Category: Pen Portrait

Cheltenham Cricket Society looks forward to welcoming Peter, Jon and Craig from Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.

Peter Matthews – GCCC Executive Chair

Following a rigorous and robust recruitment process, Life Member and Gloucestershire fan of more than 50 years, Peter Matthews, was appointed Chair in August 2024.

Gloucestershire born and bred, Peter joins the Club’s Board having enjoyed a successful career in business and has a track record of running businesses with turnovers of hundreds of millions of pounds.

A Gloucestershire Cricket fan since 1972, Peter is also experienced in working with senior clients and CEOs to deliver strategy and personal coaching.

In addition to his achievements in business, Peter is a qualified CEO coach with Meyletr Campbell and having held senior managing partner positions, has significant experience in providing strong commercial input into organisational strategy.

In accepting the position, Peter became the first Chair in the Club’s history to be appointed from outside the Clubs existing committee structure.

Jon Lewis – GCCC Director of Cricket

Thirty years after making his first-class debut for the Club, Gloucestershire Cricket is delighted to announce the appointment of former bowler Jon Lewis as its new Director of Cricket.

In this important role, Jon will be responsible for shaping and delivering a unified cricketing vision that supports the Club’s long-term strategic goals.

He will oversee the performance structure across the Men’s and Women’s teams as well as the pathway programmes, ensuring alignment in playing philosophy, coaching approach, and player development throughout Gloucestershire Cricket.

Jon will lead and integrate all performance programmes to create a cohesive and collaborative environment, ensuring consistency in playing style, coaching methodology and performance standards across every level of Gloucestershire Cricket. He will also work closely with the Executive team to embed cricketing excellence at the heart of the Club’s overall vision and direction.

On his return to the Club, Lewis said:

“I’m really excited. It’s a big job and there’s lots to do. We’ve got some things that are really pressing and some that are exciting in the long term too.

“It’s a place that has a really special meaning for me. It created a lot of opportunities for me to become a better player, and hopefully I can give people the same opportunities that I had here.

“I need to get to know how everything works properly, get behind the scenes and make sure everyone’s working together.

“That unity has always been part of the Gloucestershire DNA – the teamwork and people working together. I think that’s really important, as is setting high standards and making sure the standards of play, training, and the way we do things every day are really set in stone.”

Craig Miles – GCCC Seam Bowler

Seven years after signing off his first stint at the Club with eight wickets and the winning runs against Derbyshire in the final match of the 2018 season, homegrown seamer Craig Miles has re-signed for Gloucestershire on a three-year deal starting 1 November 2025.

The 30-year-old returns following seven successful seasons at Warwickshire and will have the opportunity to add to his 116 appearances across all formats for the Shire, during which he claimed 313 wickets over eight seasons.

Miles made his debut as a 16-year-old against Northamptonshire at Bristol on 11 May 2011 and quickly established himself in red-ball cricket, taking 255 wickets in 68 first-class matches for Gloucestershire at an average of 26.68.

Across his first-class career, the Swindon-born former England Lion has 360 wickets at 28.36.

Reflecting on a return to his boyhood Club, Miles said:

“I’m absolutely buzzing to be coming back to Gloucestershire! The chance to wear the shirt again and represent the Club that played such a massive part in my journey was something I simply couldn’t turn down.

“From making my debut as a 16-year-old, to unforgettable wins at the Cheltenham Festival, and that incredible day at Lord’s in 2015 – some of the fondest memories of my career happened whilst playing for Gloucestershire.

“Every time I’ve returned to Nevil Road, it’s felt like home, and I can’t wait to be back out there.

“I’m hugely excited to work with Mark Alleyne and the coaching team, link up with some familiar faces and old friends, and give everything I’ve got, on and off the field, for the Glorious once again.”

Miles’ standout season at Warwickshire came in 2021, when he took 37 wickets at 21.81 to help the Bears win the Division One title. He then starred in the Bob Willis Trophy final, taking 5-28 in the first innings and contributing with both ball and in the field in the second, as Warwickshire beat Lancashire by an innings and 199 runs.

In the shortest format of the game, Miles has 68 wickets in 65 matches at 24.82 and also featured six times for Northern Superchargers during the 2022 edition of The Hundred.

He made his List A debut for Gloucestershire shortly after his red-ball bow, taking 2-32 against Essex in the Clydesdale Bank 40. In total, he has 60 wickets in 50 List A matches, including 12 during Gloucestershire’s victorious 2015 Royal London Cup campaign, where he featured in the final win over Surrey.

On welcoming Miles back to the Club, Head Coach Mark Alleyne said:

“I very much look forward to welcoming Craig back to Bristol.

“He left as a precocious talent and returns with a strong body of work on the first-class stage. His experience will be invaluable as we rebuild a formidable attack to compete in Division One. If we’re unsuccessful this year, his presence for that push in 2026 will be savoured.

“As an all-format player, he will add great quality across the seasons to come.”

Gloucestershire fans can look forward to the return of one of the Club’s most prolific bowlers of the 21st century ahead of the 2026 season.

Information /extracts provided courtesy of and thanks to Gloucestershire Cricket

Timothy Stephen Curtis (born 15 January 1960 in Chislehurst, Kent) is a former English professional cricketer best known for his prolific county career with Worcestershire and a brief stint with the England Test team. A right-handed opening batsman and occasional leg-break bowler, Curtis combined solid technique with dogged concentration to become one of Worcestershire’s most dependable run-scorers.

Tim made his first-class debut in 1979 and went on to play 339 first-class matches, scoring 20,832 runs at an average of 40.68, including 43 centuries and 103 fifties, with a career best of 248. In first class cricket, he amassed 10,280 runs at an average of 39.69, making him, alongside Graeme Hick, one of only two players to surpass 10,000 one-day runs for Worcestershire.

Tim earned a Test call-up in 1988–89, playing five matches for England, scoring 140 runs at 15.55 with a highest score of 41, though he did not reach a fifty at international level.

He captained Worcestershire from 1992 to 1995, leading them to successes including the 1994 NatWest Trophy and retired from first-class cricket in 1997.

After retirement, Tim became an English teacher and Director of Sport at the Royal Grammar School Worcester, influencing young cricketers and pupils until his retirement from teaching in 2016. He has also contributed to coaching, writing about cricket, and served in roles such as chairman of the Professional Cricketers’ Association and as an honorary life vice-president at Worcestershire CCC.

Sushil Sidhu – Dec 2025

Peter Willey, the distinguished former England all-rounder and internationally respected umpire, returned to the Cheltenham Cricket Society for the final Victory Club event of 2025. It has been almost 33 years since his last appearance at the Society’s original venue, when he was interviewed by CCS founder and former President Peter West—yet his presence remains as compelling as ever.

A hard, straight-talking and fearless character from the north-east, Willey delivered an evening of uncompromising honesty, dry humour and deep cricketing insight. With decades of experience at the highest levels of the game—both as a player and as a world-class official—he spoke with the authority of someone who truly has “seen it all” from “both sides” of the fence

As a right-hand batsman and off-break bowler, Willey represented England, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire with distinction. His famous “chest-on” batting stance defied convention, yet proved remarkably effective—especially considering the era he played in. Most of his 26 Tests (1976–1988) were contested against the fiercest (and maybe the finest) West Indian pace attack in cricket history, and then without the protective helmets or bouncer restrictions that today’s players take for granted.
Indeed, 15 of those Tests and 13 of his 26 ODIs were against the West Indies, with most of the remainder against Australia. Opportunities to improve his batting average were regrettably few; instead, Willey built a reputation for courage, resilience and sheer bloody-minded determination.

Peter spoke modestly about his role in the famous 1981 Leeds, Headingley Test—”Botham’s Ashes” as they were known—before being typically dropped after the following match at Edgbaston, a reminder of the fickleness of England team selection in that era. His memorable partnerships, including those forged against the likes of Marshall, Holding and Garner, were relayed with an understated humour that belied the extraordinary difficulty of the task.

Willey also reflected on his accomplished second career as one of the finest domestic and international umpires, often mentioned in the same breath as Dickie Bird, David Shepherd and Steve Bucknor. He recalled the privilege of officiating many great contests, including the iconic India v Australia Test in which India followed on and still emerged victorious. His candid views on modern umpiring—and the impact of DRS, which he feels removes too much from the on-field officials—were delivered with the same directness that characterised his playing days.

The membership particularly enjoyed his reflections on English cricket today, shaped in part by the experiences of his son, David Willey. With characteristic dry wit, he joked about discouraging his six-year-old grandson from playing IPL-style shots, urging instead more classical batting techniques that served him so well.

Throughout the evening, Peter remained down-to-earth, dry and witty, while also being reverential toward the game’s traditions. His “to the point” answers to audience questions came in “rapid-fire” fashion—quick, forthright, informed and always honest.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening, Peter Willey was a fitting bookend to the Cheltenham Cricket Society’s 2025 programme.

Sushil Sidhu – December 2025