Winchester sport has been saddened by the passing – at the ripe old age of 92 - of Compton & Shawford cricket stalwart Derek Igglesden, who skippered the Hampshire League club for a staggering 25 years before hanging up his boots in 1998, aged 70.
A decent batsman and medium-pace bowler, who converted to spin in his latter days, Derek was one of three talented sporting brothers in the Winchester area.
Playing a decent level of local football, he (with a certain Terry Paine as a team-mate) helped Highcliffe Corinthians win the Hampshire Junior A Cup. He was also a useful table tennis player.
His long cricket playing career with Compton & Shawford began, aged 19, in 1947. During his period as captain, which ended two seasons after the merger with Compton & Chandler’s Ford, C & S carried off the HCL South West Division 1 title in 1976.
An accurate medium-pace bowler with an unusual action, Derek had a ‘special ball’ that got him many wickets – his team-mates always knew when he was going to bowl it when he licked his fingers at the beginning of his run-up.
He was a player who put 100 per cent into his game, playing hard and being competitive.
But as soon as stumps were drawn and play ended, he would be first in the bar, often the life and soul of the party, reeling off numerous amusing stories about the game he was passionate about.
He was fun loving, generous, cheerful and witty guy, with an infectious deep throated laugh.
Both during and after his playing days, Derek did a huge amount off the field, helping upgrade the Compton cricket square and outfield, and putting his building skills to work by improving the Shepherds Lane pavilion.
Professionally, he was a director of the Winnall-based building company, Hampshire Contractors, originally founded by his father, Bert. The firm build most of the Oliver’s Battery estate.
Derek was also heavily involved in the Winchester & District midweek Evening League for many years, both as a player and an official.
His father presented the Igglesden Trophy to the WDCCA, originally as a knockout competition for the local village sides. Compton, appropriately, won the cup in 1981.
A decent batsman and medium-pace bowler, who converted to spin in his latter days, Derek was one of three talented sporting brothers in the Winchester area.
Playing a decent level of local football, he (with a certain Terry Paine as a team-mate) helped Highcliffe Corinthians win the Hampshire Junior A Cup. He was also a useful table tennis player.
His long cricket playing career with Compton & Shawford began, aged 19, in 1947. During his period as captain, which ended two seasons after the merger with Compton & Chandler’s Ford, C & S carried off the HCL South West Division 1 title in 1976.
An accurate medium-pace bowler with an unusual action, Derek had a ‘special ball’ that got him many wickets – his team-mates always knew when he was going to bowl it when he licked his fingers at the beginning of his run-up.
He was a player who put 100 per cent into his game, playing hard and being competitive.
But as soon as stumps were drawn and play ended, he would be first in the bar, often the life and soul of the party, reeling off numerous amusing stories about the game he was passionate about.
He was fun loving, generous, cheerful and witty guy, with an infectious deep throated laugh.
Both during and after his playing days, Derek did a huge amount off the field, helping upgrade the Compton cricket square and outfield, and putting his building skills to work by improving the Shepherds Lane pavilion.
Professionally, he was a director of the Winnall-based building company, Hampshire Contractors, originally founded by his father, Bert. The firm build most of the Oliver’s Battery estate.
Derek was also heavily involved in the Winchester & District midweek Evening League for many years, both as a player and an official.
His father presented the Igglesden Trophy to the WDCCA, originally as a knockout competition for the local village sides. Compton, appropriately, won the cup in 1981.
It was in 1966 with his long-term friend and ex-Compton & Shawford team-mate Tom Wilson (a right back with Fulham and Brentford in the late 1950s and early Sixties) that Mr Igglesden co-founded the Hampshire Stragglers, who toured Kent for over 40 years, using Folkestone as their long term base.
The Stragglers played leading club sides in Kent for four decades, and out of the cricket tour a golf society was born.
A long standing member of the Royal Winchester Golf Club, Derek succeeded Tom Wilson (who became a director at Fulham after ending his playing days with Folkestone Town) as Stragglers’ president in 2006, a position he held until his death. Such has been its success, the golf society now boasts over 100 members, many with steep roots in cricket.
Derek Igglesden was a very well respected businessman and sportsman, who put so much time and effort back in the games he loved. His memory in Winchester sporting circles will live on for many years.
The Stragglers played leading club sides in Kent for four decades, and out of the cricket tour a golf society was born.
A long standing member of the Royal Winchester Golf Club, Derek succeeded Tom Wilson (who became a director at Fulham after ending his playing days with Folkestone Town) as Stragglers’ president in 2006, a position he held until his death. Such has been its success, the golf society now boasts over 100 members, many with steep roots in cricket.
Derek Igglesden was a very well respected businessman and sportsman, who put so much time and effort back in the games he loved. His memory in Winchester sporting circles will live on for many years.
MORE HAPPY DAYS ! Derek Igglesden pictured with Alan Taylor, Bill Hewson and Alan Jackson on the pavilion steps at Folkestone.
