Looking back…. The Lord’s Taverners Celebrity Cricket XI

Charity cricket matches quickly became a savoured regular feature for the Lord’s Taverners once introduced. In the early days of the Taverners XI there was no first-class cricket on Sundays so county players, and sometimes international players, were often available. There were no such issues with year-round professional cricket, domestic Twenty20 leagues and strict fitness regimes to get in the way of our star-studded fundraising matches.

The professionals who did play, enjoyed the opportunity to take to the wicket with famous actors and comedians. While acclaimed Test cricketers would also admit how excited they were at the prospect of playing with someone they had only previously seen in the cinema.

The first official Lord’s Taverners charity match was played against Bishops Stortford in 1953. It was a great success. Celebrities walked around the boundary with a blanket collecting money while signing autographs at the same time and Denis Compton scored 36 in an over. Compton was one of four Test players in the inaugural Taverners game, with Godfrey Evans, Jack Martin and Mandy Mitchell-Innes joining him. The actors included Robin Hood himself (Richard Greene) and a crowd of 5,000 watched the game helping to raise £235 for the National Playing Fields Association.

It didn’t take long before everyone wanted to play the Taverners with more West End and cricketing stars arriving on the team sheet with each game played. Sir Harry Secombe, President of the charity from 1967-68 and 1980-81, had a few amusing stories from the initial days of the celebrity XI. “In a match at Lord’s against Old England, Brian Rix was after his 50 and determined to run everything. The result was that I pulled a hamstring.”

A second personal disaster for Sir Harry arrived in the presence of Yorkshire and England great, Fred Trueman. “I was batting with Colin Milburn and Trueman was the bowler. He started his run from somewhere near the sight screen and had all his fielders behind the wicket. I thought he must be joking. But he then pounded up to the wicket and really let one go, bowling a full toss right on my toe. I couldn’t walk for a week…”

HRH The Prince of Wales played occasionally with one particular match grabbing the crowd’s attention. In a match between the Lord’s Taverners XI and Royal Air Force Cranwell in July 1971, Prince Charles played for the RAF Cranwell side. Batting first they scored 220-9 in their 42.4 overs before declaring but HRH, batting at number seven, arrived to the wicket fully padded up and in his whites on horseback in one of the most memorable moments in Taverners XI history.

Once he took guard he managed to contribute 17 before being bowled by Surrey and England legend, Ken Barrington. In the second innings Bill Edrich (54) and Barrington (37) were both in the runs as the Taverners chased down the 221 required to win for the loss of six wickets. But not before new-found all-rounder HRH the Prince of Wales had his say with the ball as well.

He removed Edrich, having him stumped before bowling the great Barrington to keep the game alive. Unfortunately his figures of 6.5 overs 2-35 were in vain but it was a very memorable appearance none the less.

The Taverners XI legacy set up by those who introduced the side in the early 1950s still lives on, with the team continuing to raise significant funds for the charity every year.

The celebrity team has been a mainstay of the charity’s activity since the beginning and has played a major role in raising awareness and support for those we want to support through our charitable work.

Many TV superstars and comedy legends have donned the whites since the first game in 1953. Here’s a look at what an all-time Taverners showbiz XI could look like:

Compiled by Lord’s Taverners Archivist,

William Powell