GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 136
April 2014
Mouthing Off
I sent the following email to the Great Jack Morgan
I think that the ECB has found itself pushed into action by the failures of the winter. The KP stuff has recently overshadowed the shambles of the tour itself in which a highly successful side capitulated. Gilo was in the process of being eased into the Flower role and he would no doubt have got it by default and with little done by himself to justify it. However, as events speeded up the change process it is apparent that he has few credentials to be given the job. I think that Peter Moores is one of the few English coaches with the right kind of track record as demonstrated at Sussex and Lancashire. And why has Angus Fraser suddenly become a selector? Is he still MD of Middlesex cricket? If yes, how will he have the time?
I have not heard about much fallout in the England back room. Is it true that there about seventeen of these guys? Where are they located? Do they all have to squeeze into the dressing room? If they are not around on match days how is their influence effectual? I doubt whether you will have the answers to these questions but maybe we should start a new campaign to bash the backroom boys? The less we know about them the easier it will be to lay into them.
What are Middlesex’s prospects this year? Do we now have to consider Ollie a match winner and start preparing bunsens at Lord’s in August? The batting could be thin if Rogers and Robson are going to be absent for any length of time. It will be a critical season for Malan. An average below the upper thirties could spell curtains for him. Is Toby going to be fit? Is Tim’s fitness up to a full season? Will he be spared international duties? The more I go on I think we are destined for the drop. Will Berg be the star all rounder?
The above of course relates to the Championship. In the thrashes Stirling, Rossington and Morgan could be devastating if the wickets suit them. But despite his elevation to captaincy Morgan could be on England duty at all levels. His dropping out of the IPL suggests that someone gave him the heads up. It wasn’t the lure of leading Middlesex in Deer Park.
Will Lancashire get enough results at Old Trafford to push for the title? The absence of test calls is important as Durham showed last year. The bonus of having Onions made a critical difference. It seems unlikely that Borthwick will be a serious contender for the test side this year. Incidentally has Panesar shot his bolt? No one seems to expect him to feature going forward.
We seem to be moving into a new era of International cricket. The Aussies have beaten England and now South Africa, Ireland beat WI and New Zealand beat India. The England performance in WI so far seems mediocre but you can never really be sure about the quality of the wickets. The ungainly Sammy seemed to be the only one to score at will in the first game but then blocked it before getting out in the second innings. Morgan is becoming an injury prone player. How does he get his injuries? In the nets? Fielding practice?
Is Moeen’s rise on the back of being an all rounder? And if so is he going to fall into the camp of not being quite good enough at either? If Woakes is in contention is he now more a batter? If so, do you pick a batting all rounder at seven or eight? Is Bresnan doing his cause any good this winter? Or will English conditions suddenly push him back ahead of the contenders? So many guys seem to be given a go at the moment that any one performance may take on disproportionate significance. Lumb’s hundred being a good example. He must now be a prime contender to open in the 50 over as well as the T20 side. You obviously think that Carberry will be retained but don’t forget there is wholesale change in the selectors and management and he could quickly become a forgotten man.
Jack replied
I believe there are plenty of England backroom boys, but I doubt that they are all crammed into the dressing room at the same time. Some will have day jobs with counties and others will be based at Loughborough. Much of the coaching and fitness work will be done in advance, of course, but some will be available on match days. One would not expect a Test player to regularly need to consult (e.g.) the batting coach during a match on how to play a particular bowler: they should have planned all that in advance, but I would expect many of the back room boys to be on call for consultation if something unforeseen arises. But that is all guesswork.
Eoin played in two Championship matches last season, making 96 runs at an average of 32. How this can be interpreted as preparation for Test cricket is beyond me. I cannot really answer about Monty. He has disappointed internationally recently, but I still expect him to be a useful county wicket taker, but whether he is going to regain Test form looks dubious. Perhaps he will concentrate on his second string activity, pissing on bouncers?
I know Bressy has had injury problems, but he has not impressed me much recently. You will have noticed that I went for Stokes at 6, Prior at 7 and Woakes at 8,in George’s Quiz leaving room for two experienced pace bowlers (presumably Broad and Anderson) and a specialist spinner... but who? In order to solve the last point, I did a little research on English qualified spinners' form in the Championship last season and this is what I found (qualification 10 wkts):
wkts ave
S Kerrigan 57 20.89
O Rayner 41 23.37
J Leach 13 24.92
A Riley 14 25.79
Moeen 28 33.71
D Cosker 37 34.08
R Buckley 10 34.4
G Keedy 22 36.18
D Briggs 22 36.27
J Middlebrook 21 36.9
S Choudry 12 36.92
S Borthwick 28 38.0
M Panesar 37 38.73
J Naik 21 40.19
G Batty 27 42.26
A Rashid 29 46.83
T Smith 15 48.73
S Patel 26 49.73
W Durston 10 53.8
D Wainwright 17 54.35
J Tredwell 17 56.76
J Sykes 12 61.08
Depressing figures, aren't they? So, on this evidence, the place should go to Simon Kerrigan (though his were Second Division wickets), but who could forget that nerve ridden horror at the Oval? It also looks as if Tredders is very lucky to still be in contention. But Carberry was picked when 44th in the second division averages. I agree that Carbs could quickly be forgotten, but I felt that he did not do too badly in difficult circumstances in Oz (more runs than anyone except KP, only KP and Stokes had better averages and Carbs was clearly ahead of the likes of Cook, Bell ,Root et al) and, as he is no youngster, if they want to give him another chance, it has to be now.
Moeen is far from a rubbish bowler, but I would say that he is a batsman who bowls rather than a genuine all rounder. He has been improving steadily in recent years, he is now 26 and last year he was first to 1,000 runs and finished with 1,375 at 62.5 in the Championship, also took 28 wkts @ 33.71 and took 22 catches... not bad.
The new issue of the Panther tells us that Middlesex have added a couple to the squad, who both have Oz connections: Steve Eskinazi, nearly 20 and a batsman/ keeper, who I saw play at Sunbury last year and Cameron Steel, not 19 until September and a batsman/ leggie, of whom I had never heard and who describes himself as "American, Australian and English"!
Yes, ARCF is MD of Middlesex cricket, but I am not sure how he fills his time. He has a whole bunch of coaches and captains under him so he is not really "hands on" except in the sense that he is in charge of hiring and firing and so he watches quite a lot of cricket, sits in his office at Lord's with the TV on quite a lot and writes quite a few articles for the Annual Review, the Panther and (sometimes) the Indy. He does not seem to have much to do of any importance so he should be comfortably able to fit in some selecting, except that he will presumably be told to report on the suitability of particular players which will mean missing Middlesex matches, which will affect his ability to do the hiring and firing job properly.
Like you, I am a bit pessimistic about Middlesex's chances this season: we have axed four players and signed nobody except a couple of unknowns from Oz (see above). Rogers only plays in Tests and should not miss much of the season. It could be a problem if Robbo is called up, but I tactically left him out of the competition team in order to ensure that he is available! Ollie was certainly a match winner on the Oval bunsen, but we usually pick four seamers and one spinner for the green Lord's tracks and I think ARCF likes it that way, but Ravi Patel is also developing, so tactics could change. I have no knowledge of any injuries at present, but that could also easily change as practice turns more serious. I think Tim is keen to play for Ireland whenever possible, but for less important fixtures, Middlesex may not release him. Bergy is a useful allround cricketer, but he is already 33 and feeling a few aches and pains (and rarely looked fully fit last season), so "star allrounder" is probably expecting a bit too much.
Out and about with the Professor
The flood waters having receded around the country we are now ready for cricket which, in Yorkshire, starts (amazingly) on the first of April. The perfect prelude is, of course, an AGM and Yorkshire County Cricket Club duly met ensemble to mull over the accounts and look to the future.
There is always a good attendance at the Yorkshire AGM - or so it seems to me - and the Long Room in the East Stand was very full for the discussion and the free cup of coffee. Sadly, thirty members didn't make it from one AGM to the next and so we all stood in remembrance of those who had gone before - none of whom were known to me.
The Club had obviously had a good year so there were plaudits for the coaching staff, captain and the players. The finances didn't quite display the same level of success, there being a £600,000 operating loss on the year, but no one bothers themselves too much about that sort of thing anymore since it has become the habit for the Chairman to pick up the tab. At present Yorkshire is indebted to its Chairman to the tune of £10 million. The total debt, of £24 million means that the Club is probably technically insolvent...but we don't discuss such things. International cricket is essential to financial well-being but Yorkshire had a New Zealand test (in an Ashes year) which was not well supported and a one-dayer that was rained off.
Yorkshire still has just about the highest level of attendance for county matches of any of the counties but this doesn't bring in significant funds - indeed our accountant told us that the resulting revenue just about "washes its face". I have no idea what this means but apparently the intention is to improve on that "going forward" (a phrase which is it now essential to substitute for: "the future").
The overseas signings of Williamson and Finch seem to have been well received and coach Martyn Moxon pleaded the need for a larger than average staff since he had no idea from one week to the next which Yorkshire players would be released by England.
Future plans for the ground will please lovers of the new Kirkstall Lane End pavilion, since the intention, in the next few years, is to rebuild the stand at the other end of the ground. Since this is shared with the rugby club (their stand is on the back of ours, so to speak) it will require close collaborative working between the two clubs in a spirit of co-operation which has not always been evident in the past.
One slight note of discord concerned one Michael Vaughan. The former England captain was elected to the Board last year but the annual accounts show that he has a rather poor attendance record. In fact, of the sum total of Board meetings during the year, he has attended precisely none of them. Apparently he "contributes fully by telephone". A number of the members were far from impressed and suggested he "considered his position". Still the Chairman wants him...and we owe the Chairman £10 million.
Dickie Bird is our new President. The Chairman described him as the most passionate Yorkshireman who ever lived. Dickie gave a predictably emotional acceptance speech in which he confessed to being: "very humble but very proud" to be elected to the role. He also confessed to not sleeping a wink the night before and to being at the ground at 7.30am to rehearse his speech. It is likely to be an interesting year.
Dickie thinks that Yorkshire is the best club in the world, Gale is the best captain in the championship and that the full Yorkshire side would beat the current England team. He is not a neutral.
The only other questions from the floor concerned the price of tickets and cost of a pint of beer (it is Yorkshire after all), and the rudeness of the stewards...and Yorkshire people know rudeness when they hear it. But we will hear none from our President who has good wishes for everyone...even Lancastrians.
Arthur Gates
Arthur Gates died recently after a seven year battle against cancer. John Adams and I had been part of Mike Cope’s 1963 Danes 1st XI alongside Arthur and we travelled down to Kingston together for his funeral. We were joined by Jack Morgan who had also played in that side. I have previously written in these pages about Arthur’s two exceptional years in the school sides and his hundred wicket seasons in the Bush 1st XI have also been chronicled.
A very large gathering turned up to pay tribute to Arthur and many of us had to follow the proceedings from outside the chapel. Included among the mourners were Jim Revier, Steve Wright, Dave Perrin, Alf Langley and Chris Bunning.
Jim Revier sent me the following extracts from his address
Arthur's career began with Paddington CC, a Sunday wandering club side with many talented players. They were very much a family club with the likes of the Bunnings, Howards, and people like Eric Sheppard and John Bennett.
Arthur had an excellent school career at St Clement Danes and the following is an extract from the school magazine 'The Dane' of Autumn 1964 which summarised Arthur's final school season "The 1st XI was a very keen side that failed to fulfill its potential. Gates was once again the outstanding bowler taking over 50 wickets during the season. He was a model of accuracy and was always doing something with the ball."
The short match reports that follow in the 'Dane' give the figures : 7-29 v Harrow County, 7-34 v Chiswick County, 5-15 v Imperial College, 8-35 v Spencer Park and finally 5-32 against a side labelled as being a "fairly strong" Shepherds Bush Cricket Club XI. Not surprisingly Arthur was awarded his 1st XI colours at the end of the season and this Danes side included John Adams, Frank Foreman and Jack Morgan who were all to play with him in future years at the Bush, and the Sharp brothers who went on to ply their trade at South Hampstead.
Arthur joined the Bush because he wanted to play on Saturdays. Around this time he made his one and only appearance for the Middlesex 2nd XI in a game against Sussex at Ealing. It wasn't his most successful game but he always looked back proudly on his county appearance.
At the Bush he became a vital member of a very talented side, including future county player Keith Jones, Steve Wright and David Jukes. I fear many of Arthur's figures of the time are lost to posterity, but, I quote from the club's centenary brochure that spoke of "the arrival of Arthur Gates as a bright opening bowler prospect (taking 112 wickets in 1966).
Goldie Matters
Chris Goldie sent me this
I hate to ruin a good story but Steve Wright's description of Adam Gilchrist's spell of 2nd XI cricket during his season at Richmond in 1989 is something of an exaggeration. As Richmond's 1st XI Captain of the time, I can provide the facts.
Adam arrived in the UK on Sunday 23rd April and made his debut the following weekend in 1st XI pre-season friendlies against Epsom and Beddington on a couple of sticky April wickets. He struggled to make an impact. In the meantime, Graham Roope had contacted me to say that he was living in Teddington and was looking for a club to play for. Consequently, at selection that week, I left Adam out of the 1's for our traditional pre-league friendly against Finchley to accommodate Graham but did select him for the Sunday fixture against Wimbledon. He was also due to play in a midweek Bertie Joel Cup match against the Met Police. The rest is history.
Batting with Mickey Roseberry in the cup match, Adam scored 159 not out out of a total of 266 for 1 off 45 overs. It was too late to change the side for Saturday (despite my obvious mistake) so Adam went to Finchley for the 2's match. There he scored 113 not out and was advised by Laurie Allan that it had been nice to meet him but that he didn't think he would be seeing him again in the 2's. The next day against a strong Wimbledon 1st XI, Adam scored his third ton in 5 days and any suggestion that he might remain in the 2's to gain experience evaporated. By the end of May he had scored 996 runs for Richmond (including his only MCCL hundred against a Brondesbury side for whom Dilip Doshi bowled unchanged from one end throughout our innings).
To complete the story, Graham Roope scored a ton in the friendly against Finchley 1's (and remarked afterwards that it was his first ever hundred in club cricket) but followed this up with a duck against South Hampstead in the opening MCCL match and then headed north to play professionally.
I like the idea of exaggerated stories particularly when mixed with captains retaining players in lower elevens. So I asked Allen Bruton if he could contribute. He sent me this:
Ken James’ teams with their ‘guests’ and ringers are part of South Hampstead and Old Uffingtonian folklore. Unfortunately, as with a lot of folklore, hard facts and evidence are somewhat more difficult to produce. It is possible that Tony Williams did grace the S.H. 3rd.Eleven and I am not sure how long it took for Lincoln Sylburne to surface as a first eleven player. However, without the 3rd. Team scorebooks, which I am assuming now constitute Ken’s bedtime reading, it is impossible to be too dogmatic about events of some 40 years ago.
It might be worthwhile asking Ken to compile his all time star elevens from the players he captained in 3rd. X1 cricket and 5th.X1 football. If his memory needs jogging the following would be a reasonable start on the footballing front.
Goalkeeper: Dave Beasant ( England, Wimbledon, Chelsea etc.)
Right Back: Gary Locke ( Chelsea, Crystal Palace )
Left Back : Mick Barry (Enfield )
Right Half : Ken James (Captain )
The first three of the above may be open to debate but the captain’s position is not.
Brodhurst Matters
Robin Brodhurst sent me this
The Professor divides opinions on KP into three groups. I think I fall into the second category, people who are pragmatic enough to think he should be in the team, even though they don't like him. I have certainly never met KP, but I don't like what I see on TV or read in the papers. We can only form opinions that way. I don't like what I read about Monty, but I do like what I read about Bill Slim. I never met either - I'm much too young - but that doesn't stop me having valid opinions about both.So I feel my opinion on KP is as valid as anybody else's who hasn't met him.
I was quite happy when KP came into the team and he has certainly played a number of breathtaking innings. He is certainly brash and selfish, but then so is much of today's society. Equally certainly is the fact that the managers and support staff are paid handsomely to cope with that, and ensure that all contribute their best.
However, you hit the nail on the head when you question his loyalty. I would have sacked him permanently after the SA episode in 2012, as they did. He only came back, I think, because Cook wanted him in India, believing, I guess, that he could handle him. Cook was rewarded by one of KP's great innings. A new captain does have considerable power in selection matters, and one can imagine the conversation: "Are you sure?" "Yes!" "On your head be it!" I would suspect that this is where the mistake was made.
Obviously things went wrong in Australia within the dressing room as much as on the pitch. I suspect that with Flower going and Cook apparently changing his mind, there were too few people prepared to support KP any longer. The senior players were no longer prepared to put up with such a divisive player.
Of course, I could be hopelessly wrong about the whole thing, but it does remind me a little of the wholesale clear-out after the 1958-59 tour to Australia in more ways than one.
And then this
As so often Douglas Miller gets it right! His comments on umpiring and the DRS are spot on. I suspect that very few practicing umpires would disagree with him. Every umpire gets decisions wrong, even the top flight test umpires - think of David Shepherd and those no balls from Waquar etc. However, the key thing is not to harp on them and try to even things up. Technology allows us to correct the very few errors that get made at Test match level, provided the 3rd unpire does his job properly. Mercifully we have moved on from the histrionic Dickie Bird, and his desire to be the centre of attention, to the quiet authority of Simon Taufell or Aleem Dar.
My one addition to Douglas' piece would be to ask why, given the technology now available, do we still need neutral umpires? England has traditionally produced some of the best test umpires, but they are not allowed to umpire in their home country. We have moved on from some of the poor umpiring moments of the past and now have highly respected panels who should all be allowed to umpire anywhere, home or abroad.
Carlin Matters
Paddy Carlin sent me the following notes
We shall miss George Arthur’s recitations of “Tomkins” and “the boy who was always caught at slip”. I think that these were written by AA Milne. George, a life member of WGCCC, was the club’s first third XI captain and in those days anyone, provided they had white shoes, was welcome to play. George carried around with him a tube of whitener. He would tell the tales of the man who in his first and only game did not realise that the bowling came from alternate ends and as the second over started was still in his original position and facing the wrong way. And the two members of the rugby club who played mercifully only a couple of times and suggested to George that a batsman who was looking too well set could be roughed up a little to discourage him. Dear George, RIP.
A third major reason, after batting and bowling, why the Aussies thrashed us is that they seemed to hold all of their catches and we seemed to drop most of ours, at least the important ones. And I agree that the Aussie batsmen would have struggled against Johnson-he had a most destructive few games in state cricket just prior to the tests when the English, South African, New Zealand and Irish players were either doing nothing but looking good in the nets, or playing club standard games in Hobart or Canberra.
The Hertfordshire clubs have broken away from or been expelled depending on your viewpoint from the ECB Premier Home Counties League which includes Herts, Beds, Bucks, Oxon and bits of Hants. In other words bits of the London and South East that were not covered by Middlesex, Kent Surrey or Essex. A Herts side has never won this league which has been dominated recently by Henley and High Wycombe although WGCCC came second a couple of years ago and the likes of Radlett and recently Harpenden (WGCCC old boys) have competed well.
The thinking behind this action of the majority of clubs is that this will strengthen Herts cricket and that in due course the ECB Premier Herts League will be recognised. I am not sure about this but equally am not sure that it matters. I am sure that Herts cricket will not be strengthened when only Herts clubs play each other. It could be the same as saying English cricket will be stronger if we stopped playing those rude Aussies and South Africans and stopped touring India and Pakistan.
So next season no games against Henley, High Wycombe, Banbury, Slough, Oxford etc. It will be easier yes but better no. There may have been some pressure from the Herts league sponsor, Saracens, who have been remarkably generous in sponsoring a league which did not include the best Herts sides.
Hart Matters
Bill Hart has been unable to contain himself following his recent bout of teasing by Steve Wright
My brother played golf last week with Chris Goldie, who revealed that he too was one of your readers, knew Peach and Cordaroy, but had never heard of me. Which goes to show that fame is not just elusive, it is also illusory.
I have tried hard not to waste my time in another futile attempt to ignore that twat Wright, but unfortunately I have been unable to.
Firstly, may I thank Steve Thompson for his splendid answer to my request for information on Tony Williams. It ticked all the boxes and showed that Tony was not only extremely talented but also very resilient, a quality that I particularly admire. His 515 wickets in 273 League games is a splendid record indeed.
Unfortunately, I find that I must again waste my time, answering the inane comments of Steve Wright, whoever he is. Despite his claim to speak for all Googlies readers with his comments on my "declining years", I respectfully hope that he doesn't. I was forty years old in 1975, and therefore somewhat unlikely to have played in any match with Tony Williams, when in his prime.
My "declining years", to which Steve Wright disparagingly refers, had begun before Tony had even appeared at Milverton Rd, never mind at Brentham.
I am afraid that Mr Wright's attempted joke about 1974 merely confirms the truism that his "facts" are never accurate. My first game for SHCC was in 1962, when already 27 years old, and my last first XI season was 1972, (with 36 games played at the age of 37), before returning, in 1973, to my previous club, the Old Grammarians C.C., for three winding down years.
It is a fact that news and views on teams and players of the '60s and '70s' are still of great interest to me, and I suspect to the majority of Googlies readers. It is even possible that they are more interesting than interminable stories about obscure minor counties matches, but that is not for me to decide. Since the far-off days of the 1970’s, golf has been my game, and despite being in my dotage, I still manage to play three or four times a week, although it must be said that my handicap has now slid out from 8 to 14. However, I hope these facts assure those Googlies readers that know me, that the decline has, thankfully, been a gradual one. Perhaps Steve should stick to presenting his "Love Songs" on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday mornings, or is that some other Steve Wright?
I fear that Bill is just setting himself up again…
Strange Elevens
The Great Jack Morgan sent me this
Here is a sad XI of dead cricketing Danes:
R Kingdon
P Fleet
C Evans
D Richardson
A Pickering
R Proctor
G Wright
G Cleaver
A Gates
P Edmunds
M Turner
Master in Charge: R. Collins
I played with eight of those, another was our scorer, another was a brother of a team-mate and the last one I played against.
Meanwhile George has entered the wait and see stage of his quiz and has been reflecting in an exchange of emails with John McCloughlin and others that four of their 1967 Danes side – Kingdon, Proctor, Fleet and Rose – are now deceased.
300 Club Matters
Malcolm Cromer thinks that I should have made more of Brendon McCullum’s joining the test 300 Club and he sent me a double page pull out from The New Zealand Herald detailing all of the records that were broken. In my list of recent joiners I missed out Amla.
www.googliesandchinamen.com
All of the back editions of Googlies are available on the website together with a large collection of photographs covering St Clement Danes, South Hampstead, Old Danes Gatherings and other topics. The South Hampstead scorecards from 1961 to 1975 for both 1st and 2nd XIs, as transcribed by Bill Hart and Alan Cox, have now been posted and I will be happy to add any material that you can contribute.
Old Danes Gathering
There will be an Old Danes Gathering on Friday 25 July at Shepherds Bush CC from 2pm. Let me know if you plan to attend and I will add you to the lists which I will circulate periodically.
Football Matters
Kelvin West has been quite unfairly receiving sackfulls of hate mail accusing him of being sexist following his contributions to this journal over the years. However, the pressure has eased of late when one of his protegees posted the following photo on her Facebook page.
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 136
April 2014
Mouthing Off
I sent the following email to the Great Jack Morgan
I think that the ECB has found itself pushed into action by the failures of the winter. The KP stuff has recently overshadowed the shambles of the tour itself in which a highly successful side capitulated. Gilo was in the process of being eased into the Flower role and he would no doubt have got it by default and with little done by himself to justify it. However, as events speeded up the change process it is apparent that he has few credentials to be given the job. I think that Peter Moores is one of the few English coaches with the right kind of track record as demonstrated at Sussex and Lancashire. And why has Angus Fraser suddenly become a selector? Is he still MD of Middlesex cricket? If yes, how will he have the time?
I have not heard about much fallout in the England back room. Is it true that there about seventeen of these guys? Where are they located? Do they all have to squeeze into the dressing room? If they are not around on match days how is their influence effectual? I doubt whether you will have the answers to these questions but maybe we should start a new campaign to bash the backroom boys? The less we know about them the easier it will be to lay into them.
What are Middlesex’s prospects this year? Do we now have to consider Ollie a match winner and start preparing bunsens at Lord’s in August? The batting could be thin if Rogers and Robson are going to be absent for any length of time. It will be a critical season for Malan. An average below the upper thirties could spell curtains for him. Is Toby going to be fit? Is Tim’s fitness up to a full season? Will he be spared international duties? The more I go on I think we are destined for the drop. Will Berg be the star all rounder?
The above of course relates to the Championship. In the thrashes Stirling, Rossington and Morgan could be devastating if the wickets suit them. But despite his elevation to captaincy Morgan could be on England duty at all levels. His dropping out of the IPL suggests that someone gave him the heads up. It wasn’t the lure of leading Middlesex in Deer Park.
Will Lancashire get enough results at Old Trafford to push for the title? The absence of test calls is important as Durham showed last year. The bonus of having Onions made a critical difference. It seems unlikely that Borthwick will be a serious contender for the test side this year. Incidentally has Panesar shot his bolt? No one seems to expect him to feature going forward.
We seem to be moving into a new era of International cricket. The Aussies have beaten England and now South Africa, Ireland beat WI and New Zealand beat India. The England performance in WI so far seems mediocre but you can never really be sure about the quality of the wickets. The ungainly Sammy seemed to be the only one to score at will in the first game but then blocked it before getting out in the second innings. Morgan is becoming an injury prone player. How does he get his injuries? In the nets? Fielding practice?
Is Moeen’s rise on the back of being an all rounder? And if so is he going to fall into the camp of not being quite good enough at either? If Woakes is in contention is he now more a batter? If so, do you pick a batting all rounder at seven or eight? Is Bresnan doing his cause any good this winter? Or will English conditions suddenly push him back ahead of the contenders? So many guys seem to be given a go at the moment that any one performance may take on disproportionate significance. Lumb’s hundred being a good example. He must now be a prime contender to open in the 50 over as well as the T20 side. You obviously think that Carberry will be retained but don’t forget there is wholesale change in the selectors and management and he could quickly become a forgotten man.
Jack replied
I believe there are plenty of England backroom boys, but I doubt that they are all crammed into the dressing room at the same time. Some will have day jobs with counties and others will be based at Loughborough. Much of the coaching and fitness work will be done in advance, of course, but some will be available on match days. One would not expect a Test player to regularly need to consult (e.g.) the batting coach during a match on how to play a particular bowler: they should have planned all that in advance, but I would expect many of the back room boys to be on call for consultation if something unforeseen arises. But that is all guesswork.
Eoin played in two Championship matches last season, making 96 runs at an average of 32. How this can be interpreted as preparation for Test cricket is beyond me. I cannot really answer about Monty. He has disappointed internationally recently, but I still expect him to be a useful county wicket taker, but whether he is going to regain Test form looks dubious. Perhaps he will concentrate on his second string activity, pissing on bouncers?
I know Bressy has had injury problems, but he has not impressed me much recently. You will have noticed that I went for Stokes at 6, Prior at 7 and Woakes at 8,in George’s Quiz leaving room for two experienced pace bowlers (presumably Broad and Anderson) and a specialist spinner... but who? In order to solve the last point, I did a little research on English qualified spinners' form in the Championship last season and this is what I found (qualification 10 wkts):
wkts ave
S Kerrigan 57 20.89
O Rayner 41 23.37
J Leach 13 24.92
A Riley 14 25.79
Moeen 28 33.71
D Cosker 37 34.08
R Buckley 10 34.4
G Keedy 22 36.18
D Briggs 22 36.27
J Middlebrook 21 36.9
S Choudry 12 36.92
S Borthwick 28 38.0
M Panesar 37 38.73
J Naik 21 40.19
G Batty 27 42.26
A Rashid 29 46.83
T Smith 15 48.73
S Patel 26 49.73
W Durston 10 53.8
D Wainwright 17 54.35
J Tredwell 17 56.76
J Sykes 12 61.08
Depressing figures, aren't they? So, on this evidence, the place should go to Simon Kerrigan (though his were Second Division wickets), but who could forget that nerve ridden horror at the Oval? It also looks as if Tredders is very lucky to still be in contention. But Carberry was picked when 44th in the second division averages. I agree that Carbs could quickly be forgotten, but I felt that he did not do too badly in difficult circumstances in Oz (more runs than anyone except KP, only KP and Stokes had better averages and Carbs was clearly ahead of the likes of Cook, Bell ,Root et al) and, as he is no youngster, if they want to give him another chance, it has to be now.
Moeen is far from a rubbish bowler, but I would say that he is a batsman who bowls rather than a genuine all rounder. He has been improving steadily in recent years, he is now 26 and last year he was first to 1,000 runs and finished with 1,375 at 62.5 in the Championship, also took 28 wkts @ 33.71 and took 22 catches... not bad.
The new issue of the Panther tells us that Middlesex have added a couple to the squad, who both have Oz connections: Steve Eskinazi, nearly 20 and a batsman/ keeper, who I saw play at Sunbury last year and Cameron Steel, not 19 until September and a batsman/ leggie, of whom I had never heard and who describes himself as "American, Australian and English"!
Yes, ARCF is MD of Middlesex cricket, but I am not sure how he fills his time. He has a whole bunch of coaches and captains under him so he is not really "hands on" except in the sense that he is in charge of hiring and firing and so he watches quite a lot of cricket, sits in his office at Lord's with the TV on quite a lot and writes quite a few articles for the Annual Review, the Panther and (sometimes) the Indy. He does not seem to have much to do of any importance so he should be comfortably able to fit in some selecting, except that he will presumably be told to report on the suitability of particular players which will mean missing Middlesex matches, which will affect his ability to do the hiring and firing job properly.
Like you, I am a bit pessimistic about Middlesex's chances this season: we have axed four players and signed nobody except a couple of unknowns from Oz (see above). Rogers only plays in Tests and should not miss much of the season. It could be a problem if Robbo is called up, but I tactically left him out of the competition team in order to ensure that he is available! Ollie was certainly a match winner on the Oval bunsen, but we usually pick four seamers and one spinner for the green Lord's tracks and I think ARCF likes it that way, but Ravi Patel is also developing, so tactics could change. I have no knowledge of any injuries at present, but that could also easily change as practice turns more serious. I think Tim is keen to play for Ireland whenever possible, but for less important fixtures, Middlesex may not release him. Bergy is a useful allround cricketer, but he is already 33 and feeling a few aches and pains (and rarely looked fully fit last season), so "star allrounder" is probably expecting a bit too much.
Out and about with the Professor
The flood waters having receded around the country we are now ready for cricket which, in Yorkshire, starts (amazingly) on the first of April. The perfect prelude is, of course, an AGM and Yorkshire County Cricket Club duly met ensemble to mull over the accounts and look to the future.
There is always a good attendance at the Yorkshire AGM - or so it seems to me - and the Long Room in the East Stand was very full for the discussion and the free cup of coffee. Sadly, thirty members didn't make it from one AGM to the next and so we all stood in remembrance of those who had gone before - none of whom were known to me.
The Club had obviously had a good year so there were plaudits for the coaching staff, captain and the players. The finances didn't quite display the same level of success, there being a £600,000 operating loss on the year, but no one bothers themselves too much about that sort of thing anymore since it has become the habit for the Chairman to pick up the tab. At present Yorkshire is indebted to its Chairman to the tune of £10 million. The total debt, of £24 million means that the Club is probably technically insolvent...but we don't discuss such things. International cricket is essential to financial well-being but Yorkshire had a New Zealand test (in an Ashes year) which was not well supported and a one-dayer that was rained off.
Yorkshire still has just about the highest level of attendance for county matches of any of the counties but this doesn't bring in significant funds - indeed our accountant told us that the resulting revenue just about "washes its face". I have no idea what this means but apparently the intention is to improve on that "going forward" (a phrase which is it now essential to substitute for: "the future").
The overseas signings of Williamson and Finch seem to have been well received and coach Martyn Moxon pleaded the need for a larger than average staff since he had no idea from one week to the next which Yorkshire players would be released by England.
Future plans for the ground will please lovers of the new Kirkstall Lane End pavilion, since the intention, in the next few years, is to rebuild the stand at the other end of the ground. Since this is shared with the rugby club (their stand is on the back of ours, so to speak) it will require close collaborative working between the two clubs in a spirit of co-operation which has not always been evident in the past.
One slight note of discord concerned one Michael Vaughan. The former England captain was elected to the Board last year but the annual accounts show that he has a rather poor attendance record. In fact, of the sum total of Board meetings during the year, he has attended precisely none of them. Apparently he "contributes fully by telephone". A number of the members were far from impressed and suggested he "considered his position". Still the Chairman wants him...and we owe the Chairman £10 million.
Dickie Bird is our new President. The Chairman described him as the most passionate Yorkshireman who ever lived. Dickie gave a predictably emotional acceptance speech in which he confessed to being: "very humble but very proud" to be elected to the role. He also confessed to not sleeping a wink the night before and to being at the ground at 7.30am to rehearse his speech. It is likely to be an interesting year.
Dickie thinks that Yorkshire is the best club in the world, Gale is the best captain in the championship and that the full Yorkshire side would beat the current England team. He is not a neutral.
The only other questions from the floor concerned the price of tickets and cost of a pint of beer (it is Yorkshire after all), and the rudeness of the stewards...and Yorkshire people know rudeness when they hear it. But we will hear none from our President who has good wishes for everyone...even Lancastrians.
Arthur Gates
Arthur Gates died recently after a seven year battle against cancer. John Adams and I had been part of Mike Cope’s 1963 Danes 1st XI alongside Arthur and we travelled down to Kingston together for his funeral. We were joined by Jack Morgan who had also played in that side. I have previously written in these pages about Arthur’s two exceptional years in the school sides and his hundred wicket seasons in the Bush 1st XI have also been chronicled.
A very large gathering turned up to pay tribute to Arthur and many of us had to follow the proceedings from outside the chapel. Included among the mourners were Jim Revier, Steve Wright, Dave Perrin, Alf Langley and Chris Bunning.
Jim Revier sent me the following extracts from his address
Arthur's career began with Paddington CC, a Sunday wandering club side with many talented players. They were very much a family club with the likes of the Bunnings, Howards, and people like Eric Sheppard and John Bennett.
Arthur had an excellent school career at St Clement Danes and the following is an extract from the school magazine 'The Dane' of Autumn 1964 which summarised Arthur's final school season "The 1st XI was a very keen side that failed to fulfill its potential. Gates was once again the outstanding bowler taking over 50 wickets during the season. He was a model of accuracy and was always doing something with the ball."
The short match reports that follow in the 'Dane' give the figures : 7-29 v Harrow County, 7-34 v Chiswick County, 5-15 v Imperial College, 8-35 v Spencer Park and finally 5-32 against a side labelled as being a "fairly strong" Shepherds Bush Cricket Club XI. Not surprisingly Arthur was awarded his 1st XI colours at the end of the season and this Danes side included John Adams, Frank Foreman and Jack Morgan who were all to play with him in future years at the Bush, and the Sharp brothers who went on to ply their trade at South Hampstead.
Arthur joined the Bush because he wanted to play on Saturdays. Around this time he made his one and only appearance for the Middlesex 2nd XI in a game against Sussex at Ealing. It wasn't his most successful game but he always looked back proudly on his county appearance.
At the Bush he became a vital member of a very talented side, including future county player Keith Jones, Steve Wright and David Jukes. I fear many of Arthur's figures of the time are lost to posterity, but, I quote from the club's centenary brochure that spoke of "the arrival of Arthur Gates as a bright opening bowler prospect (taking 112 wickets in 1966).
Goldie Matters
Chris Goldie sent me this
I hate to ruin a good story but Steve Wright's description of Adam Gilchrist's spell of 2nd XI cricket during his season at Richmond in 1989 is something of an exaggeration. As Richmond's 1st XI Captain of the time, I can provide the facts.
Adam arrived in the UK on Sunday 23rd April and made his debut the following weekend in 1st XI pre-season friendlies against Epsom and Beddington on a couple of sticky April wickets. He struggled to make an impact. In the meantime, Graham Roope had contacted me to say that he was living in Teddington and was looking for a club to play for. Consequently, at selection that week, I left Adam out of the 1's for our traditional pre-league friendly against Finchley to accommodate Graham but did select him for the Sunday fixture against Wimbledon. He was also due to play in a midweek Bertie Joel Cup match against the Met Police. The rest is history.
Batting with Mickey Roseberry in the cup match, Adam scored 159 not out out of a total of 266 for 1 off 45 overs. It was too late to change the side for Saturday (despite my obvious mistake) so Adam went to Finchley for the 2's match. There he scored 113 not out and was advised by Laurie Allan that it had been nice to meet him but that he didn't think he would be seeing him again in the 2's. The next day against a strong Wimbledon 1st XI, Adam scored his third ton in 5 days and any suggestion that he might remain in the 2's to gain experience evaporated. By the end of May he had scored 996 runs for Richmond (including his only MCCL hundred against a Brondesbury side for whom Dilip Doshi bowled unchanged from one end throughout our innings).
To complete the story, Graham Roope scored a ton in the friendly against Finchley 1's (and remarked afterwards that it was his first ever hundred in club cricket) but followed this up with a duck against South Hampstead in the opening MCCL match and then headed north to play professionally.
I like the idea of exaggerated stories particularly when mixed with captains retaining players in lower elevens. So I asked Allen Bruton if he could contribute. He sent me this:
Ken James’ teams with their ‘guests’ and ringers are part of South Hampstead and Old Uffingtonian folklore. Unfortunately, as with a lot of folklore, hard facts and evidence are somewhat more difficult to produce. It is possible that Tony Williams did grace the S.H. 3rd.Eleven and I am not sure how long it took for Lincoln Sylburne to surface as a first eleven player. However, without the 3rd. Team scorebooks, which I am assuming now constitute Ken’s bedtime reading, it is impossible to be too dogmatic about events of some 40 years ago.
It might be worthwhile asking Ken to compile his all time star elevens from the players he captained in 3rd. X1 cricket and 5th.X1 football. If his memory needs jogging the following would be a reasonable start on the footballing front.
Goalkeeper: Dave Beasant ( England, Wimbledon, Chelsea etc.)
Right Back: Gary Locke ( Chelsea, Crystal Palace )
Left Back : Mick Barry (Enfield )
Right Half : Ken James (Captain )
The first three of the above may be open to debate but the captain’s position is not.
Brodhurst Matters
Robin Brodhurst sent me this
The Professor divides opinions on KP into three groups. I think I fall into the second category, people who are pragmatic enough to think he should be in the team, even though they don't like him. I have certainly never met KP, but I don't like what I see on TV or read in the papers. We can only form opinions that way. I don't like what I read about Monty, but I do like what I read about Bill Slim. I never met either - I'm much too young - but that doesn't stop me having valid opinions about both.So I feel my opinion on KP is as valid as anybody else's who hasn't met him.
I was quite happy when KP came into the team and he has certainly played a number of breathtaking innings. He is certainly brash and selfish, but then so is much of today's society. Equally certainly is the fact that the managers and support staff are paid handsomely to cope with that, and ensure that all contribute their best.
However, you hit the nail on the head when you question his loyalty. I would have sacked him permanently after the SA episode in 2012, as they did. He only came back, I think, because Cook wanted him in India, believing, I guess, that he could handle him. Cook was rewarded by one of KP's great innings. A new captain does have considerable power in selection matters, and one can imagine the conversation: "Are you sure?" "Yes!" "On your head be it!" I would suspect that this is where the mistake was made.
Obviously things went wrong in Australia within the dressing room as much as on the pitch. I suspect that with Flower going and Cook apparently changing his mind, there were too few people prepared to support KP any longer. The senior players were no longer prepared to put up with such a divisive player.
Of course, I could be hopelessly wrong about the whole thing, but it does remind me a little of the wholesale clear-out after the 1958-59 tour to Australia in more ways than one.
And then this
As so often Douglas Miller gets it right! His comments on umpiring and the DRS are spot on. I suspect that very few practicing umpires would disagree with him. Every umpire gets decisions wrong, even the top flight test umpires - think of David Shepherd and those no balls from Waquar etc. However, the key thing is not to harp on them and try to even things up. Technology allows us to correct the very few errors that get made at Test match level, provided the 3rd unpire does his job properly. Mercifully we have moved on from the histrionic Dickie Bird, and his desire to be the centre of attention, to the quiet authority of Simon Taufell or Aleem Dar.
My one addition to Douglas' piece would be to ask why, given the technology now available, do we still need neutral umpires? England has traditionally produced some of the best test umpires, but they are not allowed to umpire in their home country. We have moved on from some of the poor umpiring moments of the past and now have highly respected panels who should all be allowed to umpire anywhere, home or abroad.
Carlin Matters
Paddy Carlin sent me the following notes
We shall miss George Arthur’s recitations of “Tomkins” and “the boy who was always caught at slip”. I think that these were written by AA Milne. George, a life member of WGCCC, was the club’s first third XI captain and in those days anyone, provided they had white shoes, was welcome to play. George carried around with him a tube of whitener. He would tell the tales of the man who in his first and only game did not realise that the bowling came from alternate ends and as the second over started was still in his original position and facing the wrong way. And the two members of the rugby club who played mercifully only a couple of times and suggested to George that a batsman who was looking too well set could be roughed up a little to discourage him. Dear George, RIP.
A third major reason, after batting and bowling, why the Aussies thrashed us is that they seemed to hold all of their catches and we seemed to drop most of ours, at least the important ones. And I agree that the Aussie batsmen would have struggled against Johnson-he had a most destructive few games in state cricket just prior to the tests when the English, South African, New Zealand and Irish players were either doing nothing but looking good in the nets, or playing club standard games in Hobart or Canberra.
The Hertfordshire clubs have broken away from or been expelled depending on your viewpoint from the ECB Premier Home Counties League which includes Herts, Beds, Bucks, Oxon and bits of Hants. In other words bits of the London and South East that were not covered by Middlesex, Kent Surrey or Essex. A Herts side has never won this league which has been dominated recently by Henley and High Wycombe although WGCCC came second a couple of years ago and the likes of Radlett and recently Harpenden (WGCCC old boys) have competed well.
The thinking behind this action of the majority of clubs is that this will strengthen Herts cricket and that in due course the ECB Premier Herts League will be recognised. I am not sure about this but equally am not sure that it matters. I am sure that Herts cricket will not be strengthened when only Herts clubs play each other. It could be the same as saying English cricket will be stronger if we stopped playing those rude Aussies and South Africans and stopped touring India and Pakistan.
So next season no games against Henley, High Wycombe, Banbury, Slough, Oxford etc. It will be easier yes but better no. There may have been some pressure from the Herts league sponsor, Saracens, who have been remarkably generous in sponsoring a league which did not include the best Herts sides.
Hart Matters
Bill Hart has been unable to contain himself following his recent bout of teasing by Steve Wright
My brother played golf last week with Chris Goldie, who revealed that he too was one of your readers, knew Peach and Cordaroy, but had never heard of me. Which goes to show that fame is not just elusive, it is also illusory.
I have tried hard not to waste my time in another futile attempt to ignore that twat Wright, but unfortunately I have been unable to.
Firstly, may I thank Steve Thompson for his splendid answer to my request for information on Tony Williams. It ticked all the boxes and showed that Tony was not only extremely talented but also very resilient, a quality that I particularly admire. His 515 wickets in 273 League games is a splendid record indeed.
Unfortunately, I find that I must again waste my time, answering the inane comments of Steve Wright, whoever he is. Despite his claim to speak for all Googlies readers with his comments on my "declining years", I respectfully hope that he doesn't. I was forty years old in 1975, and therefore somewhat unlikely to have played in any match with Tony Williams, when in his prime.
My "declining years", to which Steve Wright disparagingly refers, had begun before Tony had even appeared at Milverton Rd, never mind at Brentham.
I am afraid that Mr Wright's attempted joke about 1974 merely confirms the truism that his "facts" are never accurate. My first game for SHCC was in 1962, when already 27 years old, and my last first XI season was 1972, (with 36 games played at the age of 37), before returning, in 1973, to my previous club, the Old Grammarians C.C., for three winding down years.
It is a fact that news and views on teams and players of the '60s and '70s' are still of great interest to me, and I suspect to the majority of Googlies readers. It is even possible that they are more interesting than interminable stories about obscure minor counties matches, but that is not for me to decide. Since the far-off days of the 1970’s, golf has been my game, and despite being in my dotage, I still manage to play three or four times a week, although it must be said that my handicap has now slid out from 8 to 14. However, I hope these facts assure those Googlies readers that know me, that the decline has, thankfully, been a gradual one. Perhaps Steve should stick to presenting his "Love Songs" on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday mornings, or is that some other Steve Wright?
I fear that Bill is just setting himself up again…
Strange Elevens
The Great Jack Morgan sent me this
Here is a sad XI of dead cricketing Danes:
R Kingdon
P Fleet
C Evans
D Richardson
A Pickering
R Proctor
G Wright
G Cleaver
A Gates
P Edmunds
M Turner
Master in Charge: R. Collins
I played with eight of those, another was our scorer, another was a brother of a team-mate and the last one I played against.
Meanwhile George has entered the wait and see stage of his quiz and has been reflecting in an exchange of emails with John McCloughlin and others that four of their 1967 Danes side – Kingdon, Proctor, Fleet and Rose – are now deceased.
300 Club Matters
Malcolm Cromer thinks that I should have made more of Brendon McCullum’s joining the test 300 Club and he sent me a double page pull out from The New Zealand Herald detailing all of the records that were broken. In my list of recent joiners I missed out Amla.
www.googliesandchinamen.com
All of the back editions of Googlies are available on the website together with a large collection of photographs covering St Clement Danes, South Hampstead, Old Danes Gatherings and other topics. The South Hampstead scorecards from 1961 to 1975 for both 1st and 2nd XIs, as transcribed by Bill Hart and Alan Cox, have now been posted and I will be happy to add any material that you can contribute.
Old Danes Gathering
There will be an Old Danes Gathering on Friday 25 July at Shepherds Bush CC from 2pm. Let me know if you plan to attend and I will add you to the lists which I will circulate periodically.
Football Matters
Kelvin West has been quite unfairly receiving sackfulls of hate mail accusing him of being sexist following his contributions to this journal over the years. However, the pressure has eased of late when one of his protegees posted the following photo on her Facebook page.
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