It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that Pete
Mitchell has succumbed to Alzheimer’s Disease, which had caused his slow
decline over the past few years. On behalf of the Optimists Cricket Club, I
would like to extend my sincere condolences to Christine and their two children
Adam and Sarah.
Long-time Optimist, Mike West, reminisces: “Pete was a
long-standing member of the cricket club having arrived in Luxembourg in 1979.
He was a very useful bowler being able to swing the ball and make it nip away
thanks to an action – ‘modelled on’ he said – but actually a complete copy of
his hero Fred Trueman. Happily, for those of us batting, he wasn’t in quite the
same category when it came to speed. Pete was a useful late-middle order bat
but unusually for most cricketers he confessed that fielding was his favourite
part of the game. He delighted in patrolling the covers, had a safe pair of
hands, and was looking to run out idle batsmen when the rest of us were content
to quietly lob the ball back to the bowler. Pete was proud of his Yorkshire
roots and was a firm believer in playing the game to win but with respect for
your opponents. About thirty years ago, before the leagues had been started,
OCC went up to Brussels to play RBCC. Pete was skipper and we unfortunately had
a very weak batting side. In the dressing room before the game he got us
together and said, “Look, we don’t have much batting so I’m thinking if I win
the toss, I’ll put them and then we can at least make a game of it or hang on
for a draw if we can. There’s no point in us coming all this way to lose
quickly then go home again!” We all agreed it was the only thing to do given
our batting strength, or lack of it. Five minutes later, Pete returned to the
dressing room very red in the face and flustered. “We’re batting.” He said. We
looked at him in bewilderment. “Bloody hell!” said Pete, “He said to me
(meaning Desmond, the RBCC captain), … he said to me ‘We’ll bat first ‘cos
you’ve got no batting.’ I said, ‘Well, we’ll toss first.’ ’Why bother?’ says
Desmond. That really got my back up, so I said, ‘No, no, no! We’ll toss’. He
didn’t even have a coin! So I made him go and get one, and then I won so I
looked at him and said ‘We’ll bat!’” Did somebody say there was a seam of
stubbornness in Yorkshire? I don’t remember what we scored but we were on the
road back home by 5pm as predicted.
In the mid-90s Pete didn’t play so much as he had opened his
own sports shop, first in Schuttrange, then in Moutfort. Although it is a
hairdresser’s now, the shop in Moutfort still carries the name ‘PM’. He also
used to load up his red van with cricket kit, in those pre-internet and online
shopping days, and drive off around the clubs of Belgium, France and farther
afield selling kit to cricketers who were very happy that he was offering such
a service. Pete was also very involved in the Luxembourg darts leagues.”
From my perspective, I grew up playing cricket in Luxembourg
with the OCC and Pete was always part of my memories as one of the senior
cricketers in the club. As a young cricketer, I was a keen fielder and Pete was
always a benchmark in this area. Something I could only aspire to. I also
remember him, as Mike does, as a fierce competitor, but very principled about
playing the game in the right spirit. A good away swing bowler, he always took
the game to the opponents, something which resonated with me, even at an early
age. Off the field, he would always be keen to socialise, sometimes bringing
his high principles to the table, and then immediately cracking some joke,
accompanied by his unmistakeable laughter. To me, he always seemed to encapsulate
the spirit of cricket – play hard to win, while respecting the opponents, and don’t
forget to have a laugh. The club is the poorer for his departure.
The funeral will be held tomorrow, Thursday 14th
March at the chapel of Merl cemetery at 16h00. Christine has invited you to also
join her at the Biscuiterie, Hotel Parc Belair, afterwards, where we will share
food, drinks, photos, music and memories. The Biscuiterie is a garden room
about 50m before the hotel, set back from the main road with limited parking,
but parking at the hotel is available, and free.
For those of you intending to go, I would highly recommend
that you wear the OCC club tie, if you own one.
William Heath
Chairman