G&C 266
GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 266
February 2025
Spot the Ball
Out and About with the Professor
I have been reading a lot about sex recently. More specifically, about cricketers and sex. Even more precisely, about long-departed cricketers and sex. The prompting for this domain of literary material was a very interesting book, The Last Innings, by Christopher Sandford. Published a couple of years’ ago, it was one of three cricket books that arrived curtesy of Santa and has proved a very enjoyable read. Sandford’s topic is the cricketers of 1939 who went to war. Some didn’t return (most famously perhaps, Hedley Verity and Ken Farnes), some sustained injuries (bizarrely in the case of Hutton), some survived, or were too old for active service, but never played again, and some, for whom the War was just an unwelcome interruption to their professional careers, resumed playing even more successfully following the armistice (not difficult to think of examples there).
Tastes in cricket literature vary of course, like everything else. For myself the most satisfying cricket books are the ones that set the game in a social/historical context rather than presenting just a chronological account of matches or, even worse, an individual cricketer’s career. Cricket biographies can be dull, and autobiographies truly dire. The punning titles of (particularly) the latter are beyond puerile.
Sandford begins with a detailed account of the 1939 season which seemed to combine an air of foreboding with some frivolity – presumably opposite sides of the same coin. A notable feature was the very rapid scoring in some matches. For those of us who think of Bazball as the originator of fast scoring, how about the West Indies in the final Test of that year who put on almost 370 in a day in their second innings which was interrupted for more than an hour by a thunderstorm. England replied with 366-6 from 76 overs in their second innings…and they were playing for a draw. The very last first-class game before hostilities, saw Sussex score 499 against Yorkshire on the first day, Hugh Bartlett getting 59 in half an hour. Verity took them down in the second innings: 7 for 9.
Sandford repeats some tales that Googlies readers might know: Hitler watching (and making comments on) a game of cricket at a field dressing station near Ypres in 1918; the West Indies quick Leslie Hylton being the only Test cricketer ever to be executed (for murder), and, of some parochial interest, the origin of the term “Chinaman” which he ascribes to Maurice Leyland, whereas the traditional accreditation has gone to Walter Robbins’ reaction to being bowled by Ellis Achong, a West Indian cricketer of Chinese heritage. Elsewhere I learned that the term had first appeared in print in The Guardian in 1926. It is of note that Wisden dropped the term in 2018 in favour of “slow left arm wrist spin”. Apparently 9 Test players died in the War, 5 of them English.
However, back to the sex.
I imagine we have all heard of “high jinks” on some of the overseas tours and it is hardly news that more than a dozen or so fit young men might, during weeks at sea and months away from home, be seeking “female company” (the reporting of these matters involves an archive of euphemisms). Drunkenness was almost universal (excepting Hutton who avoided many “parties” by going on a long run and retiring early with a good book) and the booze was a prequel, as it often is, to the sex. Godfrey Evans’ name is one that seems to be mentioned a lot, especially as a teenager who, according to Doug Wright: “was like a kid who had never been allowed to have sweets before and is suddenly presented with a lorryload”. My favourite Evans story is from Les Ames, who remembered a very drunken Evans, at a midsummer ball, asking “an attractive older lady” what colour her knickers were. She turned out to be the wife of the Bishop of Dover. Some captains, like Wyatt, enforced some sort of discipline but others, like Tennyson or Hammond, were more than complicit. Tennyson, according to Sandford, was a “bit of a swinger” (no cricket pun intended) while Hammond (somewhat more directly), “always liked a shag”. Hammond’s celebrated moodiness was ascribed by one biographer to an STD acquired on a West Indies tour in the 1920s, and Sandford suggests that at least one player was left out of the Test side when he was seen chatting too closely to a young woman that Hammond “had his eye on”. Today, presumably, the Press and the paparazzi would make much of this behaviour difficult, even career-ending; but in the decades before and after the War they were either enthusiastically involved (Crawford White “could pick up the girl the rest of them did not want”) or viewed their role as writing about the cricket. There were even cricket fans, like Sir Julien Cahn, who institutionalised cricketers’ debauchery; inviting teams to play on his private ground at his Leicestershire mansion and then supplying “ten nubile ladies” in the heated swimming pool after the game. Why ten? Because he would not provide one for “the bugger who got me out”.
Presumably the reaction of most Googlies readers to all this is somewhere between envy and opprobrium but it is impossible to leave the subject without mention of the subject of the second of Santa’s books: Bill Edrich. Leo McKinstry’s biography is unsparing both in his admiration for Edrich and his cricket, and his documenting of his chaotic sex life. Of the former it’s good to remember what a player Edrich was: 36,965 first class runs (3,539 in the 1947 season) and 479 wickets and what an extraordinary courageous man he was, both on the cricket field (resuming, bandaged up, against Tyson after the bowler had fractured his jaw and “looking like a war casualty”) and in the War as a decorated bomber pilot and squadron leader, flying some near-suicidal missions into Germany. For Tyson: “Never have I met a more courageous individual. He appears almost indifferent to his own safety. No bowler is too fast to hook, no score too large to challenge”.
But…back to the sex. Edrich, who today’s tabloids like the Sun or the Times would probably label a “sex pest”, appeared to have been addicted to sex…or perhaps to sexual conquest. Married five times his adult life seems to have been one of relentless sexual pursuit. Any occasion, any opportunity and he would take it. He was, in effect, a lifelong seducer. For example:
At an official function in South Africa he arrived with a large breasted woman called Roxy, introduced as his “masseuse”. A seaside weekend with another South African woman involved living “on sex and oysters”. On one occasion John Murray found him in the morning “sleeping it off at the back of the groundsman’s hut with a blonde, using his DJ as a blanket”. Describing his courtship technique as “brisk”, one woman complained that he “didn’t even take his cricket boots off”. Meeting a pretty woman in a London street and not having the funds for a hotel room, they had sex against a tree in Regents Park. And on and on. “He was predatory when it came to women” according to Trevor Bailey, “a hunter who made a great deal of effort”. Often the “conquests” were married (he almost always was) and one jolly story is of Edrich having dinner at a friend’s house the night before a Test, seducing his wife, and then turning up in disguise at the ground and queueing at the turnstiles to avoid the enraged husband at the players’ entrance. The only case of a Test cricketer paying to play in the match. The tours, of course, provided perpetual opportunity. The “Sterling Castle” on the 24-day voyage to Freemantle in 1946, carried some 200 “War brides” travelling to meet their new, or soon-to-be husbands: “A treasure chest of lust for Edrich”. Some of this is mildly funny, some rather sad; McKinstry concludes that, “he left a trail of social wreckage with his inability to sustain a relationship or resist temptation”. Nor was he in any way a conventionally handsome man – very short, with a turned-up nose and a “vaguely feral air…like a randy mole” according to one.
How to explain Edrich’s character? (Apart from the fact that we’re all different.) One suggestion is that perhaps Edrich was suffering from “survivors’ guilt” – a squadron leader, who lost so many of those under his command, had little concern for his own safety and almost none for the moral codes of others. Whatever it was, it does make for interesting reading.
The third book was Stuart Broad’s “autobiography”…but that is mainly about cricket.
This & That
There have been three major T20 franchise tournaments being played around the world in January: the Big Bash in Australia, the SA20 in South Africa and the International League T20 in the UAE.
Ryan Rickelton first came to prominence in the inaugural SA20 two years ago in which his amazing batting talent impressed everyone. In January this year he went one step further when he opened for South Africa in the first test against Pakistan and scored 259. He is a chunky left hander who moves around the crease to give himself room to free up his arms. He is strong square on the leg side but scores most of his runs on the offside. Against the Joburg Super Kings he led his side to victory with a fabulous 89 from 39 deliveries. He should have known that it was going to be his day as earlier whilst keeping wicket to Rashid Khan, the batsman, Donovan Ferreira, was beaten playing forward and Rickelton fumbled the ball whilst Ferreira was still behind the crease, but Ferreira lost balance and as his foot left the crease Rickelton was able to recover the ball and stump him.
However, he has been eclipsed this year by a fellow chunky left hander, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who is only eighteen but is top run scorer in the competition. He has been opening for the Paarl Royals with Joe Root which won’t have done him any harm. He is a fabulous clean hitter all-round the wicket.
Zak Crawley has had a miserable time in SA20. Playing for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape against Joburg Super kings he was out in consecutive matches to the first ball of the match to the same bowler, Sipamla. On the first occasion the delivery was subsequently judged a no ball. He was rested after his second plonger.
The wickets in the SA20 have in general not been shirtfronts and the commentators have been struggling to predict what would be a good score. The Sunrisers Eastern Cape have been one of the more successful sides this year although their batting has been a problem. Against MI Cape Town they struggled to 107. There was the usual crap talked in the commentary box about it could be tight if they took wickets in the powerplay but Pretorius and van der Dussen launched into a quality attack and won with nine overs to spare without losing a wicket.
The advent of T20, now 20 years ago, was predicted to herald the death of spin bowling. In one of the matches in SA20 all twenty overs for the Paarl Royals were bowled by spinners. It was also meant to be a young man’s game. The Joburg Super Kings had a cluster of senior players in one match to consider a referral. They were Faf du Plessis (age 40), Jonny Baistow (age 35), Mo Ali (age 37) and Imran Tahir (age 45). In addition, David Wiese (age 39) is also in their squad.
In Australia’s Big Bash I was going to say that either because of good bowling or the larger grounds there seem to be fewer sixes scored but in the final, played in Hobart, after the Sydney Thunder had scored 182 for 7 Mitchell Owen scored 108 from 42 balls in an innings which included 11 sixes. The Hobart Hurricanes knocked off 185 in 65 minutes and won with six overs to spare.
After his explosive debut in the IPL last year Jake Fraser-McGurk had a relatively quiet BBL but did score 95 from 44 balls as his side, Melbourne Renegades chased down Brisbane Heat’s 196 with a couple of overs to spare.
Shai Hope is top scorer in the in the International League T20 being played in the UAE, but he is only 10 runs ahead of Tom Banton who has scored two hundreds. Not far behind are Hales (remember him?), Curran S and Kohler- Cadmore. Other Englishmen playing in this competition include Vince, Cox, Lawrence and Roy (remember him?). The top bowler in this competition is the mercurial Fazalhaq Farooqi with 18 wickets. By contrast the leading Englishmen are Curran S and Willey with just 6 each.
After an indifferent start to his test career batting after the fall of wickets Usman Khawaja has cemented his place at the top of the order for Australia in recent years. In January against Sri Lanka, he scored 232 as his side reached 654 for 6. Although Sri Lanka bowled 154 overs Fernando only bowled 15 whilst the rest were bowled by just three bowlers – Peiris (41), Jayasuriya (60) and Vandersay (38). Stand in captain, Steve Smith, scored 141 and went past 10,000 test runs in the process.
We wondered what Bazball was going to mean for white ball cricket and now we know. Someone around the practice arenas said that the batsmen no longer have nets but simply practise range hitting. It certainly looks that way in the middle as one after another of the batsmen in the India T20 series slogged into the outfield and were caught by the only fielder in the vicinity who didn’t have to move. The batsmen then stand flabbergasted and crestfallen that they are out. They have brainwashed themselves into believing that if they hit the ball cleanly it will clear any fielder and go for six. Of course, sometimes it does but in the range hitting practises there are no fielders…
It amazes me that so many Premiership sides find it necessary to buy players from overseas clubs. For example, why did Manchester City pay £34m to Lens to secure the services of Abdukodir Khusanov? Surely there are plenty of competent full backs in the Championship or Premier League they could have gone for instead? They could have bought Wan-Bissaka, probably the best full back in the Premiership, from Manchester United before he was snapped up by West Ham for £15m.
An extraordinary number of goals seem to be scored in the time added on at the end of Premier League matches. I originally put this down to tiredness and tactical changes implemented to try to go for a winner or a draw but more recently I think that it is due to the introduction of as many as five subs which completely changes the combination of players in the various roles and inevitably affects the sides’ performance. This reminded me that when I went to Loftus Road in the fifties and sixties there were no subs and you had to make do with your original selection for the whole match. If someone got injured, they were put out on the wing and had to limp through the rest of the game.
The latest fan base to desert their team are the famous Toon Army who should have stayed to watch the unexpectedly fabulous Bournemouth dismantle the home side.
Thompson Matters
This month’s teams need no introductions:
England XXIV
Bairstow, Broad, Butcher, Cowdrey, Hardstaff, Hutton, Jones, Mann, Parks, Stewart, Tate and Townsend
The Rest of the World. XXIV
Armarnath, Cairns, Chanderpaul, Cook, Hadlee, Marsh, Mohammed, Nazar, Nourse, Pataudi, Pollock, Rutherford
It has been quite a few weeks for matters familial. Earlier in the month Darren Ferguson, fresh from his appearance as Scrooge in Panto at the New Theatre Peterborough, denied Ashley and Tyler Young a place in FA Cup history as the first father and son to play against each other in the competition’s 154-year history. There were of course valid arguments on both sides; but possibly not this one.
This was, however, not a charity match. This was no end-of-season dead rubber with nothing riding on it. This was an important FA Cup tie. Peterborough were only one goal down. They were still in it. Darren Ferguson was trying to force a replay, the finances of which can go a long way for clubs down the pyramid.
So wrote the Mail on Sunday’s James Sharpe the morning after. That’s Sharpe with an ‘e’! Was there anyone with even a passing interest in football unaware that there are no replays in the FA Cup as of this year? Well, yes there was one, maintaining the organ’s faultless journalistic standards.
Rocky Flintoff caught the eye earlier in the month by becoming the youngest player to score a century for England Lions. Of the little grainy footage I’ve seen of him he looks like a chip off the old block and along with Archie Vaughan, currently skippering the England Under-19s in South Africa, the pair add weight to the concept of a cricket gene.
Of the thirteen father and son pairings to have played for England, only in two cases, the Huttons and Cowdreys, did the father have a more successful Test career. If the younger Flintoff and Vaughan do enable the family name to be added to the list by achieving Test status they will have their work cut out if they are not to buck the trend.
Further research however revealed that nowhere has there been a more successful father and son cricketing dynasty than in the U.S. where a search of Facebook reveals that the most successful and prolific father and son pairing are D.J. and E.F Trump.
The most recent reference to their phenomenal exploits reads as follows:
Whilst there have been some quite good cricket players from the same family in other countries, nowhere ever in the world has there ever ever been two cricket players who have scored more runs and taken more wickets than Donald and Eric Trump. They are so very good. Donald scored over 30,000 runs and took 2000 wickets and 20000 catches whilst Eric scored 45 Test centuries and made 27 hat-tricks. The world famous Wisdon Almanac named them Players of the Year on twenty-five separate occasions.
* These facts have been Community Note checked by Andy Zaltzman, January 2025.
Where are they now?
Here is the latest list of movements of players between the counties
Derbyshire
Overseas players 2024: Blair Tickner (New Zealand), Mohammad Amir (Pakistan), Daryn Dupavillion (South Africa), Cam Fletcher (New Zealand)
Overseas players 2025: Caleb Jewell (Australia), Blair Tickner (New Zealand)
In: Martin Andersson (Middlesex), Jack Morley, external (Lancashire)
Out: Sam Conners (Durham)
Other news: Head of cricket Mickey Arthur has taken on an additional role as director of cricket at Hundred franchise Northern Superchargers.
Durham
Overseas players 2024: David Bedingham (South Africa), Scott Boland (Australia), Ashton Turner (Australia), Peter Siddle (Australia), Ben Dwarshuis (Australia), Neil Wagner (New Zealand), Chemar Holder (West Indies)
Overseas players 2025: David Bedingham (South Africa)
In: Emilio Gay (Northamptonshire), Sam Conners (Derbyshire), Will Rhodes (Warwickshire)
Out: Michael Jones (Lancashire), Jonathan Bushnell (REL), Brandon Glover (REL), Oliver Gibson (REL), Ben Dwarshuis (Worcestershire)
Other news: Scott Borthwick has stepped down as club captain and taken up a role as player-coach.
Essex
Overseas players 2024: Simon Harmer (South Africa), Daniel Sams (Australia), Eathan Bosch (South Africa)
Overseas players 2025: Simon Harmer (South Africa)
In: none
Out: Ben Allison (Worcestershire), Aaron Beard, external (RET), Feroze Khushi (REL), Daniel Sams (Nottinghamshire)
Other news: Chief executive John Stephenson left at the end of the 2024 season to take up a similar position with Western Australia. Director of cricket Anthony McGrath departed to become head coach of Yorkshire and has been replaced by Chris Silverwood, who led the side from 2016-18. Bowling coach Mick Lewis has joined McGrath at Headingley.
Glamorgan
Overseas players 2024: Marnus Labuschagne (Australia), Colin Ingram (South Africa), Mir Hamza (Pakistan), Fraser Sheat (New Zealand)
Overseas players 2025: Colin Ingram (South Africa), Asitha Fernando (Sri Lanka, until end of May)
In: Ned Leonard (Somerset)
Out: Harry Podmore (RET), Prem Sisodya (RET)
Others news: Glamorgan sacked head coach Grant Bradburn in December following a misconduct charge. He has been replaced on an interim basis by England Lions coach Richard Dawson, who will lead the side this season in the Championship and T20 Blast, with a One-Day Cup coach to be appointed.
Gloucestershire
Overseas players 2024: Cameron Bancroft (Australia), Zafar Gohar (Pakistan), Beau Webster (Australia)
Overseas players 2025: Cameron Bancroft (Australia)
In: none
Out: Zafar Gohar (Middlesex)
Other news: Graeme van Buuren has stepped down as Championship captain.
Hampshire
Overseas players 2024: Kyle Abbott (South Africa), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan), Michael Neser (Australia), Ben McDermott (Australia)
Overseas players 2025: Kyle Abbott (South Africa)
In: Sonny Baker (Somerset), Danny Briggs, external (Warwickshire, loan for Global Super League in Nov/Dec 2024)
Out: none
Possible signings: The Daily Mail reports, external that Hampshire are interested in New Zealand seamer Tim Southee and Australian all-rounder Jack Edwards.
Other news: James Vince has stepped down as County Championship captain and will only play T20 cricket for Hampshire next season.
Kent
Overseas players 2024: Wes Agar (Australia), Beyers Swanepoel (South Africa), Xavier Bartlett (Australia), Charlie Stobo (Australia), Tom Rogers (Australia), Akeem Jordan (West Indies)
Overseas players 2025: Wes Agar (Australia), Tom Rogers (Australia, for T20)
In: Chris Benjamin (Warwickshire)
Out: Arafat Bhuiyan, external (REL), Hamidullah Qadri, external (REL)
Other news: Head coach Matt Walker stepped down at the end of the 2024 season and has been replaced by Adam Hollioake.
Lancashire
Overseas players 2024: Nathan Lyon (Australia), Tom Bruce (New Zealand), Chris Green (Australia), George Dockrell (Ireland), Venkatesh Iyer (India), Anderson Phillip (West Indies)
Overseas players 2025: Chris Green (Australia), Anderson Phillip (West Indies, until the end of July), Marcus Harris (Australia, for Championship and One-Day Cup)
In: Michael Jones (Durham), Marcus Harris (Leicestershire)
Out: Steven Croft (RET), George Lavelle, external (REL), Jack Morley, external (Derbyshire)
Possible signings: The Daily Mail reports, external that Lancashire are hoping to re-sign New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell.
Leicestershire
Overseas players 2024: Wiaan Mulder (South Africa), Peter Handscomb (Australia), Marcus Harris (Australia), Ajinkya Rahane (India), Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand), Paul Stirling (Ireland)
Overseas players 2025: Peter Handscomb, external (Australia)
In: none
Out: Sam Evans, external (REL), Marcus Harris (Lancashire)
Middlesex
Overseas players 2024: none
Overseas players 2025: TBC
In: Ben Geddes (Surrey), Aaryan Sawant, external (YTH), Naavya Sharma, external (YTH), Sebastian Morgan, external (YTH), Zafar Gohar (Gloucestershire, as non-overseas player)
Out: Ethan Bamber (Warwickshire), Martin Andersson (Derbyshire), Mark Stoneman, external (REL), Robbie White (RET), Thilan Walallawita, external (REL)
Possible signings: The Daily Mail reports, external that Middlesex hope to sign New Zealand batter Kane Williamson as an overseas player.
Other news: Former England spinner Ian Salisbury has joined as a full-time coach, external having worked as a consultant with the club since 2023.
Northamptonshire
Overseas players 2024: Prithvi Shaw (India), Chris Tremain (Australia), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Karun Nair (India), Matt Breetzke (South Africa), Siddarth Kaul (India), Ashton Agar (Australia), Yuzvendra Chahal (India)
Overseas players 2025: Matt Breetzke, external (South Africa, for first eight Championship games and first half of T20 group stage), Ashton Agar (Australia, for T20)
In: Dom Leech (Yorkshire), Arush Buchake, external (YTH), Aadi Sharma, external (YTH)
Out: Emilio Gay (Durham), George Gowler, external (REL), Alex Russell, external (REL), George Weldon, external (REL), Jack White (Yorkshire)
Other news: Darren Lehmann has become head coach, succeeding John Sadler who left in September 2024.
Nottinghamshire
Overseas players 2024: Dane Paterson (South Africa), Will Young (New Zealand), Ben Lister (New Zealand), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan), Kyle Verreynne (South Africa), Jacob Duffy (New Zealand)
Overseas players 2025: Kyle Verreynne (South Africa, for Championship), Fergus O'Neill (Australia, until 28 April), Daniel Sams (Australia, for T20)
In: Travis Holland, external (YTH), Sam Seecharan, external (YTH), Tom Giles, external (YTH), Conor McKerr (Surrey), Daniel Sams (Essex)
Out: Luke Fletcher (REL), Tom Loten, external (RET), Toby Pettman, external (RET), Fateh Singh (Worcestershire), Jacob Duffy (Worcestershire)
Somerset
Overseas players 2024: Matt Renshaw (Australia), Migael Pretorius (South Africa), Riley Meredith (Australia), Brett Randell (New Zealand)
Overseas players 2025: Riley Meredith (Australia, for T20 and possibly other formats), Matt Henry (New Zealand, 17 April-25 June)
In: none
Out: Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Ned Leonard (Glamorgan), George Thomas, external (REL)
Surrey
Overseas players 2024: Kemar Roach (West Indies), Sean Abbott (Australia), Spencer Johnson (Australia), Sai Sudharsan (India), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
Overseas players 2025: Nathan Smith (New Zealand)
In: Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire), Nathan Smith (Worcestershire)
Out: Ben Geddes (Middlesex), Conor McKerr (Nottinghamshire), Amar Virdi (REL)
Other news: Director of cricket Alec Stewart stepped down at the end of the 2024 season and has a part-time role as high performance cricket advisor.
Sussex
Overseas players 2024: Jayden Seales (West Indies), Nathan McAndrew (Australia), Cheteshwar Pujara (India), Daniel Hughes (Australia), Jaydev Unadkat (India)
Overseas players 2025: Daniel Hughes (Australia), Jayden Seales (West Indies, first block of County Championship games), Jaydev Unadkat (India, from 8 September), Gurinder Sandhu (Australia, for June and July)
In: none
Out: none
Warwickshire
Overseas players 2024: Hasan Ali (Pakistan), Aamir Jamal (Pakistan), Michael Rae (New Zealand), Zak Foulkes (New Zealand)
Overseas players 2025: Tom Latham (New Zealand), Beau Webster (Australia, May-July), Hasan Ali (Pakistan, from 29 May), Vishwa Fernando (Sri Lanka, until 21 April)
In: Ethan Bamber (Middlesex)
Out: Will Rhodes (Durham), Chris Benjamin (Kent), Michael Burgess (RET), Danny Briggs, external (Hampshire, loan for Global Super League in Nov/Dec 2024), Amir Khan, external (REL)
Other news: Performance director Gavin Larsen has left his role at the club.
Worcestershire
Overseas players 2024: Nathan Smith (New Zealand), Jason Holder (West Indies), Hayden Walsh (West Indies), James Hartshorn (New Zealand), Logan van Beek (Netherlands)
Overseas players 2025: Jacob Duffy (New Zealand, 11 April-30 June), Ben Dwarshuis (Australia, for T20)
In: Ben Allison (Essex), Fateh Singh (Nottinghamshire), Jacob Duffy (Nottinghamshire), Ben Dwarshuis (Durham)
Out: Joe Leach (RET), Josh Cobb (REL), Olly Cox (REL), Nathan Smith (Surrey)
Yorkshire
Overseas players 2024: Shan Masood (Pakistan), Donovan Ferreira (South Africa), Vishwa Fernando (Sri Lanka)
Overseas players 2025: Will Sutherland (Australia, 30 May-18 July)
In: Alex Wade, external (YTH), Jawad Akhtar, external (YTH), Jack White (Northamptonshire)
Out: Matthew Fisher (Surrey), Dom Leech (Northamptonshire), Mickey Edwards (RET)
Other news: First-team coach Ottis Gibson left at the end of the 2024 season, and has been replaced by Essex director of cricket Anthony McGrath. with ex-Northants coach John Sadler joining as batting coach and Mick Lewis leaving Essex to become bowling coach. Former all-rounder Gavin Hamilton, external has rejoined as general manager. The county will need a new captain if Masood does not return in 2025.
Barnet Matters
Brighton’s Ivorian winger Simon Adingra has a cream stripe around the side of his otherwise black-haired head. This looks like a zip fastener which could be used to remove the top hairpiece at half time and replace it with something more racey if the mood takes him.
Spurs defender Radu Dragusin has his hair pulled into a top knot which makes him look like Janice from form 3C.
Tyrone Mings has had more injuries than an England fast bowler and so it was good to see him back in action with his short full mop hairstyle at the weekend. It didn’t last long though and he soon limped off before half time.
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.
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 266
February 2025
Spot the Ball
Out and About with the Professor
I have been reading a lot about sex recently. More specifically, about cricketers and sex. Even more precisely, about long-departed cricketers and sex. The prompting for this domain of literary material was a very interesting book, The Last Innings, by Christopher Sandford. Published a couple of years’ ago, it was one of three cricket books that arrived curtesy of Santa and has proved a very enjoyable read. Sandford’s topic is the cricketers of 1939 who went to war. Some didn’t return (most famously perhaps, Hedley Verity and Ken Farnes), some sustained injuries (bizarrely in the case of Hutton), some survived, or were too old for active service, but never played again, and some, for whom the War was just an unwelcome interruption to their professional careers, resumed playing even more successfully following the armistice (not difficult to think of examples there).
Tastes in cricket literature vary of course, like everything else. For myself the most satisfying cricket books are the ones that set the game in a social/historical context rather than presenting just a chronological account of matches or, even worse, an individual cricketer’s career. Cricket biographies can be dull, and autobiographies truly dire. The punning titles of (particularly) the latter are beyond puerile.
Sandford begins with a detailed account of the 1939 season which seemed to combine an air of foreboding with some frivolity – presumably opposite sides of the same coin. A notable feature was the very rapid scoring in some matches. For those of us who think of Bazball as the originator of fast scoring, how about the West Indies in the final Test of that year who put on almost 370 in a day in their second innings which was interrupted for more than an hour by a thunderstorm. England replied with 366-6 from 76 overs in their second innings…and they were playing for a draw. The very last first-class game before hostilities, saw Sussex score 499 against Yorkshire on the first day, Hugh Bartlett getting 59 in half an hour. Verity took them down in the second innings: 7 for 9.
Sandford repeats some tales that Googlies readers might know: Hitler watching (and making comments on) a game of cricket at a field dressing station near Ypres in 1918; the West Indies quick Leslie Hylton being the only Test cricketer ever to be executed (for murder), and, of some parochial interest, the origin of the term “Chinaman” which he ascribes to Maurice Leyland, whereas the traditional accreditation has gone to Walter Robbins’ reaction to being bowled by Ellis Achong, a West Indian cricketer of Chinese heritage. Elsewhere I learned that the term had first appeared in print in The Guardian in 1926. It is of note that Wisden dropped the term in 2018 in favour of “slow left arm wrist spin”. Apparently 9 Test players died in the War, 5 of them English.
However, back to the sex.
I imagine we have all heard of “high jinks” on some of the overseas tours and it is hardly news that more than a dozen or so fit young men might, during weeks at sea and months away from home, be seeking “female company” (the reporting of these matters involves an archive of euphemisms). Drunkenness was almost universal (excepting Hutton who avoided many “parties” by going on a long run and retiring early with a good book) and the booze was a prequel, as it often is, to the sex. Godfrey Evans’ name is one that seems to be mentioned a lot, especially as a teenager who, according to Doug Wright: “was like a kid who had never been allowed to have sweets before and is suddenly presented with a lorryload”. My favourite Evans story is from Les Ames, who remembered a very drunken Evans, at a midsummer ball, asking “an attractive older lady” what colour her knickers were. She turned out to be the wife of the Bishop of Dover. Some captains, like Wyatt, enforced some sort of discipline but others, like Tennyson or Hammond, were more than complicit. Tennyson, according to Sandford, was a “bit of a swinger” (no cricket pun intended) while Hammond (somewhat more directly), “always liked a shag”. Hammond’s celebrated moodiness was ascribed by one biographer to an STD acquired on a West Indies tour in the 1920s, and Sandford suggests that at least one player was left out of the Test side when he was seen chatting too closely to a young woman that Hammond “had his eye on”. Today, presumably, the Press and the paparazzi would make much of this behaviour difficult, even career-ending; but in the decades before and after the War they were either enthusiastically involved (Crawford White “could pick up the girl the rest of them did not want”) or viewed their role as writing about the cricket. There were even cricket fans, like Sir Julien Cahn, who institutionalised cricketers’ debauchery; inviting teams to play on his private ground at his Leicestershire mansion and then supplying “ten nubile ladies” in the heated swimming pool after the game. Why ten? Because he would not provide one for “the bugger who got me out”.
Presumably the reaction of most Googlies readers to all this is somewhere between envy and opprobrium but it is impossible to leave the subject without mention of the subject of the second of Santa’s books: Bill Edrich. Leo McKinstry’s biography is unsparing both in his admiration for Edrich and his cricket, and his documenting of his chaotic sex life. Of the former it’s good to remember what a player Edrich was: 36,965 first class runs (3,539 in the 1947 season) and 479 wickets and what an extraordinary courageous man he was, both on the cricket field (resuming, bandaged up, against Tyson after the bowler had fractured his jaw and “looking like a war casualty”) and in the War as a decorated bomber pilot and squadron leader, flying some near-suicidal missions into Germany. For Tyson: “Never have I met a more courageous individual. He appears almost indifferent to his own safety. No bowler is too fast to hook, no score too large to challenge”.
But…back to the sex. Edrich, who today’s tabloids like the Sun or the Times would probably label a “sex pest”, appeared to have been addicted to sex…or perhaps to sexual conquest. Married five times his adult life seems to have been one of relentless sexual pursuit. Any occasion, any opportunity and he would take it. He was, in effect, a lifelong seducer. For example:
At an official function in South Africa he arrived with a large breasted woman called Roxy, introduced as his “masseuse”. A seaside weekend with another South African woman involved living “on sex and oysters”. On one occasion John Murray found him in the morning “sleeping it off at the back of the groundsman’s hut with a blonde, using his DJ as a blanket”. Describing his courtship technique as “brisk”, one woman complained that he “didn’t even take his cricket boots off”. Meeting a pretty woman in a London street and not having the funds for a hotel room, they had sex against a tree in Regents Park. And on and on. “He was predatory when it came to women” according to Trevor Bailey, “a hunter who made a great deal of effort”. Often the “conquests” were married (he almost always was) and one jolly story is of Edrich having dinner at a friend’s house the night before a Test, seducing his wife, and then turning up in disguise at the ground and queueing at the turnstiles to avoid the enraged husband at the players’ entrance. The only case of a Test cricketer paying to play in the match. The tours, of course, provided perpetual opportunity. The “Sterling Castle” on the 24-day voyage to Freemantle in 1946, carried some 200 “War brides” travelling to meet their new, or soon-to-be husbands: “A treasure chest of lust for Edrich”. Some of this is mildly funny, some rather sad; McKinstry concludes that, “he left a trail of social wreckage with his inability to sustain a relationship or resist temptation”. Nor was he in any way a conventionally handsome man – very short, with a turned-up nose and a “vaguely feral air…like a randy mole” according to one.
How to explain Edrich’s character? (Apart from the fact that we’re all different.) One suggestion is that perhaps Edrich was suffering from “survivors’ guilt” – a squadron leader, who lost so many of those under his command, had little concern for his own safety and almost none for the moral codes of others. Whatever it was, it does make for interesting reading.
The third book was Stuart Broad’s “autobiography”…but that is mainly about cricket.
This & That
There have been three major T20 franchise tournaments being played around the world in January: the Big Bash in Australia, the SA20 in South Africa and the International League T20 in the UAE.
Ryan Rickelton first came to prominence in the inaugural SA20 two years ago in which his amazing batting talent impressed everyone. In January this year he went one step further when he opened for South Africa in the first test against Pakistan and scored 259. He is a chunky left hander who moves around the crease to give himself room to free up his arms. He is strong square on the leg side but scores most of his runs on the offside. Against the Joburg Super Kings he led his side to victory with a fabulous 89 from 39 deliveries. He should have known that it was going to be his day as earlier whilst keeping wicket to Rashid Khan, the batsman, Donovan Ferreira, was beaten playing forward and Rickelton fumbled the ball whilst Ferreira was still behind the crease, but Ferreira lost balance and as his foot left the crease Rickelton was able to recover the ball and stump him.
However, he has been eclipsed this year by a fellow chunky left hander, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who is only eighteen but is top run scorer in the competition. He has been opening for the Paarl Royals with Joe Root which won’t have done him any harm. He is a fabulous clean hitter all-round the wicket.
Zak Crawley has had a miserable time in SA20. Playing for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape against Joburg Super kings he was out in consecutive matches to the first ball of the match to the same bowler, Sipamla. On the first occasion the delivery was subsequently judged a no ball. He was rested after his second plonger.
The wickets in the SA20 have in general not been shirtfronts and the commentators have been struggling to predict what would be a good score. The Sunrisers Eastern Cape have been one of the more successful sides this year although their batting has been a problem. Against MI Cape Town they struggled to 107. There was the usual crap talked in the commentary box about it could be tight if they took wickets in the powerplay but Pretorius and van der Dussen launched into a quality attack and won with nine overs to spare without losing a wicket.
The advent of T20, now 20 years ago, was predicted to herald the death of spin bowling. In one of the matches in SA20 all twenty overs for the Paarl Royals were bowled by spinners. It was also meant to be a young man’s game. The Joburg Super Kings had a cluster of senior players in one match to consider a referral. They were Faf du Plessis (age 40), Jonny Baistow (age 35), Mo Ali (age 37) and Imran Tahir (age 45). In addition, David Wiese (age 39) is also in their squad.
In Australia’s Big Bash I was going to say that either because of good bowling or the larger grounds there seem to be fewer sixes scored but in the final, played in Hobart, after the Sydney Thunder had scored 182 for 7 Mitchell Owen scored 108 from 42 balls in an innings which included 11 sixes. The Hobart Hurricanes knocked off 185 in 65 minutes and won with six overs to spare.
After his explosive debut in the IPL last year Jake Fraser-McGurk had a relatively quiet BBL but did score 95 from 44 balls as his side, Melbourne Renegades chased down Brisbane Heat’s 196 with a couple of overs to spare.
Shai Hope is top scorer in the in the International League T20 being played in the UAE, but he is only 10 runs ahead of Tom Banton who has scored two hundreds. Not far behind are Hales (remember him?), Curran S and Kohler- Cadmore. Other Englishmen playing in this competition include Vince, Cox, Lawrence and Roy (remember him?). The top bowler in this competition is the mercurial Fazalhaq Farooqi with 18 wickets. By contrast the leading Englishmen are Curran S and Willey with just 6 each.
After an indifferent start to his test career batting after the fall of wickets Usman Khawaja has cemented his place at the top of the order for Australia in recent years. In January against Sri Lanka, he scored 232 as his side reached 654 for 6. Although Sri Lanka bowled 154 overs Fernando only bowled 15 whilst the rest were bowled by just three bowlers – Peiris (41), Jayasuriya (60) and Vandersay (38). Stand in captain, Steve Smith, scored 141 and went past 10,000 test runs in the process.
We wondered what Bazball was going to mean for white ball cricket and now we know. Someone around the practice arenas said that the batsmen no longer have nets but simply practise range hitting. It certainly looks that way in the middle as one after another of the batsmen in the India T20 series slogged into the outfield and were caught by the only fielder in the vicinity who didn’t have to move. The batsmen then stand flabbergasted and crestfallen that they are out. They have brainwashed themselves into believing that if they hit the ball cleanly it will clear any fielder and go for six. Of course, sometimes it does but in the range hitting practises there are no fielders…
It amazes me that so many Premiership sides find it necessary to buy players from overseas clubs. For example, why did Manchester City pay £34m to Lens to secure the services of Abdukodir Khusanov? Surely there are plenty of competent full backs in the Championship or Premier League they could have gone for instead? They could have bought Wan-Bissaka, probably the best full back in the Premiership, from Manchester United before he was snapped up by West Ham for £15m.
An extraordinary number of goals seem to be scored in the time added on at the end of Premier League matches. I originally put this down to tiredness and tactical changes implemented to try to go for a winner or a draw but more recently I think that it is due to the introduction of as many as five subs which completely changes the combination of players in the various roles and inevitably affects the sides’ performance. This reminded me that when I went to Loftus Road in the fifties and sixties there were no subs and you had to make do with your original selection for the whole match. If someone got injured, they were put out on the wing and had to limp through the rest of the game.
The latest fan base to desert their team are the famous Toon Army who should have stayed to watch the unexpectedly fabulous Bournemouth dismantle the home side.
Thompson Matters
This month’s teams need no introductions:
England XXIV
Bairstow, Broad, Butcher, Cowdrey, Hardstaff, Hutton, Jones, Mann, Parks, Stewart, Tate and Townsend
The Rest of the World. XXIV
Armarnath, Cairns, Chanderpaul, Cook, Hadlee, Marsh, Mohammed, Nazar, Nourse, Pataudi, Pollock, Rutherford
It has been quite a few weeks for matters familial. Earlier in the month Darren Ferguson, fresh from his appearance as Scrooge in Panto at the New Theatre Peterborough, denied Ashley and Tyler Young a place in FA Cup history as the first father and son to play against each other in the competition’s 154-year history. There were of course valid arguments on both sides; but possibly not this one.
This was, however, not a charity match. This was no end-of-season dead rubber with nothing riding on it. This was an important FA Cup tie. Peterborough were only one goal down. They were still in it. Darren Ferguson was trying to force a replay, the finances of which can go a long way for clubs down the pyramid.
So wrote the Mail on Sunday’s James Sharpe the morning after. That’s Sharpe with an ‘e’! Was there anyone with even a passing interest in football unaware that there are no replays in the FA Cup as of this year? Well, yes there was one, maintaining the organ’s faultless journalistic standards.
Rocky Flintoff caught the eye earlier in the month by becoming the youngest player to score a century for England Lions. Of the little grainy footage I’ve seen of him he looks like a chip off the old block and along with Archie Vaughan, currently skippering the England Under-19s in South Africa, the pair add weight to the concept of a cricket gene.
Of the thirteen father and son pairings to have played for England, only in two cases, the Huttons and Cowdreys, did the father have a more successful Test career. If the younger Flintoff and Vaughan do enable the family name to be added to the list by achieving Test status they will have their work cut out if they are not to buck the trend.
Further research however revealed that nowhere has there been a more successful father and son cricketing dynasty than in the U.S. where a search of Facebook reveals that the most successful and prolific father and son pairing are D.J. and E.F Trump.
The most recent reference to their phenomenal exploits reads as follows:
Whilst there have been some quite good cricket players from the same family in other countries, nowhere ever in the world has there ever ever been two cricket players who have scored more runs and taken more wickets than Donald and Eric Trump. They are so very good. Donald scored over 30,000 runs and took 2000 wickets and 20000 catches whilst Eric scored 45 Test centuries and made 27 hat-tricks. The world famous Wisdon Almanac named them Players of the Year on twenty-five separate occasions.
* These facts have been Community Note checked by Andy Zaltzman, January 2025.
Where are they now?
Here is the latest list of movements of players between the counties
Derbyshire
Overseas players 2024: Blair Tickner (New Zealand), Mohammad Amir (Pakistan), Daryn Dupavillion (South Africa), Cam Fletcher (New Zealand)
Overseas players 2025: Caleb Jewell (Australia), Blair Tickner (New Zealand)
In: Martin Andersson (Middlesex), Jack Morley, external (Lancashire)
Out: Sam Conners (Durham)
Other news: Head of cricket Mickey Arthur has taken on an additional role as director of cricket at Hundred franchise Northern Superchargers.
Durham
Overseas players 2024: David Bedingham (South Africa), Scott Boland (Australia), Ashton Turner (Australia), Peter Siddle (Australia), Ben Dwarshuis (Australia), Neil Wagner (New Zealand), Chemar Holder (West Indies)
Overseas players 2025: David Bedingham (South Africa)
In: Emilio Gay (Northamptonshire), Sam Conners (Derbyshire), Will Rhodes (Warwickshire)
Out: Michael Jones (Lancashire), Jonathan Bushnell (REL), Brandon Glover (REL), Oliver Gibson (REL), Ben Dwarshuis (Worcestershire)
Other news: Scott Borthwick has stepped down as club captain and taken up a role as player-coach.
Essex
Overseas players 2024: Simon Harmer (South Africa), Daniel Sams (Australia), Eathan Bosch (South Africa)
Overseas players 2025: Simon Harmer (South Africa)
In: none
Out: Ben Allison (Worcestershire), Aaron Beard, external (RET), Feroze Khushi (REL), Daniel Sams (Nottinghamshire)
Other news: Chief executive John Stephenson left at the end of the 2024 season to take up a similar position with Western Australia. Director of cricket Anthony McGrath departed to become head coach of Yorkshire and has been replaced by Chris Silverwood, who led the side from 2016-18. Bowling coach Mick Lewis has joined McGrath at Headingley.
Glamorgan
Overseas players 2024: Marnus Labuschagne (Australia), Colin Ingram (South Africa), Mir Hamza (Pakistan), Fraser Sheat (New Zealand)
Overseas players 2025: Colin Ingram (South Africa), Asitha Fernando (Sri Lanka, until end of May)
In: Ned Leonard (Somerset)
Out: Harry Podmore (RET), Prem Sisodya (RET)
Others news: Glamorgan sacked head coach Grant Bradburn in December following a misconduct charge. He has been replaced on an interim basis by England Lions coach Richard Dawson, who will lead the side this season in the Championship and T20 Blast, with a One-Day Cup coach to be appointed.
Gloucestershire
Overseas players 2024: Cameron Bancroft (Australia), Zafar Gohar (Pakistan), Beau Webster (Australia)
Overseas players 2025: Cameron Bancroft (Australia)
In: none
Out: Zafar Gohar (Middlesex)
Other news: Graeme van Buuren has stepped down as Championship captain.
Hampshire
Overseas players 2024: Kyle Abbott (South Africa), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan), Michael Neser (Australia), Ben McDermott (Australia)
Overseas players 2025: Kyle Abbott (South Africa)
In: Sonny Baker (Somerset), Danny Briggs, external (Warwickshire, loan for Global Super League in Nov/Dec 2024)
Out: none
Possible signings: The Daily Mail reports, external that Hampshire are interested in New Zealand seamer Tim Southee and Australian all-rounder Jack Edwards.
Other news: James Vince has stepped down as County Championship captain and will only play T20 cricket for Hampshire next season.
Kent
Overseas players 2024: Wes Agar (Australia), Beyers Swanepoel (South Africa), Xavier Bartlett (Australia), Charlie Stobo (Australia), Tom Rogers (Australia), Akeem Jordan (West Indies)
Overseas players 2025: Wes Agar (Australia), Tom Rogers (Australia, for T20)
In: Chris Benjamin (Warwickshire)
Out: Arafat Bhuiyan, external (REL), Hamidullah Qadri, external (REL)
Other news: Head coach Matt Walker stepped down at the end of the 2024 season and has been replaced by Adam Hollioake.
Lancashire
Overseas players 2024: Nathan Lyon (Australia), Tom Bruce (New Zealand), Chris Green (Australia), George Dockrell (Ireland), Venkatesh Iyer (India), Anderson Phillip (West Indies)
Overseas players 2025: Chris Green (Australia), Anderson Phillip (West Indies, until the end of July), Marcus Harris (Australia, for Championship and One-Day Cup)
In: Michael Jones (Durham), Marcus Harris (Leicestershire)
Out: Steven Croft (RET), George Lavelle, external (REL), Jack Morley, external (Derbyshire)
Possible signings: The Daily Mail reports, external that Lancashire are hoping to re-sign New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell.
Leicestershire
Overseas players 2024: Wiaan Mulder (South Africa), Peter Handscomb (Australia), Marcus Harris (Australia), Ajinkya Rahane (India), Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand), Paul Stirling (Ireland)
Overseas players 2025: Peter Handscomb, external (Australia)
In: none
Out: Sam Evans, external (REL), Marcus Harris (Lancashire)
Middlesex
Overseas players 2024: none
Overseas players 2025: TBC
In: Ben Geddes (Surrey), Aaryan Sawant, external (YTH), Naavya Sharma, external (YTH), Sebastian Morgan, external (YTH), Zafar Gohar (Gloucestershire, as non-overseas player)
Out: Ethan Bamber (Warwickshire), Martin Andersson (Derbyshire), Mark Stoneman, external (REL), Robbie White (RET), Thilan Walallawita, external (REL)
Possible signings: The Daily Mail reports, external that Middlesex hope to sign New Zealand batter Kane Williamson as an overseas player.
Other news: Former England spinner Ian Salisbury has joined as a full-time coach, external having worked as a consultant with the club since 2023.
Northamptonshire
Overseas players 2024: Prithvi Shaw (India), Chris Tremain (Australia), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Karun Nair (India), Matt Breetzke (South Africa), Siddarth Kaul (India), Ashton Agar (Australia), Yuzvendra Chahal (India)
Overseas players 2025: Matt Breetzke, external (South Africa, for first eight Championship games and first half of T20 group stage), Ashton Agar (Australia, for T20)
In: Dom Leech (Yorkshire), Arush Buchake, external (YTH), Aadi Sharma, external (YTH)
Out: Emilio Gay (Durham), George Gowler, external (REL), Alex Russell, external (REL), George Weldon, external (REL), Jack White (Yorkshire)
Other news: Darren Lehmann has become head coach, succeeding John Sadler who left in September 2024.
Nottinghamshire
Overseas players 2024: Dane Paterson (South Africa), Will Young (New Zealand), Ben Lister (New Zealand), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan), Kyle Verreynne (South Africa), Jacob Duffy (New Zealand)
Overseas players 2025: Kyle Verreynne (South Africa, for Championship), Fergus O'Neill (Australia, until 28 April), Daniel Sams (Australia, for T20)
In: Travis Holland, external (YTH), Sam Seecharan, external (YTH), Tom Giles, external (YTH), Conor McKerr (Surrey), Daniel Sams (Essex)
Out: Luke Fletcher (REL), Tom Loten, external (RET), Toby Pettman, external (RET), Fateh Singh (Worcestershire), Jacob Duffy (Worcestershire)
Somerset
Overseas players 2024: Matt Renshaw (Australia), Migael Pretorius (South Africa), Riley Meredith (Australia), Brett Randell (New Zealand)
Overseas players 2025: Riley Meredith (Australia, for T20 and possibly other formats), Matt Henry (New Zealand, 17 April-25 June)
In: none
Out: Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Ned Leonard (Glamorgan), George Thomas, external (REL)
Surrey
Overseas players 2024: Kemar Roach (West Indies), Sean Abbott (Australia), Spencer Johnson (Australia), Sai Sudharsan (India), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
Overseas players 2025: Nathan Smith (New Zealand)
In: Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire), Nathan Smith (Worcestershire)
Out: Ben Geddes (Middlesex), Conor McKerr (Nottinghamshire), Amar Virdi (REL)
Other news: Director of cricket Alec Stewart stepped down at the end of the 2024 season and has a part-time role as high performance cricket advisor.
Sussex
Overseas players 2024: Jayden Seales (West Indies), Nathan McAndrew (Australia), Cheteshwar Pujara (India), Daniel Hughes (Australia), Jaydev Unadkat (India)
Overseas players 2025: Daniel Hughes (Australia), Jayden Seales (West Indies, first block of County Championship games), Jaydev Unadkat (India, from 8 September), Gurinder Sandhu (Australia, for June and July)
In: none
Out: none
Warwickshire
Overseas players 2024: Hasan Ali (Pakistan), Aamir Jamal (Pakistan), Michael Rae (New Zealand), Zak Foulkes (New Zealand)
Overseas players 2025: Tom Latham (New Zealand), Beau Webster (Australia, May-July), Hasan Ali (Pakistan, from 29 May), Vishwa Fernando (Sri Lanka, until 21 April)
In: Ethan Bamber (Middlesex)
Out: Will Rhodes (Durham), Chris Benjamin (Kent), Michael Burgess (RET), Danny Briggs, external (Hampshire, loan for Global Super League in Nov/Dec 2024), Amir Khan, external (REL)
Other news: Performance director Gavin Larsen has left his role at the club.
Worcestershire
Overseas players 2024: Nathan Smith (New Zealand), Jason Holder (West Indies), Hayden Walsh (West Indies), James Hartshorn (New Zealand), Logan van Beek (Netherlands)
Overseas players 2025: Jacob Duffy (New Zealand, 11 April-30 June), Ben Dwarshuis (Australia, for T20)
In: Ben Allison (Essex), Fateh Singh (Nottinghamshire), Jacob Duffy (Nottinghamshire), Ben Dwarshuis (Durham)
Out: Joe Leach (RET), Josh Cobb (REL), Olly Cox (REL), Nathan Smith (Surrey)
Yorkshire
Overseas players 2024: Shan Masood (Pakistan), Donovan Ferreira (South Africa), Vishwa Fernando (Sri Lanka)
Overseas players 2025: Will Sutherland (Australia, 30 May-18 July)
In: Alex Wade, external (YTH), Jawad Akhtar, external (YTH), Jack White (Northamptonshire)
Out: Matthew Fisher (Surrey), Dom Leech (Northamptonshire), Mickey Edwards (RET)
Other news: First-team coach Ottis Gibson left at the end of the 2024 season, and has been replaced by Essex director of cricket Anthony McGrath. with ex-Northants coach John Sadler joining as batting coach and Mick Lewis leaving Essex to become bowling coach. Former all-rounder Gavin Hamilton, external has rejoined as general manager. The county will need a new captain if Masood does not return in 2025.
Barnet Matters
Brighton’s Ivorian winger Simon Adingra has a cream stripe around the side of his otherwise black-haired head. This looks like a zip fastener which could be used to remove the top hairpiece at half time and replace it with something more racey if the mood takes him.
Spurs defender Radu Dragusin has his hair pulled into a top knot which makes him look like Janice from form 3C.
Tyrone Mings has had more injuries than an England fast bowler and so it was good to see him back in action with his short full mop hairstyle at the weekend. It didn’t last long though and he soon limped off before half time.
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
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