A Tribute to Bob Cole

After passing on the news that Bob had passed away, one of the early responses I received said “…it’s very, very, sad news about Bob, although it’s at times like these, that we have to remember the good times…”. I agree, but the problem I have is that there have been so many good times, many of which had Bob as the butt of our jokes.

As a result, I’ve been banned from telling some of the popular stories; on the basis of the phrase which many of you will understand “…what goes on, on tour, stays on tour…”, as well as being reminded that this isn’t a speech at a cricket club dinner, where I’m simply trying to generate laughter at Bob’s expense.

As many of you will be aware, Bob was involved with Southgate Cricket Club for over seventy years, having joined the club as a colt in the early 1950’s. He made his debut for the First XI in 1953 (albeit he did not bat), and his first innings in the First XI, saw him dismissed by Hertford for nought, a line in a scorebook, which was frequently repeated in subsequent seasons.

In the 1970’s Bob frequently captained Southgate against Hertford. In a decade when Hertford were frequently the victors, his language in 1979 when a thunderstorm caused play to be abandoned at lunch, with Southgate at 120-1 off 36 overs (with Wilf Slack & Mike Dunne both not out), was not for the faint hearted!

A few years later, another game at Hertford was before the recent law changes which meant a ‘no ball’ would be called if the ball bounces twice or more. The bowler, John Cundle, accidentally let a ball slip from his grasp. As it bounced two or three times down the middle of the wicket, Bob sensed ‘rich pickings’ and tried to hit it for four. 
Unfortunately for Bob, he missed the ball, which trickled into his pad in front of middle stump. Quick as a flash Bob said “…surely you’re not going to appeal for that…”, to which John replied “…yes I am - how’s that umpire?…” and Bob was given out. 

Given his relationship with Hertford, in 1995, Bob presented the Hertgate Trophy to be played for in games between the two clubs. Bob’s appearance, as a spectator for the Hertgate game during Hertford’s cricket week in July 2026, was one of the last times Bob saw Southgate play. 

Bob was Southgate’s Extra First XI’s captain throughout the 1970’s but never successfully made the jump to the next level as the formidable figure of captain / batsman Chris Payne stood in his way. As a result, he made just six First XI League appearances and never got into double figures.

One of those six First XI League appearances was in 1978 - the season after the club won the Middlesex League Championship and the John Haig National Cup double in 1977 - and was away at Edmonton. Bob opened the batting with Steve Young and was dismissed for a duck in the third over, with the score on one. 
Two hours later, Steve Young and Nigel Bishop were still at the wicket when Chris Payne’s declaration came at 216-1, and this remains the club’s record partnership for the second wicket in First XI League cricket. Bob was never allowed to forget his contribution to the innings, and the game, by his contemporaries, but he always took the ribbing with good grace.

Later in that 1978 season, Southgate played against the West Indian U19 side, who were touring England. Many of the top order batters from the previous year’s double winners slid down the order, whilst Bob was promoted to face, the opening attack of Franklyn Stephenson and Winston Davis. Batting without a helmet, and not being given too many opportunities to score runs off the front foot, Bob finally top edged Franklyn Stephenson over the groundsman’s hut for six. 

Franklyn was not best pleased, and bowled the next ball, another bouncer, even faster, which was bowled deliberately from about eighteen yards. Not one to ‘miss out’ on a spot of controversy, Southgate’s umpire Tim Bishop called a no-ball, and tried to reassure Bob with the immortal phrase “…don’t worry Bob; I’ve given him an official warning…”.

Bob was eventually caught off Winston Davis for 28, after what the club’s records show as Bob having faced “…seventy-six minutes of bombardment as certain players refused to bat…”. Despite his 0 at Edmonton, his innings (and bravery) against the West Indies U19’s amongst other things led to Bob winning the Hawker Trophy in 1978, for Southgate’s player of the year.

During the 1980’s Southgate Cricket Club hosted an annual President’s XI fixture and during that decade Bob regularly captained the President’s XI, but in 1987 captained the club against the ‘side of 77’ who were re-united by that year’s President - and captained by Chris Payne - ten years after winning the National Knock Out Cup. 

During the game, legendary off-spinner Robin Johns bowled an over to Bob with an ever-decreasing number of fielders on the off-side, and when he was eventually facing a 0-9 field, Bob realised what was happening and swore at Chris Payne, his opposing captain, whilst the fielding side burst into bouts of laughter. 

Bob continued to captain Southgate’s Extra First XI, in the 1980’s, and it was in the Bertie Joel Cup for sides in the south-east of England, that Bob found fame and glory. In 1981 his team beat many good sides, before losing in the Final, by six wickets, to an exceptional Wimbledon side, including Graham Monkhouse, who had opened the bowling for Surrey the previous day.

Not one to easily admit defeat, Bob knew his time was running out and the following year, 1982, at the age of 42, with Australians, Chris Stevenson and Ross Drury in his line up, they beat everyone who stood in their way to reach a second consecutive Bertie Joel Cup Final. 

The first attempt to play the 1982 final was ‘washed out’ and Bob won the toss for venue for the following Saturday. As a result, a large crowd at The Walker Ground saw Southgate victorious by nine wickets; with Alan Jenner and Steve Rowe finishing on 75 and 70, not out, respectively. 

Five years later, Cockfosters Cricket Club asked Bob if he would be able to raise a side to play against them in their cricket week. Bob’s selected eleven, included four each from Southgate and Hertford. There are so many memories of games for Robert Urquhart Cole’s XI against Cockfosters, and Bob’s favourites include in 1991, Chris Cairns, the New Zealand test player, hitting the ball into the Jet Garage behind the scorebox on a number of occasions. 

Then after tea the roles were reversed as Adrian Carr, batting at the other end to Bob (in his bright red Enfield Grammar School cap) smashed Chris Cairns all over the place, despite most of the fielders being on the boundary!! 

After Bob’s playing retirement in 2002, he umpired the game. In the first season after the change, Bob gave his own side’s number ten out stumped and was less than impressed (to say the very least) when the batter removed her helmet and it was revealed to be none other than Caroline Rowe!!

With Bob still captaining the Extra First XI in the 1990’s, the Sunday First XI played Stage CC at the Walker Ground in 1993. For all those present, memories of the game are limited to the game’s last ball. As ever, Bob was prepared to give the opposition a chance to win - if it improved our chances of success - and as a result Alan Jenner had been bowling at the death and was given the last over. 

However, with one ball left Stage, who were now eight wickets down - needed three to win. As a Southgate win was not now possible, all nine fielders were posted to the boundary. The ball was driven towards Bob at extra cover, and at worst the game should have ended as a draw, as it should have been impossible for the batsmen to get more than two for the shot!! 

However, (please excuse the phrase) Bob managed to go ‘arse over tit’ and the ball trickled over the rope for four to give Stage their first ever victory at Southgate. Nine fielders and numerous spectators fell about laughing (the bowler - Alan Jenner - being the exception!!) and later that evening in the bar Bob was made a Life Vice President of Stage CC.

Just before his sixtieth birthday, Bob was elected as Southgate CC’s President for a three-year term between 1998 and 2000. In the final year of Bob’s Presidency, he was concerned about the Third XI being relegated, so he offered the skipper and his team a jug of lager for each victory. Eleven jugs (and one League title) later, at the end of the season, Bob was spotted in Southgate in an animated conversation with a man sporting a Barclays crest on the breast pocket of his blazer!

After his sixtieth birthday, Bob played just a handful of games each season and ‘let it slip’ that if he played a First XI game in 2002, he would have played First XI cricket for Southgate for fifty consecutive seasons. As a result, an all-day game against Cryptics in August 2022 was selected as the game for Bob to bow out in style. 

A star-studded invitational Southgate side playing that day watched Bob being dismissed for nought, and having also scored nought at Cockfosters three days earlier (in his fifteenth and final game for his Select XI at Cockfosters), the two ducks provided perfect symmetry with his first two First XI innings against Stanmore and Hertford, as he started and finished his playing career with a pair of ducks!!

Following his fifty-year playing career, Bob took up umpiring, initially for Southgate’s Second XI in 2001, followed by eight years on the Middlesex League’s panel, and finally returning to umpire Southgate’s Second XI, which enabled him to spend every other Saturday at his spiritual home in the summer - the Walker Ground.

No umpire gets all of their decisions right - as my umpiring colleagues here today can tell you - but Bob was convinced he was never wrong, and that he knew better than everybody else. And just as importantly he always stood at the top end of the Walker Ground because he was the ‘senior’ umpire!!

Despite that in Justin Perks’ first season at the club, Justin took the new ball for Southgate’s Second XI at Bob’s end and dismissed Hampstead’s numbers one and three - given out LBW by Bob - and both left without complaint. In came their number four and again Justin hit the front pad which meant all of our side appealed for the obvious LBW. However, this time Bob gave it not out as he believed it was ”…just missing leg-stump…”.

In the bar after the game Hampstead’s number four thought he was ‘banged to rights’ and would have happily walked. However, despite us telling Bob that this would be his only opportunity to ever give a hat-trick of LBW’s (let alone on the first three balls of a game) he wouldn’t have it, but it never did occur again!!

Move on a season, and to the last ball of the game against Richmond’s Second XI. Adrian Carr was bowling to Richmond’s number ten, and Southgate needed the final wicket for a victory and to keep us in contention for the league title. This time Adrian hits the pad, and yet again all of our side appeal for the stonewall LBW. 

With Bob considering his decision, Laurie Allan, Richmond’s no. 11 at the non-striker’s end turned to Bob, offered a handshake and said “…thanks for umpiring today Bob…”. The moment to give the LBW out was lost, as was Southgate’s opportunity of winning the league.

With Bob having been a member of Southgate CC for seventy-five years, there are many more cricketing stories that could be told with Bob the ‘butt’ of the joke, but his successes on the field should also be noted. We have records of Bob scoring centuries for the club as early as 1959 (102* v Mill Hill Village) and as recently as 1980 (101* v Southgate Adelaide).

In the communications around Southgate Cricket Club, following Bob’s passing, almost all of his ex team-mates have commented that Bob was an amazing club man, having done it all from colt through to President and beyond. In addition, Bob also understood the way cricket should be played, and the way results could be achieved, and many of the club’s subsequent captains learnt all they knew from Bob!!

However, I’ll finish with a few words about Bob the man. Team-mates, opponents and others who knew him, rarely had a bad word to say about him, with many commenting that he was the ‘friendly face’ at Southgate; the individual who helped them settle into the club when they joined as new members, whether that was ensuring players could get to, or home from, games, or was simply providing support and encouragement for them to do their very best. 

Bob was known by many as ‘Mr Southgate’ as he embodied the spirit of the cricket club and it’s clear from all the comments I have received, that Bob was a good friend to many of his Southgate team-mates and was a much-loved character - both on and off the field. 

As one quite simply put it, no one was better company at the bar than Bob with a pint, or two, especially if he had scored some runs, or his captaincy had turned a potential defeat into a victory!

Bob. Thank you for your friendship over the last forty-seven years. Rest in peace. 
Geoff Blackmore