Dorridge is Hosting the following games:

Mon Aug 11. start 12.30

Wed Aug 13. start 12.30

Fri Aug 15. start 11.30

Game One is Worcestershire Police v Western Australia Masters.

Western Australia Masters is a team of players over 50 from Perth -a number of whom have played District and Grade Cricket. They are a nice bunch with a reasonably typical Australian attitude of playing aggressively and enjoying the social aspects of the game. The team is managed by Larry Davies who is from the Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club where he is President and organiser of their Over 40s team. Brad Forbes is an excellent cricket and Secretary of Mt Lawley Cricket Club and Graeme Chinnery is featured in our latest Newsletter under the heading "For the Love of the Game" and is a long time player and administrator at Claremont-Nedlands Cricket Club. They will play as hard as they can and relax afterwards in the club rooms. Good people.

Game Two is Wednesbury v Hollywood Golden Oldies from the USA.

Hollywood Golden Oldies are an interesting bunch from Los Angeles. They are very mixed ethnically with West Indians, Indians, English, Pakistani and South African ex-pats. They are not a particularly strong team but they have a lot of fun. Though they are ex-pats they are pretty Americanised and you will certainly hear plenty of US accents. Though they are a separate group, they originated from the world renowned Hollywood Cricket Club originally established by C Aubrey Smith in the 1930s. They are now independent from the Hollywood Cricket Club and represent players over 40 in Los Angeles. They play at a wonderful complex called the Claude Worrell-Leo Magnus Cricket Park which features 4 Ovals all with excellent turf pitch blocks. Cricket is surprisingly strong in Los Angeles and the cricket grounds would not be out of place anywhere in the world. They are a regular touring team having recently visited China on a cricket trip. Their manager is an ex-pat South African, Leon Lamprecht and amongst their number is a cricket historian David Sentance who has recently published an exhaustive and interesting history of cricket in the USA. Another good bunch of fun people.

Game Three is Worcestershire Over 50s v Tartan Ton.

The Tartan Ton is a Scottish team put together by Keith Hardie who played for Scotland in the 60's and now lives in New Zealand. Brother of former Essex pro, Brian Hardie, Keith who casts quite a big shadow these days is still a very good cricketer. The team is made up of Scottish players of varying standards and backgrounds and drawn from a variety of clubs north of the border. The following is their own assessment of their team....

"For the first time at a Vintage Cricket festival, this August in Stratford will see a full team of Scotsmen; or should that read a team of full Scotsmen. The team was originally centred around a small band of ex-players of the Stenhousemuir club, but a successful plea for additional players through Scottish Cricket, saw a full team assembled.

The Tartan Ton is made up of players currently plying their trade in the North-East, Strathmore, Glasgow grades as well as several ex-pats. A few ex-players have dusted off their jock-straps from the attic to attend the festival. We are all looking forward to meeting face-to-face for the first time in Stratford this August. This is a team of mixed cricketing ability that will be competing in the over-45s "Once were competitive" section. The party of 12 players and 8 partners will promise to maintain a very high standard of social interaction."