G&C279

 
GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 279
March 2026
Spot the Ball

 
Out and About with the Professor                                 
Polly Rhodes is a delightful lady. A delightful lady of, it would not be improper to say, mature years. More importantly, a lady who knows a very considerable amount about cricket.
 
I was fortunate enough to meet up with Polly after a day of sitting in the stands watching England bowl out Australia at Melbourne on one of the worst Ashes pitches to ever see light. I noticed Polly because she was scoring the match. Now I have no data on this, and other Googlies readers may take a different view, but it seems to me that this is a much less common practice than in the past. A decade or two ago, it would not have been uncommon to see several people at a county match with the old-style long thin scorebook, keeping the score. Arguably, it is the best way to watch a match: you have to concentrate, you don’t miss a ball, and you take home a clear record of what you have seen. It isn’t exactly rare now, but I think less common. It may be, of course, there are just fewer people watching, and so fewer scoring, and perhaps, also, the old-style scorebooks are no longer for sale. Polly was using what I still think of as “Bill Frindall” sheets, on a clip-board; they record much more information than the books and are, I think, now widely used in cricket at all levels.
 
I asked Polly if she always scored the match as a spectator.
 
“Oh yes, always”
 
“Did she score for a club at home during the season?”
 
“Oh yes”
 
“Which club is that?”
 
“Somerset”
 
“Ah”
 
It turned out that Polly had had a lengthy career of cricket scoring at the highest level, starting with her son’s school team, thence to Somerset’s Under 17’s, Second XI and finally, the county side, and had just retired after 19 years with the club.
 
I have always thought of scorers as an interesting sub-set of the cricketing community. It takes some commitment to spend the best part of a day in a dark (and often cold) box, at the other side of the field, with one other person to talk to, who may be a kindred spirit, but may well not be. You are always last in for lunch or tea, and last to the bar after the game and, at the end of it all, with a little luck, someone may say just “thank you”. Well, they thanked Polly all right; her leaving “do” had the whole squad lined up, and some former players returned for the day just to be in the line.
 
There used to be, I think, something of a tradition of the county scorer role being taken by an ex-player whereas, at club level, at least in my experience, some excellent scorers have been pretty useless at playing the game. The connection is obvious: if you can’t play, score - and lots (thank goodness) do. Polly was in the second category, she had tried playing cricket as a young woman, “but wasn’t much good”.
 
I wondered if the role of scorer, at least at the top level, might be becoming redundant. After all, we can all see lots of information on the big screens, with every ball recorded (the umpires don’t really have to count anymore, let alone raise two fingers to each other after the fourth delivery) and pretty much all the necessary data is available electronically. But I suppose the umpires still have to communicate with a person, and the scorebook/sheets form the official record of the match…but for how much longer?
 
Polly Rhodes was obviously a top-class scorer, and she had a good tutor, since for eight years she worked for Bill Frindall.  It had not occurred to me that Frindall had a sufficient level of activity to require employing staff, but apparently so. I suppose that in addition to TMS and numerous after-dinner speeches, editing the Playfair Cricket Annual and the Wisden cricket records for more than 20 years must have kept him busy. Frindall also authored a number of cricket books and there must have been voluminous correspondence to deal with. He was also engaged in protracted debate with the Association of Cricket Statisticians over the First Class/Test match status of some match or other and such conversations can indeed be lengthy. Polly worked in his “office”, which was a converted room in his house.
 
“What was he like?”
 
Well, he was a lovely man to work for and he taught her a great deal, but he was slightly different to his public image. There were, apparently, only three things in Bill Frindall’s life: cricket, wine, and women…” not necessarily in that order”. Now it’s rather difficult to think of the Bearded Wonder as an aging Lothario but it seems to have been so. Polly was, of course, discrete about details, nor did she ever feel unsafe in Bill’s house - “Debbie” (the third Mrs F) would not allow “any nonsense” in the house. What happened elsewhere was, well, elsewhere.
 
Not content with scoring for the County for 19 years, Polly, as all Somerset members will know, proved to be the Betsy Ross of Somerset cricket by using her needlework skills to make a new flag for the club when its predecessor had fallen apart. The flag that still is flown from the Andy Caddick pavilion at all home games, is as visible a contribution as one could wish from a delightful lady.
 
You do meet some interesting people watching cricket.
 
This & That
 
The England team played in the Under 19 Fifty overs World Cup Final at Harare and faced the full force of the child prodigy, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Suryavanshi scored 175 in 126 minutes at the crease and when he was out in the 26th over the sore was 251 for 3. He scored 24 off his first 24 balls, meaning his last 151 runs came off just 56 deliveries. He hit 15 sixes and 15 fours at a strike rate of 218.
 
Suryavanshi's score took his World Cup tally to 439 runs in seven innings at 62.71, second only to England’s Mayes (444 at 74).
It was the highest score in an Under-19 World Cup final, beating Unmukt Chand's 111* for India in the 2012 final against Australia.
The innings gives him the ninth highest score in the history of youth ODIs. South Africa's Jorich van Schalkwyk (215 vs Zimbabwe) is the only player to make a double century.
It was the sixth-highest individual score in the history of all matches played at U19 World Cups.
His knock included the record for most sixes (15) in a youth ODI innings, beating his own record of 14 against the United Arab Emirates at last year's U19 Asia Cup.
His 15 sixes is the highest number in an Under-19 World Cup innings. Only two other players have managed double digits.
The century off 55 balls is the second fastest in U19 World Cups, behind Will Malajczuk's 51-ball hundred for Australia against Japan earlier in this year's tournament
 
It is the latest achievement for Suryavanshi, who shot to global fame in April last year when he hit his first ball in the Indian Premier League for six. He then became the youngest player to hit a century in men's T20s when he made a 35-ball hundred for Rajasthan Royals against Gujarat Titans. It was also the second-fastest century in IPL history, behind Chris Gayle's 30-ball hundred in 2013. In July 2025, he struck what was then the fastest recorded century in a youth ODI, making 143 from 78 balls as India beat England by 55 runs at Worcester. He took 52 balls to reach three figures, bettering Kamran Ghulam's 53-ball effort for Pakistan against England in 2013. Four months later, he struck a 32-ball century in India A's victory against the United Arab Emirates in their Asia Cup Rising Stars T20 match. He was eventually dismissed for 144 from 42 balls.
 
Cricket commentators seem increasingly reluctant to call out terrible pieces of fielding. They now resort to euphemism and say that was “extremely ordinary”. Personally, I don’t see any reason not to expect the highest standards from professionals and see no reason not to expose them when they underperform.
 
I have previously gone on about batsmen hitting the ball straight to outfielders, especially when they had no other fielder within thirty yards of them, thereby disproving the theory that batsmen place the ball away from fielders. There have been so many instances of this during the World Cup that I revisited my own theories on this phenomenon. I don’t think that the modern batsman cares where the outfielders are located because he believes that he will clear them. Consequently, when he mishits and is caught it is more a case of strategic field placing for the mishit. But where do we go from here?
 
No-one knows why we have to have flashing bails in T20 cricket and I guess that no-one, including me, really cares. However, when they cease to function it is extremely irritating when play is halted and some electrical whiz kid is summoned from the perimeter and has to magic up a substitute bail which often as not also misfunctions.
 
 
Pointless and Meaningless Statistics
 
Computerised scorebooks and their attendant algorithms have given rise to an infinite realm of meaningless statistics some of which are being thrust upon the viewer. In the short form of the game the side hitting most sixes usually wins the match and therefore the tally of these is useful as the innings and the match progresses. However, when one is hit it is of no consequence that it was the 495th hit in the competition!
 
A six is a six whether it lands just over the boundary or way back in the stands. It is, therefore, of only marginal interest whether it has travelled 55 yards or 95 yards. But it is of no interest at all to know whether it went up in the air 15 yards or 25 yards.
 
There is no correlation between the number of fours hit and the outcome of the match. These fours are mysteriously called boundaries and indeed it might be significant if their big brother, the six, was included in this total. But it is not and the players total, the match total and even the tournament total is trotted out. The commentators also seem dumbfounded at this statistic that has no significance to the outcome of the match.
 
During the World Cup we have also been treated in each match to landmarks. We are told that Buttler needs 52 runs for 4500 in all T20 matches, Archer needs 1 wicket for 50 in T20 internationals, de Kock needs 5 catches for 250 in all T20s. Who cares? I am sure that the players are not even aware of these landmarks and would not take a bow even if they were achieved.
 
Thompson Matters
Steve is still traumatised by my enjoyment of his fielding in the seventies
 
There are many facets to the modern game that would have been inconceivable back in the ‘70s and ‘80s when many Googlies readers were playing. Of them all, perhaps the relay catch is possibly the most unlikely to have foreseen. The nearest we came would have been when a fielder with a poor arm, let’s for argument’s sake say me, would be chasing down a possible, no, almost certain, all run four only for the captain, let’s for argument’s sake say, the Editor, to command the most likely nearest fielder to get as close to the ball chaser, field their throw, and complete the return hopefully limiting the damage by one run.
 
The forerunner of the relay catch was of course the juggled boundary catch.  Completed single-handedly by an isolated fielder who turned a certain six into a wicket by parrying the ball and then bunny jumping the boundary, now of course illegal, to complete an unlikely catch.
 
The increase in very limited over competitions, the apparent reduction in boundary size, the focus in practice by every batter from one to eleven on hitting sixes and improved bat technology have meant not only has the number of maximums increased, it would seem exponentially, but so has the degree to which fielders practise counteracting this phenomenon with relay catching techniques. Clearly the fielders rely on their inherent athleticism but also the space in which to perform their acrobatics. The modern grounds hosting professional competition inevitably provide the necessary space but if the relay catch had been commonplace back in the day there would have been some grounds, Southgate and Ealing that would have accommodated the method of dismissal but others, South Hampstead being one, where the bucket seats tightly sandwiched between the boundary rope and the fencing at the Milverton and Sidmouth Road ends would have played host to some very nasty accidents. I have often conjectured to what extent aspects of the modern game are being replicated on a Saturday in club cricket and wonder whether anyone reading this has witnessed such fielding feats in this context.
 
If I was to be playing at an equivalent level of cricket today it is highly unlikely that I would be anywhere near a boundary for the purposes of executing a relay catch. I might however have had a bat somewhere up the order. With that in mind I have often thought it would be interesting to have a gentle twenty-minute net with a modern piece of willow. I remember the first time I used a Gray Nicolls double ‘scoop’, being caught at extra cover off a mis-hit and thinking as I walked back that I would not not have reached the fielder with my old Stuart Surridge!
 
Again, it would be interesting to hear of anyone else’s experience of batting with ‘new technology’.
 
There are only a handful of QPR supporters in Hereford and I think I know them all. I bumped into one just outside M & S the day after Wrexham. I reflected that I had jumped in the shower, 2-1 up after 92 minutes and was out of the shower on 95 minutes, 2-3 down. We commiserated and then  he reflected that a win at Hull and maybe, just maybe, the thrill of the play-offs, a noble loss and the avoidance of the embarrassment of promotion would be a pretty perfect season. We needn’t have worried....as they say, it’s the hope...
 
Finally, for regular readers of this organ who bizarrely may worry about such things, I am pleased to inform you that Virat’s mum is now speaking to Sachin again now that she is persuaded that the Sachin mentioned in ‘those files’ was not Sachin, but Sachin.
 
 
Bowled Out
The Professor is bemused
 
Have you seen that there's a new Law about being Bowled? Of all the cricket Laws I should have thought that being out Bowled was one of the most straightforward - you miss it, it hits the stumps (dislodges a bail, of course) and off you go.
 
But not so. It seems that in some under-18 match somewhere the batter belted the ball back straight and it hit the other set of stumps, it then (can this really have happened?) rolled straight back down the pitch and dislodged a bail at the striker's end. Out! Bowled! No fielder or official had touched the ball, nor had it struck a helmet or anything else. Why the batter didn't stop it is not revealed  (just imagine how upset Douglas would have been if he had). So, an addition to the law.
 
Wonderful game, cricket.
 
 
Barnet Matters
Les Berry asked: "Why does Jofra have an image of the Hampton Court maze on his head?"
Last weekend Ekitike’s head looked like an old-fashioned mint humbug whilst Eze’s looked as if he had a milking machine hanging from the back of his.
Joao Pedro looks as if he has worms crawling down the back of his neck, whilst teammate Gusto looks like he has snakes crawling down his.
 
 
The Counties
The season is almost upon us and so here are the latest movements courtesy of the BBC website:
Derbyshire
2025 overseas players: Caleb Jewell (Australia), Blair Tickner (New Zealand), Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (Afghanistan)
Overseas players: Caleb Jewell (Australia), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan, played for Nottinghamshire in 2025), Sufiyan Muqeem (Pakistan, for T20 until 7 June), Mohammad Ghazanfar (Afghanistan, for T20 from 28 June)
In: Matt Montgomery (Nottinghamshire), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)
Out: David Lloyd (RET), Alex Thomson (REL)
Other news: Bowling coach Ajmal Shahzad has left the club and has been replaced by former Leicestershire bowler Chris Wright.
 
Durham
2025 overseas players: David Bedingham (South Africa), Brendan Doggett (Australia), Zak Foulkes (New Zealand), Neil Wagner (New Zealand), Codi Yusuf (South Africa), Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand), Shafiqullah Ghafari (Afghanistan)
Overseas players: David Bedingham (South Africa), Kemar Roach (West Indies, for Championship until 22 June, played for Surrey in 2025)
In: Kasey Aldridge (Somerset), Archie Bailey (Gloucestershire)
Out: Mitchell Killeen (Essex), Paul Coughlin (Lancashire), Bas de Leede (REL)
Other news: Will Gidman has left his role as batting coach to take up the role of academy director, external, after John Windows stepped down for health reasons, external.
 
Essex
2025 overseas players: Simon Harmer (South Africa), Kasun Rajitha (Sri Lanka), Mohammad Amir (Pakistan), Khaleel Ahmed (India), Curtis Campher (Ireland), Doug Bracewell (New Zealand)
Overseas players: Simon Harmer (South Africa), Wiaan Mulder (South Africa, until 9 June)
In: Zaman Akhter (Gloucestershire), Mitchell Killeen (Durham)
Out: Nick Browne (RET), Jamal Richards (REL), Adam Rossington (REL)
Other news: Former Zimbabwe seamer Douglas Hondo has been named bowling coach after working with the club last season. Browne will coach Essex women's batters following his retirement from playing.
 
Glamorgan
2025 overseas players: Colin Ingram (South Africa), Asitha Fernando (Sri Lanka), Marnus Labuschagne (Australia), Hayden Kerr (Australia), Matt Kuhnemann (Australia), Imad Wasim (Pakistan)
Overseas players: Colin Ingram (South Africa), Nathan McAndrew (Australia, T20 and June Championship matches, played for Sussex in 2025)
In: Sean Dickson (Somerset)
Out: Sam Northeast (Kent), Tom Bevan (REL)
Other news: Kiran Carlson has replaced the departed Northeast as Championship captain. Ian Harvey has joined as assistant coach, having worked with the first-team last season.
 
Gloucestershire
2025 overseas players: Cameron Bancroft (Australia), Cameron Green (Australia), D'Arcy Short (Australia), Todd Murphy (Australia)
Overseas players: Cameron Bancroft (Australia), D'Arcy Short (Australia, for T20), Gabe Bell (Australia, until 18 May), Liam Scott (Australia, for T20 and June Championship matches)
In: Craig Miles (Warwickshire), Will Williams (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire, for T20)
Out: Archie Bailey (Durham), Ajeet Singh Dale (Lancashire), Dom Goodman (Sussex), Zaman Akhter (Essex), Tom Price (Sussex), Josh Shaw (Somerset)
Other news: Former England women's coach Jon Lewis has joined the club as director of cricket, while Tom Smith has taken a coaching position after retiring in July 2025. Seamer Marchant de Lange has signed a new contract just for T20 cricket.
 
Hampshire
2025 overseas players: Kyle Abbott (South Africa), Lhuan-dre Pretorius (South Africa), Dewald Brevis (South Africa), Brett Hampton (New Zealand), Bjorn Fortuin (South Africa), Tilak Varma (India), Chris Lynn (Australia), Hilton Cartwright (Australia), Washington Sundar (India)
Overseas players: Kyle Abbott (South Africa), Michael Neser (Australia, until 18 May), Hilton Cartwright (Australia, for T20), Tristan Stubbs (South Africa, for T20)
In: Jake Lehmann (UKP)
Out: Keith Barker (Warwickshire), Joseph Eckland, external (REL), Benny Howell (Nottinghamshire)
Other news: Head coach Adrian Birrell has stepped down and has been replaced by Russell Domingo, while Shane Burger has left Somerset to become Hampshire's bowling coach.
 
Kent
2025 overseas players: Wes Agar (Australia), Tom Rogers (Australia), Kashif Ali (Pakistan), Keith Dudgeon (South Africa)
Overseas players: Keith Dudgeon (South Africa), Senuran Muthusamy (South Africa, from 22 May), Glenton Stuurman (South Africa, until 18 May), Tom Rogers (Australia, for T20 Blast)
In: Matt Milnes (Yorkshire), Sam Northeast (Glamorgan)
Out: Nathan Gilchrist (Warwickshire), George Garrett (RET), Marcus O'Riordan (REL), Mohammed Rizvi (REL), Jack Leaning (Sussex)
Other news: Kent have appointed Jaahid Ali and Sam Faulkner as assistant coaches for batting and bowling respectively, while former Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens returns as bowling consultant.
 
Lancashire
2025 overseas players: Chris Green (Australia), Anderson Phillip (West Indies, until the end of July), Marcus Harris (Australia, for Championship and One-Day Cup), Ashton Turner (Australia, for T20, 29 May-4 July)
Overseas players: Chris Green (Australia, for T20), Marcus Harris (Australia), Mitch Perry (Australia, until 18 May), Ben McDermott (Australia, for T20)
In: Ajeet Singh Dale (Gloucestershire), Paul Coughlin (Durham)
Out: Will Williams (Gloucestershire), Josh Boyden, external (REL)
Other news: Lancashire have appointed interim head coach Steven Croft on a full time basis, while bowling coach Craig White has left the club and has been replaced by Kabir Ali.
Former England white-ball coach Matthew Mott has been appointed as a specialist T20 coaching consultant. Danny Salpietro has been named second XI coach, external, with predecessor Karl Krikken becoming talent identification manager.
Luke Wood has signed a new white-ball only contract, while Liam Livingstone has moved to a T20-only deal. James Anderson has been appointed as the club's new Championship captain.
 
Leicestershire
2025 overseas players: Peter Handscomb (Australia), Logan van Beek (Netherlands), Shan Masood (Pakistan)
Overseas players: Peter Handscomb (Australia), Ashton Turner (Australia, for T20, played for Lancashire in 2025), Ajaz Patel (New Zealand)
In: Ben Green (Somerset), Stephen Ezkinazi (Middlesex), Jonny Tattersall (Yorkshire), Josh Davey (Somerset)
Out: Chris Wright (RET), Louis Kimber (Northamptonshire), Matt Salisbury (REL), Roman Walker (REL)
Other news: South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj's four-month spell with the club has been cancelled because of workload constraints.
 
Middlesex
2025 overseas players: Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Josh Little (Ireland), Dane Paterson (South Africa)
In: Caleb Falconer, external (YTH)
Out: Stephen Ezkinazi (Leicestershire)
Other news: Middlesex have appointed former New Zealand batter Peter Fulton as head coach, replacing Dane Vilas who had been interim charge of the side.
 
Northamptonshire
2025 overseas players: Matt Breetzke (South Africa), Yuzvendra Chahal (India), Harry Conway (Australia), Lloyd Pope (Australia), Tim Robinson (New Zealand)
Overseas players: Yuzvendra Chahal (India, second half of the season, for Championship and One-Day Cup), Harry Conway (Australia, for first two months of the season), Nathan McSweeney (Australia), Chris Lynn (Australia, for T20, played for Hampshire in 2025)
In: Louis Kimber (Leicestershire), Calvin Harrison (Nottinghamshire)
Out: Freddie Heldreich (REL)
Other news: Glenn Chapple has been appointed senior assistant coach, having worked with the club in the second half of last season. Lewis McManus has stepped down as One-Day Cup captain. Matt Breetzke, who had signed a two-year overseas deal, will now not be returning to Northamptonshire this summer because of commitments elsewhere.
 
Nottinghamshire
2025 overseas players: Kyle Verreynne (South Africa), Fergus O'Neill (Australia), Daniel Sams (Australia), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan), Moises Henriques (Australia), Ishan Kishan (India)
Overseas players: Kyle Verreynne (South Africa, for Championship), Fergus O'Neill (Australia, from April-June), George Linde (South Africa, for T20), Mohammad Ali (Pakistan, from August), Peter Siddle (Australia, for T20)
In: Benny Howell (Hampshire, for T20)
Out: Matt Montgomery (Derbyshire), Sammy King, external (REL), Dane Schadendorf, external (REL), Calvin Harrison (Northamptonshire)
 
Somerset
2025 overseas players: Riley Meredith (Australia), Matt Henry (New Zealand), Migael Pretorius (South Africa)
Overseas players: Migael Pretorius (South Africa), Riley Meredith (Australia, for T20), Daniel Sams (Australia, for T20, played for Nottinghamshire in 2025)
In: Josh Shaw (Gloucestershire)
Out: Kasey Aldridge (Durham), Sean Dickson (Glamorgan), Josh Davey (Leicestershire), Ben Green (Leicestershire), Andy Umeed, external (REL), Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire)
Other news: Batting coach Shane Burger has left Somerset to join the coaching team at Hampshire and has been replaced by Mark Stoneman.
 
Surrey
2025 overseas players: Nathan Smith (New Zealand), Mitchell Santner (New Zealand), Kemar Roach (West Indies), Kurtis Patterson (Australia), Adam Zampa (Australia), Sai Kishore (India), Rahul Chahar (India)
In: None
Out: None
Other news: Alec Stewart has returned to his role as director of cricket, having worked as a high performance advisor last season.
 
Sussex
2025 overseas players: Daniel Hughes (Australia), Jayden Seales (West Indies), Nathan McAndrew (Australia), Jaydev Unadkat (India), Gurinder Sandhu (Australia)
Overseas players: Jaydev Unadkat, external (India, for last eight Championship matches)
In: Danny Briggs (Warwickshire), Dom Goodman (Gloucestershire), Tom Price (Gloucestershire), Jack Leaning (Kent)
Out: Bertie Foreman, external (REL), Ari Karvelas, external (REL), Archie Lenham, external (REL), Zach Lion-Cachet, external (REL), Henry Rogers, external (REL)
Other news: Briggs has re-joined in a player-coach capacity. Ollie Robinson and Jack Carson will lead Sussex in the Championship and One-Day Cup respectively, with John Simpson stepping into a club captain role.
 
Warwickshire
2025 overseas players: Tom Latham (New Zealand), Beau Webster (Australia), Hasan Ali (Pakistan), Vishwa Fernando (Sri Lanka), Corey Rocchiccioli (Australia), Will Young (New Zealand)
Overseas players: Beau Webster (Australia, for first half of season)
In: Jordan Thompson (Yorkshire), Nathan Gilchrist (Kent), Keith Barker (Hampshire)
Out: Moeen Ali (Yorkshire), Danny Briggs (Sussex), Craig Miles (Gloucestershire), Chris Rushworth (RET)
Other news: Graeme Welch has re-joined the club to replace Stuart Barnes as bowling coach. Having retired, Rushworth will now focus on coaching young bowlers with the county.
 
Worcestershire
2025 overseas players: Jacob Duffy (New Zealand), Ben Dwarshuis (Australia), Henry Nicholls (New Zealand), Khurram Shahzad (Pakistan)
Overseas players: Usama Mir (Pakistan), Beyers Swanepoel (South Africa, for Championship), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe, for T20 Blast)
In: None
Out: Tom Hinley (REL), Yadvinder Singh (REL)
Other news: Former Worcestershire batter Alexei Kervezee has rejoined the club, external as second XI and assistant coach. Australia bowler Ben Dwarshuis has pulled out a deal to play as an overseas player in the T20 Blast.
 
Yorkshire
2025 overseas players: Will Sutherland (Australia), Will O'Rourke (New Zealand), Jordan Buckingham (Australia), Ben Sears (New Zealand), Abdullah Shafique (Pakistan), Imam Ul-Haq (Pakistan), Mayank Agarwal (India)
Overseas players: Naveen Ul-Haq (Afghanistan, for T20), Logan van Beek (Netherlands, until 18 July, played for Leicestershire in 2025), Jhye Richardson (Australia, until 18 May)
In: Jay Singh, external (YTH), Owen Smith, external (YTH), Charlie Taylor, external (YTH), Sam Whiteman (UKP), Andrew Tye (UKP), Moeen Ali (Warwickshire, for T20)
Out: Jonny Tattersall (Leicestershire), Jordan Thompson (Warwickshire), Matt Milnes (Kent), Dawid Malan (Gloucestershire)
 
 
Old Danes Gathering
The biennial Old Danes Gathering has come round again and, as usual, it will be held at Shepherds Bush CC on the Friday of their Cricket Week - July 24. Old Danes their wives and friends will all be welcome. The clubhouse and bar will be open from noon and visitors normally arrive around 2pm. Please advise me at the email address below if you plan to attend so that I can add you to the attendees list which I will circulate to encourage others to come.
 
 
 
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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