Heroes of Tipton Cricket Club

As well as being treasurer, webpage and Facebook page editor, I have been club statistician for many years.
Although the club existed in the 1970s, I only have scorebooks from 1985, but have kept records relating to all the 331 players who have played for Tipton CC since then.
Because we are a village side that only play friendly matches, we try and provide cricket for all levels of skill, including none.
When I joined in the mid-1980's, the policy of having to live in the village to play had not long since been relaxed.
There have been many players, who have remained with the club for decades and there are 10 who played over 400 times, four of which are still in action.
There are two players I would like to nominate for recognition as long-serving heroes.
David 'DIckie' Dawson was a stalwart from 1986 to 2017 and during that time, played 1,075 matches. In that time, he scored 4,702 runs and became our wicket keeper, taking 442 catches and making 253 stumpings.
He was captain from 1998-2001 and vice captain 2004-06. He was also team secretary, responsible for the difficult task of organising teams from 2002-13, as well as being on the committee 1992-2017. He is now one of our Honorary Vice Presidents.
Then there is David O'Higgins, who started playing for Tipton in 1999 at the age of 59 and played 742 times, making his final appearance in August 2020 just after his 84th birthday.
His slow left arm spin took 951 wickets, a club record, his best return being 7-34 in 2004. In 2019, his last full season, he took five wickets in a match in three consecutive matches.
He was club captain 2004-07, vice captain 2017-18, club chairman 2009-16 and remains on the committee. He is still to be found mowing the outfield and sharing umpire duties.