Stuart's six-up The Hinton Park Woodland Burial Ground at Walkford, near Christchurch, [BH23 7EJ] is expected to be packed on at noon on Friday lunchtime [2nd January 2026] as local sport celebrates the life of Stuart MacTavish, the retired New Milton all-rounder and, for the past 25 years, a prominent and hugely popular member of the South Coast Panel.
Stuart, who was equally keen on his rugby and a game or two of darts in the local pub, had been umpiring Southern Premier League cricket right up until August when he underwent a major operation from which he appeared to be recovering.
Post surgery he was frequently watching cricket and had been eagerly awaiting the 2026 season. Sadly, in mid-December he became unwell and died, ironically after a darts match the previous evening.
Long time New Milton team-mate and past SPL chairman John Wolfe, a friend for over 40 years, described Stuart’s death as “a great loss to our local cricket community.”
Stuart, universally known simply as ‘Pez’ to his fellow cricketers, was part of a group of talented young New Milton players who developed in the 1980s. A solid top order battter and purveyor of gentle left arm swing, most of his Saturday cricket was played at second or third team level.
On Sundays, however, he rubbed shoulders with arguably more talented players - Neil Taylor, Shaun Lilley, Ian Britton, Peter Wakefield - and took great delight in occasionally outshining them. The performance on the pitch was second only to his reflections on it in the bar afterwards !
A true character on the local sporting scene, Stuart was never afraid to offer an opinion whether it concerned the Government of the day, the England team , or the contributions of his fellow players. A poor performance was generally described as ‘ Village ‘. No further elaboration was required !
Following his playing days, Stuart took up umpiring and for many years was a respected official for the South Coast Panel. A great contributor, who will be greatly missed. ‘
* Stuart's life will be celebrated after the service at New Milton CC, Fernhill.
Stuart, who was equally keen on his rugby and a game or two of darts in the local pub, had been umpiring Southern Premier League cricket right up until August when he underwent a major operation from which he appeared to be recovering.
Post surgery he was frequently watching cricket and had been eagerly awaiting the 2026 season. Sadly, in mid-December he became unwell and died, ironically after a darts match the previous evening.
Long time New Milton team-mate and past SPL chairman John Wolfe, a friend for over 40 years, described Stuart’s death as “a great loss to our local cricket community.”
Stuart, universally known simply as ‘Pez’ to his fellow cricketers, was part of a group of talented young New Milton players who developed in the 1980s. A solid top order battter and purveyor of gentle left arm swing, most of his Saturday cricket was played at second or third team level.
On Sundays, however, he rubbed shoulders with arguably more talented players - Neil Taylor, Shaun Lilley, Ian Britton, Peter Wakefield - and took great delight in occasionally outshining them. The performance on the pitch was second only to his reflections on it in the bar afterwards !
A true character on the local sporting scene, Stuart was never afraid to offer an opinion whether it concerned the Government of the day, the England team , or the contributions of his fellow players. A poor performance was generally described as ‘ Village ‘. No further elaboration was required !
Following his playing days, Stuart took up umpiring and for many years was a respected official for the South Coast Panel. A great contributor, who will be greatly missed. ‘
* Stuart's life will be celebrated after the service at New Milton CC, Fernhill.
