CHRIS RIMMER APPOINTED AS COUNTY OFFICIAL SCORER

Date: 6th March 2016

A Paul Edwards copyright exclusive for L&DCC Official Website.

Sutton's finest scores his way to the top

Young cricketers who believed that they could not rise to the top in the game were given encouragement from a slightly unlikely source late last week when Ormskirk’s Chris Rimmer was appointed Lancashire’s official scorer for the 2016 season.

Rimmer, the first ever Chairman of the St Helens Cricket Development Group and one of its District Junior Managers, began scoring when still a player with Sutton in the early 1970s. He did so without any thought or ambition that it might become something of a second career. However, his methodical approach, unflappable efficiency and unfailing accuracy saw him head-hunted to notch at St Helens Recs and New Brighton before, on an afternoon which changed his life, he was asked by Nick Glayzer to take over the book at Brook Lane for the 2006 season.

True, he was already scoring Lancashire age-group and girl’s teams but it is a fair step from doing those matches to being a member of the élite brotherhood of the first-class county scorers. And while Rimmer is grateful to all the clubs where he has learned the scorer’s skills over the years, he reserves special praise for the place where he worked for a decade.

“Ormskirk have been by far the most professional club in the way they have done things,” he said. “Tim Dickinson runs a very tight ship and they have a clear idea of how they are going to go forward. I think that’s been reflected in the progress they have made.”

Few would dispute Rimmer’s assessment. Ormskirk have won three ECB Premier Leagues in the last eight years; they have played a key role in the development of county cricketers like Simon Kerrigan and Gavin Griffiths; they are partly responsible for the emergence of George Lavelle, one of the very best U16 cricketers in the country; and now they have even provided Lancashire with a scorer. They might just be doing something right.

The success of the Ormskirk sides led by Adam Waterhouse and Ian Robinson was paralleled by Rimmer’s own progress. He was appointed second-team scorer at Lancashire when Darrin White took on the top job at Lancashire in 2015. And now that ill-health has compelled White to step down, Rimmer’s appointment allows him to be considered one of the best 18 scorers in the land. That, of course, is the last term this ego-free servant of the game would use to describe himself. He is still absolutely delighted to be appointed, though, and is only sorry that the job came his way through illness. Like everyone else involved in the game, he wishes White a speedy and full recovery.

Shortly, though, he must give his full attention to a job which he never imagined he would do. “I’m very privileged to be asked to do it and I’m more than happy,” he said. “I’ll be responsible for the stats at Lancashire and one of the most important parts of the job is keeping a close eye on the over-rate because points can be deducted and other penalties imposed if that is slow. I’m also responsible for submitting all the team’s expenses, such as those for travelling, hotels and meals.”

He is also one of the few non-players who will be allowed in the Old Trafford dressing room which, like most sporting dressing rooms, Ormskirk’s included, is something of a sanctum. He knows he may see and hear things about which he will need to keep shtum.

“What goes on in the Lancashire squad must stay within that squad,” he says. “That was true when I did Lancashire’s last three four-day games. There are things that have to remain confidential.”

What is no secret, however, is the value Rimmer brought to Ormskirk, a point which was acknowledged by former skipper Ian Robinson even as he offered his congratulations.

”It’s great for Chris and thoroughly deserved but he leaves behind him a very difficult act to follow,” said Robinson. “As captain I relied on him very heavily for advice and guidance. I was so impressed with his inside knowledge of the game that whenever a difficult situation arose, both on and off the field, Chris was my first port of call to help get me out of a sticky situation. I have no doubt that we would not have been as nearly successful as we were under my captaincy had it not been for Chris.”

For his part, Rimmer has assured his many friends at Ormskirk that he will keep in regular contact and the first thing he will do every Saturday afternoon is check on how Ormskirk games are going.

Before the Med Imaging Liverpool Competition starts, however, Rimmer will be going to Taunton with Lancashire’s players for their first pre-season friendly in England. Then will come a host of County Championship matches before the 20- and 50-over competitions get under way. And in July he will be officiating as scorer for the England v Pakistan Investec Test Match at Old Trafford as well as scoring the NatwestT20 England v Pakistan game in September.

It is going to be a tremendous adventure and Rimmer’s many friends, both in the Competition and beyond, know that he will make a success of it. They also hope that he enjoys every minute of it.