The identity of Goring’s All-Time 1st XI has been a hotly debated topic over the years. Here is my take on the age old discussion.
Openers: Ollie Carrier and Will Smith. Experienced campaigners with seven 1st XI centuries between them opening the batting- a laudable acheivement. Carrier best of 120 and Smith best of 118. Smith also offers a spin bowling option if needed.
No 3: Graham Nicholson. Perhaps GCC’s best batsman averaging 34.8 in the 1s including a best of 134.
No 4 & Captain: Duncan Kent. Club legend and top run scorer in the league- also can bowl. Top score in the league of 109.
No 5 & Keeper: Chris Lewis. Average of 32.2 in the league with a top score of 108. Handy with the gloves.
No 6: George Taylor. High average and very high strike rate, ideal finisher. Has a 17-ball league fifty.
No 7: Alex Crawford. Spin bowling all-rounder best bowling in the league of 6/76, highly versatile and can also bowl pace.
No 8: Dave Sexon. 80s legendary swing bowler with a best of 9/50 in the league. Can also bat.
No 9: Jamie Vickery. Pace bowling all-rounder. Top 1st XI wicket taker in the club and league best of 8/56.
No 10: Peter Slade. Club legend and metronomic bowler who can also bat very well. League best of 8/21.
No 11: Steve Wright. 90s legend and the only bowler with a 1st XI 10-fer to their name. Pace and accuracy- 1st XI bowling average of 11.2.
The stats that back up the picks are below.
1st XI Batting Stats:
| Player | Runs | 50s | 100s | Batting Average | Best |
| Ollie Carrier | 3540 | 18 | 4 | 26.8 | 120 |
| Will Smith | 2816 | 14 | 3 | 23.9 | 118 |
| Graham Nicholson | 3964 | 23 | 2 | 34.8 | 134 |
| Duncan Kent | 7044 | 47 | 1 | 30.1 | 109 |
| Chris Lewis | 967 | 6 | 1 | 32.2 | 108 |
| George Taylor | 1037 | 6 | 0 | 28.0 | 94 |
| Alex Crawford | 785 | 3 | 0 | 29.1 | 70 |
| Dave Sexon | 1354 | 9 | 0 | 24.6 | 89 |
| Jamie Vickery | 2851 | 14 | 0 | 20.5 | 79 |
| Peter Slade | 1992 | 11 | 0 | 20.5 | 72 |
| Steve Wright | 449 | 1 | 0 | 13.2 | 55 |
1st XI Bowling and Fielding Stats:
| Player | Wickets | 5W | Bowling Average | Best | Fielding Dismissals |
| Ollie Carrier | 82 | 1 | 27.67 | 5/33 | 87 |
| Will Smith | 21 | 0 | 21.1 | 4/25 | 51 |
| Graham Nicholson | 43 | ||||
| Duncan Kent | 185 | 6 | 16.12 | 6/43 | 100 |
| Chris Lewis | 36 | ||||
| George Taylor | 27 | 0 | 29.22 | 4/39 | 17 |
| Alex Crawford | 98 | 2 | 19.38 | 6/76 | 23 |
| Dave Sexon | 134 | 7 | 15.49 | 9/50 | 22 |
| Jamie Vickery | 325 | 11 | 20 | 8/56 | 76 |
| Peter Slade | 322 | 9 | 14.98 | 8/21 | 18 |
| Steve Wright | 184 | 14 | 11.21 | 10/32 | 15 |
Don’t agree? Email me (Tom Hedge: stato@goringcricketclub.com) with your All-Time 1st XI and I will endeavour to include it as an alternative.
Indeed we have already recieved one such Alternative XI, from Stephen Wincott which is shown below:
No 1: Ian Grant. Average of 21.9 with the bat in the league, best of 111.
No 2: Matthew Armitage. Average of 25.2 with the bat in the league, 2 centuries and best of 114.
No 3: Andy Steele. Average of 28.0 in the league, best of 79.
No 4: Owyn Tong-Jones. Average of 38.6 in the league, 2 centuries and best of 135.
No 5: Jimmy Lennox. Average of 30.3 in the league, 2 centuries and best of 132.
No 6: Jim Ross (*). Pace bowling all-rounder: batting average of 22.6 and bowling average 21.5. Best batting 116 and best bowling 5/28 .
No 7: Dan Harrigan (†). Batting average 18.1 in league, best of 97.
No 8: Darren Clarke. Spin bowling all-rounder: batting average of 20.2 and bowling average of 18.9. Best knock 97*, best bowling 5/30.
No 9: Mark Dickinson. Pace bowling all rounder, average of 22.4 with bat and 18.4 with ball. Best batting 55*, best bowling 6/35.
No 10: Adrian Chilcott. Aggressive paceman, bowling average of 17.4, 6 five wicket hauls hauls and best of 7/33.
No 11: Steve Plumb. Medium pace bowler, bowling average of 12.8, 8 five wicket hauls hauls and best of 8/25.
Winkers’ Alternative 1st XI Batting Stats:
| Player | Runs | 50s | 100s | Batting Average | Best |
| Ian Grant | 1645 | 5 | 1 | 21.9 | 111 |
| Matthew Armitage | 2114 | 11 | 2 | 25.2 | 114 |
| Andy Steele | 420 | 2 | 0 | 28.0 | 79 |
| Owyn Tong-Jones | 850 | 4 | 2 | 38.6 | 135 |
| Jimmy Lennox | 880 | 5 | 2 | 30.3 | 132 |
| Jim Ross | 2888 | 16 | 1 | 22.6 | 116 |
| Dan Harrigan | 471 | 4 | 0 | 18.1 | 97 |
| Darren Clarke | 665 | 1 | 0 | 20.2 | 97 |
| Mark Dickinson | 471 | 3 | 0 | 22.4 | 55 |
| Adrian Chilcott | 509 | 2 | 0 | 13.8 | 69 |
| Steve Plumb | 43 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 | 8 |
Winkers’ Alternative 1st XI Bowling Stats:
| Player | Wickets | 5W | Bowling Average | Best | Fielding Dismissals |
| Ian Grant | 34 | 0 | 33.18 | 4/36 | 31 |
| Matthew Armitage | 16 | 0 | 44.75 | 3/55 | 25 |
| Andy Steele | 16 | 0 | 29.38 | 3/36 | 5 |
| Owyn Tong-Jones | 10 | 0 | 20.2 | 4/36 | 11 |
| Jimmy Lennox | 20 | 0 | 28.1 | 3/47 | 9 |
| Jim Ross | 125 | 3 | 21.52 | 5/28 | 49 |
| Dan Harrigan | 4 | 0 | 33.5 | 3/15 | 16 |
| Darren Clarke | 87 | 2 | 18.9 | 5/30 | 14 |
| Mark Dickinson | 43 | 1 | 18.4 | 6/35 | 9 |
| Adrian Chilcott | 123 | 6 | 17.41 | 7/33 | 16 |
| Steve Plumb | 156 | 8 | 12.79 | 8/25 | 4 |
