Strollers Cricket
It is difficult to overstate the impact that the Strollers have had on cricket over just three seasons since their formation. The side - an eclectic mix based on talent, banter and over-enthusiasm - have blazed a trail through pitches in London, Kent and Wiltshire. Their boots have even left prints in the hallowed turf of Brussels CC, where the team defied the form book to carry off the inaugural Triangular Tournament. But where did it all begin? And what is the secret of this potent success?
Strollers CC started as a gleam in the eye of Doug McAndrew, Duncan Cross, Tom and Luke Fletcher - old friends from Folkestone in Kent - as they gathered in a smokey London pub in Spring 2002. All had played cricket of various standards, and shared a passion for the game. All shared the problem that no other team would have them. They dreamt of a side that would compete hard, but never lay into anyone for dropping a catch; a team that would gain fame for its off-the-field antics as much as its results. They also secretly still hoped for that once-in-a-lifetime knock. Doug summed up this ethos with the team motto: Why Run When You Can Stroll.
Soon others flocked to the Strollers colours: fellow Folkestonians; some from Hertford College, Oxford; some from the Foreign Office and other bits of government; some from as far afield as Kenya, Gambia or Chile. Friends of friends, friends of friends of friends, ringers who turned up once and never left. The team took its first tentative steps in the Summer of 2003. A legend was born.
Elsewhere on this site, this glorious history is catalogued, in stats, match reports, magic moments, photos and player profiles. But the site also attempts to address the central question asked by journalists, competitors and cricket historians alike. What makes a Stroller? We have identified eight easy signs:
- A Stroller is a triumph of hope over expectation
- A Stroller sledges hard, but buys his victim a pint afterwards
- A Stroller is no stranger to the stage at Jumping Jacks, nor the grip of an East Grinstead bouncer
- A Stroller is more likely to get a groin strain during an over exuberant warm up than during a game
- A Stroller will always play down his chances of doing well in a match, despite secretly expecting that his exploits on the day will go down in cricketing folklore
- A Stroller knows his batting average to the nearest two decimal places
- A Stroller is familiar with a number of sporting clichés, which he regularly quotes
- A Stroller would rather be players' player than player of the season