Jim Lowe - All Rounder

What are your earliest memories Jim?
I think of playing cricket and football as a schoolboy for Higham Council school then sort of carrying on with the cricket for Higham Cricket Club and playing for Finedon Town in the junior league, they're the earliest recollections of my sport really.
Was there anyone in particular who encouraged you in your early years?
Yes, John Burdett the headmaster at Higham school.
Can you tell me a bit more about him then and how he encouraged you?
Yes, John, he was very interested in sport himself, went down to Canterbury every year to see the county cricket matches, encouraged me to play football and cricket and when I became a member at the golf club he was still a member there and played golf until he was ninety.
A lifetime association then?
That's right.
What was the first sort of semi-professional sport you undertook, was it football for your local team?
Football, yes, at Raunds Town when they played in the Rushden league and then the United Counties second division was formed and Raunds moved straight into that.
Were they very friendly games or was there a lot of aggro or needle matches?
No, no. No needle like there is today, played under very friendly conditions as I remember it anyway. Being small in stature I obviously got a fair bit of stick from hefty full backs but at the end of the day it was all taken in good sport.
It must be sad for you to see the way that they go after the players nowadays rather than the ball.
That's right, I don't agree with it at all and I don't like to see it.
Why do you think that this change has occurred?
I would think the discipline overall that's missing in the schools and in the home and overall and in the professional game the amount of money that's involved.
I think you probably hit it on the head there, yes. So other than football what other
experiences did you have?
Well, I took up badminton as a means of training for football and became very proficient at it and played mainly for the Northants County second team with the odd game in the Northants County first team.
How did you come to be chosen for the Northants County team?
Playing in local tournaments round in Kettering and Northampton areas.
Well, I suppose because you were one of the people who was beating everybody else they invited you to play for the county did they?
They ran a coaching scheme for junior players and I became involved with that.
You must have enjoyed it?
Yes I did.
Made a lot of friends?
Made a lot of friends and progressed when I went into the RAF, fortunately played for the station team and also being chosen to play for Bomber Command.
Oh, gosh so that was good for you. Do you remember any of the local celebrities at the time who perhaps played badminton with you?
Yes, I do yes. We were fortunate enough to have the England number one, Ray Greasley who lived in Kettering and so I played a lot of badminton with him.
Did he coach you?
He did, yes.
Ah, is that perhaps the reason for your success?
Must be mainly due to that I would think.
So, we've covered a bit of foot ball, we've covered a bit of badminton, I understand you've also done other things?
Yes, I played cricket for Higham Ferrers.
Well that was good because in the winter you had the football, in the summer you had the cricket so you were never without some sort of sporting interest.
And when I came out of the Forces I was encouraged by another local sportsman, Denis Maddams, who I suppose you'll be speaking to later, to come and play cricket at Rushden
So he was the one who was instrumental in getting you pla ing cricket?
No, no not really, John Burdett was the originator at the school.
Yes, so with the cricket were you a batsman or a bowler or. . .
Kept wicket.
Oh! A mean man.
Yes, that's right. In fact Denis Maddams kept wicket and then when I came to Rushden he invited me to keep wicket, that was really the situation.
Did he, because the wicket keeper really is the pivot round which the rest of the team revolves isn't it because. . .
Well, we had a good team, a tremendous team in fact in Rushden and everybody played for everybody else and it was a real good team spirit and nobody was, shall I say, prima donnas and everybody had a good team spirit.
And I suppose your badminton playing gave you nifty and nimble footwork which is really needed for a wicket keeper is it not?
I suppose so.
And a good eye?
Yes, a good eye, yes.
And courage?
I think so possibly, yes.
If you got a really fast bowler?
Yes.
And you 've got to be really attentive to where the ball's going.
Course you had Mike Dilley of course who was the county fast bowler.
In Rushden?
Yes. He developed from Rushden to go and play for the county.
Well.
And also another fast bowler Ian Wills who unfortunately died yesterday and they were a very strong bowling attack.
And you kept wicket against them or with them?
That's right with them and to follow on we had Don King and Roger Wills to come on after them which was a very formidable pace attack at that time, and then two spinners David Roberts and Brian Smith to follow and everybody batted.
Yes, well that sounds really interesting. You 've also named many of the other celebrities of that time which is interesting for us because we are interested today in investigating the history of the sport in this area and also your enjoyment and how you came to be in it
I'm sure you'll see Denis Maddams today though I haven't spoken to him yet but I'm sure he'll be here.
We’ll certainly look out for him. What about, someone mentioned golf that you got interested in golf?
Yes I got interested in golf, I probably took up golf and finished the cricket career probably a little earlier than I should have done.
Ah, how old were you when you finished playing cricket?
Well, I started to play golf when I was about thirty four but still continued to play cricket at the same time and then the golf bug bit me and I started to carry on to play golf then and I'm still playing.
Of all your sports, I know the're different in essence all of them are, but of all those sports you played which ones have you enjoyed the most?
I think I enjoyed all of them in turn.
I thought you were going to say that.
And you meet so many people having played so many sports around the county. You meet the people that you played sort of foot ball and cricket and then you played badminton against some of them but then especially when it came to playing golf there's no end of old friends come along.
Do you have any children of your own?
No, I don't.
You don't, no. Well if you did would you encourage them to play sport?
Definitely, yes without a doubt.
So your advice to young people . . .
I think sport is a great leveller and it brings out sort of character in people.
That's good. Well thank you very much Jim for sparing us some time.
That's quite all right.
It's been fascinating to listen to your experiences through your life in sport.
Thank you very much for inviting me.

Sports Personalities Interviewed 2003