On 4 May 2014, Chris Plume scored his maiden Exiles 50 – in an innings of 63 not out, carrying his bat against his former club Spencer. The Exiles website caught up with Chris to find out his thoughts on this achievement:
First Exiles game of the season against Spencer, how were you feeling?
I was a little nervous! I was keen that we gave Spencer a good game so we could look at making it a regular fixture for the Exiles. In the end, although we fell short, I think it was a pretty competitive game and hopefully we can get to play them again.
After 40 overs of keeping wicket how did it feel to opening the batting aginst your former club?
When I went out to bat I was a bundle of nerves, partly because of the chase and partly because I was playing against some guys I’ve known for nearly 15 years. But I settled down eventually. Tiredness set in after about 30 overs!!
You looked pretty comfortable against their bowlers and at various stages Exiles were really in the game chasing down their score, was there added enjoyment scoring runs at a familiar ground?
Yeah there was a nice symmetry to score my highest ever total at Spencer, where I learnt the game and played all my colts cricket. Batting with Andy was great because I knew I wasn’t under any pressure, I was just rotating the strike, picking the singles and watching him send it to all parts (but mostly cow corner) from the non strikers end!
There is a lot of talk about multi-dimentional cricketers but I think you are now taking this to extremes, i) spin bowler ii) batsmen iii) wicket keeper iv) excellent in the field v) you also bring the average age of Exiles down by at least 10 years when you play
..talks us through this and is there anything you can’t do?
I just want to contribute. I kept wicket a bit as a kid but gave it up and became a spinner instead. I did it three or four times last season and it felt good; my batting has come on massively since my colts days too, when I was a proper number 11! I like being involved and, as long as I’m adding value, I’m happy to fill any role that the team needs on a given day.
Finally many congratulations on you maiden Exiles 50, how did feel, any shots you’d like to mention or stages of you innings? Hopefully there will be more to come.
Cheers. I got to drop anchor and take my time which suits my style really. I led a bit of a charmed life – I think I was dropped twice – but there was no movement through the air or off the pitch so I felt reasonably comfortable. The only memorable shot from my recollection is a cover drive I hit off one of the slower bowlers, which I timed really nicely.
Chris, many thanks for your time and here’s hoping for many more Exiles fifties in future.