1,000 not out for Falkland faithful Wilson

Opener's runs make the magic mark for long-serving Carlisle

FALKLAND Cricket Club veteran Wilson Carlisle reached his second milestone of the year when he played his 1,000th game for the club in an end of season home friendly with Oxenford on Sunday.

He marked his 70th birthday earlier this year and since he joined Falkland after moving to Newbury from Windsor in 1972, he has scored more than 18,000 runs in his 46 seasons at the club, which have included 19 as club chairman and a further 18 years as founder and manager of The Bowler’s Arms club bar and restaurant business, He has also spent more than 20 years looking after the club’s pitches at Enborne Lodge.

He becomes the latest in a line of Falkland players to reach that 1,000 match milestone, following Keith Dyson, Ian White, Andy Townsend and Peter Randall. The latter two also continue to play and all-rounder Randall is course to set a unique club record which is unlikely to be surpassed as he approaches the double of 1500 wickets and 15000 runs.

Sunday’s match saw Falkland post a useful 197 all out from 40 overs with attacking innings from Ben Piper (35) Zeeshan Afridi (38) and Rob Marson (46) leading the way while Carlisle opened the batting and contributed a steady 18 runs before perishing in an ambitious attempt to roll back the years with a big hit.

The forecast rain arrived at the tea interval which meant that no further play was possible and the match was abandoned.