Golf, hospitality and a tough day at Hagley

There are away weekends, and then there are away weekends.

Eight members of London New Zealand CC headed north to the Black Country on Saturday, guests of our club patron, Lord Cobham, for what proved to be an unforgettable weekend of golf, food, cricket and hospitality.

The golf took place at the magnificent Hagley Golf Club, a course with roots stretching back to 1922 and laid out within the historic Hagley Estate. With mature woodland, rolling parkland and views towards the Grade I-listed Hagley Hall, it is every bit as impressive as its reputation suggests. The dry, sun-baked fairways produced plenty of friendly run off the tee, flattering one's driving distance, while the groundsmen had done a good job to keep the greens playable.

Lord Cobham looked after us magnificently throughout. 'Cart-cam' Conway was gifted use of a golf cart by the club to perform photography duties, while Reza Maroof found himself the grateful recipient of complimentary green fees. Ben Fulton adopting his arborist alter ego as he attempted to keep the trees under control—one golf ball at a time. Safe to say every member of the touring party became intimately acquainted with every corner of the course, and had plenty of opportunity to practice our German slang while playing in the Bundesliga, before the round was over.

The hospitality continued long after the final putt. Street food, local pints and enough Peaky Blinders accents to fill a television series rounded off Saturday evening before everyone recovered with an excellent breakfast at The Lyttelton Arms. The consensus was unanimous: LNZCC were superbly hosted and plans are already being made for a return visit next year.

Sunday brought the cricket, although the conditions remained every bit as unforgiving. The outfield was rock hard, meaning even the gentlest forward defensive or thick outside edge raced away to the boundary, making life difficult for the bowlers all afternoon.

Josh Wright captained the side with his customary organisational excellence. While his contribution with bat and ball was modest, nobody was ever in any doubt where they were supposed to be or when.

Winning the toss and batting first, LNZCC made a 'competitive' 229 off our 40 overs, reality was 329 would be closer to the mark.

Dickie Laurenson had travelled a long way in search of another century after helping himself to one on the golf course the previous day. Instead, he collected a duck at the crease before later enduring a bruising afternoon in the slips, putting down a difficult chance before spending the rest of the innings throwing himself around with such enthusiasm it looked as though he was determined to dislocate a shoulder or break a collarbone.

Reza Maroof set the tone with an authoritative 38, batting positively while later enduring a particularly demanding day behind the stumps standing up to the quicker bowlers. He even managed to bust a finger for his troubles.

Mark Bassett’s 58 was rather more hard-earned than the scorebook suggests. His batting partners consistently rotated the strike to themsleves, denying him momentum throughout his innings, before ensuring his sizeable frame was repeatedly required to hurl himself around the outfield during the chase.

Hayden Henderson had made the trip a genuine family occasion, bringing wife Pip, their three children, his brother and sister-in-law, and Mother visiting from NZ to enjoy the countryside. Young Angus (“Gus”) became an honorary member of the club for the day, helping with scoring duties and enthusiastically retrieving balls throughout the afternoon.

Tim McClean simply picked up where he left off last season, compiling a fluent 34 with boundaries flowing freely, while Ben Fulton attempted to lift the scoring rate with several glorious strokes before eventually finding a fielder, he also took one for the team bowling in the Hagley chase soaking up a few runs at one end.

Tom Odell, Hagley’s young overseas professional from Christchurch, New Zealand, surrounded by a cast whose average age comfortably exceeded forty, provided youthful energy and outstanding quality, blasting 32 off 25, before putting in a tight bowling spell and energy in the field.

The lower order chipped in around them, but regular wickets prevented LNZCC from fully capitalising on a decent platform.

Defending 229 always looked difficuilt, however there was a slim glimmer of hope, particularly after Shekhar Aryan struck three times in an excellent opening spell. For three overs he looked virtually unplayable before tiring, allowing Hagley’s batters to counterattack.

Further hope was raised when an injured broken down Scotty Baldwin answered the captains call, still looking dangerous off a gentle stroll to the crease going for 21 off 5.

Unfortunately for LNZCC, they had one player capable of taking the game away, an unbeaten 113 from just 70 deliveries by Jacob Ward to steer Hagley home by seven wickets.

Notable mention to Jack Yendell taking 4 catches for Hagely, and Ashton Coldicott getting 3-23 off 6.

Martin Conway also found himself drafted into some part-time umpiring. Thankfully LNZCC gave him remarkably few difficult decisions to make, leaving him free to enjoy much of the afternoon chatting with Lord Cobham.

As the cricket concluded, Lord Cobham once again demonstrated extraordinary generosity, laying on an outstanding post-match spread, covering the bar tab and ensuring everyone was well fed before the journey home.

The result ultimately went Hagley’s way, but weekends like this remind us that scorecards rarely tell the full story. Wonderful hospitality, a spectacular setting, old friends, new friends and memories that will last far longer than the statistics.

Our sincere thanks go to Lord Cobham, Hagley CC and everyone involved in making it such a memorable weekend. We look forward to returning in 2027.

Photos

A fine weekend at Hagley hosted by our club patron, Christopher Lyttelton, 12th Viscount Cobham

Shek getting his player of the match award

Scott Baldwin getting his 25 match pin

Tim McClean getting his 25 match pin

Stunning Hagley Hall