowadays better known as the T20). The cup win was significant for a number of reasons, not least the fact that it came in the first final to be played at Hampshire’s brand new West End arena following the county’s move from Northlands Road. But more than anything it marked the end of a frustrating 25 year wait for success in a competition that, despite all their big stars over the years, Lymington had fared pretty poorly in. It also exorcised the ghosts of Lymo’s previous final appearance in 1997 when the club was thrashed by 10 wickets by Havant.
Lymington possessed a pretty potent First XI in 2001. A batting line up already containing former Zimbabwe A all rounder Dan Peacock, Glyn Treagus and talented home grown youngster Ben Craft was boosted further by the arrival of Aussie Brian Clemow who had represented his country at youth level. Clemow would go on to record the Southern Premier League’s highest ever individual score when he smashed 213 not out against Cove in late June. But while Lymington could boast a useful three-pronged spin attack in Peacock, Treagus and young Wayne Smith, the seam bowling attack was on the light side, with a longstanding back injury severely restricting Clemow’s availability to bowl. Much would depend on left arm seamer Paul Allen who was an extremely useful strike bowler in the short format of the game.
The cup run kicked off with a comfortable nine wicket win over fellow Division Two side OTs & Romsey at the Sports Ground. However, things weren’t quite so straightforward in the second round tie at Paultons where Lymo, chasing the home side’s 135, found themselves in serious trouble, losing openers Clemow and Treagus with barely a run on the board. However, half centuries from Ben Craft (63) and Dan Peacock (53no) saw Lymington ultimately cruise to a seven wicket victory.
The quarter final draw saw Lymington paired with BAT who were flying high in Division One at the time and, to add a little spice, included Damien Shirazi and Dan Goldstraw who had left Lymington the previous season. In front of a sizeable Southern Gardens crowd Peacock (46) and Clemow (24) gave Lymington a rapid start, and although BAT pegged the run rate back, a typically brutal cameo from Dave Griffiths lifted the Lymo total to a challenging 141-9. Some tight Lymington bowling ensured that BAT were always just behind the required run rate and in a tense finale Smith bowled perhaps his finest spell for Lymo as the home side ended eight runs short.
Although the semi-final draw handed Lymington a favourable tie against mid-table Division Three side Rowledge, it did mean a rather long rush hour journey to the far north east of the county. This wasn’t helped by some unseasonal July weather which put paid to the original date, and by the time Lymington finally took to the field at Rowledge they did so without the unavailable Clemow and Smith. But, on a damp and green track, Trevor Phillips (4-21) produced his best spell of the cup run as Rowledge crawled to just 103-8 from their full 24 overs. Conscious of not getting similarly bogged down, or maybe just wanting to get home before midnight, Lymo’s openers Treagus and Peacock wasted little time in knocking off the runs, guiding Lymington to a ten wicket win with eight overs to spare. Treagus brought up his half century with a huge six into the car park.
As the victorious Lymington team motored back down the A31 thoughts turned to the final at the Rose Bowl (as it was called back then) where they knew they would be facing First Division side Andover. Although the Rose Bowl had only been open for a matter of months and was still some way off being the international test arena we see today, it was still an exciting prospect to be playing there, especially as the touring Australians had played a three-day match on the ground just a couple of days before the final was due to take place.
Being the lower division side Lymington were naturally the underdogs but captain Neil Trestrail was in confident mood in the build-up to the game. His main cause for optimism was a spin attack which was arguably as good as any in the league. His hopes were boosted further when he stepped out onto the huge Rose Bowl ground and saw that the pitch the match was to be played on was the same one on which Hampshire had pulled off a surprise victory over the Australians. A used pitch, especially one as hard and bouncy as this, would be perfect for his trio of spinners. The captain’s toughest decision was who should open the bowling alongside Paul Allen. In the end he opted for the experienced Clemow, hoping that the Aussie’s back would stand up to a six over spell.
On a warm and sunny evening, and with a fair sprinkling of supporters from both clubs watching on from the stands, Andover won the toss and predictably opted to bat first. Like Lymington, they possessed a formidable top order which had seen them pile up scores in excess of 160 in all four previous rounds. If Lymington were to stand a chance they would have to knock a few over early on. As it happened, although both Allen and Clemow bowled tightly, Andover’s openers Langdown and Kavanagh reached 30 from six overs without too much trouble. However, Allen then made the breakthrough, dismissing Langdown courtesy of a catch from Jason Carr, and in his next over he enticed Australian Sam Miller into nicking one behind where Ian Young took the catch. After 10 overs Trestrail thrust his trump cards Treagus and Peacock into the fray and, as predicted, Andover were soon reeling. Kavanagh was caught behind for 26 off Treagus to leave Andover on 46-3,. This soon became 55-5 as Peacock removed brothers Roger and Mark Miller in quick succession. Hayward and Staddon tried to rebuild the innings and had taken the score to 79 when Smith bowled the latter for 12. Hayward and Gardner became Peacock’s next victims and it was left to Fleming and Clarkson to try to see out the overs. This they did, but Andover’s final total of 95-8 was some way below par. Peacock finished with figures of 4-26.
Chasing a relatively modest target, Lymington’s openers Clemow and Treagus batted positively from the start. Clemow in particular was in fine form and the Andover bowlers had no answer to his swashbuckling approach which gleaned nine boundaries. Treagus too showed his class, and although he was eventually bowled by Mark Miller for 33, he and Clemow had guided their team to the brink of victory. Peacock arrived at the crease and magnanimously ensured that Clemow reached his half century before knocking off the winning runs as Lymington reached their target with more than nine overs of the innings still remaining.
Following the match captain Trestrail collected the trophy from Hampshire secretary Tony Baker to the cheers of the Lymington supporters. Peacock just pipped Clemow to the man of the match award. Peacock, now residing in Perth, Australia, recalled, “I have many good memories of my time at Lymington but that certainly was the highlight. Andover thought they were going to walk it and they got smashed. I enjoyed that season with the team and it was good to see it through in that competition.” Trevor Phillips loved the experience of playing at the Rose Bowl, although he never actually did anything on the night. “I looked at the pitch when I arrived and I guessed I wouldn’t be asked to bowl - my type of bowling required the grass to be about an inch longer and twenty shades greener! I think my only contribution to the match was a mis-field down at fine leg, which wasn’t too costly thankfully. But it was an incredible thing to play at such a fantastic ground and be part of such a talented team”. Wayne Smith also recalled the cup run with some fondness. “I didn’t play in the semi final but I took wickets in every other round and I think I got 2 or 3 at BAT when we were really struggling. The final itself will always be remembered not just for the cricket but also for Bob Iles shouting “Next!!!” every time a new batsman was walking out to bat. Typically, Bob made sure the whole ground and surrounding Hedge End could hear.” Smith was also involved in one of the great cup final mysteries that night. On returning to the changing rooms after the match the players discovered that a thief had struck. Bizarrely, the only items missing were Smith’s trainers. The rather pungent footwear had been a source of derision from his teammates all season and there were some in the team who suggested that the trainers had perhaps walked out on their own.
So what of the cup final team? Sadly, Lymington couldn’t carry on their cup form in the league campaign and they somehow failed to get promoted to the top division at the end of the season, which was a huge disappointment considering their wealth of talent. Brian Clemow returned to Australia to play for his beloved Manly but gave up grade cricket not too long after. Dan Peacock played for a couple more years before emigrating to Australia, while Treagus moved to Bashley for a few seasons before returning to the Sports Ground when Lymo were finally promoted in 2009. Ironically Glyn currently plays for Andover. Neil Trestrail is now Lymington club president and captains Hampshire Over 60s. Jason Carr and Ben Craft reside in the USA and Dubai respectively while Paul Allen is still living locally by all accounts. Ian Young was last heard of running a pub in the West Country and Dave Griffiths can often be found back at the Ageas Bowl watching Hampshire. 12th man Christian Pain runs the successful online cricket company Cricket-Hockey.com and sometimes turns out for his local village side. Apart from Treagus, only Trevor Phillips and Wayne Smith are still playing regular Saturday cricket. Phillips still trundles in to bowl for Lymington Second XI while Smith has forged a phenomenally successful career with Fawley in the Southern Premier League. Alas, he has never been reunited with his lost trainers.
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