G&C 199
GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 199
July 2019
This and That
Whilst Middlesex languish in the relegation spots in the Second Division of the Championship it is impossible to ignore the recent exploits of their alumni.
Ned Eckersley made 118 for Durham against Sussex batting at number seven. Joe Denly made 167 not out for Kent against Nottinghamshire and in the same match Harry Podmore bowled his side to victory taking 5 for 41.
Ryan Higgins also batting at number seven made 199 for Gloucestershire against Leicestershire.
Neil Dexter hasn’t had too many games for Leicestershire this season but came in at number three against Gloucestershire and scored 180, adding 320 for the second wicket with Azad.
In the match between Derbyshire and Glamorgan Tom Lace (on loan from Middlesex joined skipper Billy Godleman (ex-Middlesex) at 74 for 2. They added 291 before Lace was out for 140. Godleman went on to score 227. In the first innings of this match Glamorgan had reached 217 for 8 before Graham Wagg was joined by Lukas Carey who then added 167 for the ninth wicket.
I watched much of the first two weeks of the World Cup but have been away since. My views below are therefore a mixture of second-, third- and fourth-hand observations. No change there then.
The West Indies kicked off with an old-fashioned Caribbean style bullying of Pakistan. Their subsequent defeat to a magnificent Bangladesh run chase of 322 with eight overs to spare is probably the performance of the tournament.
Eion Morgan is one of the breed of ultra modern batsmen who include more sixes than fours in their innings on a regular basis. In his remarkable 148 against Afghanistan he managed a record 17 sixes and just 4 fours and as he faced just 71 balls he also achieved scoring at over 200 (2 runs per ball faced). England scored 230 from the last 20 overs.
In contrast when England lost to Pakistan both Root and Buttler scored hundreds but neither achieved the required scoring rate.
The West Indian commentators make much of Hetmyer as a fielder but in the early stages he dropped two critical catches – one at cover and then another at deep mid-wicket off Coulter-Nile which probably cost them the game against Australia. He is a very talented clean hitter of the ball but is also reckless from what I have seen. I rate Pooran as a better bet to make it at the highest level.
Mention should also be made of Stokes’ catch which at the time of writing looks like being the second best catch in the WC. It is hard to see anything bettering Cottrell’s boundary effort to dismiss Steve Smith. He caught the ball one handed at full stretch having made substantial ground and then had to throw the ball in the air whilst he careered over the rope and then returned to complete the catch.
The West Indies Australia match also featured the strange battle between Chris Gayle and the umpire, Chris Gaffney. In the space of two overs there were three referrals to the video umpire. When the Aussies appealed for caught behind Gaffney gave Gayle out only for the decision to be reversed on appeal as the ball had hit the wicket not the bat. This was one of many occasions when the ball failed to dislodge the bails after hitting the wicket, in some cases quite hard. Next Starc had a successful appeal for LBW overturned as the replay showed the ball hit outside the leg stump and was missing by even more. Gaffney’s original decision of out may have been the worst by an umpire in the whole competition. Then in his next over Starc got his man when Gaffney gave Gayle out LBW. Gayle again appealed but was given out this time. But the saga was not over as the Sky team re ran the previous delivery which was a massive overstep by Starc which Gaffney failed to give as a no ball. The out delivery should, therefore, have been a free hit.
The standard of wicket keeping in the WC has been depressingly awful. Hardly any of the sides have selected an accredited gloves man and all have been suffering the ignominy of errors by their pressed into service batsmen to fulfil the role. The worst example I saw was the Bangladesh clown who must have taken advice from a non-cricketing, possibly baseball coach. When attempting to effect a run out he tried to take the ball in front of the stumps and broke them when stretching forward. When he took the ball he had time, but not the wit, to lift a stump and so missed an easy dismissal. Incidentally the throw in would have hit he stumps direct and so if he had just waited to take the ball in the tried and conventional way his side would have gained a wicket since the batsman was only halfway down the wicket.
Out & About with the Professor
I’m told that Cricket Weeks are almost a thing of the past. Along with cricket tours they have suffered from two effects: the first being the general decline in interest in cricket over the past few decades, and the second (obviously related) is the decline in mid-week cricket.
So I am especially pleased that my own club, Welwyn Garden City, continues with at least one of these traditions and still has a full cricket week; five days of cricket in (this year at least) glorious weather. For cricketers of earlier generations, a successful cricket week was a main contributor to the club’s finances: have a good cricket week and you might be able to pay the bills for the rest of the year. Sadly, the institution is dying and so, presumably, clubs find other ways of keeping going. This year we had games against a local village, against the Stoics and the MCC and the always popular Past v Present where people you haven’t seen for years suddenly turn up and start remembering in detail events of the past, some of which may actually have happened.
Our cricket week also is the time for the Life Members lunch, a number of whom are Googlies readers and here are some of them at around about the port-and-cheese time of day.
There was much debate around the table, as you might expect, about the World Cup: how successful a competition/who will win. My two cents on these topics are that the competition has, of course, been a success but could have been more so. It feels as if the pitches have all been on the slow side and the anticipated big scores (even with, in some cases, tiny boundaries) have not materialised. The fact that it has only been live on Sky has also limited the appeal. Just when cricket could have had a real boost from hosting the World Cup, the coverage is greatly limited by the sell-out to Sky. Compare and contrast the impact on women’s football of prime-time terrestrial viewing. The announcement that, should England get to the final, it will be shown on free-to-air, is a tacit admission of the missed opportunity. Some of the commentary has also been a pain – but then it so often is. Where, for example, do these silly verbal fashions come from: no-one catches the ball anymore; any catch is a “grab”. The fielder may have moved round under the ball and gently caught it in orthodox manner – no matter, it is a grab. And when did a game between two opponents become “bilateral”. Oh, I know what the word means (as, sadly, now does Nasser) but really, is the Ashes just a bilateral series. Are we all in bilateral marriages? (No…please don’t answer that).
As for the winner, I’m not sure I would look further than the tip given by the Antipodean I met on my travels last month who was convinced – in fairly colourful language – that Australian would win. Now they have got their team right, I rather think he may have the answer.
As for my club and (adopted) county, Welwyn are, once again, contesting the Herts League with Radlett which they seem to have done for the last half-a-dozen years or so and Yorkshire are buying in reinforcements from around the world in order to cement their Div.1 place. In addition to the two strapping South African pace bowlers signed at the start of the season (Pillans and Olivier), they have added a South African spin bowler (Maharaj) and, shortly, a West Indian batsman, Pooran. There were times when these imports would have raised more bile in the Yorkshire members than do immigrants in the pages of the Daily Mail. But now we swallow our collective indignation for individual achievement. That is to say, we just want to win.
Happily, that is not the spirit of games played during cricket week. We like to win but we are pleased to play.
…and long may that continue.
Middlesex Matters
The Great Jack Morgan reports
Middlesex brought in Ollie Rayner and Ethan Bamber for Nathan Sowter and Tom Helm for the County Championship match versus Sussex, which started at Lord's on Sunday June 2nd. From the perimeter, the wicket looked just like all the other green tops that have been offered at HQ in modern times on which both teams have wanted to bowl, which has meant that the visiting team got the pleasure of bowling first. On this occasion, however, it appears that, inexplicably, both teams wanted to bat, so an actual toss took place, which Dawid Malan won for Middlesex and he duly chose to bat first on the usual seamers' paradise. The opening stand of 29 between Sam Robson and Max Holden turned out to be the highest of the Middlesex innings, but the best batting for the home team came from allrounder Jimmy Harris, batting at 6, who compiled an unworried 38 not out off 63 balls with 4 fours and a six. Middlesex were all out for 138 in 43.4 overs and the bowling honours went to the pace bowling trio of David Wiese, from Roodepoort, SA (5-26), Ollie Robinson, from Margate (3 for 50) and Mir Hamza, from Karachi, Pakistan (2 for 35), while skipper and keeper Ben Brown comfortably held five catches behind the stumps.
The conditions for batting appeared to have changed dramatically, however, when Sussex batted as Welshman Phil Salt (50 off 57 balls with 7 fours) and Harry Finch added an untroubled 56 for the second wicket. Stiaan van Zyl, from Cape Town, now embedded himself at the crease and there appeared to be little hope of removing him: Laurie Evans (ex-Surrey and Warwicks) helped him add 60 for the fourth wicket and then there was a tremendous stand of 177 for the fifth wicket between van Zyl and Brown, which was dominated by the latter before he departed for an exceptionally impressive 107 off 141 balls with 17 fours. Van Zyl continued in his unflustered way and Will Beer helped him add a very useful 88 for the eighth wicket before van Zyl finally departed for a splendid 173 off 354 balls with 21 fours. Beer finished with a calm 50 not out off 116 balls with 3 fours when the declaration came at 481 for 9. Some of the home bowling figures look very ugly, but Harris (4 for 98) and Tim Murtagh (3 for 69) can be proud of their efforts.
It was strange that when Middlesex began their second innings, the wicket immediately seemed to revert to a much trickier proposition than it had been during the visitors' innings and the home team quickly slumped to 51 for 4. However, Nick Gubbins (33) helped to stage something of a recovery with a stand of 58 with Harris and keeper John Simpson batted most impressively in a stand of 107 with Harris before the latter departed for an excellent 80 off 211 balls with 10 fours, giving him 118 runs for once out in the match. Simpson went on to a laudable 76 off 154 balls with 11 fours and Rayner made a useful 28 not out before Middlesex were all out for 293 from 107.2 overs. The bowling honours went to Robinson, who finished with the superb figures of 35 overs, 10 maidens, 7 for 98 as Sussex won by an innings and 50 runs.
Sussex 24 points, Middlesex 2, but I think it could have been a lot different if Middlesex had chosen to bowl first: they are a fairly weak team at present and they did not need the additional disadvantage of having to bat first on a greentop. It would be hard to decide on a man of the match between van Zyl (for his 173), Robinson (for his 10 for 148 in the match) and Brown (for his 6 catches in the match, his exceptional batting and his shrewd captaincy): I think I would give it to Brown and I would not be surprised if he is soon pressing for international recognition. Sussex are third in the table and Middlesex have slumped to a miserable eighth. Some days after the match it emerged that Harris had broken his thumb during his heroic 80 on the last day.
Ollie Rayner has gone on loan to Kent. He has played twice in the Championship this season taking 5 wickets at 36.6 and scoring 29 runs at 9.67, but he did bat well on the last day against Sussex. Later, I found out that Ollie's loan is for the rest of the season! Are we that well off for spinners? Or has he blotted his copybook? Possibly by missing the start of the season while posing as a German?
Oval Matters
The GJM was there
I went to the Oval for the Championship match between Surrey and Warwickshire (not the whole match) which started on June 23rd. The toss was uncontested because the visitors wanted to bowl first on the Oval's bright green wicket and Surrey lost two early wickets, leaving them on 25-2. Mark Stoneman hung around usefully for 33 and there were some other battling performances from Dean Elgar (25), Ben Foakes (30) and Jordan Clark (26), but the home team were dismissed for 194 in 56.3 overs. Craig Miles took 3 for 58, but the best bowling performance came from debutant Toby Lester, so green that he did not have a shirt with his name and number on, who did splendidly to take 4 for 41 in 15 accurate overs and there were 4 catches for Tim Ambrose behind the stumps.
Will Rhodes got the visitors off to a grand start with 51 off 64 balls with 8 fours and a six as he dominated an opening stand of 76 with Dom Sibley (31) whose stubbornness was useful, but rather more prosaic. Newcomer 19 year old Robert Yates from Warwick School (some of whose old boys were friends of mine) came in at no 3 and batted staunchly for 48 off 121 balls with 6 fours, but after that it was all rather disappointing for the visitors as they descended to 230 all out. Sam Curran took 3 for 50, Clark 3 for 62, Morne Morkel 3 for 72 and there were 4 catches behind the stumps for Foakes.
The Surrey second innings got off to a much better start as skipper Rory Burns (34) and Stoneman put on 77 for the first wicket. Stoneman, top scorer in both innings, went on to a confident 71 (off 85 balls with 11 fours) and there were further valuable contributions from Elgar (53 off 100 balls with 11 fours), Curran (52 off 99 balls with 8 fours) and Rikki Clarke, who entertained us with 49 off 46 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes, before he was last out with the total on 325. Miles was the most successful bowler with 5 for 91, while skipper Jeetan Patel claimed 3 for 65 with his off-spin.
Rhodes again got the visitors off to a good start in their second innings, sharing an opening stand of 70 with Sibley, before he fell for a confident 43 off 92 balls with 6 fours. However, wickets fell at regular intervals after that and eventually even Sibley succumbed when he was eighth out for a laudable 73 off 165 balls with 7 fours. Nobody else could manage more than Sam Hain's 26 and Warwicks were all out for 215, with veteran off-spinner Gareth Batty standing out with 4 for 34 in 17.2 impressive overs and it was all over just before lunch on day 4. Both wicket-keepers claimed 7 victims in the match, Ambrose's were all catches, but Foakes's total included two stumpings off Batty. Surrey (19 points) beat Warwickshire (4) by 74 runs, it was their first win in the Championship this season.
Journalists Required
Paul Smith is the Registration, Results and Web Administrator for the MCCL. He sent me this:
“I wonder if you would ask your Middlesex based contributors if anyone of them is interesting in doing pieces for our league web site on Middlesex club cricket. If anyone is interested please ask them to give me a call on 07970 887190. To avoid any disappointment this would be on a voluntary basis.”
Hedgcock Matters
Murray Hedgcock sent me this
I have left the Professor alone for a while, but his encounter with “Bruce” spurs me on to acknowledge him as below:
I note that the Professor unearthed for Googlies and Chinamen 198 an Australian of the four-letter school, in the unlikely setting of Iceland. Sadly, his “Bruce” seems all too representative of the Aussie cricket-follower of today – not least in the man’s thinly concealed defence of the Sandpaper Three. I went on the record long ago as saying I hoped Warner, the instigator and a thoroughly unsavoury piece of work all round, should never play for Australia again: unfortunately, his truculent and highly productive batting proved too much of an incentive for authority to resist.
But I am concerned that the Professor might think “Bruce” to be a proper example of all Australian cricket supporters, and in the interests of accuracy and as a contribution towards better understanding of The Great South Land, I wish to point out there are others.
I am as fervent an Australian loyalist as anyone - but I don’t drink, smoke, swear, or gamble (let alone sledge – or carry sandpaper). Born in South Melbourne of Australian-born parents, I grew up in Victorian country towns, played Aussie Rules for my high school, cricket for school and various clubs, and barrack for Australia in every game that matters. I’ve chosen to live in London for more than fifty years, which I feel would not be Bruce’s choice. He also is no lover of MCC, where I was delighted to become a member nearly fifty years ago. Today I am proud that my cricket-enthused granddaughter is on the Lord’s staff.
Bruce and I may well be of one mind on a singular point, probably to the Prof’s disgust: I never walked. Walking usurps the umpire’s role: he makes the decisions, not the batsman.
But I concur with the Prof in his irritation at the time wasted in ball-shining. Why not get the ball back to the bowler as soon as possible, and if he wishes a quick rub on the flannels (does anyone wear genuine flannels these days?) then fair ‘nuff. Time-wasting is an evil of modern big cricket, exemplified by protracted conferences between captain and bowler over field placing, and by mad dashes onfield from the bench at every opportunity. I have seen at Lord’s such an incursion when a wicket fell within two overs of an innings opening: did the team really need drinks at that stage?
The World Cup will no doubt be over by the time Googlies and Chinamen resurfaces, but I have limited interest in it – other than hoping that England pays the penalty for insufferable hubris. The Ashes are what matters, ever since I was absorbed in that first postwar series of 1946-47. Those were the days!
Mike Langley
I heard the sad news in June that Mike Langley had passed away. He played with his older brother, Alf, at South Hampstead in the early seventies before moving across with him to Shepherds Bush. I remember him as a stylish bat and a useful wicket keeper and I recall him taking a couple of catches at second slip off Ossie Burton at Beaconsfield. This was also the occasion when Ossie demonstrated his remarkable underarm flip from long leg.
Allen Bruton: Really sorry to hear about Mike who was a lovely bloke. Possibly a bit overshadowed by brother Alf but also a very good cricketer and certainly a far better footballer than big brother.
Tim Howard: Mikey played 1st xi cricket for The Bush during the 80s. He followed his brother Alf from South Hampstead. He was a very useful keeper and stylish right handed bat with an impeccable cover drive. Genuinely a lovely man and even 3 weeks ago when I saw him in hospital he was still taking a keen interest in the results at the club. He attended the clubs annual dinner every year and the old players yearly trip to Paris for lunch. I’m sure Mike would have played for the Uffs and I know he was heavily involved in the formation of Constantine Football Club. His son Richard played for QPR and Cardiff and he was recently exceptionally proud when he became a grandfather for the first time. He will be much missed.
Ged Matters
England v Australia, World Cup Round Robin Match, Lord’s, 25 June 2019
by Ian Louis Harris
The day seemed to start well enough. OK, our cab seemed to take an age to get to us, but basically we got through security at Lord's and to our seats with a good 10 minutes to spare - enough time to "enjoy" the reverence of the national anthems and stuff. Aussie anthem first; then the UK one. I'm no fan of either tune, frankly......but I can look suitably reverent.
Daisy had many bugbears about today, most of which I shared. The first was the high volume music whenever a boundary was scored. Irritating not least because the Aussies were batting and scoring boundaries. But her main bugbear was the fact that the scoreboards were showing advertising messages for the vast majority of the time; just occasionally showing the score and/or a replay. Indeed, sometimes even the replays were cut off at the vital moment to return to some banal advertising message. Some beer I have never heard of - on principle I now won't try it. That beer ad was one of the less banal messages - some were simply the names of firms we had never heard of; we couldn't even work out what they might do for a living. Then even louder noise for drinks intervals, injury breaks and/or when a wicket fell. The cricket bat-shaped electric guitar is amusing at first but after a while the riffs are simply ear-drum piercing.
Worse, the cameras zooming around the crowd as a proxy for yet more advertising - such as the cab-firm turned food delivery company giving away a hamper of food to someone in the crowd who waves appropriately.
Worst of all, the utterly vapid on-ground commentators-come-crowd-chatters trying to describe the match position and/or ask people in the crowd what they think. Daisy described the inane chatter as unbelievably amateurish and intrusive to the cricket. The nadir was a vacuous conversation about a crowd-member's loud shirt which had to be cut off in mid-stream because the bowler was about to deliver the ball.
We walked several circuits on which, as usual, we ran into a great many people we know. That's what happens when doing the circuit at Lord's. I saw several of my real tennis pals and one or two other folk I know from outside cricket/Lord's.
Madz Prangley (well known in various guises to several cricket web sites, someone who is oft-seen at Lord's) told me off for ignoring her Facebook friend request some time ago. That might have had something to do with the fact that I didn't, until today, know her real name. The matter has already been corrected.
Daisy took a shine to the look of the Harris Garden set up for corporate hospitality. The stewards politely explained that it was for invited guests only.
Daisy tried to explain that we ARE Mr & Mrs Harris, so the place, basically, is our garden. We got no closer than this.
We had a splendid lunch anyway, despite being turned down ever so gently by the Harris Garden steward. Daisy had made some smoked salmon and prawn sandwiches (that's hedging your bets, isn't it?) as the centrepiece. We also had a nice drop of Gewurtztraminer to wash that down.
I did one circuit on my own, during which I ran into Alan Curtis who said he was desperately looking for someone...but apparently not for me. That's OK, Alan. Really, that's OK. I hope you found someone. But by the time I was circuiting solo and running into Alan, it was clear that England were coming second in this match. Charley The Gent sent me an e-mail message bragging that Essex had beaten Somerset. As it happens, the gentleman sitting next to us in the Mound Stand was an Essex fan who was delighted with the news, despite England's travails. He and I then discussed Essex, outground cricket and matters of that kind for a while.
Chas then said he had turned off the TV as he couldn't bear to look any more. Daisy told me to instruct Charley not to be a wuss and to keep the faith. Chas promised to try. But in the end - once England were 8 down - even Daisy and I couldn't keep the faith, so we nipped out through the East Gate and ordered our cab before the throng might make such cab-ordering an impossibility. Our driver, Alex, turned out to be a local lad full of good recommendations for restaurants around Ealing, which helped lift our rather diminished spirits.
Daisy is now done with World Cup live action and says she is delighted to be following the rest of the World Cup from the comfort and relative peace of her own home. I understand her point. The "thumping bollocks" atmosphere of a T20 match can be a bit much for three-to-fours hours of a T20. For the eight-plus hours of an ODI it is insanely too much.
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 199
July 2019
This and That
Whilst Middlesex languish in the relegation spots in the Second Division of the Championship it is impossible to ignore the recent exploits of their alumni.
Ned Eckersley made 118 for Durham against Sussex batting at number seven. Joe Denly made 167 not out for Kent against Nottinghamshire and in the same match Harry Podmore bowled his side to victory taking 5 for 41.
Ryan Higgins also batting at number seven made 199 for Gloucestershire against Leicestershire.
Neil Dexter hasn’t had too many games for Leicestershire this season but came in at number three against Gloucestershire and scored 180, adding 320 for the second wicket with Azad.
In the match between Derbyshire and Glamorgan Tom Lace (on loan from Middlesex joined skipper Billy Godleman (ex-Middlesex) at 74 for 2. They added 291 before Lace was out for 140. Godleman went on to score 227. In the first innings of this match Glamorgan had reached 217 for 8 before Graham Wagg was joined by Lukas Carey who then added 167 for the ninth wicket.
I watched much of the first two weeks of the World Cup but have been away since. My views below are therefore a mixture of second-, third- and fourth-hand observations. No change there then.
The West Indies kicked off with an old-fashioned Caribbean style bullying of Pakistan. Their subsequent defeat to a magnificent Bangladesh run chase of 322 with eight overs to spare is probably the performance of the tournament.
Eion Morgan is one of the breed of ultra modern batsmen who include more sixes than fours in their innings on a regular basis. In his remarkable 148 against Afghanistan he managed a record 17 sixes and just 4 fours and as he faced just 71 balls he also achieved scoring at over 200 (2 runs per ball faced). England scored 230 from the last 20 overs.
In contrast when England lost to Pakistan both Root and Buttler scored hundreds but neither achieved the required scoring rate.
The West Indian commentators make much of Hetmyer as a fielder but in the early stages he dropped two critical catches – one at cover and then another at deep mid-wicket off Coulter-Nile which probably cost them the game against Australia. He is a very talented clean hitter of the ball but is also reckless from what I have seen. I rate Pooran as a better bet to make it at the highest level.
Mention should also be made of Stokes’ catch which at the time of writing looks like being the second best catch in the WC. It is hard to see anything bettering Cottrell’s boundary effort to dismiss Steve Smith. He caught the ball one handed at full stretch having made substantial ground and then had to throw the ball in the air whilst he careered over the rope and then returned to complete the catch.
The West Indies Australia match also featured the strange battle between Chris Gayle and the umpire, Chris Gaffney. In the space of two overs there were three referrals to the video umpire. When the Aussies appealed for caught behind Gaffney gave Gayle out only for the decision to be reversed on appeal as the ball had hit the wicket not the bat. This was one of many occasions when the ball failed to dislodge the bails after hitting the wicket, in some cases quite hard. Next Starc had a successful appeal for LBW overturned as the replay showed the ball hit outside the leg stump and was missing by even more. Gaffney’s original decision of out may have been the worst by an umpire in the whole competition. Then in his next over Starc got his man when Gaffney gave Gayle out LBW. Gayle again appealed but was given out this time. But the saga was not over as the Sky team re ran the previous delivery which was a massive overstep by Starc which Gaffney failed to give as a no ball. The out delivery should, therefore, have been a free hit.
The standard of wicket keeping in the WC has been depressingly awful. Hardly any of the sides have selected an accredited gloves man and all have been suffering the ignominy of errors by their pressed into service batsmen to fulfil the role. The worst example I saw was the Bangladesh clown who must have taken advice from a non-cricketing, possibly baseball coach. When attempting to effect a run out he tried to take the ball in front of the stumps and broke them when stretching forward. When he took the ball he had time, but not the wit, to lift a stump and so missed an easy dismissal. Incidentally the throw in would have hit he stumps direct and so if he had just waited to take the ball in the tried and conventional way his side would have gained a wicket since the batsman was only halfway down the wicket.
Out & About with the Professor
I’m told that Cricket Weeks are almost a thing of the past. Along with cricket tours they have suffered from two effects: the first being the general decline in interest in cricket over the past few decades, and the second (obviously related) is the decline in mid-week cricket.
So I am especially pleased that my own club, Welwyn Garden City, continues with at least one of these traditions and still has a full cricket week; five days of cricket in (this year at least) glorious weather. For cricketers of earlier generations, a successful cricket week was a main contributor to the club’s finances: have a good cricket week and you might be able to pay the bills for the rest of the year. Sadly, the institution is dying and so, presumably, clubs find other ways of keeping going. This year we had games against a local village, against the Stoics and the MCC and the always popular Past v Present where people you haven’t seen for years suddenly turn up and start remembering in detail events of the past, some of which may actually have happened.
Our cricket week also is the time for the Life Members lunch, a number of whom are Googlies readers and here are some of them at around about the port-and-cheese time of day.
There was much debate around the table, as you might expect, about the World Cup: how successful a competition/who will win. My two cents on these topics are that the competition has, of course, been a success but could have been more so. It feels as if the pitches have all been on the slow side and the anticipated big scores (even with, in some cases, tiny boundaries) have not materialised. The fact that it has only been live on Sky has also limited the appeal. Just when cricket could have had a real boost from hosting the World Cup, the coverage is greatly limited by the sell-out to Sky. Compare and contrast the impact on women’s football of prime-time terrestrial viewing. The announcement that, should England get to the final, it will be shown on free-to-air, is a tacit admission of the missed opportunity. Some of the commentary has also been a pain – but then it so often is. Where, for example, do these silly verbal fashions come from: no-one catches the ball anymore; any catch is a “grab”. The fielder may have moved round under the ball and gently caught it in orthodox manner – no matter, it is a grab. And when did a game between two opponents become “bilateral”. Oh, I know what the word means (as, sadly, now does Nasser) but really, is the Ashes just a bilateral series. Are we all in bilateral marriages? (No…please don’t answer that).
As for the winner, I’m not sure I would look further than the tip given by the Antipodean I met on my travels last month who was convinced – in fairly colourful language – that Australian would win. Now they have got their team right, I rather think he may have the answer.
As for my club and (adopted) county, Welwyn are, once again, contesting the Herts League with Radlett which they seem to have done for the last half-a-dozen years or so and Yorkshire are buying in reinforcements from around the world in order to cement their Div.1 place. In addition to the two strapping South African pace bowlers signed at the start of the season (Pillans and Olivier), they have added a South African spin bowler (Maharaj) and, shortly, a West Indian batsman, Pooran. There were times when these imports would have raised more bile in the Yorkshire members than do immigrants in the pages of the Daily Mail. But now we swallow our collective indignation for individual achievement. That is to say, we just want to win.
Happily, that is not the spirit of games played during cricket week. We like to win but we are pleased to play.
…and long may that continue.
Middlesex Matters
The Great Jack Morgan reports
Middlesex brought in Ollie Rayner and Ethan Bamber for Nathan Sowter and Tom Helm for the County Championship match versus Sussex, which started at Lord's on Sunday June 2nd. From the perimeter, the wicket looked just like all the other green tops that have been offered at HQ in modern times on which both teams have wanted to bowl, which has meant that the visiting team got the pleasure of bowling first. On this occasion, however, it appears that, inexplicably, both teams wanted to bat, so an actual toss took place, which Dawid Malan won for Middlesex and he duly chose to bat first on the usual seamers' paradise. The opening stand of 29 between Sam Robson and Max Holden turned out to be the highest of the Middlesex innings, but the best batting for the home team came from allrounder Jimmy Harris, batting at 6, who compiled an unworried 38 not out off 63 balls with 4 fours and a six. Middlesex were all out for 138 in 43.4 overs and the bowling honours went to the pace bowling trio of David Wiese, from Roodepoort, SA (5-26), Ollie Robinson, from Margate (3 for 50) and Mir Hamza, from Karachi, Pakistan (2 for 35), while skipper and keeper Ben Brown comfortably held five catches behind the stumps.
The conditions for batting appeared to have changed dramatically, however, when Sussex batted as Welshman Phil Salt (50 off 57 balls with 7 fours) and Harry Finch added an untroubled 56 for the second wicket. Stiaan van Zyl, from Cape Town, now embedded himself at the crease and there appeared to be little hope of removing him: Laurie Evans (ex-Surrey and Warwicks) helped him add 60 for the fourth wicket and then there was a tremendous stand of 177 for the fifth wicket between van Zyl and Brown, which was dominated by the latter before he departed for an exceptionally impressive 107 off 141 balls with 17 fours. Van Zyl continued in his unflustered way and Will Beer helped him add a very useful 88 for the eighth wicket before van Zyl finally departed for a splendid 173 off 354 balls with 21 fours. Beer finished with a calm 50 not out off 116 balls with 3 fours when the declaration came at 481 for 9. Some of the home bowling figures look very ugly, but Harris (4 for 98) and Tim Murtagh (3 for 69) can be proud of their efforts.
It was strange that when Middlesex began their second innings, the wicket immediately seemed to revert to a much trickier proposition than it had been during the visitors' innings and the home team quickly slumped to 51 for 4. However, Nick Gubbins (33) helped to stage something of a recovery with a stand of 58 with Harris and keeper John Simpson batted most impressively in a stand of 107 with Harris before the latter departed for an excellent 80 off 211 balls with 10 fours, giving him 118 runs for once out in the match. Simpson went on to a laudable 76 off 154 balls with 11 fours and Rayner made a useful 28 not out before Middlesex were all out for 293 from 107.2 overs. The bowling honours went to Robinson, who finished with the superb figures of 35 overs, 10 maidens, 7 for 98 as Sussex won by an innings and 50 runs.
Sussex 24 points, Middlesex 2, but I think it could have been a lot different if Middlesex had chosen to bowl first: they are a fairly weak team at present and they did not need the additional disadvantage of having to bat first on a greentop. It would be hard to decide on a man of the match between van Zyl (for his 173), Robinson (for his 10 for 148 in the match) and Brown (for his 6 catches in the match, his exceptional batting and his shrewd captaincy): I think I would give it to Brown and I would not be surprised if he is soon pressing for international recognition. Sussex are third in the table and Middlesex have slumped to a miserable eighth. Some days after the match it emerged that Harris had broken his thumb during his heroic 80 on the last day.
Ollie Rayner has gone on loan to Kent. He has played twice in the Championship this season taking 5 wickets at 36.6 and scoring 29 runs at 9.67, but he did bat well on the last day against Sussex. Later, I found out that Ollie's loan is for the rest of the season! Are we that well off for spinners? Or has he blotted his copybook? Possibly by missing the start of the season while posing as a German?
Oval Matters
The GJM was there
I went to the Oval for the Championship match between Surrey and Warwickshire (not the whole match) which started on June 23rd. The toss was uncontested because the visitors wanted to bowl first on the Oval's bright green wicket and Surrey lost two early wickets, leaving them on 25-2. Mark Stoneman hung around usefully for 33 and there were some other battling performances from Dean Elgar (25), Ben Foakes (30) and Jordan Clark (26), but the home team were dismissed for 194 in 56.3 overs. Craig Miles took 3 for 58, but the best bowling performance came from debutant Toby Lester, so green that he did not have a shirt with his name and number on, who did splendidly to take 4 for 41 in 15 accurate overs and there were 4 catches for Tim Ambrose behind the stumps.
Will Rhodes got the visitors off to a grand start with 51 off 64 balls with 8 fours and a six as he dominated an opening stand of 76 with Dom Sibley (31) whose stubbornness was useful, but rather more prosaic. Newcomer 19 year old Robert Yates from Warwick School (some of whose old boys were friends of mine) came in at no 3 and batted staunchly for 48 off 121 balls with 6 fours, but after that it was all rather disappointing for the visitors as they descended to 230 all out. Sam Curran took 3 for 50, Clark 3 for 62, Morne Morkel 3 for 72 and there were 4 catches behind the stumps for Foakes.
The Surrey second innings got off to a much better start as skipper Rory Burns (34) and Stoneman put on 77 for the first wicket. Stoneman, top scorer in both innings, went on to a confident 71 (off 85 balls with 11 fours) and there were further valuable contributions from Elgar (53 off 100 balls with 11 fours), Curran (52 off 99 balls with 8 fours) and Rikki Clarke, who entertained us with 49 off 46 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes, before he was last out with the total on 325. Miles was the most successful bowler with 5 for 91, while skipper Jeetan Patel claimed 3 for 65 with his off-spin.
Rhodes again got the visitors off to a good start in their second innings, sharing an opening stand of 70 with Sibley, before he fell for a confident 43 off 92 balls with 6 fours. However, wickets fell at regular intervals after that and eventually even Sibley succumbed when he was eighth out for a laudable 73 off 165 balls with 7 fours. Nobody else could manage more than Sam Hain's 26 and Warwicks were all out for 215, with veteran off-spinner Gareth Batty standing out with 4 for 34 in 17.2 impressive overs and it was all over just before lunch on day 4. Both wicket-keepers claimed 7 victims in the match, Ambrose's were all catches, but Foakes's total included two stumpings off Batty. Surrey (19 points) beat Warwickshire (4) by 74 runs, it was their first win in the Championship this season.
Journalists Required
Paul Smith is the Registration, Results and Web Administrator for the MCCL. He sent me this:
“I wonder if you would ask your Middlesex based contributors if anyone of them is interesting in doing pieces for our league web site on Middlesex club cricket. If anyone is interested please ask them to give me a call on 07970 887190. To avoid any disappointment this would be on a voluntary basis.”
Hedgcock Matters
Murray Hedgcock sent me this
I have left the Professor alone for a while, but his encounter with “Bruce” spurs me on to acknowledge him as below:
I note that the Professor unearthed for Googlies and Chinamen 198 an Australian of the four-letter school, in the unlikely setting of Iceland. Sadly, his “Bruce” seems all too representative of the Aussie cricket-follower of today – not least in the man’s thinly concealed defence of the Sandpaper Three. I went on the record long ago as saying I hoped Warner, the instigator and a thoroughly unsavoury piece of work all round, should never play for Australia again: unfortunately, his truculent and highly productive batting proved too much of an incentive for authority to resist.
But I am concerned that the Professor might think “Bruce” to be a proper example of all Australian cricket supporters, and in the interests of accuracy and as a contribution towards better understanding of The Great South Land, I wish to point out there are others.
I am as fervent an Australian loyalist as anyone - but I don’t drink, smoke, swear, or gamble (let alone sledge – or carry sandpaper). Born in South Melbourne of Australian-born parents, I grew up in Victorian country towns, played Aussie Rules for my high school, cricket for school and various clubs, and barrack for Australia in every game that matters. I’ve chosen to live in London for more than fifty years, which I feel would not be Bruce’s choice. He also is no lover of MCC, where I was delighted to become a member nearly fifty years ago. Today I am proud that my cricket-enthused granddaughter is on the Lord’s staff.
Bruce and I may well be of one mind on a singular point, probably to the Prof’s disgust: I never walked. Walking usurps the umpire’s role: he makes the decisions, not the batsman.
But I concur with the Prof in his irritation at the time wasted in ball-shining. Why not get the ball back to the bowler as soon as possible, and if he wishes a quick rub on the flannels (does anyone wear genuine flannels these days?) then fair ‘nuff. Time-wasting is an evil of modern big cricket, exemplified by protracted conferences between captain and bowler over field placing, and by mad dashes onfield from the bench at every opportunity. I have seen at Lord’s such an incursion when a wicket fell within two overs of an innings opening: did the team really need drinks at that stage?
The World Cup will no doubt be over by the time Googlies and Chinamen resurfaces, but I have limited interest in it – other than hoping that England pays the penalty for insufferable hubris. The Ashes are what matters, ever since I was absorbed in that first postwar series of 1946-47. Those were the days!
Mike Langley
I heard the sad news in June that Mike Langley had passed away. He played with his older brother, Alf, at South Hampstead in the early seventies before moving across with him to Shepherds Bush. I remember him as a stylish bat and a useful wicket keeper and I recall him taking a couple of catches at second slip off Ossie Burton at Beaconsfield. This was also the occasion when Ossie demonstrated his remarkable underarm flip from long leg.
Allen Bruton: Really sorry to hear about Mike who was a lovely bloke. Possibly a bit overshadowed by brother Alf but also a very good cricketer and certainly a far better footballer than big brother.
Tim Howard: Mikey played 1st xi cricket for The Bush during the 80s. He followed his brother Alf from South Hampstead. He was a very useful keeper and stylish right handed bat with an impeccable cover drive. Genuinely a lovely man and even 3 weeks ago when I saw him in hospital he was still taking a keen interest in the results at the club. He attended the clubs annual dinner every year and the old players yearly trip to Paris for lunch. I’m sure Mike would have played for the Uffs and I know he was heavily involved in the formation of Constantine Football Club. His son Richard played for QPR and Cardiff and he was recently exceptionally proud when he became a grandfather for the first time. He will be much missed.
Ged Matters
England v Australia, World Cup Round Robin Match, Lord’s, 25 June 2019
by Ian Louis Harris
The day seemed to start well enough. OK, our cab seemed to take an age to get to us, but basically we got through security at Lord's and to our seats with a good 10 minutes to spare - enough time to "enjoy" the reverence of the national anthems and stuff. Aussie anthem first; then the UK one. I'm no fan of either tune, frankly......but I can look suitably reverent.
Daisy had many bugbears about today, most of which I shared. The first was the high volume music whenever a boundary was scored. Irritating not least because the Aussies were batting and scoring boundaries. But her main bugbear was the fact that the scoreboards were showing advertising messages for the vast majority of the time; just occasionally showing the score and/or a replay. Indeed, sometimes even the replays were cut off at the vital moment to return to some banal advertising message. Some beer I have never heard of - on principle I now won't try it. That beer ad was one of the less banal messages - some were simply the names of firms we had never heard of; we couldn't even work out what they might do for a living. Then even louder noise for drinks intervals, injury breaks and/or when a wicket fell. The cricket bat-shaped electric guitar is amusing at first but after a while the riffs are simply ear-drum piercing.
Worse, the cameras zooming around the crowd as a proxy for yet more advertising - such as the cab-firm turned food delivery company giving away a hamper of food to someone in the crowd who waves appropriately.
Worst of all, the utterly vapid on-ground commentators-come-crowd-chatters trying to describe the match position and/or ask people in the crowd what they think. Daisy described the inane chatter as unbelievably amateurish and intrusive to the cricket. The nadir was a vacuous conversation about a crowd-member's loud shirt which had to be cut off in mid-stream because the bowler was about to deliver the ball.
We walked several circuits on which, as usual, we ran into a great many people we know. That's what happens when doing the circuit at Lord's. I saw several of my real tennis pals and one or two other folk I know from outside cricket/Lord's.
Madz Prangley (well known in various guises to several cricket web sites, someone who is oft-seen at Lord's) told me off for ignoring her Facebook friend request some time ago. That might have had something to do with the fact that I didn't, until today, know her real name. The matter has already been corrected.
Daisy took a shine to the look of the Harris Garden set up for corporate hospitality. The stewards politely explained that it was for invited guests only.
Daisy tried to explain that we ARE Mr & Mrs Harris, so the place, basically, is our garden. We got no closer than this.
We had a splendid lunch anyway, despite being turned down ever so gently by the Harris Garden steward. Daisy had made some smoked salmon and prawn sandwiches (that's hedging your bets, isn't it?) as the centrepiece. We also had a nice drop of Gewurtztraminer to wash that down.
I did one circuit on my own, during which I ran into Alan Curtis who said he was desperately looking for someone...but apparently not for me. That's OK, Alan. Really, that's OK. I hope you found someone. But by the time I was circuiting solo and running into Alan, it was clear that England were coming second in this match. Charley The Gent sent me an e-mail message bragging that Essex had beaten Somerset. As it happens, the gentleman sitting next to us in the Mound Stand was an Essex fan who was delighted with the news, despite England's travails. He and I then discussed Essex, outground cricket and matters of that kind for a while.
Chas then said he had turned off the TV as he couldn't bear to look any more. Daisy told me to instruct Charley not to be a wuss and to keep the faith. Chas promised to try. But in the end - once England were 8 down - even Daisy and I couldn't keep the faith, so we nipped out through the East Gate and ordered our cab before the throng might make such cab-ordering an impossibility. Our driver, Alex, turned out to be a local lad full of good recommendations for restaurants around Ealing, which helped lift our rather diminished spirits.
Daisy is now done with World Cup live action and says she is delighted to be following the rest of the World Cup from the comfort and relative peace of her own home. I understand her point. The "thumping bollocks" atmosphere of a T20 match can be a bit much for three-to-fours hours of a T20. For the eight-plus hours of an ODI it is insanely too much.
Googlies Website
All the back editions of Googlies can be found on the G&C website. There are also many photographs most of which have never appeared in Googlies.
www.googliesandchinamen.com
Googlies and Chinamen
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Broad Lee House
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