Tribute to DAVID WRIGHT FORMER L&DCC LEAGUE SECRETARY and S+B SECRETARY

Date: 23rd September 2024

By Paul Edwards, with kind permission of the Southport Visiter

Tributes have been paid and warm memories shared following the death of the former Southport & Birkdale Cricket Club secretary, David Wright, aged 81.

Although he was born in Coventry and had worked for the BBC in London, David eventually made his home in Southport, where he found the cricket, the quiz leagues, the real ale and the people greatly to his liking.

People reciprocated his friendship, too. They appreciated his loyalty to S&B and came to value his administrative ability. He was a conscientious secretary of the club and no less efficient when elected secretary of the Liverpool Competition.

In that post and in partnership with other officials, he steered the league through a troubled time in which four Wirral clubs decided to leave the Comp.

But if David’s professional background in trade union relations and social work fitted him well for committee rooms and policy-making, he was happiest when watching sport.

Occasionally, he went to football matches and in 1987, one of his wilder dreams was realised when he saw Coventry City win the FA Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 at Wembley. Sometimes, he was to be found at race meetings and for several years made a pilgrimage to Longchamp for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Yet he was most content when watching cricket, now and then at County Championship matches but more frequently at Liverpool Comp games, where he supported S&B on good days and tough ones. And if a victory against a top team like Ormskirk could be combined with a visit to a pub that placed good beer and conversation far above muzak and lager, so much the better.

David’s commitment to cricket was wide-ranging. Helped by his great friend, Cyril Thomas, he restarted S&B’s tour, which visited Sussex in 1986 and South Wales, Scotland, Cheltenham and the North-East in subsequent years.

He was also asked to assess new umpires for the Merseyside Cricket Umpires Association and he did that job with his usual thoroughness and attention to detail.

When official duties allowed, David spent many evenings at local quizzes, both sport and general knowledge, either answering the questions – he was absurdly self-deprecating about his own ability – or asking them with clarity and a refusal to tolerate time-wasting ruses.

Throughout all these activities, David had high standards. He had seen some of the best sportspeople of his generation and was trenchant in his criticism of poor performance. Yet behind a sometimes stern demeanour was a determination that cricket, his first love, should be played to the highest possible standards.

And when he saw quality club cricket or people making the most of their ability, he was generous in his praise. Likewise, on cricket tours, it was always pleasant to see David engaging home players and officials in conversation, discovering what the game was like in their part of the country.

David made new friendships in that way but he never forgot his old ones. Which is why his passing, coming so soon after that of Ken Standring, has tinged the summer with sadness at Trafalgar Road. Like Ken, David was utterly dependable in addition to all his other qualities. The reality that we must now cope without all those gifts is as hard as their presence was enriching.

David Wright’s funeral is at 11.00 a.m., on Thursday 3rd October at Southport Crematorium.