OLD LEIGHTONIANS CRICKET CLUB
Official Website 
Established 1977

Batting head-gear

None

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Fielding head-gear

None

 

Favourite Graham Carter nick-name

Arthur

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What are your three favourite films?

1 - Return of the Pink Panther
2 - Ben Hur
3 - War and Peace

 

What is your desert island book?

Wisden

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What is your desert island luxury item?

Case of Vintage Bordeaux Wine 

 

Please provide your eight desert island discs:

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1 - Beautiful Day - U2
2 - The Messiah - Handel
3 - History Maker - Delirious
4 - Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits
5 - Ninth Symphony - Beethoven
6 - Once Again - Matt Redman
7 - Sing - Travis
8 - Angel Eyes - Abba

 

Beer or Wine: Wine
Tea or Coffee: Tea
Wet Shave or Dry Shave: Dry

Pietersen or Boycott: Pietersen

Warne or Murali: Warne

WG Grace or Bradman: WG Grace

Favourite ever umpire: Billy Bowden

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And what are your three things to go into Room 101?

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1 - People hooting behind me at a busy junction
2 - Traveling on the London Underground in summer
3 - Being served reheated food a week old

Yes, much to Arthur's chagrin: No. 1 . Dominic's powers of concentration, defensive technique, and immunity to boredom made him the obvious choice as the very first person to see action as an OLCC member of the modern era. I'm sure he didn't know what he was starting when he walked out to bat on that famous May day in 1977. 

Dominic's forward defense was truely iconic. Bat ram-rod straight and wedged to the ground, head directly over the ball. Dominic was extremely meticulous about playing himself in, but once he was firmly established the runs started to flow and with some rapidity, often carving the ball through the off side with a series of flamboyant and powerful cuts and drives. He once batted for an hour without scoring before going on to make his only OLCC century. 

A true all-rounder, he vied with Charlie Allan for the unofficial title of the club's best ever keeper. His keeping duties prevented him from more often deploying his dangerous and prodiguous outswing bowling. He has the daunting bowling average of 19.81. achieved from 432.5 overs, so it can't be dismissed as a freak statistic. Dominic is probably - to paraphrase the biography of a Reading F.C. legend - "The Best OLCC Bowler You Never Saw". 

Behind his inscrutable exterior the cogs were always churning away, thinking of new ways to surprise and intrigue Graham Carter; most notably in 1990 when he decided to swap his family's dignity for joker points. Making full use of the fact that Naomi was heavily pregnant - and at home - during a West Country tour. The jovial hoax was that junior Beer No.1 - Frederick Ian Beer - had arrived early. The Tour party sent flowers and sincerely heart felt congratulations, only for Naomi to arrive on Tour the next day, still pregnant. The gamble paid off. He did win the Tour Joker award, and Charlie Beer arrived safe and well a few weeks later. 

 

RCNP 

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Graham Carter's Tribute to Dominic

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Dominic Beer has been a pillar of the Old Leightonians Cricket Club since its formation in 1977 right through to his sad death on Friday 19 April 2013; at the age of 56.

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Dominic was brought up on both cricket and football in the back garden of his home in Reading and later at Leighton Park School. He was accomplished at both sports and at cricket he was the 1st XI captain in 1973 and 1974 (a rare honour to hold the position for two years). When the OLCC played its first game in May 1977, it was Dominic who faced the first ball in our history and subsequently when club numbers were allocated he had the distinction of being No. 1.

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He was one of the club’s true all-rounders as batsman, regular club wicket-keeper and a useful out-swing bowler as well as a fielder, taking many outfield catches. He was a dogged batsman who would not give his wicket away lightly. He was a competitive captain but never forgot to give all his team a game.

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Dominic played 214 games for the club and took on the duties of club secretary for 10 years from 1987-1996. His appearances reduced in more recent years with added responsibilities of family and professional life as well as his illness, but he still ensured his attendance on our main tour each year and treated the annual dinner as a priority in his diary. For his long service to the club he was made a Vice President in 2009. He will be greatly missed.

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Obituary - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10186242/Dominic-Beer.html

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