There's gold in them hills: Colwall have Malvern College to thank for Village Cup victory

Five of the XI that took to the field at Lord's are linked to the school

The days that followed The Cricketer Village Cup final allowed us to truly appreciate what a magnificent day it was.

Colwall held their nerve to win a last ball thriller at Lord’s, despite heroics from Redbourn captain Ed Hales, who scored 119 in their ultimately unsuccessful chase.

Richard Howitt and man of the match Ben Wheeler simply put too many runs on the board, six too many in fact, and seamer Andy Robertson did the business in the final over of the match, leaving Redbourn agonisingly short of their target. 

The Village Cup is a competition which has local communities at its heart, taking players from all areas of life on a journey through the knockout rounds across the country and for a lucky few, that journey will end at Lord’s. 

Howitt, Wheeler and Robertson were Colwall’s heroes on that late-summer’s day at the Home of Cricket, but they, and the opening batting pair of Ollie Cox and Ben Cooke, share more in common than just a Village Cup winners medal. They also share Malvern College.

^{Howitt celebrated the occasion with a vital 50}

Howitt is housemaster of boarding house No.5 at the independent school, Cox is a current student in same boarding house while Cooke left No.5 six years ago. 

“Ollie has called me Sir or Mr Howitt for the whole summer. I did say to him when we’re at Lord’s you can call me Richard!” Howitt laughed.

Some readers may remember Cox's younger brother, Joel, who was named as our Young Player of the Month in June last year. It is no surprise that he too is a member of No.5s cricketing dynasty under Howitt.

Robertson is the groundsman at the college and Wheeler’s father once worked for the school’s estates department and is now an electrician who regularly works at the college.

The link between Malvern College and Colwall CC is undeniable, as Howitt explains. “The housemaster before me, Tom Newman, plays for Colwall. He got a hundred for the 2nd XI earlier in the year. And before him was a man called Andy Murtagh, who used to play for Hampshire, and, notably, Colwall.”

Murtagh’s nephew is Middlesex’s Tim Murtagh, a man who knows a thing or two about the Home of Cricket.

“It’s a real cricketing house, No.5,” Howitt continues. “Tom Kohler-Cadmore is a past pupil while Jack Haynes, now of Worcestershire, was head of house a couple of years ago.”

^{Wheeler smashed 72 off just 33 balls}

Howitt had to lead a double life to fulfil his commitments to both his boarding house and to Colwall.

“For the semi-final I went to bed at 3am. Got up at 5:30am. Drove to Yorkshire. Got Tom Collins (the NVC leading run-scorer) out lbw. Drove home. And was on duty until 10:30pm.”

And while the rest of the Colwall side got an early night in their London hotel on the eve of the final, it was another early start for Howitt. Though, this time it was a destination worth getting up for with Howitt saying “the 6am drive was the best journey I’ve ever taken to Lord’s.”

Colwall is by no means the biggest, or nearest, club to the college but there is a pull that keeps teachers and students representing the small village year after year.

“It’s so well run and Kim Berry, the chairman, is such a great guy. There is a fantastic village community to the club with lots of activities and a lively bar. My wife often goes down with my girls and will mingle and chat away.

“Of course, there are sides who play in higher leagues and with more teams, but their grounds are nowhere near as beautiful.”

^{Hales' superb century was in vain as his side fell just short}

But for all the pleasantness, when it comes to the Village Cup, Colwall are competitive. It is a competition that is woven into their history with several generations linked by their efforts to make it to Lord’s. 

Both the 80s and 90s saw Colwall sides fall painfully short at the semi-final stage, so when the class of 2020 defeated Carlton Towers and booked their place at NW8 there was a sense that a hoodoo had finally been lifted, and this close-knit Herefordshire village could fully enjoy the day of their lives.

“It was a lovely day. In the weird world we’re living in everyone was so thankful to get there and play. All the hard work that goes on behind the scenes is very much appreciated.

“The game was played in the right spirit. Redbourn were a good bunch of lads and it could have gone either way. But for us to get to Lord’s and win meant so much.”

So much so that an open-top tractor parade through the village was joked about to welcome Colwall’s heroes home. Though the tractor remained in the shed, the victory was celebrated within a community where each component played a part. Whether it is the opening batsmen, committee members, groundsmen or those working behind the bar, all are responsible for creating the environment that drove the players to the title.

This truly was a village-wide effort, with a little help from Malvern College sprinkled in too. 

The Cricketer would like to thank Durant Cricket for their ongoing support of our schools cricket coverage. For more on Durant Cricket, including booking a site visit, please click here

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