Never has a vegetable been so worshipped as those
heady days at the turn of the century when the marrow
turned cricketing fortunes on it's head.
The legacy of the Marrow still lives on to this days.
Many clubs ask "what is it about the Marrow ?"
Well I will try to explain to you right now.
Fat Frank (see picture below) is a keen horticultarist
(that's a poofter gardener to you and me) and spends
his weekends spreading manure all over the Home Counties
- mainly on the Farnham Royal square but that's another
story. Anyway, Fat Frank, or Gladys as he's known on
the village fete circuit, purchased this particular
marrow when Iver Heath CC were going through a particularly
barren spell. We hadn't won for ages and needed something
inspirational to take us out of the doldrums.
Cometh the hour, cometh the Marrow.
It's first appearance at an Iver Heath game was met
with derision from most of the players. I mean, come
on, let's face it, when one of your players turns up
with a marrow at a game of cricket surely he's opening
himself up for a whole whoopass can of abuse.
However, the snidey remarks soon quietened down when
we won our first game in ages and the marrow duly won
the player of the match award.
Joke ? Maybe but when the marrow turned up the next
week and we won again, questions were starting to be
asked.
Had the marrow some sort of magical power ?
Could it fill the awkward Number 3 spot in the batting
order ?
Was it a temporary flash in the pan or, as most cricket
pundits like to say, "form is temporary but class
is permanent" ?
We were to find out the next week as chasing what appeared
to be an unassailable target of 250+. we breezed it.
The next week the marrow was left in the changing rooms
at Denham and the game seemed to be turning against
us. Chasing another 250+ score, the chips were down
but the marrow made it's way to the sidelines and miraculously
we won the game. A legend was in the making.
We didn't lose another game that season and the legend
of the marrow began. Teams playing against us would
look at the teamsheet and quake with fear. It wasn't
Stanners with 500+ wickets to his name. It wasn't Trigger
with 6000+ runs to his name. No. The name that struck
fear into the bravest of hearts was 'A.Marrow'.
Sadly, A Marrow passed away in the October of that
year and never quite fulfilled his potential but those
of us who were privileged to play alongside this great
cricketing legend will always hold those memories dear
and will forever acknowledge the Iver Heath Cricket
Club legend that, for some people might just be another
marrow but for us, will always be THE
marrow
