Sport with Roger Jackson
WANT TO SHARE YOUR SPORTING STORY ON OUR WEBSITE? Please email full details to sport@thelocalanswer.co.uk
Hilary Caudle is a driving force Hilary Caudle is a genuine allrounder for Tewkesbury Cricket Club. Not on the pitch but most definitely off it, a club that she has supported for well over 50 years. These days she is the club’s president as well as their secretary, but there are many, many other roles that she performs at the go-ahead cricket club, a place that has been like a second home to her for more than half a century. “I have made the teas, I help run the bar, I do the barbecues on junior nights, I clean the toilets, you name it I do it,” she told The Local Answer with a laugh. “I enjoy being involved.” Hilary has been involved with the club for 55 years after meeting her husband-to-be, Graham, when she was 15. Graham, who sadly passed away close on 10 years ago, was a very decent cricketer back in the day – he was a quick bowler – and Hilary was his biggest supporter. “He was a very good bowler, he could have played at a higher level than he did,” said Hilary. “I used to watch him play – he played football as well – and I just got involved.” That’s something of an understatement, of course, because the now 70-year-old Hilary is one of the most familiar faces at Swilgate, the home of Tewkesbury Cricket Club. “I’m there most days,” she said. “We’re a good club, there is always something going on and there’s always something that needs doing.” Talk to her for a few minutes and it’s easy to see why the club asked her to become their president, a role that she has held for some six years. “It’s a privilege,” she said,
Hilary Caudle
before adding, “I did ask them at the time why they would want a lady president!” Hilary has thrown herself into the role, of course, and the great thing is that her family have, over the years, enjoyed the club just as much as she does and Graham did back in the day. Their son Philip played for the 1st XI before work took him away to Shrewsbury – he’s still playing cricket as is his son William – while their daughter Clare has been the driving force behind a women’s team at Tewkesbury, which has been started this season. “They’re going to play in the Cheltenham and Cotswold League,” said Hilary. Clare also helps to run the ever-popular All Stars and Dynamos, and her 10-year-old twin sons Tristan and Dylan both play at the club. “We’ve got 80 to 100 juniors signing on as well,” said Hilary, who has been around long enough to know that the youngsters of today are the 1st XI players of tomorrow. Tewkesbury’s flagship team, under the captaincy of Wade
Ridsdale, will be playing in the Gloucestershire Division of the West of England Premier League this season after winning promotion from the Gloucestershire County League. That was Ridsdale’s first season as captain – he also coaches at the club – and Hilary, who has been the club’s secretary for eight or nine years, said: “We’ve got a young 1st team, I think there are only three or four players over 30 in the team. He’s a good captain, he encourages the players and works well with his vice-captain Harry Low.” Surprisingly for someone who has spent so much time in and around cricket, Hilary has never actually played the great game herself. ”I wasn’t a particularly good sportsperson but I love being involved in sport,” she said. That goes without saying, of course, and it’s fair to say that her ‘to do tray' when it comes to Tewkesbury Cricket Club remains very full. At the top of the list is extending the pavilion, the pavilion that has been named the Graham Caudle Pavilion after her late husband. “We’ve got planning permission and we want to extend it,” she said with obvious enthusiasm. “The details haven’t been sorted out yet but when they have we’ll start the fundraising.” And once the fundraising starts, there are no prizes for guessing who will be leading the charge. But while Hilary is sure to be at the forefront, she is also keen to stress that it will be very much a team effort. "We have a very strong band of volunteers and committee members," she said.
For full articles and more stories visit www.thelocalanswer.co.uk
