Scott Oliver talks to the next player joining the pantheon of club cricket’s greats – a punk rocker with a killer arm-ball who has a prestigious Lancashire League record in his sights.
“When you’ve played 800 games,” says veteran Rawtenstall left-arm spinner Keith Roscoe, second on the Lancashire League’s all-time amateur wicket-taking charts with 1,741, “all the seasons start to blur into one. It’s hard to remember individual scalps.”
The secret of Roscoe’s success is remaining phlegmatic about “the odd pogoing” at the hands of quality batsmen on Rawtenstall’s compact and narrow ground. “Anyone can be pogoed,” he says. “It never bothered me. As long as they were hitting me straight then I didn’t think I were bowling badly. The captain might have, but I certainly didn’t.”
When not at cricket practice, Roscoe’s usually found at band practice, where he’s “lead screamer, not to be confused with lead singer” and rhythm guitarist in new wave and punk covers band, Riflemen of War. “I get butterflies when playing with the band and I still get butterflies when playing cricket. If you don’t, you’re not doing it right.”
The main record on his mind now is getting to 1,812 wickets and then awaiting the overtures. “I’m going to keep playing until I stop enjoying it,” he says. “The record’ll either come or it won’t.”
