50 not out for Walberton tea lady extraordinaire

Mrs Jackson (77) was presented with a glass rose bowl to mark her dedication to Walberton Cricket Club.

The gift was handed over during the tea break of the home game with local rivals Boxgrove by Arun District Council's chairman Cllr Graham Tyler, on his last official engagement of his year in office.

The presentation also included a bouquet of flowers in gratitude for the selfless hours which Mrs Jackson has spent ensuring the cricketers and their visiting opponents are well fed.

She was stunned by the gifts. "The presentation was a total surprise. I keep wondering if it really happened or if I dreamed it," she said.

Walberton resident Mrs Jackson's role has seen her produce some 28,000 individual teas during the past half century.

She said: "It's all about teamwork at the club, on and off the pitch, and I play my part in that.

"It would not be Sunday unless we were going to the cricket club. It's about the fun of meeting people.

"We've come across so many people that, whenever Roy and I go out, we always know someone involved with cricket."

Steve Lockwood, the club's secretary, said: "It goes without saying Joan is very well known by players, present and past, on the local village cricket circuit, with the quality and standard of her teas frequently being commended as among the best around."

Mrs Jackson's links with the village cricket club date back a further ten years.

Her husband Roy began playing for the club in about 1947. She became involved soon after and started helping the other volunteers prepare the teas and keep score.

But she took on the responsibility for making and baking the sandwiches and cakes in 1958 and has no intention of putting down her buttering knife.

However, she has worn out seven cookers in baking all the cakes needed for the Sunday afternoon spreads.

The cricket club, about 100 yards from her home, is an important part of her family. Her mother used to help out with the teas.

Her husband is the club's president in his latest role of many.

The couple's son, Christopher, has played for the club for more than 35 years and their grandson, Nick, is the present club captain.