A WEST Oxfordshire village team’s clubhouse will be named after their captain to recognise his long-standing service.

Richard Parker will have his name on the building’s wall of Swinbrook CC, near Witney, after bringing up 40 years with the Cherwell League outfit.

Club members made a surprise presentation to the 55-year-old during Sunday’s game between the Captain’s XI and Vice President’s XI.

He was awarded a commemorative plaque that will adorn the ‘Richard Parker Clubhouse’, which celebrates his ‘40 years of continued and valued service’.

The Swinbrook resident has poured four decades of effort and dedication into the club since he started playing as a teenager alongside his father in 1981.

Parker became groundsman at the picturesque venue and has maintained the wickets for most of his adult life.

He is sometimes assisted by his son Joe, himself a player at Swinbrook, but is often solely responsible for keeping the surface at its usual high standard.

This involves plenty of extra time spent tending the wickets, while he also helps out with general maintenance issues at the ground.

Parker’s grandson, Arthur, is just one-year-old but is already a regular at the club, keeping cricket in the family for another generation.

The presentation was made during the tea break, after the Captain’s XI had been dismissed for 125.

Parker did his best to keep the run rate with the ball as he sought to defend the total, but the Vice President’s XI eventually reached their target with four wickets to spare.