James Allcoat will lead Tewkesbury Cricket Club for a second season after taking over from his brother Tom at the start of the 2018 campaign.

As you’d expect it was a pretty smooth handover as the club enjoyed another solid season in Gloucestershire Division of the West of England Premier League.

They finished fifth in the 10-strong division with James Allcoat saying: “We were quite happy with that.”

This season’s preparations haven’t gone quite so smoothly, however, although it must be said that everything is good now.

“I cut my finger doing some DIY in the bathroom,” admitted James. “I needed four stitches in my index finger.”

That’s not great at any time of course but it’s certainly not great if it’s on the eve of the new cricket season and you’re a wicketkeeper!

The good news is that the injury happened in mid-March and James said at the time: “It will be fine, I’ll only be out for a week.”

That’s great for him and great for the club as they prepare for what is sure to be another tough season in the Gloucestershire Division.

“It’s going to be very strong again,” he said. “You’ve still got Frocester 2nds in there, Gloucester are always strong and Rockhampton who have just come down are always good.

“We’d like to finish about the same as we did last season, maybe a bit higher.”

Not that Allcoat is going to get sucked into any talk about promotion at this stage.

“It’s a long old season,” he said. “We’ll try to get a few early wins and if we do we can see where we are.”

Tewkesbury will be relying on many of the familiar names who have served them so well in recent times – Fred Humphries, Jack Brixey and Tom Allcoat to name just three – but Allcoat is also keen to freshen it up as well when he can.

“We promoted Alex Oliver at the end of last season,” he said. “He’s only 14 but he got a 50 in one match and took five wickets in another bowling leg-spin. I like to give the youngsters a go.”

Allcoat is also hoping for big things again from new ball bowlers Adam Brookes and Matt Cox.

He said that Brookes really kicked on last season while in Cox he said the club had “found a hidden gem”.

And it’s fair to say that the club themselves are something of a jewel in the town’s crown.

As well as running three Saturday adult teams – “We have a range of ages,” said Allcoat – they also have a thriving junior section which is made up of 100-plus youngsters and also run a Sunday adult team.

They clearly play a big part in the community and that’s something that Allcoat is keen to develop.

“A lot of people worry about Saturday afternoon and the result but we try to do more,” explained Allcoat. “Last year we had our first ever cider festival and this year we’re having a cider, beer and cricket festival.”

It will take place over four days on the bank holiday weekend at the end of the summer, starting on Friday 23rd August with a President’s game.

There will be a league game on the Saturday with fun games of cricket on the Sunday and Monday.

Fun is a big part of what playing sport is all about, of course, and Tewkesbury certainly provide plenty of opportunity for their younger members to enjoy the great game that is cricket.

There are a good number of Twenty20 games in midweek which obviously have plenty of appeal but they’re not just for the youngsters because Allcoat scored an unbeaten 50 in one of the games last season.

The matches don’t quite have the razzamatazz of the Big Bash or the IPL of course – there’s no music accompanying the batsmen when they walk to the wicket, but if there was, what would be Allcoat’s choice of song?

“That’s a good question,” he laughed, “you’ve got me there, I’ll have to come back to you on that one.”

Okay, what about your brother Tom?

“That’s easier,” said James, still laughing, “his would have to be Let Me Entertain You by Robbie Williams.

“I think mine would be Don’t Stop Me Now.”

That’s not a bad Queen song. Mind you, after his recent finger injury, and considering where he sustained it, he was never going to go for The Beat’s Mirror in the Bathroom!