GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 95
November 2010
Caption Competition
77 Matters
The Great Jack Morgan advises Paddy Carlin that Wayne Madsen is another wearer of his favourite number.
Out and About with the Professor
I feel sure that I have never had the opportunity to visit a “Boot Camp”. I am even more certain that if I received an invitation I would lose little time in declining the offer. Indeed I’m not really sure what happens at a Boot Camp, nor even whose boots are being referenced. It is one of those phrases that have a resonance without requiring a definition…you just know it is unpleasant. Indeed, I recall an earlier Conservative government telling us all that it would solve the problem of young yobs on the streets by sending them to Boot Camps for (another ill-defined chilling phrase) “a short sharp shock”. I’m not sure that policy was entirely successful.
Given this collective remembrance why, one might ask, would the England cricket management want to send our brave lads to such a place? Having won the last six series that they have played, one might have thought that some modest celebration or some time with the collective feet up might be the reward. Not a bit of it. Let’s send the team to some revolting brutal environment where they can learn absolutely nothing about cricket and, at best, emerge without illness or injury. We have grown used to the England side warming up by playing rugby or football and thereby collecting the inevitable injuries – remember Owais Shah’s “over-the-top” tackle on Denly, or Prior’s back spasm minutes before the start of the Headingley debacle – but why wait for the morning of the match? Much better to injure the players well before they even get on the plane. Thus the outcome of this most recent bit of nonsense is for injury to Tremlett (bruised ribs) and Anderson (cracked rib). And for what? Generals are willing to sustain losses to their troops provided there is some overall gain. What has been gained from all this yomping and abseiling? Two men down and no advantage of any sort acquired.
We know why they did it of course. It is what the Aussies do – or at least did, prior to the 2006-7 whitewash. So, it worked for them – it must work for us. It hardly seems worth the typing to point out that this is a flawed piece of logic.
Anderson, if any of us needs reminding, could well be the most important player on the 25th November in steamy Brisbane. I read that he “is expected to recover” by then…well, let’s hope so. I also read, in today’s Times, that Haddin and Siddle are both fit again and that the Australian selectors will be able to choose from a complete squad. Isn’t that nice? The Australians are all fit and we have self-sustained injuries through emulating the Australians.
I’m not sure that there is a word which adequately describes this sort of stupidity…perhaps Googlies readers might like to come up with one?
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Self delusion Matters
Lancashire sends an email newsletter to members and noted the following recently:
“Head groundsman Matt Merchant is hoping to be able to produce more great wickets when the new square is laid at Old Trafford. Merchant and his team have already started work on turning the square through 90 degrees after the club's redevelopment plans were given the go ahead last week. He believes a best case scenario would see the foundations for eleven new wickets laid within the next two weeks, and it will take between 12 and 18 months for them to bed in and be usable.”
So we can look forward to more fliers and wickets that turn square before lunch on the first day.
My next email from Old Trafford announced that Bon Jovi would be playing there next year, which is of course more than Lancashire will be doing.
The next day I heard again from my local county, this time that Kings of Leon would be playing there……..
Middlesex Matters
The Great Jack Morgan reports on the season’s final matches and current developments
Middlesex chose no front line spinner for the Championship match against Worcestershire at Lord's on a pitch that looked to be dry and brown from the Compton Stand. It was one of the most disastrous selections in the history of the club and it was communicated to no more than a handful of spectators as the day's tube strike and resultant traffic jams prevented many people getting to the ground on time (these included Toby Roland-Jones) and others could not attend at all. Middlesex did fairly well to get four of the visitors out for 126 (skipper Daryl Mitchell 47, ex-skipper Vikram Solanki 39), but Moeen Ali (66) was well supported by Shakib al Hasan, James Cameron and Gareth Andrew and somehow managed to take the total on to 313, which was many more than they should have been allowed. Part of the reason they were able to make so many was that the four-man pace attack bowled their overs so slowly that captain Dexter had to bring on himself and Owais Shah to raise the over rate to an acceptable level. To be fair, this pair picked up four for 101 between them, though the two batsmen should never have had to bowl 26 overs (plus ten more in the second innings). Toby R-J was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 51. Impressive knocks from Scott Newman (78), Shah (117) and Dexter (97) took Middx to 355 for 5 at lunch on day 3, a position from which it should have been impossible to lose, but Moeen Ali began to spin his occasional off-breaks quite sharply and Middx collapsed to 392 all out, with Moeen taking a career best 5 for 36.
It was a disappointing total, but it should still have been possible to push on to victory from that position, especially as Worcs slumped to 62 for 4 in their second innings. However, that man Moeen made an excellent 81 and number 9 Andrew hit a sparkling 73 to take the visitors to 256 and set Middx a target of 178 to win. Toby R-J was again the most successful of the bowlers with 5 for 83, though it was a mystery why Murtagh and Finn were used so sparingly. Andrew has scored runs against Middx before (and two years ago he bowled us out at Kidderminster) and it is incredible that he cannot get in ahead of Ben Cox, but then Alan Richardson should also be batting ahead of Cox. Despite the below par bowling performance, the task for the batsmen looked straightforward, but Richardson soon had both openers back in the pavilion and then Shakib started an incredible spell of left arm spin that brought him a career best 7 for 32 and a victory for his team by 111 runs as Middx fell apart for 66 all out. It was as humiliating a debacle as many of us could remember. The non-selection of a spin bowler was crucial as the Worcs spin pair took 14 for 183 in the match and Middx were forced to use non-bowlers to speed up the over rate (but actually this did not work as the home team had 2 points deducted for bowling their overs so slowly, which might have landed us the Wooden Spoon).
Poor Ben Scott must be wondering if there is any justice in the world as he watched his two replacements performing in this match: at Middlesex, he has been superseded by an ordinary keeper who is no longer getting any runs and at Worcestershire, he has been replaced by an 18 year old novice who is (on this evidence) careless with the gloves and hopeless with the bat. It was Owais Shah's last match for the club and although he, personally, had a successful match, he surely would not have wanted to end on such a dire note. It also appears that it was Pedro Collins's last match for the club as his international appearances are now too far in the past to allow him to continue as a Kolpak, but Pedro has had a successful season with 36 first class wickets at 27.75 and he was awarded his county cap at lunch on day one. It is also uncertain whether Iain O'Brien will be able to appear next season: both Iain and Middlesex had assumed that he would qualify as English next year through his marriage to an English girl, but the ECB are getting awkward about these things and IEOB may have to take legal action.
I have been watching TSRJ fairly closely and he is not outstandingly quick, but fairly accurate and moves the ball mainly in to the right-hander off the seam rather than through the air and, being quite tall, he does sometimes get a bit of bounce which tends to surprise the batsman; he is actually quite reminiscent of Gus, though this unfortunately extends to his fielding, which is fairly donkey-like; I know he can bat a bit, having seen him in the 2s (for Surrey as well as Middlesex), but recently he has been rubbish. Tom Scollay is probably preferred to other candidates for the CB40 because he is capable of scoring really quickly, while other young possibles would probably need more time to settle.
Team selection has been very poor recently, but I am not sure who is to blame for this. I am sure that experienced and successful captains like Brearley and Gatting had more or less total control of selection matters, but I do not think that an inexperienced skipper like Dexy would. I doubt that "head coach" R Scott has much influence, while R Johnson would only be consulted about which 2s player to call up. The bloke I suspect of influencing team selection is Gus, who is taking a much closer interest in first team matters than we were led to believe he would and is now acting a bit like a football manager. I suspect he might be responsible for some of the strange selections, though these would have to be done in consultation with the captain presumably.
Danny Evans is leaving Middlesex "by mutual consent. I am slightly sad about it however because i) his career first class bowling average of around 34 is really not bad for a reserve bowler; and ii) as you saw at Hove, the cupboard is really bare as far as back-up pace bowlers is concerned. Robbie is no better than Danny and the most promising youngster of recent years, Tom Hampton, has not made the progress that was hoped (though I hope they have not given up on him yet). They could be in trouble unless they have some fresh young lads that we do not know about.
Well, Middx did have someone up their sleeves that we did not know about: it seems that we are about to sign Anthony Ireland, Gloucs's Zimbabwean international pace bowler, who has rejected a new contract at Bristol. He has usually been 12th man when I have seen Gloucs in recent seasons, but he certainly had a useful 2010 (36 wickets @ 21.77), though he is yet another who cannot bat (except against Middlesex: I recall he stopped us winning at Bristol 2 years ago). We could have the longest tail in the history of the game! How about a spinner now Gus!
I feel about Shaun Udal's retirement much the same way that I did about Danny Evans's departure. Shaun was no longer an automatic choice for the first team, but the cupboard is so bare of alternatives that I would probably have kept him on for another year, unless they have now lined up his replacement. Shaun himself was apparently arguing for another year because young spinners like Tom Smith and Ravi Patel would develop better alongside him than without him; there is some truth in this, so have they now lured someone else to join? Tom is probably already a first team bowler in one-dayers because he is accurate and he picks up wickets when batters are forced to take chances against him, but he has not yet found ways of getting wickets in the Championship. Ravi (also a left armer, of course) has even less experience, is also not yet ready to bowl out Championship sides and is, anyway, away at Loughborough for 3 years. All this surely means that a top class off-spinner is on his way to the club, doesn't it? Having just read that Kent are keen to retain the services of J Tredwell (thus indicating that he is out of contract), I have now convinced myself that Tredders is on his way to Lord's... or Radlett.
Derbyshire are poor payers and Owais wanted well into 6 figures, so I'm guessing that Middlesex will save money on the deal to acquire Rogers (especially if MCC are helping out). I heard that Middlesex were deliberately leaving Shah's place vacant in order to create a space for the good young 2s batsmen to stake a claim. Simpson would challenge for a place at 3 or 7, but have you heard that Scotty is definitely going? The last I heard was that his situation was being "reviewed" and assumed that he would be staying: it would be crazy to release him. Udal has gone (see above), but I'm expecting a replacement. If we leave out those of unknown availability (Strauss, Morgan, O'Brien and Finn), I would expect next year’s team to be something like:
1 Rogers
2 Newman
3 Robson/ London/ Housego/ Scollay
4 Malan
5 Dexter
6 Berg
7 Scott (or Simpson)
8 Smith (or new signing)
9, 10, 11 Three from Murtagh, Roland-Jones, Collymore and Ireland.
Yorkshire Matters
The Professor expresses concerns about his adopted county
There seems to be much approval up here of the re-signing of Sidebottom. There is even, can you believe, a "Welcome Back Ryan" dinner in a week or so's time (no I'm not going). The Yorkshire Cricket Magazine (yes there is such a thing) looks back on a pretty successful season (excepting the very last day); Adam Lyth is the player of the year and Jon Bairstow the young player of the year. The return of Rudolph to South Africa (so his wife can "pursue her career") will leave a very big hole in the batting. I would have thought they would need to make a star signing but Moxon is quoted as suggesting that academy players like Joe Root and Gary Ballance might take this opportunity to (ye gods) "step up to the plate" (why can't they just come to the crease?). I've seen them both in club matches and they can obviously play, but Rudolph scored almost 2,500 runs in all cricket this season and 25 hundreds in four seasons - sounds like quite a high plate up which to step! If they didn't recruit and dropped Brophy (in his benefit year) they could potentially put out an all-Yorkshire side. Now that would be a thing...they would probably also be relegated.
Hart Matters
Bill Hart is long on nostalgia and having transcribed the South Hampstead scorebooks he has been reflecting on the early sixties South Hampstead sides he played in
I have long been obsessed with the thought that the early years of Bob Peach's reign as captain of the South Hampstead 1st XI, featured an absolutely outstanding team. Additionally, I am miffed by the fact that because there were no cups or leagues in that period, it is very difficult for the team’s quality to be fully appreciated. One would have to have been in the side, or, more likely, one of its regular opponents, such as Hornsey, Ealing or Wembley, in order to do so. In order to help in this “appreciation”, I have done a little research into the facts about the team.
The period I am referring to is 1962-66 inclusive. "1962" because that is the earliest season of which I have personal experience, and "1966" because it is my belief that the inevitable deterioration began to show itself in 1967. The consolidated results record for that period is as follows: Played 210, Won 113, Drawn 76 and Lost 21. In addition there were 18 games abandoned.
In itself that constitutes a pretty good record, with the wins:losses ratio of 5.4:1, being somewhat remarkable. This is particularly significant given the fact that quite a number of sides arrived at Milverton Rd, quite well satisfied to obtain a draw.
In the following assessment, “1st XI quality” is taken to mean players who would have challenged as members of the first eleven of any amateur cricket club in the London area. In 1962, Bob was able to choose from twelve players of undisputed 1st XI quality. Nine of these players were to form the nucleus of the team for the next four seasons. They were Bob Peach, Len Stubbs, Terry Cordaroy, John Weale, Don Wallis, Roy Phipps, Alvin Nienow, Bruce Tutton & myself. In addition to these nine, Allan Huntley was vice-captain, and Norman Cooper & Richard Brooks shared the wicket-keeping. There was also Allan Clain, who although near retirement, was still a force to be reckoned with.
By 1963 the situation was, if anything, even better, and there were still twelve first-team quality players available. Robin Ager had arrived to make the nucleus ten strong, Richard Brooks was still around and John Tutton had now been added to the squad. The only “weakening” was the fact that Roy Phipps, following his marriage, was only now available once-a-weekend. Alan Huntley had moved house to High Wycombe, and Norman Cooper had semi-retired.
The following year, 1964, we were down to ten players of first-team quality. Richard Brooks had moved to the Sunbury club, in search of regular first-team cricket, and John Tutton had moved house to Reading. The eleven was made up by Bob Denley, who played 35 games.
Bill Hart, Bob Denley, Bob Peach, Robin Ager, John Weale, Len Stubbs, Bruce Tutton, Don Wallis, Roy Phipps, Terry Cordaroy and Alvin Nienow take the field in 1964.
The season of 1965 saw us with the same ten in the nucleus. This time the eleventh place was usually taken by John Matthews, who played in 28 games.
1966, which is the last year of my review, saw the first loss from the nucleus. Alvin Nienow took up a post at Reading University, and the signs of deterioration can be seen. The nine players left from the nucleus were joined by John Matthews and Harry Stubbs, but the writing was on the wall. Don Wallis, Roy Phipps, John Weale, Bruce Tutton and myself were the wrong side of thirty, and “anno domini” was having its effect.
One of the most significant facts about the players involved in these years is the high percentage of their availability. SHCC 1st XI averaged about 45 games per season, and all of the above, except Roy Phipps & John Tutton were able to average over 40 games per season. What would a present-day selector give to be in that situation ?
We struggled on for the next six years, even getting to each of the first four Middlesex Cup Finals (winning in 1971), but the edge was gone from the team. It was not until the arrival of Ian Jerman, Allan Cox, Ossie Burton and various colonials like Colin Price, that SHCC 1st XI returned to its previous high standards.
It was a great period of my life and I am very grateful to have taken part. I played in a wonderful team, judged both on results and sociability, and made a group of real lifelong friendships. I have a great deal to thank SHCC for.
Would anyone from another club like to dispute Bill’s claims or, perhaps, report other exceptional sides?
Paddington Matters
Denis Jones updates us on Paddington developments
I decided to step down as President of Paddington at the end of the 2009 season, and although I still expect to attend several games each season, poor weather and the inability of the opposition to put a team together (and ourselves on one occasion) conspired against this in 2010, which, results-wise was a disappointing season. Our bi-annual trip to Lords to play against Cross Arrows was also washed out, which was especially frustrating as I had chosen to rearrange some long-held golfing plans so that I attend.
Recently I inherited a Paddington fixture card dating back to 1953, and it is pleasing to note that 57 years on, we still retain fixtures against Abbots Langley, North Middlesex, Ealing, and Kenton.
Also interesting to note how far Paddington were sometimes travelling for their weekly game of cricket then, with matches at Boyne Hill, Wickford, Dorking, and Vauxhall Motors in Luton. Although Dorking was a 2.30pm start, the others were 11.30am, so the coach-load departing from the Chippenham pub must have needed to gather together very early on a Sunday morning - not easy with all the entourage that accompanied Paddington at that time. They also did not have the dubious benefits of the M25, M4, or M1 to facilitate their journey!!
For a few seasons around the turn of the 1950's and 1960's, I recall there was even a fixture on the County Ground against Folkestone, with many players and supporters traveling by train. Such enthusiasm and dedication tends to contrast sharply with the current situation of scheduled fixtures falling by the wayside for lack of players. I know I am just an 'old fart', but I really find it very difficult to reconcile this with the often-stated claims that the kids of today have got nothing to do to fill their time.
Conference Matters
Steve Wright asked me to publicise the CCC Annual lunch which takes place at Lord’s on Monday 22 November at 1pm. Tickets at £60 or £550 for a table of ten can be obtained from Stan Nicholson 020 8973 1612.
Charlie Puckett sent me this photo of the CCC President's team being introduced to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on the occasion of the CCC vs Royal Household match on 6th June at Windsor Castle. Partly obscured by the Duke is the captain, Alan Price of Ealing, shaking hands is David Ward of Surrey and Herts fame whilst to Wardy's left is Jeremy Dangerfield of Southgate and, next to him, Chris Bunning of Paddington. On Wardy's right is Paul Reilly, the last man to take all ten in a Minor Counties match and the only occasion I have umpired all ten - and, no, I was at square leg throughout so banish those thoughts! Sam Meha, formerly of Harrow, Ealing and Finchley can be seen prowling in the distance. I am the good looking bloke on the extreme right - as I have been described on more than one occasion - and it is not too difficult to spot why I rarely do my jacket buttons up!
Puckett matters
Charlie Puckett took issue with some of my correspondents in the last issue:
Spot Betting & Fixed Cricket - As one who has never so much as laid a bet in my life, I am reliably informed by some who have that the important thing about the no balls was not that they were deemed to have thrown the match or significantly affected the result because nobody actually bets on them. The important point was to show the big punters that they had the bowlers and captain in their pocket and therefore could control the eventual outcome of not just this match but ones yet to come. Its a mug's game!
Paddy Carlin - I have to take issue with Paddy about his contention that Herts 1 is equal to MCCL 2. It is MCCL 3 at best - MCCL 1 is HCPL 1, MCCL 2 is HCPL Feeder Leagues West & East and then comes Herts 1 - and I think MCCL1 is better than HCPL 1 anyway!
Peter Ray - Peter is still much the same. His breathing gives him grief these days - doesn't shut the old bugger up though, just makes him more difficult to interrupt - but he is still fighting the good fight with Companies House. I will only seriously fear for his future if I ever hear that Barrie Stuart-King has shuffled off this mortal coil; as long as he draws breath, so will Peter.
The photo of Adam Gilchrist and the Richmond 1989 League winning side brings back some memories for me as well. I was umpiring their crucial last match at Southgate on a miserable, overcast day. Laurie Allen was making one of his rare 1st XI outings because PF had been dragged off to Italy by Innessa (his long-suffering significant other). I do not know what the eventual phone bill was but Peter was on the phone throughout virtually the entire second innings getting a ball by ball commentary!
Peter Minor
Shepherds Bush members and other London club cricketers will be sad to hear that Peter Minor died on 13 October.
Appreciation Matters
The Great Jack Morgan tells it like he sees it
Thanks for T&X 94: this was one of the most xenophobic issues for ages: was this to make up for the lack of tits? It was really dreary stuff and you have published all that crap so many times before.
Football Matters
In these days of celebrity culture Andrew Baker’s Ladies Team have found themselves in great demand. So that they do not spend too much time away from the training camp he has arranged for the players to be ferried to and from special appearances by helicopter. Kelvin West was on hand to catch the inaugural flight for us.
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 95
November 2010
Caption Competition
- Ricky Ponting: Enjoy your last feel of it for the next couple of years
- Andrew Strauss: No. It’s actually pedalo ash.
- Freddie Flintoff: I know a load of good bars in Australia. Shall I come along with you?
- KP: Did someone say that Shane was making a comeback?
- Journalist: What’s in there Andrew?
77 Matters
The Great Jack Morgan advises Paddy Carlin that Wayne Madsen is another wearer of his favourite number.
Out and About with the Professor
I feel sure that I have never had the opportunity to visit a “Boot Camp”. I am even more certain that if I received an invitation I would lose little time in declining the offer. Indeed I’m not really sure what happens at a Boot Camp, nor even whose boots are being referenced. It is one of those phrases that have a resonance without requiring a definition…you just know it is unpleasant. Indeed, I recall an earlier Conservative government telling us all that it would solve the problem of young yobs on the streets by sending them to Boot Camps for (another ill-defined chilling phrase) “a short sharp shock”. I’m not sure that policy was entirely successful.
Given this collective remembrance why, one might ask, would the England cricket management want to send our brave lads to such a place? Having won the last six series that they have played, one might have thought that some modest celebration or some time with the collective feet up might be the reward. Not a bit of it. Let’s send the team to some revolting brutal environment where they can learn absolutely nothing about cricket and, at best, emerge without illness or injury. We have grown used to the England side warming up by playing rugby or football and thereby collecting the inevitable injuries – remember Owais Shah’s “over-the-top” tackle on Denly, or Prior’s back spasm minutes before the start of the Headingley debacle – but why wait for the morning of the match? Much better to injure the players well before they even get on the plane. Thus the outcome of this most recent bit of nonsense is for injury to Tremlett (bruised ribs) and Anderson (cracked rib). And for what? Generals are willing to sustain losses to their troops provided there is some overall gain. What has been gained from all this yomping and abseiling? Two men down and no advantage of any sort acquired.
We know why they did it of course. It is what the Aussies do – or at least did, prior to the 2006-7 whitewash. So, it worked for them – it must work for us. It hardly seems worth the typing to point out that this is a flawed piece of logic.
Anderson, if any of us needs reminding, could well be the most important player on the 25th November in steamy Brisbane. I read that he “is expected to recover” by then…well, let’s hope so. I also read, in today’s Times, that Haddin and Siddle are both fit again and that the Australian selectors will be able to choose from a complete squad. Isn’t that nice? The Australians are all fit and we have self-sustained injuries through emulating the Australians.
I’m not sure that there is a word which adequately describes this sort of stupidity…perhaps Googlies readers might like to come up with one?
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Self delusion Matters
Lancashire sends an email newsletter to members and noted the following recently:
“Head groundsman Matt Merchant is hoping to be able to produce more great wickets when the new square is laid at Old Trafford. Merchant and his team have already started work on turning the square through 90 degrees after the club's redevelopment plans were given the go ahead last week. He believes a best case scenario would see the foundations for eleven new wickets laid within the next two weeks, and it will take between 12 and 18 months for them to bed in and be usable.”
So we can look forward to more fliers and wickets that turn square before lunch on the first day.
My next email from Old Trafford announced that Bon Jovi would be playing there next year, which is of course more than Lancashire will be doing.
The next day I heard again from my local county, this time that Kings of Leon would be playing there……..
Middlesex Matters
The Great Jack Morgan reports on the season’s final matches and current developments
Middlesex chose no front line spinner for the Championship match against Worcestershire at Lord's on a pitch that looked to be dry and brown from the Compton Stand. It was one of the most disastrous selections in the history of the club and it was communicated to no more than a handful of spectators as the day's tube strike and resultant traffic jams prevented many people getting to the ground on time (these included Toby Roland-Jones) and others could not attend at all. Middlesex did fairly well to get four of the visitors out for 126 (skipper Daryl Mitchell 47, ex-skipper Vikram Solanki 39), but Moeen Ali (66) was well supported by Shakib al Hasan, James Cameron and Gareth Andrew and somehow managed to take the total on to 313, which was many more than they should have been allowed. Part of the reason they were able to make so many was that the four-man pace attack bowled their overs so slowly that captain Dexter had to bring on himself and Owais Shah to raise the over rate to an acceptable level. To be fair, this pair picked up four for 101 between them, though the two batsmen should never have had to bowl 26 overs (plus ten more in the second innings). Toby R-J was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 51. Impressive knocks from Scott Newman (78), Shah (117) and Dexter (97) took Middx to 355 for 5 at lunch on day 3, a position from which it should have been impossible to lose, but Moeen Ali began to spin his occasional off-breaks quite sharply and Middx collapsed to 392 all out, with Moeen taking a career best 5 for 36.
It was a disappointing total, but it should still have been possible to push on to victory from that position, especially as Worcs slumped to 62 for 4 in their second innings. However, that man Moeen made an excellent 81 and number 9 Andrew hit a sparkling 73 to take the visitors to 256 and set Middx a target of 178 to win. Toby R-J was again the most successful of the bowlers with 5 for 83, though it was a mystery why Murtagh and Finn were used so sparingly. Andrew has scored runs against Middx before (and two years ago he bowled us out at Kidderminster) and it is incredible that he cannot get in ahead of Ben Cox, but then Alan Richardson should also be batting ahead of Cox. Despite the below par bowling performance, the task for the batsmen looked straightforward, but Richardson soon had both openers back in the pavilion and then Shakib started an incredible spell of left arm spin that brought him a career best 7 for 32 and a victory for his team by 111 runs as Middx fell apart for 66 all out. It was as humiliating a debacle as many of us could remember. The non-selection of a spin bowler was crucial as the Worcs spin pair took 14 for 183 in the match and Middx were forced to use non-bowlers to speed up the over rate (but actually this did not work as the home team had 2 points deducted for bowling their overs so slowly, which might have landed us the Wooden Spoon).
Poor Ben Scott must be wondering if there is any justice in the world as he watched his two replacements performing in this match: at Middlesex, he has been superseded by an ordinary keeper who is no longer getting any runs and at Worcestershire, he has been replaced by an 18 year old novice who is (on this evidence) careless with the gloves and hopeless with the bat. It was Owais Shah's last match for the club and although he, personally, had a successful match, he surely would not have wanted to end on such a dire note. It also appears that it was Pedro Collins's last match for the club as his international appearances are now too far in the past to allow him to continue as a Kolpak, but Pedro has had a successful season with 36 first class wickets at 27.75 and he was awarded his county cap at lunch on day one. It is also uncertain whether Iain O'Brien will be able to appear next season: both Iain and Middlesex had assumed that he would qualify as English next year through his marriage to an English girl, but the ECB are getting awkward about these things and IEOB may have to take legal action.
I have been watching TSRJ fairly closely and he is not outstandingly quick, but fairly accurate and moves the ball mainly in to the right-hander off the seam rather than through the air and, being quite tall, he does sometimes get a bit of bounce which tends to surprise the batsman; he is actually quite reminiscent of Gus, though this unfortunately extends to his fielding, which is fairly donkey-like; I know he can bat a bit, having seen him in the 2s (for Surrey as well as Middlesex), but recently he has been rubbish. Tom Scollay is probably preferred to other candidates for the CB40 because he is capable of scoring really quickly, while other young possibles would probably need more time to settle.
Team selection has been very poor recently, but I am not sure who is to blame for this. I am sure that experienced and successful captains like Brearley and Gatting had more or less total control of selection matters, but I do not think that an inexperienced skipper like Dexy would. I doubt that "head coach" R Scott has much influence, while R Johnson would only be consulted about which 2s player to call up. The bloke I suspect of influencing team selection is Gus, who is taking a much closer interest in first team matters than we were led to believe he would and is now acting a bit like a football manager. I suspect he might be responsible for some of the strange selections, though these would have to be done in consultation with the captain presumably.
Danny Evans is leaving Middlesex "by mutual consent. I am slightly sad about it however because i) his career first class bowling average of around 34 is really not bad for a reserve bowler; and ii) as you saw at Hove, the cupboard is really bare as far as back-up pace bowlers is concerned. Robbie is no better than Danny and the most promising youngster of recent years, Tom Hampton, has not made the progress that was hoped (though I hope they have not given up on him yet). They could be in trouble unless they have some fresh young lads that we do not know about.
Well, Middx did have someone up their sleeves that we did not know about: it seems that we are about to sign Anthony Ireland, Gloucs's Zimbabwean international pace bowler, who has rejected a new contract at Bristol. He has usually been 12th man when I have seen Gloucs in recent seasons, but he certainly had a useful 2010 (36 wickets @ 21.77), though he is yet another who cannot bat (except against Middlesex: I recall he stopped us winning at Bristol 2 years ago). We could have the longest tail in the history of the game! How about a spinner now Gus!
I feel about Shaun Udal's retirement much the same way that I did about Danny Evans's departure. Shaun was no longer an automatic choice for the first team, but the cupboard is so bare of alternatives that I would probably have kept him on for another year, unless they have now lined up his replacement. Shaun himself was apparently arguing for another year because young spinners like Tom Smith and Ravi Patel would develop better alongside him than without him; there is some truth in this, so have they now lured someone else to join? Tom is probably already a first team bowler in one-dayers because he is accurate and he picks up wickets when batters are forced to take chances against him, but he has not yet found ways of getting wickets in the Championship. Ravi (also a left armer, of course) has even less experience, is also not yet ready to bowl out Championship sides and is, anyway, away at Loughborough for 3 years. All this surely means that a top class off-spinner is on his way to the club, doesn't it? Having just read that Kent are keen to retain the services of J Tredwell (thus indicating that he is out of contract), I have now convinced myself that Tredders is on his way to Lord's... or Radlett.
Derbyshire are poor payers and Owais wanted well into 6 figures, so I'm guessing that Middlesex will save money on the deal to acquire Rogers (especially if MCC are helping out). I heard that Middlesex were deliberately leaving Shah's place vacant in order to create a space for the good young 2s batsmen to stake a claim. Simpson would challenge for a place at 3 or 7, but have you heard that Scotty is definitely going? The last I heard was that his situation was being "reviewed" and assumed that he would be staying: it would be crazy to release him. Udal has gone (see above), but I'm expecting a replacement. If we leave out those of unknown availability (Strauss, Morgan, O'Brien and Finn), I would expect next year’s team to be something like:
1 Rogers
2 Newman
3 Robson/ London/ Housego/ Scollay
4 Malan
5 Dexter
6 Berg
7 Scott (or Simpson)
8 Smith (or new signing)
9, 10, 11 Three from Murtagh, Roland-Jones, Collymore and Ireland.
Yorkshire Matters
The Professor expresses concerns about his adopted county
There seems to be much approval up here of the re-signing of Sidebottom. There is even, can you believe, a "Welcome Back Ryan" dinner in a week or so's time (no I'm not going). The Yorkshire Cricket Magazine (yes there is such a thing) looks back on a pretty successful season (excepting the very last day); Adam Lyth is the player of the year and Jon Bairstow the young player of the year. The return of Rudolph to South Africa (so his wife can "pursue her career") will leave a very big hole in the batting. I would have thought they would need to make a star signing but Moxon is quoted as suggesting that academy players like Joe Root and Gary Ballance might take this opportunity to (ye gods) "step up to the plate" (why can't they just come to the crease?). I've seen them both in club matches and they can obviously play, but Rudolph scored almost 2,500 runs in all cricket this season and 25 hundreds in four seasons - sounds like quite a high plate up which to step! If they didn't recruit and dropped Brophy (in his benefit year) they could potentially put out an all-Yorkshire side. Now that would be a thing...they would probably also be relegated.
Hart Matters
Bill Hart is long on nostalgia and having transcribed the South Hampstead scorebooks he has been reflecting on the early sixties South Hampstead sides he played in
I have long been obsessed with the thought that the early years of Bob Peach's reign as captain of the South Hampstead 1st XI, featured an absolutely outstanding team. Additionally, I am miffed by the fact that because there were no cups or leagues in that period, it is very difficult for the team’s quality to be fully appreciated. One would have to have been in the side, or, more likely, one of its regular opponents, such as Hornsey, Ealing or Wembley, in order to do so. In order to help in this “appreciation”, I have done a little research into the facts about the team.
The period I am referring to is 1962-66 inclusive. "1962" because that is the earliest season of which I have personal experience, and "1966" because it is my belief that the inevitable deterioration began to show itself in 1967. The consolidated results record for that period is as follows: Played 210, Won 113, Drawn 76 and Lost 21. In addition there were 18 games abandoned.
In itself that constitutes a pretty good record, with the wins:losses ratio of 5.4:1, being somewhat remarkable. This is particularly significant given the fact that quite a number of sides arrived at Milverton Rd, quite well satisfied to obtain a draw.
In the following assessment, “1st XI quality” is taken to mean players who would have challenged as members of the first eleven of any amateur cricket club in the London area. In 1962, Bob was able to choose from twelve players of undisputed 1st XI quality. Nine of these players were to form the nucleus of the team for the next four seasons. They were Bob Peach, Len Stubbs, Terry Cordaroy, John Weale, Don Wallis, Roy Phipps, Alvin Nienow, Bruce Tutton & myself. In addition to these nine, Allan Huntley was vice-captain, and Norman Cooper & Richard Brooks shared the wicket-keeping. There was also Allan Clain, who although near retirement, was still a force to be reckoned with.
By 1963 the situation was, if anything, even better, and there were still twelve first-team quality players available. Robin Ager had arrived to make the nucleus ten strong, Richard Brooks was still around and John Tutton had now been added to the squad. The only “weakening” was the fact that Roy Phipps, following his marriage, was only now available once-a-weekend. Alan Huntley had moved house to High Wycombe, and Norman Cooper had semi-retired.
The following year, 1964, we were down to ten players of first-team quality. Richard Brooks had moved to the Sunbury club, in search of regular first-team cricket, and John Tutton had moved house to Reading. The eleven was made up by Bob Denley, who played 35 games.
Bill Hart, Bob Denley, Bob Peach, Robin Ager, John Weale, Len Stubbs, Bruce Tutton, Don Wallis, Roy Phipps, Terry Cordaroy and Alvin Nienow take the field in 1964.
The season of 1965 saw us with the same ten in the nucleus. This time the eleventh place was usually taken by John Matthews, who played in 28 games.
1966, which is the last year of my review, saw the first loss from the nucleus. Alvin Nienow took up a post at Reading University, and the signs of deterioration can be seen. The nine players left from the nucleus were joined by John Matthews and Harry Stubbs, but the writing was on the wall. Don Wallis, Roy Phipps, John Weale, Bruce Tutton and myself were the wrong side of thirty, and “anno domini” was having its effect.
One of the most significant facts about the players involved in these years is the high percentage of their availability. SHCC 1st XI averaged about 45 games per season, and all of the above, except Roy Phipps & John Tutton were able to average over 40 games per season. What would a present-day selector give to be in that situation ?
We struggled on for the next six years, even getting to each of the first four Middlesex Cup Finals (winning in 1971), but the edge was gone from the team. It was not until the arrival of Ian Jerman, Allan Cox, Ossie Burton and various colonials like Colin Price, that SHCC 1st XI returned to its previous high standards.
It was a great period of my life and I am very grateful to have taken part. I played in a wonderful team, judged both on results and sociability, and made a group of real lifelong friendships. I have a great deal to thank SHCC for.
Would anyone from another club like to dispute Bill’s claims or, perhaps, report other exceptional sides?
Paddington Matters
Denis Jones updates us on Paddington developments
I decided to step down as President of Paddington at the end of the 2009 season, and although I still expect to attend several games each season, poor weather and the inability of the opposition to put a team together (and ourselves on one occasion) conspired against this in 2010, which, results-wise was a disappointing season. Our bi-annual trip to Lords to play against Cross Arrows was also washed out, which was especially frustrating as I had chosen to rearrange some long-held golfing plans so that I attend.
Recently I inherited a Paddington fixture card dating back to 1953, and it is pleasing to note that 57 years on, we still retain fixtures against Abbots Langley, North Middlesex, Ealing, and Kenton.
Also interesting to note how far Paddington were sometimes travelling for their weekly game of cricket then, with matches at Boyne Hill, Wickford, Dorking, and Vauxhall Motors in Luton. Although Dorking was a 2.30pm start, the others were 11.30am, so the coach-load departing from the Chippenham pub must have needed to gather together very early on a Sunday morning - not easy with all the entourage that accompanied Paddington at that time. They also did not have the dubious benefits of the M25, M4, or M1 to facilitate their journey!!
For a few seasons around the turn of the 1950's and 1960's, I recall there was even a fixture on the County Ground against Folkestone, with many players and supporters traveling by train. Such enthusiasm and dedication tends to contrast sharply with the current situation of scheduled fixtures falling by the wayside for lack of players. I know I am just an 'old fart', but I really find it very difficult to reconcile this with the often-stated claims that the kids of today have got nothing to do to fill their time.
Conference Matters
Steve Wright asked me to publicise the CCC Annual lunch which takes place at Lord’s on Monday 22 November at 1pm. Tickets at £60 or £550 for a table of ten can be obtained from Stan Nicholson 020 8973 1612.
Charlie Puckett sent me this photo of the CCC President's team being introduced to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on the occasion of the CCC vs Royal Household match on 6th June at Windsor Castle. Partly obscured by the Duke is the captain, Alan Price of Ealing, shaking hands is David Ward of Surrey and Herts fame whilst to Wardy's left is Jeremy Dangerfield of Southgate and, next to him, Chris Bunning of Paddington. On Wardy's right is Paul Reilly, the last man to take all ten in a Minor Counties match and the only occasion I have umpired all ten - and, no, I was at square leg throughout so banish those thoughts! Sam Meha, formerly of Harrow, Ealing and Finchley can be seen prowling in the distance. I am the good looking bloke on the extreme right - as I have been described on more than one occasion - and it is not too difficult to spot why I rarely do my jacket buttons up!
Puckett matters
Charlie Puckett took issue with some of my correspondents in the last issue:
Spot Betting & Fixed Cricket - As one who has never so much as laid a bet in my life, I am reliably informed by some who have that the important thing about the no balls was not that they were deemed to have thrown the match or significantly affected the result because nobody actually bets on them. The important point was to show the big punters that they had the bowlers and captain in their pocket and therefore could control the eventual outcome of not just this match but ones yet to come. Its a mug's game!
Paddy Carlin - I have to take issue with Paddy about his contention that Herts 1 is equal to MCCL 2. It is MCCL 3 at best - MCCL 1 is HCPL 1, MCCL 2 is HCPL Feeder Leagues West & East and then comes Herts 1 - and I think MCCL1 is better than HCPL 1 anyway!
Peter Ray - Peter is still much the same. His breathing gives him grief these days - doesn't shut the old bugger up though, just makes him more difficult to interrupt - but he is still fighting the good fight with Companies House. I will only seriously fear for his future if I ever hear that Barrie Stuart-King has shuffled off this mortal coil; as long as he draws breath, so will Peter.
The photo of Adam Gilchrist and the Richmond 1989 League winning side brings back some memories for me as well. I was umpiring their crucial last match at Southgate on a miserable, overcast day. Laurie Allen was making one of his rare 1st XI outings because PF had been dragged off to Italy by Innessa (his long-suffering significant other). I do not know what the eventual phone bill was but Peter was on the phone throughout virtually the entire second innings getting a ball by ball commentary!
Peter Minor
Shepherds Bush members and other London club cricketers will be sad to hear that Peter Minor died on 13 October.
Appreciation Matters
The Great Jack Morgan tells it like he sees it
Thanks for T&X 94: this was one of the most xenophobic issues for ages: was this to make up for the lack of tits? It was really dreary stuff and you have published all that crap so many times before.
Football Matters
In these days of celebrity culture Andrew Baker’s Ladies Team have found themselves in great demand. So that they do not spend too much time away from the training camp he has arranged for the players to be ferried to and from special appearances by helicopter. Kelvin West was on hand to catch the inaugural flight for us.
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