John Woodcock who sadly passed away today aged 94 had a lifetime association with Longparish Cricket as a player, administrator and a keen supporter.  He regularly assembled sides sprinkled with stars to take on the Longparish side.  Dennis Compton, Richie Benaud, Colin Cowdrey and many more turned out to take on the Longparish side.  Before he passed away Ken Ball who had a sixty year association with the club and lived in the cottage that guards the gate to the ground talked of the time he was bowled by Frank “Typhoon” Tyson with a ball that he didn’t see but heard clearly. More recently John hosted a match between Longparish and a touring side of retired state and grade cricketers from New South Wales and Australia Capital Territory who were all keen to meet the “Sage of Longparish” as he was so often described.

 John was also present when the Longparish side twice reached the final of the Village Cup, travelling to Lords on the bus with the rest of the village.  Up until last year he would drop into the ground for a few hours to see how the game was going, invariably with a copy of the Times before disappearing for a pint at The Plough or The Cricketers.  He had a fund of tales on cricket and much more besides and loved nothing more than a chat on the boundary. He was as happy talking about the trials of touring test cricket before air travel as he was on the performance of the Longparish U11s in their latest match.  He was a great supporter of the youth teams and delighted in any youngster who demonstrated an ability for the game.  Often he would arrive at the ground with some visiting friend from the press box in tow, Tony Cozier, Vic Marks, Mike Atherton, Jim Maxwell and many more have parked themselves on a bench at Longparish in recent times to chat with John.

 John was also a very keen countryman. A skilled fly fisherman he had fished much of the River Test throughout his life. He also shot and took a great interest in the natural environment and the people who worked in the valley where he lived for much of his life. He was also a very keen golfer.

 John will be greatly missed by everyone at Longparish Cricket Club and everyone who lives in Longparish, his influence throughout his life on the cricket club and this part of The Text Valley is immeasurable and will be remembered for a very long time.