'A larger than life character' - Tributes paid to popular former cricketer
Tributes have been paid to a popular cricketer who played in the South Staffordshire League for nearly a quarter of a century.
Dave Starr, who died last week aged 67, was a familiar name on scorecards throughout the 1980s and 90s when playing for Fordhouses, Wightwick, Brewood and Penkridge.
Fiercely competitive on the pitch, he was also a much-loved figure off it, described by friends as a “larger than life character” who possessed a “bone-crushing” handshake.
“So many people of our generation will remember Dave,” said long-time friend, Richard Bourne. “Not only was he a talented cricketer, he was a really great guy.
“Everyone knew him. It didn’t matter whether it was the team he was played for, or the one he was playing against.”
Bourne, a life member at Brewood, first met Starr as a teenager when they were paired together in a district XI.
“He was a junior player at Fordhouses at the time and to be honest, we were all a bit scared of him due to his character on the field!” laughs Bourne.
Starr left Fordhouses to join Wightwick in the early 1980s, where he met his wife Anne. He then spent 13 years at Brewood, before finishing his playing career with Penkridge.
The father-of-two also umpired in the league after hanging up his boots and in a post on social media, South Staffs League general manager Kevin Herbert expressed “deep sadness” at news of Starr’s passing.
He wrote: “Dave had been courageously battling cancer for some time, and our thoughts are with his wife Anne, his family, and all those who were close to him. Rest easy Starry.”
Bourne said: “As a player he was always primarily known as a bowler but he was an aggressive batsman too, coming in at seven or eight.
“He didn’t mess about. He could change a game very quickly, could Dave. He didn’t go in there and play like Geoff Boycott, put it that way.
“You know when someone comes into a room and you know they are there? That was Dave. He was just one of those guys everyone took to.
“His handshakes were bone-crushing. His hugs were similar! That really demonstrated his larger than life character and everything about him.”
