ON Sunday, July 10 a cricket match will be held at Shobrooke Park to commemorate the life of Mike Grisman.
Mike died at the Exeter Hospice on January 3, 2022, following an 18 month battle with stage 4 colon cancer.
Mike was born in Lagos, Nigeria on August 19, 1964, the son of Ken and Molly Grisman, his father being part of the UK diplomatic mission to Cameroon and Nigeria.
When the family returned to the UK they lived in Altrincham, Cheshire, where Mike went to school.
His parents retired to Crediton but in 1988 his father died and Mike came down to live in the town to be near his mother. He took care of her and visited her almost every day until her death in 2016.
After moving to Crediton Mike joined various sporting clubs and took part in hashing (until he ruptured his Achilles putting his foot down a rabbit hole!), squash, badminton, golf and of course cricket.
He first joined the Beer Engine cricket team and later the Crediton Inn team, and so it was that the two teams decided to play each other for the Mike Grisman Memorial Trophy.
Mike had a reputation as a big hitter, an enthusiastic fielder and a fairly tidy bowler, although comments were often made about his rather strange bowling action!
Mike was determined to keep doing the things he enjoyed for as long as he possibly could and, although he was unable to play much cricket following his diagnosis, he was out on the golf course, whenever the weather permitted, right up to a few weeks before his death.
Mike will also be remembered as a one-time partner in the Crediton Bowls business with Chris Bond.
The match will feature the two teams that Mike played for, i.e. the Beer Engine and the Crediton Inn and will start at 1.30pm and last for about four hours.
All monies collected will go to cancer charities and there will be a donation box on site.
Please come and enjoy this day out even if you are not a cricket fan!
The teams will be playing for the Mike Grisman Memorial Shield and a competitive match is ensured.
A bar will be open from mid-afternoon onwards. Please bring your own picnic lunches and if the cricket is too boring, Shobrooke Park offers lovely walks!
Julian Gebler