Sunday 8 June 2008: Eric Clapton XI v Bunbury Cricket Club – Review

Bill Wyman, Roger Waters and Eric Clapton

On Sunday 8 June 2008 the Eric Clapton XI played against the Bunbury Cricket Club.

Bill Wyman talks about the Bunbury Cricket Club in “The Bowing Stones” – Sunday Times Online, published June 15, 2008.

“A few days before Worcestershire were due to play Essex in a Sunday match to which Clapton would go, the guitarist tried to motivate his friend. “Tell you what, Beefy, if you score a century on Sunday, I’ll play live in a pub of your choice after the game,” he said. Botham battered Essex, 125 off 70 balls. No one saw it coming, Clapton hadn’t brought his guitar, but that was solved by Botham remembering the gift he’d received from Clapton after the victorious Ashes tour of 1986-7. The Fender Stratocaster was removed from the wall of his home in Worcestershire and Clapton went in search of an amplifier – in Worcester town centre late on a Sunday afternoon. He found a music shop that was still open and watched as the assistant looked at his credit card, then looked at him, then back at the name on the card. The assistant asked his customer to wait while he made a call to the credit card company. Eventually the amplifier and guitar were united at Botham’s selected pub in the Worcestershire countryside”.

“Do you mind if I plug this in?” Clapton said to the landlord and, because Botham was there, that was okay. Clapton began to play, the pub began to fill, the players from both teams, locals who just happened to get lucky and the last word on the evening came from Keith Fletcher, the England and Essex player. “That Eric Clapton,” he told his teammates, “is not bad on the guitar.”

Click on this link of the The Longacre School website for photos of the match.

Here is a review from Pink Floyd:Brain Damage:

Written by Matt
Monday, 09 June 2008

As Sunday afternoons go, it couldn’t have been much nicer. One of the hottest and sunniest days of the year thus far greeted the professional, and enthusiastic amateur, cricketers who turned out at Surrey’s Cranleigh School for Eric Clapton’s XI versus The Bunburys Charity Cricket Match.

BD visitors will know (from our recent news story) that one of those taking part (and pictured to the right, and more pictures below) was none other than Roger Waters, just two days after his tour finale in St Petersburg, Russia, and just hours before taking part in the Cries From The Heart concert in London…

Roger, who was part of Eric Clapton’s team as they faced The Bunbury’s XI, seemed to have a very enjoyable time fielding in the first innings, standing alongside Bill Wyman and Eric much of the time. Eric’s team were fielding for the first innings, but sadly for all those who were looking forward to seeing Roger in full batting gear, he had to leave as the interval drew to a close so that he got to London in time for his part in the concert.

However, he proved to be a safe pair of hands in the outfield, ably scooping up balls hit his way from batsmen which included Mike Rutherford from Genesis and Phil Tufnell.

With a silent auction to go with the other activities, a lot of money was raised for the charitable causes of the afternoon – the Longacre Jubilee Appeal, CHASE Children’s Hospice Guildford, Crossroads Centre (the rehabilitation centre in Antigua founded by Eric) and The English Schools Cricket Association.

More photos at Bunbury Cricket Match- Eric Clapton