Jamie Walker on reaching 10,000 runs for Nowton Cricket Club and his 20 years playing for the same club
Jamie Walker says it is his love for Nowton Cricket Club which has helped him reach the landmark milestone of 10,000 runs.
The all rounder has been racking up the runs at Overway Meadow for the last 20 years, since joining the club’s youth setup as a 13 year old in 2002.
Walker, who has also amassed more than 500 wickets with the ball, passed the 10,000-run mark during Nowton’s annual T20 tournament during the August bank holiday weekend.
“I knew I needed 35 more runs to get to 10,000,” he said. “To be honest I probably got past it before, but to have it on paper as such now with the website records is a nice achievement.
“I’m very much a club man. I do stuff at the ground as well as playing cricket.
“I love the club and will carry on playing for as long as I can.
"My dad (Adi Walker) used to play for the Racing Club and then went over to Nowton.
"It's a nice club with a nice youth setup and I started out with the youth."
Walker broke into Nowton’s first team at 15 and his contributions with bat and ball have been a key part in the club’s rise up the Two Counties Championship.
Over the last 11 years, Nowton have enjoyed five promotions, including three league titles, as they have climbed up from Division Nine to Division Four.
Walker was away on holiday for Nowton's final game of the 2022 season last Saturday, which saw them lose by 80 runs away at Hadleigh II.
Oliver Selfe (4-53) helped restrict Hadleigh to 229-9, with the visitors all out in reply for 149, leaving them with a fifth-place finish in Division Four.
“I enjoy the challenge every year,” the 33-year-old said. “We just missed out on promotion this year, but I think we can make a push again for promotion next year.
"Cricket is a long sport. It takes up your whole weekend, so you've got to enjoy it.
"I love being part of the club. I love the setting at the ground and the people there."
Walker’s 10,000 runs have included 11 centuries and 63 half centuries, with his highest score being 151 not out against Long Melford in 2015.
Paul Arnold, who coached Walker as a youngster, added: “I brought Jamie up then and when I was the groundsman at the club he was my apprentice for two or three years.
“I’m now at Bury Town FC and he’s took over as Mr Nowton. I’m super proud of him.
"He’s a very genuine lad. He listened as a youngster and took everything on board.
"He played for our academy sides for the first two or three years, and to go on and get to 10,000 runs is incredible.
"He's a good kid and I was proud to be able to help with the presentation.”
Walker's former coaches Arnold and Martin Moss, and his dad Adi Walker, were part of the presentation of a commemorative bat to mark the 10,000 run milestone.
