GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 133
January 2014
Shambles Matters
I sent the following to the Great Jack Morgan:
“I don’t read the newspapers anymore and so I only have BBC news for professional comment on the Ashes. Therefore, any views that I express here may be well worn or already made. Nevertheless,
1. What was the point of taking three giant fast bowlers on the tour and then leaving them almost totally out of the action? Was it a bluff to get the Aussies to prepare slow pitches? I think that they bottled out of their strategy and that that is the key to their undoing in the series. Over recent years the England management have stuck rigidly to their plans and have, on the whole, come out on top as a result. When Bresnan got (unexpectedly?) fit the plans were thrown up in the air and all hopes were suddenly pinned on Bresnan to do the job. Unsurprisingly he has had no major impact. He remains an English conditions bowler and as we all know runs at number eight will never compensate for lack of wicket taking.
2. I am firmly of the opinion that you play yourself into form in the middle against the best available opposition. Team England doesn’t like playing cricket much and avoid it whenever possible. The warm up games for this tour were arranged in far flung venues for sightseeing purposes and were played against park sides. Consequently none of the batsmen were primed for the Ashes. Those who say that England have had too much cricket with back to back Ashes series should be reminded that the Australians have squeezed in a visit to India in between.
3. These guys are England’s best batsmen. Go down the pub and get really pissed and go over the top but you would still select Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Bell and Root in the top six. Drop Trott out of this for Banger head problems and you still have a solid four to get big runs at this level. What appears to have happened is that the Aussies have worked out strategies for bowling to them and, importantly, implemented them well. I am not in the camp that thinks that Buttler, Taylor, Ballance, Bairstow and Bopara would have done any better. There are going to be changes, though, going forward.
4. The only contention is whether Carberry should be opening the innings. I agree with you that 42nd in the second division averages doesn’t qualify him for anything. He got selected for tonking in televised T20 matches. In this series he is making low scores very slowly. Who does this remind you of? Nick Compton, of course, but then he did score a couple of hundreds. They would have come in handy on this tour.
5. The overpraising of Prior’s ability. People forget that he is not really a keeper. He developed skills standing back and like all the international keepers dives around and occasionally makes spectacular catches. Standing up he never looks good and sometimes, as he has done on this tour, looks terrible. As a batsman he is a dasher and normally gets runs when the bowlers are tired and stray from their lines. Again, the Aussies seem to have worked him out and exposed him.
6. Swann’s appalling behaviour. Who does he think he is? He has demonstrated:
a. That he is not a team player. All the crap previously expounded about team ethos was cast aside as he made his selfish decision.
b. He is centrally contracted and was selected for the tour. He has pulled out when not injured and landed his country in the shit.
c. He has performed remarkably well in an era when big bats and flat wickets make an off spinner’s role almost impossible, especially if they don’t have a doozra in their armoury. But for the second time in three years opponents have worked out how to play him. Maybe he just couldn’t take the humiliation.
d. He will be remembered for having got out at the bottom.”
George sent me this:
When England won the rugby world cup in 2003 in Australia they did with a drop goal by Wilkinson in extra time. After that to everyone’s astonishment they had a poor season in the UK. The evidence was that this was a very good team indeed that was in decline even before that final. The rebuilding was painful.
I was only really surprised by two things so far on this tour: the extent of the defeat and the pre-tour arrogance of the likes of Botham and Gatting. This team was clearly in decline over the summer and clung on for victory. They had peaked in India, if not before. Frailties before this tour were masked by even frailer opposition, or by the ability of very good individual players to pull one out of the hat when it mattered. The turnaround of the maverick Johnson seemed to trigger everything - partly because now Australia suddenly had three fine fast bowlers plus Watson.
Out and About with the Professor
It is some years since I have been to Dublin…and it has changed. The historic old centre is still there, of course, to give tourists the “authentic Dublin experience” but just outside the centre there are any number of glass, steel and concrete monuments to the hubris of the pre-Crash days; memorials to the long-deceased Celtic Tiger.
One of these is the magnificent new national rugby stadium which used to be Lansdowne Road and is now the Aviva. I don’t know why changing the name of a sports venue from that of a nearby street to that of an insurance company should jar, but somehow it does. The Lansdowne family and its many tributaries has enough referencing in the City for anyone, even them. But the stadium is excellent. On a wild wet and windy day we were all under cover, comfortably seated and with a splendid view. Of what? Well of the decidedly unexpected defeat of Leinster in the Heineken Cup by Northampton Saints. “Unexpected” because the previous Saturday in the rather strange format that this competition has, Leinster defeated Northampton by 40-7…at Northampton. To say that Leinster were favourites rather understates the word – I was told you could get odds off 7:1 against Northants before the kick-off. But something had happened to the boys in green during the week and the porous midfield had been vulcanised and instead of watching O’Driscoll and D’Arcy stroll through we watched the Northants forwards batter the opposition into submission.
Northants have rather more Samoans than might be expected of an east midlands team and a couple of them (Manoa and Ma’afu) are truly terrifying opponents. Add to that Courtney Laws, George North, et al and you can see there might be some defending to do. An early George North try gave the visiting team a platform but it was never secure. On a grim day for kicking Northants settled for camping in the Irish 22 and bashing the opposition into the mud. The last five minutes presented one of those great occasions in sport which tell why you bother to go and watch. With just five points in it Leinster were camped on the Northants line. Time and time again a forward surge just about took them over and time and time again they were repulsed. On one occasion a player did get across, ball in hand, but was hauled back (seemingly by the neck) to his rightful side of the line. The clock ticked down, the tackles crashed on and eventually the 80 minutes were up.
I have never quite understood why rugby does this, but the end of time is not the end of the game. In fact, if you are only five points adrift and have the ball when time is up, you can still fancy your chances of winning. Strange or what? I wonder how many teams have actually won the match after it had finished (so to speak). In any event Leinster kept on keeping on, all fifteen trying to heave the ball over the line. Tackle, lay it back; tackle, lay it back; crash, crunch, crunch, crash. But then? Well then someone actually passed the ball…and not very well. A chap called Jamie Elliott intercepted, ran the whole length of the field, and scored. Wonderful stuff. 18-9 to Northants. Easy! Easy! Easy!
The whole thing rather took my mind off the dreadful events in Perth…but not for long. Breakfast reading the Sunday Independent contrasted the demise of England with the continuing success of the Irish cricket team. Ireland had “just overcome Afghanistan” (an interesting thought in itself) “to claim their third title in 2013”. Ireland have won the ICC titles: World Cricket League, World Twenty 20 and the Intercontinental Cup. Unsurprisingly, they are pressing their case for designation as Full Members. The article advanced the view that Irish cricket was well financed, had a decent ground at Malahide (just north of Dublin) and, if given full Test status, would be strengthened by the Irish players who have, so far, opted to play for England. It is an interesting case. Cricket Ireland’s CEO is a chap by the name of Warren Deutrom. He is quoted as being “increasingly confident” that the ICC will move to a two-tier Test set-up with “Ireland, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, etc., in the second tier”. I wonder how confident Mr Deutrom really is? Difficult to imagine New Zealand voting for this, or indeed any team that thinks it might end up in the lower level - and that must mean all of them - unless promotion and relegation were ruled out, in which case New Zealand not to mention “etc.” would certainly vote against. Still, just like the Leinster pack, I think we can predict that Irish cricket will keep on pushing. I wonder if they will ever get over the line.
Sofa cricket
New Zealand v West Indies 1st test in Dunedin, 3 December 2013
The West Indies won the toss and put the Kiwis in to bat. They must have been pretty pleased with this decision as they restricted them to 609 for 9 dec. Ross Taylor enjoyed himself making 217 not out whilst Brendan McCullam helped himself to 113. Sammy’s decision became more puzzling as Boult and Southee hussled them out for 213 with only Chanderpaul (76) putting up any resistance. The West Indies did better following on as they accumulated 507 with Darren Bravo contributing 218. New Zealand needed 112 to win from 30 overs but could manage only 79 for 4 by the close.
South Africa v India 1st ODI at The Wanderers, 5 December, 2013
This pairing in both ODI and tests could be considered the world championships and its significance should not be diminished in the Ashes shadow. India won the toss, put the Proteas in and Amla and de Kock added 152 for the first wicket. De Kock went on to 135 from 121 balls. De Villiers and Duminy hit nine sixes between them as they added 105 in under eight overs. This took the South Africans to 358 from their 50 overs. The Indians never got going and only Dhoni with 65 made any significant contribution as they were bowled out for 217. Serves them right.
South Africa v India 2nd ODI at Durban, 8 December, 2013
Dhoni again put the South Africans in and on this occasion Amla and de Kock added 194 for the first wicket as they both completed centuries. South Africa reached 280 in 49 overs. India again disappointed in reply managing a feeble 146 in reply. Serves them right, again.
South Africa v India 3rd ODI at Centurion, 11 December, 2013
South Africa won the toss and de Kock made his third consecutive hundred, de Villiers also reached three figures and they reached 301 from their 50 overs. The match was then rained off. David Miller showed some of the form Yorkshiremen know him capable of as he scored 56 not out from 34 balls.
New Zealand v West Indies 2nd test in Wellington, 11 December 2013
Darren Sammy is nothing if not pig headed and when he won the toss in the second test he again slipped the New Zealanders in to bat. Ross Taylor made 129 and Watling and Boult demonstrated the bowlers’ lack of penetration in adding 56 for the last wicket. The New Zealanders were all out for 441. Then Boult with 6 for 40 got stuck in again as the West Indies were hussled out for 193. Following on they managed only 175 with Boult taking 4 for 40 and were defeated by an innings and 73 runs. Serves them right.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 1st T20 at Dubai 11 December, 2013
Having been put in to bat Sri Lanka managed just 145 in their 20 overs and this was largely due to Angelo Mathews’ 50 from 34 balls. At 96 for 5 Pakistan looked in trouble but our old favourite, the original red mist man, Shahid Afridi, saw them home with 39 not out from 20 balls.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 2nd T20 at Dubai 13 December, 2013
Sri Lanka were put in and made an almost unassailable 211 from their 20 overs thanks to 84 from Perera and Sangakkara’s 44 not out from 21 balls. Pakistan slumped to 85 for 7 and eventually were all out for 187. Serves them right.
South Africa v India 1st Test at The Wanderers, 18 December, 2013
India won the toss and made a below par 280. Only Kohli with 119 made a substantial contribution. The South Africans were indebted to Philander’s lower order 59 in reaching 244. In their second dig Pujara (153) and Kohli (96) added 222 to ensure that South Africa were set a substantial 458 to win. In the event they closed at 450 for 7. Du Plessis, who had gone in as a nightwatchman, made 133 and de Villiers scored 103. This effort was close to being the greatest test chase of all time.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 1st ODI at Sharjah, 18 December, 2013
Pakistan won the toss, learned their lesson, and batted first. They rattled up 322 thanks to Hafeez’ 122. Afridi contributed a cameo 34 not out from 12 balls at the end. Sri Lanka’s batsmen contributed through the order but nobody scored big and they fell short by just 11 runs.
New Zealand v West Indies 3rd test in Hamilton, 19 December 2013
The West Indies made 367 thanks to hundreds from Chanderpaul and Ramdin. In reply New Zealand made 349 with Ross Taylor making his third hundred of the series. Narine of the spectacular hair styles took 6 for 91. The second time around Boult and Southee got to work again and the West Indies were dismissed for a dismal 103 leaving the New Zealanders requiring only 124 to secure their series win which they duly did for the loss of only two wickets.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 2nd ODI at Dubai, 20 December, 2013
Pakistan were put in and made a respectable 284 thanks to Shehzad’s 124. Afridi, back in form, finished on 30 not out from 15 balls. Sri Lanka used an unlikely eight bowlers during this innings. Sri Lanka’s batsmen scored consistently and they scraped home by two wickets with two balls to spare.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 3rd ODI at Sharjah, 22 December, 2013
Sri Lanka won the toss again and flushed by their success of the second ODI put Pakistan in again. Hafeez said thanks very much and rattled up 140 not out this time after being given able support from Shehzad who made 81. Pakistan totalled 326 which was far too many for Sri Lanka who limped to 213 all out. Serves them right.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 4th ODI at Abu Dhabi, 25 December, 2013
Sri Lanka decided to bat first in the fourth match but their top order is letting them down in this series as they managed only 225. Pakistan romped home with Hafeez making 113 not out.
New Zealand v West Indies 1st ODI in Auckland, 26 December 2013
A different captain of West Indies, Dwayne Bravo, but the same tactic as New Zealand were put in again. This time it worked and they were bowled out for 156. The West Indies hurried to victory with twenty two overs to spare.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 5th ODI at Abu Dhabi, 27 December, 2013
Pakistan won the toss but, having already won the series, managed only a below par 232. Chandimal saw Sri Lanka home with just two balls to spare.
Match Report
The Great Jack Morgan reflects on events in 1989
England Test batsman Wayne Larkins won the toss for Northamptonshire and chose to bat first in the Championship match against Middlesex at Lord's on August 12th 1989. Larkins (from Bedfordshire) himself dominated the early part of the match, sharing a second wicket stand of 63 with Alan Fordham (also from Bedfordshire) and then an excellent partnership of 119 in 34 overs with another England Test batsman Rob Bailey, from Staffordshire, until both fell within 3 runs of each other, Larkins for 80 and Bailey for 65, who both became victims of Neil Williams (3 for 45). England allrounder David Capel (from Northampton) did even better with an outstanding innings of 90 and he received fine support from Nigel Felton (from Guildford) in a stand of 131 for the fifth wicket before the latter departed for 43. At this stage, the Middlesex spin twins John Emburey (3 for 88) and Phil Tufnell (3 for 77) began to have an important influence on the match and Northants declined rapidly from 321 for 4 to 363 all out despite the efforts of Capel.
Middlesex began their first innings at the start of day two and lost only one wicket in a rain shortened day. John Carr had not been enjoying a successful season, but it was not noticeable on this occasion as he batted exceptionally well, putting on 181 in 50 overs for the first wicket with Desmond Haynes (76) before the latter succumbed to his WI Test colleague Winston Davis from St Vincent. Carr continued serenely with Mark Ramprakash for company and this pair added 121* for the second wicket until captain Mike Gatting declared after two balls of day 3 with the total on 302-1, Carr 153* (in 257 minutes with 15 fours), Ramprakash 53*. The two balls were necessary to obtain the fourth batting point, the first time in 1989 that maximum batting points had been secured at Lord's.
A Middlesex victory did not look especially likely at this juncture with less than a day remaining and it was a shock to see the Middlesex bowling opened by the unlikely pair of skipper Gatting and batting hero Carr. However, if the plan was to take some shine off the ball for the spinners, then it worked admirably as Embers and Tuffers were far too good for the struggling visitors. Felton made 41 and Larkins 28, but Northants were bundled out for 142 in 64 overs. Quick bowler Ricky Ellcock from Barbados came on at the end of the innings to claim the last two wickets for 4 runs, but the damage had already been done by Emburey (26-10-39-3) and Tufnell (28-6-60-5). Neither Williams nor Norman Cowans was required to bowl a ball in the Northants second innings.
Middlesex needed 204 to win in about 45 overs and they strolled to victory with 5 overs and 7 wickets in hand. Gatt was the hero with 83* off 110 balls and Ramps (43) supported him well in an entertaining stand of 94 for the third wicket. Middlesex 22 points Northants 4. Middlesex finished third in the Championship and were runners-up in the Nat West Bank Trophy, quite a successful season really, but Middlesex were expecting to win trophies in those days and there was a slight feeling of disappointment in the Middlesex camp.
The main cause of the problem was inconsistency in the batting. Gatting made 1337 runs at 58.13 in the Championship and Haynes made 1421 at 47.36; Keith Brown (431 runs at 53.87), Ian Hutchinson (530 runs at 35.33) and Ramprakash (952 runs at 35.25) were making progress, but Mike Roseberry and Roland Butcher (dropped in his benefit season) both averaged under 30, Carr averaged less than 23 and Paul Downton less than 19. The bowling was stronger with Angus Fraser taking 78 wickets at 17.21, Ellcock 32 at 19.21, Cowans 61 at 20.42, Simon Hughes 56 at 21, Emburey 45 at 26.28, Tufnell 51 at 29.05 and Williams 29 at 29.72. Downton claimed 65 victims, Gatting 25 catches and Carr 18. Carr retired at the end of the 1989 season to become a banker, but he returned in1992 only to retire again in 1996 to go into cricket administration.
And then in 1976
Middlesex needed five points to clinch the Championship title at the start of their final three day match of the season against Surrey at the Oval on September 1st 1976, though there was one more round of matches for all the other counties. England Test opener John Edrich (cousin of Middlesex's Bill) won the toss for Surrey and chose to bat first. Opening bowler Allan Jones, not retained by Sussex and Somerset, soon had future Test player Alan Butcher (father of Mark) and NZ Test player Geoff Howarth (brother of Hedley) back in the hutch, but Pakistan Test batsman Younis Ahmed (step-brother of Saeed Ahmed) helped his captain to add 55 for the third wicket. However, Surrey were struggling on 127 for 5 when keeper Lonsdale Skinner (who had previously played for Guyana, where he was born) joined Edrich in a productive stand for the sixth wicket, but three batsmen (Robin Jackman, born in India, but with southern Africa connections, was the third) contributed to the partnership of 112 because Edrich pulled a muscle going for a sharp single to complete his 99th first class century and retired hurt on 100*, at which point bad light halted play for the day with Surrey on 233-5 and two and a quarter hours were lost. On day two Skinner went on to a very valuable 67 and another Pakistan Test player, leg-spinning allrounder Intikhab Alam, made a useful 31* before the compulsory closure after 100 overs ended the home innings on 308 for 8.
Having omitted their third seamer, Tim Lamb, Middlesex were playing only four specialist bowlers, two pace bowlers and two spinners and the pick of these was Jones, who finished with 5 for 103. Jackman (another future Test player) had Middlesex in trouble on 29 for 2, but Graham Barlow (61) was having a very good season and he shared a fine stand of 85 with Clive Radley (70), who then contributed to another excellent partnership of 99 with Norman Featherstone (57), all three of them doing their best to make up for lost time and to secure the coveted title for the first time since 1949, when the Championship was shared with Yorkshire and the first outright win since 1947.
Just before four o'clock on day two, news came through that Gloucestershire had been unable to take maximum bonus points from their match against Derbyshire and so Middlesex became champions. The visitors suffered a collapse to 257 for 8, but Mike Selvey and keeper Mike Sturt, who was nearly 36 and who had deputised for John Murray in the early sixties when Murray was on Test duty, added 46 for the ninth wicket and Middlesex were able to draw level with Surrey on 308 all out, with Surrey’s international spinners Welsh born Pat Pocock (5 for 107) and Intikhab (3 for 74) enjoying the conditions which were beginning to favour the spinners. Middlesex Committee man Sturt was the sixth (and probably the best) keeper to be used during the 1976 season as Middlesex sought to replace Murray, who had retired at the end of the 1975 season; the other keepers used were Ian Gould, Nigel Ross, Roddy Kinkead-Weekes, Mike Brearley and Roland Butcher.
Fred Titmus was playing what was thought to be his last match for Middlesex before retiring to become coach at the Oval, but in fact his last match for the club did not occur until 1982 (33 years after his debut) when he was nearly fifty and he was finally able to retire after 2,361 first class wickets for Middlesex (easily a club record), a mere 17,320 runs, the thirteenth best ever for the club and 378 catches, the sixth best. I am sorry that I am not able to recall (or perhaps I never found out) why Fred did not bowl in the Surrey second innings, but he was not missed because Featherstone (only an occasional bowler who was having a useful second half of the season and trying to make a case to be the replacement for Titmus, though John Emburey also had his eyes on the same role) filled the breach admirably.
The pace bowlers sent down only eight overs between them before Smokey and Phil Edmonds were introduced and wickets began to tumble. Younis made 33, but easily the best stand of the innings was the 53 added by the Surrey spinners Intikhab (43*) and Pocock for the ninth wicket. Edrich made nought at no 11 as Surrey were all out for 172 in just under 50 overs with Featherstone taking a career best 5 for 58 and Edmonds 5 for 72. Middlesex needed only 173 to win, but Jackman (4 for 65) soon had them in deep trouble at 36 for 5, however at this point, the heroes of the Surrey second innings, Featherstone and Edmonds, joined forces with the bat. It was odd that with 20 wickets having already fallen to spin in the match, the home spinners could make no impression in the Middlesex second innings and Featherstone hit 11 fours in his 67* and Edmonds 9 fours and a six in his 72* as the pair added 140* in 105 minutes for the sixth wicket and Middlesex raced to victory by 5 wickets. Middlesex 17 points, Surrey 8 and Middlesex had the Championship in the bag by a margin of 16 points over Northamptonshire.
The main Championship runscorers in 1976 were Barlow with 1282 at 49.3, Brearley 1198 at 42.78, Featherstone 893 at 34.34, Mike Smith 1136 at 33.41 and Radley 820 at 30.37, but "bubbling under" this quintet were some useful young players including Butcher, Mike Gatting, Edmonds, Gould and Emburey. Featherstone's spell of good form with the ball towards the end of the season (32 wickets at 14.75) took him not only to the top of the Middlesex Championship averages, but to the top of the national averages as well; moreover, five other Middlesex bowlers joined him in the top 21 of the national averages: Lamb 19 wickets at 17.89; Titmus 65 wickets at 21.66; Selvey 61 wickets at 21.98; Jones 69 wickets at 22.76 and Edmonds 64 wickets at 25.57. That was a brilliant performance... and Wayne Daniel would be available in 1977! Because of the unsettled wicket keeping situation in 1976, the top Middx catchers were fielders: in all first class Middlesex matches Edmonds caught 31, Radley 27, Featherstone 20; then came Gould with 17 victims including 4 stumpings, but Emburey caught an excellent 17 in fewer matches than Gould; Gatting caught 15, Barlow 14; then came Brearley and Ross on 13, while Sturt's 13 included 6 stumpings in his 6 matches.
Miller Matters
The Professor copied me in on an extract from an emailed Christmas letter that he received from Peter Lapping:
....... You will be pleased to learn that the minutes of the Gloucestershire Exiles AGM featured a complaint from Douglas Miller about the inaccuracies in their magazine.
David Rayvern Allen Matters
Following the Professor’s report last month I received the following from David Rayvern Allen
‘Googlies and Chinamen’ has now reached the elevated status of an excuse. Whenever I’m late for an appointment – sadly, a not infrequent occurrence, - and those who have been punctual turn on their bored ‘M25 car-park, heard it all before’ face, a surprise is sprung: ‘Terribly sorry. Really am. Couldn’t do anything about it, though… (murmers of ‘’Why?’) ‘Latest issue of G&C. Very important document. Had to read it all the way through – from the Prof. to K West. You should have seen KW’s contribution. Wow!’ It is amazing how people gathered at meetings which they think are important - if only because it bolsters their self-esteem -are flummoxed They are unsure about the term ‘G&C’. They think letters have been missed out. It evokes failures in ancient school exams, or a Union they’ve half-heard of, or that body that was supposed to be running London.
All of which leads in Hampton Court fashion to the last edition. What a delight to read of the Professor’s outing to the John Rylands Library in Manchester and to have a bibliographical lead story. I fully endorse his view that it is worth a visit. It is many years since I’ve been there, however unless things have changed, it would seem that the library’s greatest treasure – in cricketing matters, at least – was missed. 12 of the 15 issues of the almost unprocurable Britcher Scores, are held there. Samuel Britcher, first known scorer to MCC, recorded the details of matches that had taken place around the country – mostly home counties - from 1790 to 1803. The last issue in 1806, covering the seasons 1804/05, still part of the annual series, was produced by Messrs Stanhope and Graham.
The only known full set of Britcher is owned by MCC. The missing issues to complete the set were acquired a few years ago from a descendant of John Hammond, the talented Sussex and England player, who featured frequently in the Scores. Today, what would a full set be worth ? The sky’s the limit, if two or more cricketing anoraks with deep pockets were bidding against one another. If memory serves, not so long ago a single issue fetched with premium just under £100,000 at Christie’s…
And this from Robin Brodhurst
My first reply to Googlies and Chinamen, which I hasten to say I enjoy enormously. More power to your elbow, and I am certainly in the camp of those wanting more from the Great Jack Morgan.
The Professor asks about Wisdens, and in particular early ones. I was remarkably lucky to inherit an almost complete set from my grandfather, the late Harry Altham, which included three groups. Firstly, a run from 1880 to 1939 all bound in a hard green cover. Secondly after 1939 a complete run to 1964 in paperback, which I kept up to date. The first 15volumes were not all there, and anyway were what I would call working copies. The first 3 were in a one volume bound edition. I managed to complete the set over a number of years. I particularly remember being offered the 1875 edition by EK Brown (of blessed memory) for £25 back in the early 1970s. He always had a soft spot for young customers who seemed well mannered and keen to learn, and I hope I fulfilled all those criteria.
I eventually disposed of my set about three years ago as I found I was simply not using it. I could find out the details of match scores on line, and most of the important articles were printed in the Wisden Anthologies, edited by the equally sainted Benny Green. I got a good price for them from JW McKenzie of Epsom. Not the vastly inflated price that we read about in the press, which are probably only for “as new” sets with complete dust-wrappers, but a price that accurately reflected what I felt they were worth. I suspect I might have got more if I had sold them at auction as individual volumes, and then the two runs.
The Great Jack Morgan largely agrees
I have an 1886 Wisden (given to me by the late DI Dollery), though it has to be said that it does not get any use (cf R Brodhurst) so why would anyone pay much for them? Just completists, I suppose? The 1886 issue cost one shilling or 1s3d inc postage. This is the only Wisden I have prior to 1947; there was not much cricket in 1945, so unlike the Prof, I decided against the 1946 edition.
Roses and Verses
I received a copy of a limited edition book from Pat Kingwell entitled Roses and Verses. If you would like to buy a copy contact the author direct on [email protected]. It costs £9.99 UK p+p included.
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 133
January 2014
Shambles Matters
I sent the following to the Great Jack Morgan:
“I don’t read the newspapers anymore and so I only have BBC news for professional comment on the Ashes. Therefore, any views that I express here may be well worn or already made. Nevertheless,
1. What was the point of taking three giant fast bowlers on the tour and then leaving them almost totally out of the action? Was it a bluff to get the Aussies to prepare slow pitches? I think that they bottled out of their strategy and that that is the key to their undoing in the series. Over recent years the England management have stuck rigidly to their plans and have, on the whole, come out on top as a result. When Bresnan got (unexpectedly?) fit the plans were thrown up in the air and all hopes were suddenly pinned on Bresnan to do the job. Unsurprisingly he has had no major impact. He remains an English conditions bowler and as we all know runs at number eight will never compensate for lack of wicket taking.
2. I am firmly of the opinion that you play yourself into form in the middle against the best available opposition. Team England doesn’t like playing cricket much and avoid it whenever possible. The warm up games for this tour were arranged in far flung venues for sightseeing purposes and were played against park sides. Consequently none of the batsmen were primed for the Ashes. Those who say that England have had too much cricket with back to back Ashes series should be reminded that the Australians have squeezed in a visit to India in between.
3. These guys are England’s best batsmen. Go down the pub and get really pissed and go over the top but you would still select Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Bell and Root in the top six. Drop Trott out of this for Banger head problems and you still have a solid four to get big runs at this level. What appears to have happened is that the Aussies have worked out strategies for bowling to them and, importantly, implemented them well. I am not in the camp that thinks that Buttler, Taylor, Ballance, Bairstow and Bopara would have done any better. There are going to be changes, though, going forward.
4. The only contention is whether Carberry should be opening the innings. I agree with you that 42nd in the second division averages doesn’t qualify him for anything. He got selected for tonking in televised T20 matches. In this series he is making low scores very slowly. Who does this remind you of? Nick Compton, of course, but then he did score a couple of hundreds. They would have come in handy on this tour.
5. The overpraising of Prior’s ability. People forget that he is not really a keeper. He developed skills standing back and like all the international keepers dives around and occasionally makes spectacular catches. Standing up he never looks good and sometimes, as he has done on this tour, looks terrible. As a batsman he is a dasher and normally gets runs when the bowlers are tired and stray from their lines. Again, the Aussies seem to have worked him out and exposed him.
6. Swann’s appalling behaviour. Who does he think he is? He has demonstrated:
a. That he is not a team player. All the crap previously expounded about team ethos was cast aside as he made his selfish decision.
b. He is centrally contracted and was selected for the tour. He has pulled out when not injured and landed his country in the shit.
c. He has performed remarkably well in an era when big bats and flat wickets make an off spinner’s role almost impossible, especially if they don’t have a doozra in their armoury. But for the second time in three years opponents have worked out how to play him. Maybe he just couldn’t take the humiliation.
d. He will be remembered for having got out at the bottom.”
George sent me this:
When England won the rugby world cup in 2003 in Australia they did with a drop goal by Wilkinson in extra time. After that to everyone’s astonishment they had a poor season in the UK. The evidence was that this was a very good team indeed that was in decline even before that final. The rebuilding was painful.
I was only really surprised by two things so far on this tour: the extent of the defeat and the pre-tour arrogance of the likes of Botham and Gatting. This team was clearly in decline over the summer and clung on for victory. They had peaked in India, if not before. Frailties before this tour were masked by even frailer opposition, or by the ability of very good individual players to pull one out of the hat when it mattered. The turnaround of the maverick Johnson seemed to trigger everything - partly because now Australia suddenly had three fine fast bowlers plus Watson.
Out and About with the Professor
It is some years since I have been to Dublin…and it has changed. The historic old centre is still there, of course, to give tourists the “authentic Dublin experience” but just outside the centre there are any number of glass, steel and concrete monuments to the hubris of the pre-Crash days; memorials to the long-deceased Celtic Tiger.
One of these is the magnificent new national rugby stadium which used to be Lansdowne Road and is now the Aviva. I don’t know why changing the name of a sports venue from that of a nearby street to that of an insurance company should jar, but somehow it does. The Lansdowne family and its many tributaries has enough referencing in the City for anyone, even them. But the stadium is excellent. On a wild wet and windy day we were all under cover, comfortably seated and with a splendid view. Of what? Well of the decidedly unexpected defeat of Leinster in the Heineken Cup by Northampton Saints. “Unexpected” because the previous Saturday in the rather strange format that this competition has, Leinster defeated Northampton by 40-7…at Northampton. To say that Leinster were favourites rather understates the word – I was told you could get odds off 7:1 against Northants before the kick-off. But something had happened to the boys in green during the week and the porous midfield had been vulcanised and instead of watching O’Driscoll and D’Arcy stroll through we watched the Northants forwards batter the opposition into submission.
Northants have rather more Samoans than might be expected of an east midlands team and a couple of them (Manoa and Ma’afu) are truly terrifying opponents. Add to that Courtney Laws, George North, et al and you can see there might be some defending to do. An early George North try gave the visiting team a platform but it was never secure. On a grim day for kicking Northants settled for camping in the Irish 22 and bashing the opposition into the mud. The last five minutes presented one of those great occasions in sport which tell why you bother to go and watch. With just five points in it Leinster were camped on the Northants line. Time and time again a forward surge just about took them over and time and time again they were repulsed. On one occasion a player did get across, ball in hand, but was hauled back (seemingly by the neck) to his rightful side of the line. The clock ticked down, the tackles crashed on and eventually the 80 minutes were up.
I have never quite understood why rugby does this, but the end of time is not the end of the game. In fact, if you are only five points adrift and have the ball when time is up, you can still fancy your chances of winning. Strange or what? I wonder how many teams have actually won the match after it had finished (so to speak). In any event Leinster kept on keeping on, all fifteen trying to heave the ball over the line. Tackle, lay it back; tackle, lay it back; crash, crunch, crunch, crash. But then? Well then someone actually passed the ball…and not very well. A chap called Jamie Elliott intercepted, ran the whole length of the field, and scored. Wonderful stuff. 18-9 to Northants. Easy! Easy! Easy!
The whole thing rather took my mind off the dreadful events in Perth…but not for long. Breakfast reading the Sunday Independent contrasted the demise of England with the continuing success of the Irish cricket team. Ireland had “just overcome Afghanistan” (an interesting thought in itself) “to claim their third title in 2013”. Ireland have won the ICC titles: World Cricket League, World Twenty 20 and the Intercontinental Cup. Unsurprisingly, they are pressing their case for designation as Full Members. The article advanced the view that Irish cricket was well financed, had a decent ground at Malahide (just north of Dublin) and, if given full Test status, would be strengthened by the Irish players who have, so far, opted to play for England. It is an interesting case. Cricket Ireland’s CEO is a chap by the name of Warren Deutrom. He is quoted as being “increasingly confident” that the ICC will move to a two-tier Test set-up with “Ireland, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, etc., in the second tier”. I wonder how confident Mr Deutrom really is? Difficult to imagine New Zealand voting for this, or indeed any team that thinks it might end up in the lower level - and that must mean all of them - unless promotion and relegation were ruled out, in which case New Zealand not to mention “etc.” would certainly vote against. Still, just like the Leinster pack, I think we can predict that Irish cricket will keep on pushing. I wonder if they will ever get over the line.
Sofa cricket
New Zealand v West Indies 1st test in Dunedin, 3 December 2013
The West Indies won the toss and put the Kiwis in to bat. They must have been pretty pleased with this decision as they restricted them to 609 for 9 dec. Ross Taylor enjoyed himself making 217 not out whilst Brendan McCullam helped himself to 113. Sammy’s decision became more puzzling as Boult and Southee hussled them out for 213 with only Chanderpaul (76) putting up any resistance. The West Indies did better following on as they accumulated 507 with Darren Bravo contributing 218. New Zealand needed 112 to win from 30 overs but could manage only 79 for 4 by the close.
South Africa v India 1st ODI at The Wanderers, 5 December, 2013
This pairing in both ODI and tests could be considered the world championships and its significance should not be diminished in the Ashes shadow. India won the toss, put the Proteas in and Amla and de Kock added 152 for the first wicket. De Kock went on to 135 from 121 balls. De Villiers and Duminy hit nine sixes between them as they added 105 in under eight overs. This took the South Africans to 358 from their 50 overs. The Indians never got going and only Dhoni with 65 made any significant contribution as they were bowled out for 217. Serves them right.
South Africa v India 2nd ODI at Durban, 8 December, 2013
Dhoni again put the South Africans in and on this occasion Amla and de Kock added 194 for the first wicket as they both completed centuries. South Africa reached 280 in 49 overs. India again disappointed in reply managing a feeble 146 in reply. Serves them right, again.
South Africa v India 3rd ODI at Centurion, 11 December, 2013
South Africa won the toss and de Kock made his third consecutive hundred, de Villiers also reached three figures and they reached 301 from their 50 overs. The match was then rained off. David Miller showed some of the form Yorkshiremen know him capable of as he scored 56 not out from 34 balls.
New Zealand v West Indies 2nd test in Wellington, 11 December 2013
Darren Sammy is nothing if not pig headed and when he won the toss in the second test he again slipped the New Zealanders in to bat. Ross Taylor made 129 and Watling and Boult demonstrated the bowlers’ lack of penetration in adding 56 for the last wicket. The New Zealanders were all out for 441. Then Boult with 6 for 40 got stuck in again as the West Indies were hussled out for 193. Following on they managed only 175 with Boult taking 4 for 40 and were defeated by an innings and 73 runs. Serves them right.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 1st T20 at Dubai 11 December, 2013
Having been put in to bat Sri Lanka managed just 145 in their 20 overs and this was largely due to Angelo Mathews’ 50 from 34 balls. At 96 for 5 Pakistan looked in trouble but our old favourite, the original red mist man, Shahid Afridi, saw them home with 39 not out from 20 balls.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 2nd T20 at Dubai 13 December, 2013
Sri Lanka were put in and made an almost unassailable 211 from their 20 overs thanks to 84 from Perera and Sangakkara’s 44 not out from 21 balls. Pakistan slumped to 85 for 7 and eventually were all out for 187. Serves them right.
South Africa v India 1st Test at The Wanderers, 18 December, 2013
India won the toss and made a below par 280. Only Kohli with 119 made a substantial contribution. The South Africans were indebted to Philander’s lower order 59 in reaching 244. In their second dig Pujara (153) and Kohli (96) added 222 to ensure that South Africa were set a substantial 458 to win. In the event they closed at 450 for 7. Du Plessis, who had gone in as a nightwatchman, made 133 and de Villiers scored 103. This effort was close to being the greatest test chase of all time.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 1st ODI at Sharjah, 18 December, 2013
Pakistan won the toss, learned their lesson, and batted first. They rattled up 322 thanks to Hafeez’ 122. Afridi contributed a cameo 34 not out from 12 balls at the end. Sri Lanka’s batsmen contributed through the order but nobody scored big and they fell short by just 11 runs.
New Zealand v West Indies 3rd test in Hamilton, 19 December 2013
The West Indies made 367 thanks to hundreds from Chanderpaul and Ramdin. In reply New Zealand made 349 with Ross Taylor making his third hundred of the series. Narine of the spectacular hair styles took 6 for 91. The second time around Boult and Southee got to work again and the West Indies were dismissed for a dismal 103 leaving the New Zealanders requiring only 124 to secure their series win which they duly did for the loss of only two wickets.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 2nd ODI at Dubai, 20 December, 2013
Pakistan were put in and made a respectable 284 thanks to Shehzad’s 124. Afridi, back in form, finished on 30 not out from 15 balls. Sri Lanka used an unlikely eight bowlers during this innings. Sri Lanka’s batsmen scored consistently and they scraped home by two wickets with two balls to spare.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 3rd ODI at Sharjah, 22 December, 2013
Sri Lanka won the toss again and flushed by their success of the second ODI put Pakistan in again. Hafeez said thanks very much and rattled up 140 not out this time after being given able support from Shehzad who made 81. Pakistan totalled 326 which was far too many for Sri Lanka who limped to 213 all out. Serves them right.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 4th ODI at Abu Dhabi, 25 December, 2013
Sri Lanka decided to bat first in the fourth match but their top order is letting them down in this series as they managed only 225. Pakistan romped home with Hafeez making 113 not out.
New Zealand v West Indies 1st ODI in Auckland, 26 December 2013
A different captain of West Indies, Dwayne Bravo, but the same tactic as New Zealand were put in again. This time it worked and they were bowled out for 156. The West Indies hurried to victory with twenty two overs to spare.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka 5th ODI at Abu Dhabi, 27 December, 2013
Pakistan won the toss but, having already won the series, managed only a below par 232. Chandimal saw Sri Lanka home with just two balls to spare.
Match Report
The Great Jack Morgan reflects on events in 1989
England Test batsman Wayne Larkins won the toss for Northamptonshire and chose to bat first in the Championship match against Middlesex at Lord's on August 12th 1989. Larkins (from Bedfordshire) himself dominated the early part of the match, sharing a second wicket stand of 63 with Alan Fordham (also from Bedfordshire) and then an excellent partnership of 119 in 34 overs with another England Test batsman Rob Bailey, from Staffordshire, until both fell within 3 runs of each other, Larkins for 80 and Bailey for 65, who both became victims of Neil Williams (3 for 45). England allrounder David Capel (from Northampton) did even better with an outstanding innings of 90 and he received fine support from Nigel Felton (from Guildford) in a stand of 131 for the fifth wicket before the latter departed for 43. At this stage, the Middlesex spin twins John Emburey (3 for 88) and Phil Tufnell (3 for 77) began to have an important influence on the match and Northants declined rapidly from 321 for 4 to 363 all out despite the efforts of Capel.
Middlesex began their first innings at the start of day two and lost only one wicket in a rain shortened day. John Carr had not been enjoying a successful season, but it was not noticeable on this occasion as he batted exceptionally well, putting on 181 in 50 overs for the first wicket with Desmond Haynes (76) before the latter succumbed to his WI Test colleague Winston Davis from St Vincent. Carr continued serenely with Mark Ramprakash for company and this pair added 121* for the second wicket until captain Mike Gatting declared after two balls of day 3 with the total on 302-1, Carr 153* (in 257 minutes with 15 fours), Ramprakash 53*. The two balls were necessary to obtain the fourth batting point, the first time in 1989 that maximum batting points had been secured at Lord's.
A Middlesex victory did not look especially likely at this juncture with less than a day remaining and it was a shock to see the Middlesex bowling opened by the unlikely pair of skipper Gatting and batting hero Carr. However, if the plan was to take some shine off the ball for the spinners, then it worked admirably as Embers and Tuffers were far too good for the struggling visitors. Felton made 41 and Larkins 28, but Northants were bundled out for 142 in 64 overs. Quick bowler Ricky Ellcock from Barbados came on at the end of the innings to claim the last two wickets for 4 runs, but the damage had already been done by Emburey (26-10-39-3) and Tufnell (28-6-60-5). Neither Williams nor Norman Cowans was required to bowl a ball in the Northants second innings.
Middlesex needed 204 to win in about 45 overs and they strolled to victory with 5 overs and 7 wickets in hand. Gatt was the hero with 83* off 110 balls and Ramps (43) supported him well in an entertaining stand of 94 for the third wicket. Middlesex 22 points Northants 4. Middlesex finished third in the Championship and were runners-up in the Nat West Bank Trophy, quite a successful season really, but Middlesex were expecting to win trophies in those days and there was a slight feeling of disappointment in the Middlesex camp.
The main cause of the problem was inconsistency in the batting. Gatting made 1337 runs at 58.13 in the Championship and Haynes made 1421 at 47.36; Keith Brown (431 runs at 53.87), Ian Hutchinson (530 runs at 35.33) and Ramprakash (952 runs at 35.25) were making progress, but Mike Roseberry and Roland Butcher (dropped in his benefit season) both averaged under 30, Carr averaged less than 23 and Paul Downton less than 19. The bowling was stronger with Angus Fraser taking 78 wickets at 17.21, Ellcock 32 at 19.21, Cowans 61 at 20.42, Simon Hughes 56 at 21, Emburey 45 at 26.28, Tufnell 51 at 29.05 and Williams 29 at 29.72. Downton claimed 65 victims, Gatting 25 catches and Carr 18. Carr retired at the end of the 1989 season to become a banker, but he returned in1992 only to retire again in 1996 to go into cricket administration.
And then in 1976
Middlesex needed five points to clinch the Championship title at the start of their final three day match of the season against Surrey at the Oval on September 1st 1976, though there was one more round of matches for all the other counties. England Test opener John Edrich (cousin of Middlesex's Bill) won the toss for Surrey and chose to bat first. Opening bowler Allan Jones, not retained by Sussex and Somerset, soon had future Test player Alan Butcher (father of Mark) and NZ Test player Geoff Howarth (brother of Hedley) back in the hutch, but Pakistan Test batsman Younis Ahmed (step-brother of Saeed Ahmed) helped his captain to add 55 for the third wicket. However, Surrey were struggling on 127 for 5 when keeper Lonsdale Skinner (who had previously played for Guyana, where he was born) joined Edrich in a productive stand for the sixth wicket, but three batsmen (Robin Jackman, born in India, but with southern Africa connections, was the third) contributed to the partnership of 112 because Edrich pulled a muscle going for a sharp single to complete his 99th first class century and retired hurt on 100*, at which point bad light halted play for the day with Surrey on 233-5 and two and a quarter hours were lost. On day two Skinner went on to a very valuable 67 and another Pakistan Test player, leg-spinning allrounder Intikhab Alam, made a useful 31* before the compulsory closure after 100 overs ended the home innings on 308 for 8.
Having omitted their third seamer, Tim Lamb, Middlesex were playing only four specialist bowlers, two pace bowlers and two spinners and the pick of these was Jones, who finished with 5 for 103. Jackman (another future Test player) had Middlesex in trouble on 29 for 2, but Graham Barlow (61) was having a very good season and he shared a fine stand of 85 with Clive Radley (70), who then contributed to another excellent partnership of 99 with Norman Featherstone (57), all three of them doing their best to make up for lost time and to secure the coveted title for the first time since 1949, when the Championship was shared with Yorkshire and the first outright win since 1947.
Just before four o'clock on day two, news came through that Gloucestershire had been unable to take maximum bonus points from their match against Derbyshire and so Middlesex became champions. The visitors suffered a collapse to 257 for 8, but Mike Selvey and keeper Mike Sturt, who was nearly 36 and who had deputised for John Murray in the early sixties when Murray was on Test duty, added 46 for the ninth wicket and Middlesex were able to draw level with Surrey on 308 all out, with Surrey’s international spinners Welsh born Pat Pocock (5 for 107) and Intikhab (3 for 74) enjoying the conditions which were beginning to favour the spinners. Middlesex Committee man Sturt was the sixth (and probably the best) keeper to be used during the 1976 season as Middlesex sought to replace Murray, who had retired at the end of the 1975 season; the other keepers used were Ian Gould, Nigel Ross, Roddy Kinkead-Weekes, Mike Brearley and Roland Butcher.
Fred Titmus was playing what was thought to be his last match for Middlesex before retiring to become coach at the Oval, but in fact his last match for the club did not occur until 1982 (33 years after his debut) when he was nearly fifty and he was finally able to retire after 2,361 first class wickets for Middlesex (easily a club record), a mere 17,320 runs, the thirteenth best ever for the club and 378 catches, the sixth best. I am sorry that I am not able to recall (or perhaps I never found out) why Fred did not bowl in the Surrey second innings, but he was not missed because Featherstone (only an occasional bowler who was having a useful second half of the season and trying to make a case to be the replacement for Titmus, though John Emburey also had his eyes on the same role) filled the breach admirably.
The pace bowlers sent down only eight overs between them before Smokey and Phil Edmonds were introduced and wickets began to tumble. Younis made 33, but easily the best stand of the innings was the 53 added by the Surrey spinners Intikhab (43*) and Pocock for the ninth wicket. Edrich made nought at no 11 as Surrey were all out for 172 in just under 50 overs with Featherstone taking a career best 5 for 58 and Edmonds 5 for 72. Middlesex needed only 173 to win, but Jackman (4 for 65) soon had them in deep trouble at 36 for 5, however at this point, the heroes of the Surrey second innings, Featherstone and Edmonds, joined forces with the bat. It was odd that with 20 wickets having already fallen to spin in the match, the home spinners could make no impression in the Middlesex second innings and Featherstone hit 11 fours in his 67* and Edmonds 9 fours and a six in his 72* as the pair added 140* in 105 minutes for the sixth wicket and Middlesex raced to victory by 5 wickets. Middlesex 17 points, Surrey 8 and Middlesex had the Championship in the bag by a margin of 16 points over Northamptonshire.
The main Championship runscorers in 1976 were Barlow with 1282 at 49.3, Brearley 1198 at 42.78, Featherstone 893 at 34.34, Mike Smith 1136 at 33.41 and Radley 820 at 30.37, but "bubbling under" this quintet were some useful young players including Butcher, Mike Gatting, Edmonds, Gould and Emburey. Featherstone's spell of good form with the ball towards the end of the season (32 wickets at 14.75) took him not only to the top of the Middlesex Championship averages, but to the top of the national averages as well; moreover, five other Middlesex bowlers joined him in the top 21 of the national averages: Lamb 19 wickets at 17.89; Titmus 65 wickets at 21.66; Selvey 61 wickets at 21.98; Jones 69 wickets at 22.76 and Edmonds 64 wickets at 25.57. That was a brilliant performance... and Wayne Daniel would be available in 1977! Because of the unsettled wicket keeping situation in 1976, the top Middx catchers were fielders: in all first class Middlesex matches Edmonds caught 31, Radley 27, Featherstone 20; then came Gould with 17 victims including 4 stumpings, but Emburey caught an excellent 17 in fewer matches than Gould; Gatting caught 15, Barlow 14; then came Brearley and Ross on 13, while Sturt's 13 included 6 stumpings in his 6 matches.
Miller Matters
The Professor copied me in on an extract from an emailed Christmas letter that he received from Peter Lapping:
....... You will be pleased to learn that the minutes of the Gloucestershire Exiles AGM featured a complaint from Douglas Miller about the inaccuracies in their magazine.
David Rayvern Allen Matters
Following the Professor’s report last month I received the following from David Rayvern Allen
‘Googlies and Chinamen’ has now reached the elevated status of an excuse. Whenever I’m late for an appointment – sadly, a not infrequent occurrence, - and those who have been punctual turn on their bored ‘M25 car-park, heard it all before’ face, a surprise is sprung: ‘Terribly sorry. Really am. Couldn’t do anything about it, though… (murmers of ‘’Why?’) ‘Latest issue of G&C. Very important document. Had to read it all the way through – from the Prof. to K West. You should have seen KW’s contribution. Wow!’ It is amazing how people gathered at meetings which they think are important - if only because it bolsters their self-esteem -are flummoxed They are unsure about the term ‘G&C’. They think letters have been missed out. It evokes failures in ancient school exams, or a Union they’ve half-heard of, or that body that was supposed to be running London.
All of which leads in Hampton Court fashion to the last edition. What a delight to read of the Professor’s outing to the John Rylands Library in Manchester and to have a bibliographical lead story. I fully endorse his view that it is worth a visit. It is many years since I’ve been there, however unless things have changed, it would seem that the library’s greatest treasure – in cricketing matters, at least – was missed. 12 of the 15 issues of the almost unprocurable Britcher Scores, are held there. Samuel Britcher, first known scorer to MCC, recorded the details of matches that had taken place around the country – mostly home counties - from 1790 to 1803. The last issue in 1806, covering the seasons 1804/05, still part of the annual series, was produced by Messrs Stanhope and Graham.
The only known full set of Britcher is owned by MCC. The missing issues to complete the set were acquired a few years ago from a descendant of John Hammond, the talented Sussex and England player, who featured frequently in the Scores. Today, what would a full set be worth ? The sky’s the limit, if two or more cricketing anoraks with deep pockets were bidding against one another. If memory serves, not so long ago a single issue fetched with premium just under £100,000 at Christie’s…
And this from Robin Brodhurst
My first reply to Googlies and Chinamen, which I hasten to say I enjoy enormously. More power to your elbow, and I am certainly in the camp of those wanting more from the Great Jack Morgan.
The Professor asks about Wisdens, and in particular early ones. I was remarkably lucky to inherit an almost complete set from my grandfather, the late Harry Altham, which included three groups. Firstly, a run from 1880 to 1939 all bound in a hard green cover. Secondly after 1939 a complete run to 1964 in paperback, which I kept up to date. The first 15volumes were not all there, and anyway were what I would call working copies. The first 3 were in a one volume bound edition. I managed to complete the set over a number of years. I particularly remember being offered the 1875 edition by EK Brown (of blessed memory) for £25 back in the early 1970s. He always had a soft spot for young customers who seemed well mannered and keen to learn, and I hope I fulfilled all those criteria.
I eventually disposed of my set about three years ago as I found I was simply not using it. I could find out the details of match scores on line, and most of the important articles were printed in the Wisden Anthologies, edited by the equally sainted Benny Green. I got a good price for them from JW McKenzie of Epsom. Not the vastly inflated price that we read about in the press, which are probably only for “as new” sets with complete dust-wrappers, but a price that accurately reflected what I felt they were worth. I suspect I might have got more if I had sold them at auction as individual volumes, and then the two runs.
The Great Jack Morgan largely agrees
I have an 1886 Wisden (given to me by the late DI Dollery), though it has to be said that it does not get any use (cf R Brodhurst) so why would anyone pay much for them? Just completists, I suppose? The 1886 issue cost one shilling or 1s3d inc postage. This is the only Wisden I have prior to 1947; there was not much cricket in 1945, so unlike the Prof, I decided against the 1946 edition.
Roses and Verses
I received a copy of a limited edition book from Pat Kingwell entitled Roses and Verses. If you would like to buy a copy contact the author direct on [email protected]. It costs £9.99 UK p+p included.
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