Steve Finch plays tribute to Rod Tappin

Tributes to Rod Tappin continue to come in. Finchy has penned the following:

I was shocked too see news on the website of Rod’s death. I saw it on my phone while on the train yesterday morning and it took my thoughts right away from the commute back to those seemingly sunny days in the late seventies when all that mattered was girlfriends, bar games in the old clubhouse and how much cricket we could cram into each week.

In those days you may remember I was actually in the team as a batsman whose only desire to bowl was when necessary in the nets. Rod was such a kind man who took my bowling to heart, seeing some similarities in style with his own. He encouraged me to learn to bowl in match situations and thank goodness he did as over the years I got so much more involvement during the whole game whether batting, gully fielding or, thanks to him, bowling.

I didn’t know he had been suffering with cancer as I haven’t seen him for some years but I can only hope he has now found peace. Although he is gone, his lopsided smile and words of encouragement live on in my memory.

Chris Gudgeon was copied into this e-mail, and further to his earlier post responded:

Beautifully put. Rod was an amazing early Stoke memory for me – a few years older and wiser to the temptations of life that we all enjoy so much!