| SIMON BROWN |
Name: Simon Brown (AKA:
Merv)
Cricket: Vice-Captain; RH Bat; RH Fast
Debut: 2000
Simon’s arrival in 2000, steered in our direction by Andy Lock, could not have been more fortuitous.
An opening bowler, of no great stature, with a skiddy action and a strong competitive streak, he quickly attracted the sobriquet ‘Merv’ born as a result of his habit of beating the bat, proclaiming an imagined injustice and fixing a frightful glare on the batsman from the end of his follow through.
It was not quite what we were used to and at times it was too much for some but Simon has mellowed with each season, adjusting to the Ipsden way, while reserving the right to the occasional outburst.
His recruitment helped fill the void left by the retiring Malcolm and we were to enjoy just one magical season of him partnering Ian Lock, which gave the attack some real bite, before Ian’s job took him to the USA and effectively finished his Ipsden career.
Simon has since gone from strength to strength as a bowler, passing 200 wickets during 2006, averaging over 30 victims per season and in 2002 took a magnificent 47 which was just two short of the club record. Bowling is only part of Simon’s game and although it took a couple of seasons for us to see his batting at its best, Simon has since proved himself to be a quality all-rounder and only Ipsden’s third player to pass the 2,000 runs and 200 wickets milestone.
An aggressive stroke maker, usually found at no.5, Simon has the ability to change a game. He tends to deal in boundaries with the slog sweep, ending up on one knee, a particular favourite, whilst he also posses a very deliberate defensive stroke. More than once he has rattled up a fifty in twenty-something balls and in 2004 joined that rare breed of Ipsden cricketer; the centurion. Running between the wickets has became an erratic feature during the last couple of seasons as Simon adjusts to deteriorating eyesight and it is to the teams benefit that he fields close to the wicket if you want him to do more than just guess if the ball is coming anywhere near him.
He takes a keen interest in the stats and averages, usually able to reel off his own figures and those of his nearest rivals, but as a result he has to put up with a fair amount of leg pulling alleging that at times he plays for his averages. This may be in part explained by the fact that he claims dales heritage and is a graduate of York University where he met his good friend Graham Greensit who has been responsible for our fixtures against the Gentlemen of Nidderdale.
Simon brings a range of different cultural experiences to the club, having lived for a number of years in France, where his daughter was born, and has until recently been employed teaching English as a foreign language to overseas students.
His main interest away from cricket is his music and he boasts a large collection of CDs, he seems to have seen or heard of a large number of bands that only Chris H will have a hope of recognising.
Simon had the captaincy thrust upon him in 2004 due to Ben’s injury but the extra responsibility didn’t stop him picking up a batsman and a bowler of the year trophy during his two season tenure and he seems set to be a key part of the side for years to come.
(MH 2007)