Nick Hodges: umpiring The Bunburys

I have been watching cricket for over 50 years now and a few years ago when I was still in the Royal Navy took the umpires and scorers exams and ended up umpiring Navy cricket in my last year in the service, 1996.When I moved to Kent later that year I was swiftly drafted onto the county youth panel and had aspirations of making it up to full county level till a bad illness ended my hopes.

Since then, I only umpire charity or school games on request. I have been watching and supporting David English's Bunburys side for many years and was well known to both him and his resident umpire, John Hurst.

I attended a game at Canterbury one year which was between a Bunburys team and a Chris Evans team. The game had been auctioned on Radio two in support of children in need and the auction was won by the headmaster of St Lawrence college. In order to balance the sides fairly Mr Evans team was padded out with a few ringers, a certain Andrew Flintoff among them. It was him that I had come to see and also try to get a few bits signed for my autograph collection.

Before the game started i was approached by Hursty and told I was required to umpire as Chris Evans had neglected to supply an umpire and none of the players were keen to do it. It took a bit of sorting out but i managed to arrange it so I could do it. Apart from anything else it gave me instant access to the VIP area and so my autographs were all duly collected. Plus I was now Chris Evans friend as he really didn't want to do it.

During the game a young lad game on to bowl at my end who i didn't recognise. His name was Oliver which still meant nothing to me. After a brief chat it turned out he had only started playing cricket that year and so when he bowled a wide down the leg side i let him get away with it.

The following over he was off and replaced by the now England coach Chris Silverwood. Chris hurled one down the leg side too so i called it wide. He showed dissent to say the least questioning why i had let the last bloke off and penalised him. My answer was, he is a film star who has only been playing the game for six months, you are an England international and ought to know better. He still didn't think that was fair so spent the rest of the game, and other times we met, growling at me till he finally forgave me years later.

Who'd be a downtrodden fast bowler eh?

Anyway it turns out the lad was Oliver Phelps who with his twin brother James played the Weasley twins in the Harry Potter films. I found that out when I saw them absolutely besieged by young girls from the local school at tea time.

And for my troubles I was asked to do it again next year and finally was made a full member of the Bunburys so I have since umpired many more times for them, met so many famous people and generally enjoyed myself greatly.

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