Freddy Breakman

For Fred Breakman it began on the streets. Warm summer evenings of street cricket with Pieter and Volkert Blaisse and Marc Slingenberg, also later to be Flamingo members. In 1956 he practiced at HCC under the guidance of Gerrit van Osch, the football coach who later trained in the finer tricks of the game of cricket. Fred: "I was a leg break and googly bowler. Didn't really have to make any effort. It went without saying."

At the time, there was no shortage of young cricket enthusiasts. Wednesday afternoons were for the under 12’s and Saturday afternoons for the group between 12 and 17. The crowd was so huge that on Saturday four teams played at HCC and two, later sometimes four, at the Roggewoning in Wassenaar. Of course, they were often mutual matches. There was also the two-day, relatively unique, between the "Crème de la crème" and the "Fondant de la fondant." With award ceremonies afterwards. "I still have the mini bat that I got for the 84 not out I scored in that match. A precious trophy."

During that time, 10 to 20 clubs participated in the Flamingo junior tournament. "I was presented with the bowling prize by Mr. De Beus, chairman of De Flamingos. After the final (against VRA) won by HCC, he named me Freddy Breakman." In 1960 Fred steamed through to the higher echelons. At HCC it happened quite quickly because both the first and the second came out at the highest level. His first encounter with De Flamingos also dates from that time. "I would continue to play with the seniors until 1977, a period in which I also played for the Dutch national team twice. At one of them, against Ireland. Ruud Onstein asked me if I wanted to become a candidate member of The Flamingos. And I said Yes, I would like that."

Hagley Hall

Fred “fell in the butter” (was lucky), because he could immediately go on a tour to England. Kees Bakker was captain, a man for whom all doors opened in England, where he then lived. He literally knew everyone, arranged appealing competitions, and ensured that the evening entertainment was never forgotten.

The two-week tour under his leadership was a true feast with bursts of laughter and performance. Fred: "That's how we played on the estate of I Zingari CEO; The Hon. Charles John Lyttelton, Tenth Viscount of Cobham from 1949 and the last Governor-General of New Zealand from 1957 to 1962. On and around Hagley Hall, his grand estate, built between 1754 and 1760, where we stayed, things were still quite feudal. At one point, for example, we were loaded into a large number of Bentleys and Rolls Royce’s to make a tour of his estate, where the landowner was greeted with reverence by his "subjects." Of course, he had his own cricket ground. All in all, it was an incredible indulgence for us there."

During the tour with Kees, they visited Arundel. The castle there, as every cricket fan knows, has a beautiful cricket field which was dug in 1895 by order of the 15th Duke of Norfolk by workers unemployed due to the poor agricultural situation and thus earned a meager living.

The amphitheater they created is still a feast for the eyes to this day. The Flamingos played against The Sussex Martlets, a 1905 touring club run by co-founder Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes.

Too much for the wicketkeeper

Somewhat less idyllic is that it is on a field now directly under the smoke and noise of busy Heathrow airport. The noise that the airplanes continuously produced overhead became too much for wicketkeeper Marc Slingenberg. "I quit," he exclaimed in exasperation, throwing his gloves as far away from him as possible. He had to be talked into staying.

Sometimes Flamingos are gullible people, like the time a dapper gentleman dressed in blazer and grey trousers walked into the dressing room with a shoebox. “All your valuables please,” everyone obediently handed over their valuables never to see them again.

All in all, the tours were richly laced with striking events. "What sticks with me were the competitions, the great receptions, in the case of the Duke of Norfolk perhaps also because he had become an honourary member of the Flamingos in 1925, and the taste of a world you would otherwise never encounter."

Future of cricket in the Netherlands

After several years on the sidelines, Fred rang the bell in 2010. Today he is seriously concerned about the future of cricket in the Netherlands. The space for cricket fields is gradually diminishing, partly due to artificial grass on the hockey fields. "I still remember how Mr. Kroesemeijer, a big shot at the football club SHS (Scheveningen Holland Sport), well known in the 1960s, told me that cricket would be destroyed because it took up too much space. He seems to be right. The KNCB responded too late to developments in the international cricket world, such as shorter match formats. I fear the sport will have a very difficult time in the coming years, but of course I hope that I am wrong."

During and after his active career, Fred continues to follow cricket in the Netherlands and England. One of his memories goes back quite a long way, to the time when Geoffrey Boycott was still causing a furore. "A skewer I hated immensely. One time he was yet again busy scraping his runs together in an annoying way, ie: not making a move. Everyone had fallen asleep around the field, until a little boarding schoolboy, armed with a cap shouted angrily: Mister Boycott, do me a favour, for God's sake use your bat! I hope Geoffrey has sleepless nights."