Name: Stephen Ritchie
Nickname: KF-ste, King Henry VIII, Lionel
Current or past player: Past/Returning
What sparked your interest in cricket: Knocked on for my mate the first Friday after we had broken up from year 4 for summer. His mum told me he was down the road at cricket training, so I walked down and got involved. Jamie McAndrew sparked it from there
Do you prefer the T20, 50-over, county or Test format of the game: Always preferred T20 but last years ODI World Cup was something special
Cricketing hero: Freddie Flintoff
Favourite current (professional) player: Ben Stokes
Most admired/best player you have played with:
Zack Wood – unreal talent as a youth
Pete Lorenzini – nothing he hasn’t won at our level
Oli Holt – hero
Mo Ali – banter
Most formidable opponent: Denton West back in the day, fought us all the way for the title in 2014. Glossop has always been a tough fixture.
Favourite away ground: Visited a nice little ground when I was playing for Elton called The Heys. Can’t imagine many better than that place.
Favourite/most memorable match you’ve played in:
Swinton Moorside away. One wicket to win the league with a few overs left. Dropped catch at gully. Frustrated wild throw from Robbo gives them hope of a single, until the hero that is Adam Taylor throws the ball midway through tripping up and manages to hit the one stump he could see – never felt so much relief on a cricket field.
Personal highlight/champagne moment:
The week after Swinton we were handed the league trophy at Heywood. Plenty of beer provided by Dr. Roy & a couple of mini champagne bottles from Adam Taylor lead to a celebration on the pitch. One thing lead to another and Pete Loz ended up on the floor being stripped from the waist down, whilst being doused in champagne and budweiser (video available upon request)
Funniest moment/s in cricket:
The whole second team agreeing to ignore Fordy when he raised his bat for his 50 against Stretford. We did celebrate his 58th run though. He didn’t find it funny though
Best way to relax after the game:
A few fruity ciders provided by Adam Taylor
Do/did you have any cricketing superstitions:
Drove the same route to pick Oli up every week, then the same route to Subway, ordered the same subway, then the same route to the Heys every game for over 2 seasons. Always hop left foot to left foot over the boundary to start an innings
What will you miss most in cricket during this enforced break: Getting back involved at Prestwich. Missed it all after 2 seasons away
Is there anything you’d change about the game: If a batsman has less runs than overs they’ve been in after 20 overs they have to walk. You know who you are.
If you could invite 3 cricketing celebrities (players, presenters, commentators) round for dinner, who would they be and why:
Flintoff to bring the beers.
Stokes for a scrap.
Virat Kohli to bring the jalebi (Google it, it’s unreal).
