Our Christmas meeting at the Avenue Methodist Church in Sale was another great success. Not only did we have a great speaker, but coffee and homemade cakes in abundance. (One member brought his own box so he could take some away with him!!!)
Barbados-born Roland Butcher secured his place in history when he became the first black player to represent England, making his Test debut at Bridgetown in 1980-81 (the headline in the local paper was “Our boy, their bat”). Roland was a batsman capable of playing the most thrilling, attacking innings.
He spoke about his time with Middlesex and what it was like to have Mike Brearley as a captain (he would listen to the young players). He moved to England at the age of 14, joined Middlesex in 1974 and was picked for two ODIs against Australia in 1980 on the strength of county form.
Roland spoke very movingly about his doubts about going on the rebel tour to South Africa, his withdrawal which resulted in paying a lawyer to get out of his contract, and then the tour was cancelled after Nelson Mandela’s release.
He gave a very honest account of his cricketing days and was well received by everyone. He brought his book, Breaking Barriers, along which sold well.
Malcolm Lorimer
