John Tranter

Just one week before the opening game of the 2010 season, I was shocked and saddened to hear of the death of John Tranter, a well-liked team mate and the son of Club Captain Richard Tranter.

John was one of my summer friends. For the six months between October and April we had no need for communication - we found out everything we needed to know on sunny Sunday afternoons, chatting and telling stories while waiting for our turn to bat. John might have been about to embark on a bike ride around Belgium, or maybe John had sunk twenty pints at Lords the previous Thursday. I had invariably done neither of those things.

John was big, strong, friendly, interesting. He clearly enjoyed life. He might also have worked extremely hard, but I admit that it wasn’t until after he died that I learned how he had made his living. On a cricket field it doesn’t really matter.

Several hundred of John’s friends attended his funeral dressed in rowing blazers, rugby shirts, cricket jumpers and other brightly coloured attire. We heard moving tributes from those closest to him, and everything I heard only enhanced the positive impression I had of the man. Incidentally, stories of some of his adventures make you wonder what you’re doing with all your time.

So what about the cricket? Well, as regular report-writer for RUASCC matches, here are some words I have never used to describe John Tranters batting: “elegant”, “subtle”, “deft” or “cautious”. JCB Tranter was certainly built like one.

A brief search through the archive brings up various mentions of “upping the run rate”, “hitting it hard” and “bowled for a duck”. Some examples:

Kidmore End, April 2003:
“the lower order including John Tranter and Zia upped the run rate to get us to 152-7 and an honourable draw against a strong team”

Hambleden, August 2003:
“and a hard hit 25 from John Tranter that meant run rate was not an issue.”

Farley Hill, April 2009:
“some much needed stability followed in an impressive partnership with John Tranter who pushed very firmly into the offside on his way to a valuable 29.”

Braywood, July 2009:
“Withers eventually took the first wicket when a lofted drive was well caught on the cover boundary by John Tranter, whose fielding was nothing short of superb all afternoon.”

“first Chan then John Tranter were bowled for ducks to leave RUASCC about 110-5”

In that Braywood game, John fielded on the cover boundary for 43 overs (translation: he stood at the edge of a large field for nearly three hours) and if he did complain he did it quietly enough for me not to hear a word of it.

But the performance I will always remember was in the final game of the 2009 Portsmouth Tour when, having been set a target of 249, John played a vital role in our reply contributing a brutal 34 to a big stand with “brother-in-law” Sam. As I sat by the boundary adding yet another four to his tally in the scorebook, Dr Ashman remarked to me that John batted “like a giant wielding a railway sleeper”. The villagers certainly looked frightened. It was a shame we didn’t get to see him play a lot more often.

John was struck down by a pulmonary embolism resulting from a broken toe on Thursday 15th April. He was 30-years-old. He will be greatly missed.