BRIDGETOWN Cricket Club have hosted the annual cricket match between Johnson White’s XI and his brother’s touring team from Malmesbury.

Johnson is the joint licence holder with Philip Hobbs at Sandhill Racing Stables, and plays his club cricket at Bridgetown. His team had strong connections with the racing world and included his daughter Molly White who is the yard’s social media manager, Ben Robarts, a former jockey and now clerk of the course at Newton Abbot, jockey Sean Houlihan and fellow trainer Jeremy Scott.

Johnson said: “My brother’s team come down to play against us every year and it’s always good fun. Although it’s very uncompetitive we always manage to make it a close match between our two sides.

“It’s always a good afternoon and my wife prepares a fantastic tea and the day rounds off with a few beers afterwards - what more do you want on a sunny late summer Sunday afternoon.”

Regarding the cricketing attributes of some of his team Johnson said: “Ben Robarts is a good cricketer and Jeremy Scott who claims to not be able to play cricket, played very well, and has been hiding his light under a bushel all these years.

“It was all good fun and light hearted and once again Doug Sherring and Kenny Cross prepared a lovely wicket - as always at Bridgetown and there is no better place to want to play cricket.”

Now it’s back to the business of getting the horses ready for the new National Hunt racing season about which Johnson said: “I’m delighted with all of the horses, their work, their condition and their weights are all good. The rain has obviously been very welcome and a lot more is still needed, but we are very much on target to have runners for early-mid October.”