Norcross Cricket Club with deepest sadness wish to announce the passing of our great friend, club stalwart and life member Andrew (Andy) Lester. He died peacefully on Sunday evening after a short illness, surrounded by his loved ones.

Before we remember Andy’s time with our club, we would like to say a few words about Andy as a man. He was universally popular and respected by all he came into contact with during his life. He was always approachable, friendly and would help anyone if it was in his gift to do so. He was a man of deep Christian faith and conducted his life based on those principles. Treating others as how you would wish to be treated was how Andy conducted himself, and never had a bad word to say about anyone. 

Andy joined our club in 1985 after transferring to Blackpool from Manchester to take up a civil service post at Norcross. (Andy was a diehard City fan in case you are wondering.) He had previously played cricket in the Manchester area at a good level. His impact at our club was immediate, batting, bowling and fielding with aplomb.  As a batsman, he opened our innings for many years with Gary Cook, scoring thousands of runs in the process. And had all the attributes of an opener. He could dig in and battle when the ball was flying about; Andy wasn’t lacking in courage, but equally, he had a full range of shots and could score quickly once set. He hit the ball very hard too! 

During his time as a player with us, he scored two hundreds and many, many half centuries.

As a bowler, he had many skills. He ‘thought’ about his bowling and had the ability to make the ball seam both ways. He ‘mixed it up’ in terms of pace, length and always kept the batsman ‘guessing’. Although not of ‘express pace’, in his prime he could hustle it down and being a tall lad, he got bounce and lift off the track. He took hundreds of wickets during his career.

Andy mainly fielded at first slip. His reactions were first rate and he snaffled many a chance that he had no right to take. He was equally at home at shortish mid-wicket where once again, he took some extraordinary catches. He had a great pair of hands and for a big lad, he was extremely agile.

Above all, Andy played cricket in the right way. The only time he got angry on the field was with himself when he’d bowled a bad ball or got out with a poor shot. Even then, it was difficult to tell. No histrionics or bad language, but his body language told you he was mad! 

That is not to say he wasn’t a competitor to his core. He was. However, he never allowed that competitiveness to boil over. It wasn’t in his nature. He never got into an argument on or off the field, never disputed or challenged an umpire’s decision and took 50/50 decisions that went against him with good grace. If he edged the ball when batting and it was caught, he walked. He didn’t wait for the decision. He never tried to ‘con’ the umpire or the opposition. He was always magnanimous both in victory and defeat. and as a result, he made many friends across all clubs. 

Of course, Andy’s involvement in our club didn’t stop at the boundary’s edge. For decades he was deeply involved in every aspect of our club’s life, serving as club Secretary, Committee member, Ground Force volunteer, fund raiser and social event organiser. 

We have lost one of Norcross’ legends; an often used word, usually inappropriately but not in Andy’s case.

Our sincere sympathies and love go to Andy’s wife Chris, his children Christopher and Sarah, his grandchildren and to his other close family members.

Rest in Peace Andy. 

Funeral details to be shared later