The Mariner's Friends

The Mariner's Friends first took the field on a club ground in Richmond on a cold and blustery Sunday in May 1989. Marius Monk had put together a side of ex-professional and club cricketers to play a team calling themselves London Scottish in a match to raise money for charity. The friends scored 243-7 in 30 overs, and bowled out London Scottish for 240 with two balls to spare. About £800 was raised, increased to around £1200 following an auction of ˜interesting cricketing items" in the pavilion afterwards, one item being Monk's England and Kent caps, the former in near-perfect condition, the latter somewhat scruffy. 

This was a one-off as far as Monk was concerned, but he was persuaded by ˜Billy" Pickles and Gerry Thorn to form a permanent club for top class players who, for whatever reason, no longer played first class cricket. 

By late July 1989 no less than eighteen players has signed up. With no ground of their own the Friends became a perpetual touring team,and their original name fitted this situation and so it was retained. Three matched were played in 1989, all won, in each case to support a player's Benefit Year, but by 1990 the Friends [as they had now become known] has acquired a fixture list of some twelve matches in this country, and an invitation to tour Zimbabwe for a five match series. From then on wards the club became exclusively an International touring side playing one, three and four day matches against composite sides made up of the best players in the host country. The present constitution was drawn up at this point of time, expressed not in terms of rules but as Traditions.