posted by John Winn
In a posting made earlier this week I stated that this year's Pennine Cricket Conference would be held at The University of Huddersfield. Had I bothered to read fully the email sent to me by organiser Peter Davies I would have typed the correct venue, which is in fact Golcar Cricket Club. Thanks to Brian Sanderson for pointing out my mistake which I have now corrected.
I did manage to give the correct date, Saturday March 23rd.
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Signs of Spring to come
posted by John Winn
The weekend's rapid thaw and subsequent higher temperatures may just have turned your thoughts towards April and the 2013 season and there are a few green shoots to encourage the pcw at this time of the year.
The first class fixtures were of course released well before Christmas, the Minor Counties followed and some counties have now released their second eleven programmes. The enthusiast planning his or her season's watching can now begin to see where awkward clashes are going to arise and think how best to get the quart in to the pint pot without too much spillage. If my calculations are correct East Coast will tomorrow publish fares for travel on April 24th, a date on which I hope to be at The Oval for Surrey v Sussex, one of my listed matches* for this season. Past experience shows that the best bargains are snapped up quickly so I shall not stray far from my laptop tomorrow morning.
Another harbinger of the season has, for the last eight years, been the annual Pennine Cricket Conference and the ninth will be held on Saturday March 23rd 2013 at Golcar CC.. Full details will appear on the blog when they are available In the meantime a couple of other dates for your diary are
Friday February 8th at Pudsey Lawrence CC the Jim the Cat luncheon club will be addressed by Keith Moss MBE, a personal friend of Sir Leonard Hutton and Keith will, I am sure, continue the high standard set by the previous four speakers since the club started in October.
Wednesday February 13th the canine version, Jim the Dog will meet at Todmorden CC, always worth a visit and the most accessible venue for those who like me travel by train from east of The Pennines. Hoping to see a few friends at either or both of these events.
*those of you familiar with my mission to see each first class county play every other first class county at least once in four day cricket may wonder why Surrey v Sussex should remain on the outstanding list (now just twenty), given that I lived in Sussex for almost thirty years and was a regular visitor to Hove, Eastbourne, Horsham etc. The reason is that about five years ago, in a fit of perverseness I decided to make things just a little bit harder by insisting that only championship matches would do and thereby discounting five games I had seen in limited over cricket only. One of these was Surrey v Sussex hence tomorrow's close attention to my inbox. Simple!
The weekend's rapid thaw and subsequent higher temperatures may just have turned your thoughts towards April and the 2013 season and there are a few green shoots to encourage the pcw at this time of the year.
The first class fixtures were of course released well before Christmas, the Minor Counties followed and some counties have now released their second eleven programmes. The enthusiast planning his or her season's watching can now begin to see where awkward clashes are going to arise and think how best to get the quart in to the pint pot without too much spillage. If my calculations are correct East Coast will tomorrow publish fares for travel on April 24th, a date on which I hope to be at The Oval for Surrey v Sussex, one of my listed matches* for this season. Past experience shows that the best bargains are snapped up quickly so I shall not stray far from my laptop tomorrow morning.
Another harbinger of the season has, for the last eight years, been the annual Pennine Cricket Conference and the ninth will be held on Saturday March 23rd 2013 at Golcar CC.. Full details will appear on the blog when they are available In the meantime a couple of other dates for your diary are
Friday February 8th at Pudsey Lawrence CC the Jim the Cat luncheon club will be addressed by Keith Moss MBE, a personal friend of Sir Leonard Hutton and Keith will, I am sure, continue the high standard set by the previous four speakers since the club started in October.
Wednesday February 13th the canine version, Jim the Dog will meet at Todmorden CC, always worth a visit and the most accessible venue for those who like me travel by train from east of The Pennines. Hoping to see a few friends at either or both of these events.
*those of you familiar with my mission to see each first class county play every other first class county at least once in four day cricket may wonder why Surrey v Sussex should remain on the outstanding list (now just twenty), given that I lived in Sussex for almost thirty years and was a regular visitor to Hove, Eastbourne, Horsham etc. The reason is that about five years ago, in a fit of perverseness I decided to make things just a little bit harder by insisting that only championship matches would do and thereby discounting five games I had seen in limited over cricket only. One of these was Surrey v Sussex hence tomorrow's close attention to my inbox. Simple!
Saturday, 26 January 2013
Dreams come true
posted by John Winn
Interviewed after their victory over Aston Villa this week one of the Bradford City players said that 'it was every schoolboy's dream to play at Wembley' and of course for him this will now be fulfilled. The following night a Swansea City player said much the same and although 'every' might be going a bit too far I suspect most sports enthusiasts have at some point in their lives considered the idea of playing at Wembley or Lord's or Wimbledon or the equivalent for their particular sport. By chance I came across a photograph this week of a cricketer whose all round achievements can rarely have been equalled and for whom, if his night times were filled with these sort of ideas, had them satisfied far beyond his expectations. The man in question was Harry Makepeace, known better perhaps to our red rose readers, especially if they come from the blue side of Liverpool.
Harry died at his home in the Wirral a week before Christmas 1952, aged 70 and if in his last few days he could cast his mind back over his sporting life then he was spoilt for choice. Would he remember a century at Melbourne in !921 when on a 'perfect pitch he played wonderfully well' (Wisden), and scored a fifty in the second knock. All this son of Middlesbrough's* tests were played on this tour when JWHT Douglas' side were outclassed by Australia. Makepeace played for Lancashire for almost a quarter of a century during a time when the county won the championship four times. Neville Cardus described JWH Makepeace as an 'immortal of Lancashire cricket' and when his playing days were over he gave his adopted county a further twenty years service as coach.
Makepeace's football career was equally illustrious and to show for it he had one winner's medal in the FA Cup, one loser's and one league championship medal with 'the toffees'. The FA Cup Finals were played at Crystal Palace, was it every late Victorian schoolboy's dream to play at that venue, home to finals from 1895 to 1914? To top it all off Makepeace is part of that very select group of just twelve , surely never to be increased, who have represented their country at both cricket and football. To his four test appearances he added the same number of football caps.
Harry Makepeace is the subject of a book by Roy Cavanagh 'Two Men For All Seasons', the second man another Evertonian, Jack Sharp, who too scored a test century(against Australia at The Oval in 1909) and played for Lancashire from 1899 to 1925, captaining them in his last three seasons. In his spare time he was an England test selector and a director of Evertton FC, for whom he won an FA Cup medal. An outside right he played twice for England, being on the winning side both times. Dream on.
*By coincidence I have written about another Yorkshire man who slipped through the net. Not a household name like Jim Laker but those of us of more modest sporting abilities can only wonder at the likes of Makepeace and Sharp.
Interviewed after their victory over Aston Villa this week one of the Bradford City players said that 'it was every schoolboy's dream to play at Wembley' and of course for him this will now be fulfilled. The following night a Swansea City player said much the same and although 'every' might be going a bit too far I suspect most sports enthusiasts have at some point in their lives considered the idea of playing at Wembley or Lord's or Wimbledon or the equivalent for their particular sport. By chance I came across a photograph this week of a cricketer whose all round achievements can rarely have been equalled and for whom, if his night times were filled with these sort of ideas, had them satisfied far beyond his expectations. The man in question was Harry Makepeace, known better perhaps to our red rose readers, especially if they come from the blue side of Liverpool.
Harry died at his home in the Wirral a week before Christmas 1952, aged 70 and if in his last few days he could cast his mind back over his sporting life then he was spoilt for choice. Would he remember a century at Melbourne in !921 when on a 'perfect pitch he played wonderfully well' (Wisden), and scored a fifty in the second knock. All this son of Middlesbrough's* tests were played on this tour when JWHT Douglas' side were outclassed by Australia. Makepeace played for Lancashire for almost a quarter of a century during a time when the county won the championship four times. Neville Cardus described JWH Makepeace as an 'immortal of Lancashire cricket' and when his playing days were over he gave his adopted county a further twenty years service as coach.
Makepeace's football career was equally illustrious and to show for it he had one winner's medal in the FA Cup, one loser's and one league championship medal with 'the toffees'. The FA Cup Finals were played at Crystal Palace, was it every late Victorian schoolboy's dream to play at that venue, home to finals from 1895 to 1914? To top it all off Makepeace is part of that very select group of just twelve , surely never to be increased, who have represented their country at both cricket and football. To his four test appearances he added the same number of football caps.
Harry Makepeace is the subject of a book by Roy Cavanagh 'Two Men For All Seasons', the second man another Evertonian, Jack Sharp, who too scored a test century(against Australia at The Oval in 1909) and played for Lancashire from 1899 to 1925, captaining them in his last three seasons. In his spare time he was an England test selector and a director of Evertton FC, for whom he won an FA Cup medal. An outside right he played twice for England, being on the winning side both times. Dream on.
*By coincidence I have written about another Yorkshire man who slipped through the net. Not a household name like Jim Laker but those of us of more modest sporting abilities can only wonder at the likes of Makepeace and Sharp.
Friday, 25 January 2013
SALTAIRE HERO
By Brian Sanderson,
One of my the earliest cricketing heros was Jim Laker.It must have first started watching him win the match at The Old Trafford match against the Australians.on our black and white television.He was born at Frizinghall in Bradford on the 9 February 1922.Jim played for Saltaire in the Bradford League and was a batsman who bowled a bit of medium pace.
In the book by Don Mosey called Portrait of a Legend about the life of Jim . He states that Jim was on a list of 35 colts due to be checked by the Yorkshire coach, Arthur ( Ticker ) Mitchell during the winter of 1945-46 .However Jim not go to the net in stead content to play club cricket 200 miles away in the London area.He was not the first,or the last, Yorkshireman to slip through the net, of course, but he was undoubtedly the most important one that got away.Thus ,with hindsight, it seems to have been an act of folly when Yorkshire offered no objection to Surrey registration of Jim .
I look at Yorkshire items on e-bay and last week a saw a scorecard of Spen Victoria against Saltaire dated 1 st June 1946. On that scorecard in the Saltaire team was the name J.C.Laker who batted number 6 and scored 22 run out. Saltaire had scored 143 for 6 before rain stopped play.On the 17 th July 1946 Jim played in his first match for Surrey against Combiened Services and his first class career had started. The scorecard to me a piece of history with a interesting story about one of the player n the match .All other 21 players would have a story to tell but only one took nineteen wickets in one match and unfortunate they have been lost.
You never now what you will find in cricket memoballia which keeps me interested on a cold winter afternoon and writing this blog.I must thank people for reading the blog eventhough it is not the English cricket season.
One of my the earliest cricketing heros was Jim Laker.It must have first started watching him win the match at The Old Trafford match against the Australians.on our black and white television.He was born at Frizinghall in Bradford on the 9 February 1922.Jim played for Saltaire in the Bradford League and was a batsman who bowled a bit of medium pace.
In the book by Don Mosey called Portrait of a Legend about the life of Jim . He states that Jim was on a list of 35 colts due to be checked by the Yorkshire coach, Arthur ( Ticker ) Mitchell during the winter of 1945-46 .However Jim not go to the net in stead content to play club cricket 200 miles away in the London area.He was not the first,or the last, Yorkshireman to slip through the net, of course, but he was undoubtedly the most important one that got away.Thus ,with hindsight, it seems to have been an act of folly when Yorkshire offered no objection to Surrey registration of Jim .
I look at Yorkshire items on e-bay and last week a saw a scorecard of Spen Victoria against Saltaire dated 1 st June 1946. On that scorecard in the Saltaire team was the name J.C.Laker who batted number 6 and scored 22 run out. Saltaire had scored 143 for 6 before rain stopped play.On the 17 th July 1946 Jim played in his first match for Surrey against Combiened Services and his first class career had started. The scorecard to me a piece of history with a interesting story about one of the player n the match .All other 21 players would have a story to tell but only one took nineteen wickets in one match and unfortunate they have been lost.
You never now what you will find in cricket memoballia which keeps me interested on a cold winter afternoon and writing this blog.I must thank people for reading the blog eventhough it is not the English cricket season.
Monday, 14 January 2013
A sad end to a short life.
posted by John Winn
Steadily falling snow and an early finish to the one sided test match between South Africa and New Zealand has prompted me to follow up the life of a cricketer who has come to my notice while I have been preparing a presentation for the 2013 Pennine Cricket Conference. I venture to suggest that you have to be a dedicated cricket historian and probably one with a particular interest in Somerset cricket to know much about Leonard Cecil Leicester Sutton. His short life was terminated at Ypres in 1916 and is commemorated on the Menin Gate.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Sutton was educated at King's School Bruton and he first played for Somerset whilst still a pupil there. It may be that the county selectors had been influenced by the comments about Len in the school magazine for in that publication he was described as having 'an excellent off drive, a magnificent shot just behind point, a good late cut and a fine powerful pull'. What more could a batsman in first class cricket want? Runs is the answer and sadly, for although he played seventeen first class matches for his adopted county from his debut in 1909 to 1912, he averaged only a whisker over 7 with a highest score of 30 which came in his first match against Hampshire at Southampton. Alas from there it was all downhill for his second highest score of 24 did not come until May 1912 in the second innings against Kent at The Bat and Ball ground, Gravesend where he was dismissed by Colin Blythe, another cricketer to lose his life in Belgium during the war.
The end of Sutton's first class career came at Derby in July 1912 when, batting number three, the left hander was run out for nought and bowled for one in his two knocks. For their next game, against the touring South Africans at Bath, Somerset preferred another amateur to the hapless Len, Captain Elliot Dowlard Tillard, and one who fared little better then Sutton in his first class career, averaging 17 with a highest score of 39. Much of Tillard's cricket was played in at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Poona for the Europeans against The Parsees and he played only seven championship matches. He did, however get to open the batting at Lords, in a non first class match for the Royal Engineers against MCC.
Sutton and Tillard are typical of many of the amateurs who played for Somerset at this time. Their abilities are neatly summed up in the 1913 Wisden 'Many were tried but few of them were of any
class.'
Perhaps realising that he had reached the acme of his career on that day in May 1909 when he took 30 of the Hampshire attack, Sutton emigrated to Canada in 1912 but returned to Europe with the Canadian Infantry only to be killed in action aged 26, His death is not recorded in Wisden until 1931 and there does not appear to be an obituary. Peter Roebuck records in his history of Somerset CCC that 'Everyone mourned his death.'
Steadily falling snow and an early finish to the one sided test match between South Africa and New Zealand has prompted me to follow up the life of a cricketer who has come to my notice while I have been preparing a presentation for the 2013 Pennine Cricket Conference. I venture to suggest that you have to be a dedicated cricket historian and probably one with a particular interest in Somerset cricket to know much about Leonard Cecil Leicester Sutton. His short life was terminated at Ypres in 1916 and is commemorated on the Menin Gate.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Sutton was educated at King's School Bruton and he first played for Somerset whilst still a pupil there. It may be that the county selectors had been influenced by the comments about Len in the school magazine for in that publication he was described as having 'an excellent off drive, a magnificent shot just behind point, a good late cut and a fine powerful pull'. What more could a batsman in first class cricket want? Runs is the answer and sadly, for although he played seventeen first class matches for his adopted county from his debut in 1909 to 1912, he averaged only a whisker over 7 with a highest score of 30 which came in his first match against Hampshire at Southampton. Alas from there it was all downhill for his second highest score of 24 did not come until May 1912 in the second innings against Kent at The Bat and Ball ground, Gravesend where he was dismissed by Colin Blythe, another cricketer to lose his life in Belgium during the war.
The end of Sutton's first class career came at Derby in July 1912 when, batting number three, the left hander was run out for nought and bowled for one in his two knocks. For their next game, against the touring South Africans at Bath, Somerset preferred another amateur to the hapless Len, Captain Elliot Dowlard Tillard, and one who fared little better then Sutton in his first class career, averaging 17 with a highest score of 39. Much of Tillard's cricket was played in at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground in Poona for the Europeans against The Parsees and he played only seven championship matches. He did, however get to open the batting at Lords, in a non first class match for the Royal Engineers against MCC.
Sutton and Tillard are typical of many of the amateurs who played for Somerset at this time. Their abilities are neatly summed up in the 1913 Wisden 'Many were tried but few of them were of any
class.'
Perhaps realising that he had reached the acme of his career on that day in May 1909 when he took 30 of the Hampshire attack, Sutton emigrated to Canada in 1912 but returned to Europe with the Canadian Infantry only to be killed in action aged 26, His death is not recorded in Wisden until 1931 and there does not appear to be an obituary. Peter Roebuck records in his history of Somerset CCC that 'Everyone mourned his death.'
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
FIRST WEST INDIAN TO PLAY FOR DERBYSHIRE
By Brian Sanderson,
I was at the West Yorkshire Archives looking at items in the Yorkshire Cricket collection and came across a newspaper article on Charles Augustus Ollivierre.He was born in Kingston Jamaica but buried in Robins Hoods Bay in 1949.
He was training to be a doctor in Kingston when a legacy from his father persuaded him to abandon his studies and concentrate on cricket.He came to this country in 1900 with the first West Indian touring side.He was top of the batting averages with 32.70 with a top score of 159. He and P.F.Warner,playing his only innings for the touring side , shared in a opening stand of 238 against Leicestershire.
He stayed in England and qualified for Derbyshire in 1902.That year he made 167 against Warwicshire but his most memorable innings occured in 1904 when he was the dominating figure in a remarkable match. Percy Perrin scored 343 not out in a total of 597 for Essex at Chesterfield in July.Ollivierre responded with 229 out of 548 and after an Essex collapse for 97 he hit 92 not out of 149.Because of eye trouble , he retired from first class cricket after 1907, but took part in Yorkshire club games.
He came to live in Pontefract and was a outstanding league cricketer and also as a fine player of tennis and hockey.
It was cricket which brought him to Robin Hood,s Bay in the first place. In 1927 he came as a member of a side based on the Malt Shovel Inn in Pontefract to play matches against Fylingdale and Whitby and made immediate impression that in subsequent years,he was invited to turn out for the Witby club in their fixtures during the Cricket Week Another subject to research.
By the early 1930,s although his playing days were over ,he made so many friends in the Bay that he continued to visit the place as often as he could.He came on long holidays and weekends at Christmas and Easter as well as summer. So strong did his attachment to the village that when he was taken ill during the flu epidemic of 1949, he asked to be buried in Robin Hood,s Bay.
I notice to-day that Chanderpaul has signed a two year contract with Derbyshire. I wonder if he knows in who,s footsteps he is following ?
I was at the West Yorkshire Archives looking at items in the Yorkshire Cricket collection and came across a newspaper article on Charles Augustus Ollivierre.He was born in Kingston Jamaica but buried in Robins Hoods Bay in 1949.
He was training to be a doctor in Kingston when a legacy from his father persuaded him to abandon his studies and concentrate on cricket.He came to this country in 1900 with the first West Indian touring side.He was top of the batting averages with 32.70 with a top score of 159. He and P.F.Warner,playing his only innings for the touring side , shared in a opening stand of 238 against Leicestershire.
He stayed in England and qualified for Derbyshire in 1902.That year he made 167 against Warwicshire but his most memorable innings occured in 1904 when he was the dominating figure in a remarkable match. Percy Perrin scored 343 not out in a total of 597 for Essex at Chesterfield in July.Ollivierre responded with 229 out of 548 and after an Essex collapse for 97 he hit 92 not out of 149.Because of eye trouble , he retired from first class cricket after 1907, but took part in Yorkshire club games.
He came to live in Pontefract and was a outstanding league cricketer and also as a fine player of tennis and hockey.
It was cricket which brought him to Robin Hood,s Bay in the first place. In 1927 he came as a member of a side based on the Malt Shovel Inn in Pontefract to play matches against Fylingdale and Whitby and made immediate impression that in subsequent years,he was invited to turn out for the Witby club in their fixtures during the Cricket Week Another subject to research.
By the early 1930,s although his playing days were over ,he made so many friends in the Bay that he continued to visit the place as often as he could.He came on long holidays and weekends at Christmas and Easter as well as summer. So strong did his attachment to the village that when he was taken ill during the flu epidemic of 1949, he asked to be buried in Robin Hood,s Bay.
I notice to-day that Chanderpaul has signed a two year contract with Derbyshire. I wonder if he knows in who,s footsteps he is following ?
Monday, 7 January 2013
End of an era at Spout House
posted by john Winn
In a posting made in June2012 Brian described a visit he had made to Spout House in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire with Ron Deaton. The ground of the local cricket club who play in The Feversham League is situated behind The Sun Inn which closed a few years ago, just short of three figures. Ex-landlord William Ainsley had been secretary of Spout House CC for 66 years continuing a family tradition going back into the nineteenth century for he had taken over the post from his grandfather who had put in a 72 year stint in the job. A remarkable dynasty.
Sad to report then that for the third time in 138 years Spout House find themselves looking for a new secretary for William passed away two days after Christmas, aged 83, news reported in the excellent Mike Amos' 'Backtrack' column in last Thursday's Northern Echo. Mike and his column have visited the ground in the past suggesting 'there may be no cricket ground closer to heaven,' Apparently to qualify as a pcw a visit to the Feversham League ground is essential. This blogger does not have that on his CV, something that must be rectified as early as possible in 2013. In the meantime William's funeral will be held in Bilsdale tomorrow.
Friday of this week sees the January 'Jim The Cat' lunch at Pudsey St Lawrence. The speaker is Andrew Pearson whose subject will be The History of Thurstonland CC,Holmfirth. Doors open at noon and lunch, three courses for £10, will be served at one o'clock. Almost forty cricket buffs attended last month's meeting and this Friday provides an opportunity to get 2013 off to an entertaining star. See you there?
In a posting made in June2012 Brian described a visit he had made to Spout House in Bilsdale, North Yorkshire with Ron Deaton. The ground of the local cricket club who play in The Feversham League is situated behind The Sun Inn which closed a few years ago, just short of three figures. Ex-landlord William Ainsley had been secretary of Spout House CC for 66 years continuing a family tradition going back into the nineteenth century for he had taken over the post from his grandfather who had put in a 72 year stint in the job. A remarkable dynasty.
Sad to report then that for the third time in 138 years Spout House find themselves looking for a new secretary for William passed away two days after Christmas, aged 83, news reported in the excellent Mike Amos' 'Backtrack' column in last Thursday's Northern Echo. Mike and his column have visited the ground in the past suggesting 'there may be no cricket ground closer to heaven,' Apparently to qualify as a pcw a visit to the Feversham League ground is essential. This blogger does not have that on his CV, something that must be rectified as early as possible in 2013. In the meantime William's funeral will be held in Bilsdale tomorrow.
Friday of this week sees the January 'Jim The Cat' lunch at Pudsey St Lawrence. The speaker is Andrew Pearson whose subject will be The History of Thurstonland CC,Holmfirth. Doors open at noon and lunch, three courses for £10, will be served at one o'clock. Almost forty cricket buffs attended last month's meeting and this Friday provides an opportunity to get 2013 off to an entertaining star. See you there?
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
Looking ahead (and back)
posted by John Winn
With 2013 starting to get its feet under the table and at least in the evenings, signs that the days are lengthening it is possible to look ahead to 'this' rather than 'next' season. My diary shows I will have a choice of first class matches on Friday April 5th, just over three months away, when Durham MCCU visit The Riverside and Yorkshire take on Leeds/Bradford at Headingley. If your taste is for stronger meat then championship cricket begins the following week on April 10th.
Most leagues have produced their fixtures and adhere to their traditional third Saturday of April start. In postings I made in 2012 I referred to the major shake up in the structure of league cricket in the north east of England which is to be implemented this year. To facilitate the formation of a second division of the ECB Premier league, three leagues with hundreds of years of history between them have disappeared and those not reaching or aspiring to status of the new second division will form a new Durham Cricket league of one division which will split into two in 2014 season. It would be surprising if such dramatic changes had not provoked discontent and this is evident on some message boards. What I cannot find is a clear official statement of the composition of the new division and the new league, let alone fixtures. Rumour and speculation are not in short supply but I will wait for official news before commenting further.
There will be very few cricket followers who are unaware of the deaths in the last week of two very influential figures in the game and both at comparatively early ages, Tony Greig at 66 and 'CMJ' at 67. I first saw Greig play in a John Player match at Eastbourne in 1971 against Surrey. He did not have a particularly distinguished match being run out for two, but he did take two wickets. In the Sussex side was Ted Dexter who was caught Long bowled Arnold 0 and Surrey were captained by John Edrich. Other notables playing in front of a large crowd included John Snow, Bob Willis and Intikhab Alam
A year later I saw Greig playing in 'Underwood's match' at Headingley against Australia.The future skipper made 24 and England were rescued from 128 for 7 by a stand of 104 between Illingworth and Snow which was crucial in a low scoring match. By the time I next saw England in 1978 Greig had thrown in his lot with Packer and Ian Botham was filling the middle order all rounder slot.
Many glowing tributes have been paid to 'CMJ' since his death was announced twenty four hours ago. His contribution to the game is perhaps best summed up by Jonathan Agnew when he says 'It's doubtful if anyone has contributed more in a lifetime to the overall coverage of cricket.' What I liked most about him was the obvious care he took to ensure that whilst TMS was on air the County Championship was not forgotten. This was evident in the importance he attached to the reading of scores from grounds around the country. There is a danger in these days of central contracts with counties resigned to seeing very little of their star players that test cricket is seen as something that 'floats on high' and the underpinning structure of the county game is consequently ignored. With the passing of Christopher Martin-Jenkins the first class county game may need a new champion.
With 2013 starting to get its feet under the table and at least in the evenings, signs that the days are lengthening it is possible to look ahead to 'this' rather than 'next' season. My diary shows I will have a choice of first class matches on Friday April 5th, just over three months away, when Durham MCCU visit The Riverside and Yorkshire take on Leeds/Bradford at Headingley. If your taste is for stronger meat then championship cricket begins the following week on April 10th.
Most leagues have produced their fixtures and adhere to their traditional third Saturday of April start. In postings I made in 2012 I referred to the major shake up in the structure of league cricket in the north east of England which is to be implemented this year. To facilitate the formation of a second division of the ECB Premier league, three leagues with hundreds of years of history between them have disappeared and those not reaching or aspiring to status of the new second division will form a new Durham Cricket league of one division which will split into two in 2014 season. It would be surprising if such dramatic changes had not provoked discontent and this is evident on some message boards. What I cannot find is a clear official statement of the composition of the new division and the new league, let alone fixtures. Rumour and speculation are not in short supply but I will wait for official news before commenting further.
There will be very few cricket followers who are unaware of the deaths in the last week of two very influential figures in the game and both at comparatively early ages, Tony Greig at 66 and 'CMJ' at 67. I first saw Greig play in a John Player match at Eastbourne in 1971 against Surrey. He did not have a particularly distinguished match being run out for two, but he did take two wickets. In the Sussex side was Ted Dexter who was caught Long bowled Arnold 0 and Surrey were captained by John Edrich. Other notables playing in front of a large crowd included John Snow, Bob Willis and Intikhab Alam
A year later I saw Greig playing in 'Underwood's match' at Headingley against Australia.The future skipper made 24 and England were rescued from 128 for 7 by a stand of 104 between Illingworth and Snow which was crucial in a low scoring match. By the time I next saw England in 1978 Greig had thrown in his lot with Packer and Ian Botham was filling the middle order all rounder slot.
Many glowing tributes have been paid to 'CMJ' since his death was announced twenty four hours ago. His contribution to the game is perhaps best summed up by Jonathan Agnew when he says 'It's doubtful if anyone has contributed more in a lifetime to the overall coverage of cricket.' What I liked most about him was the obvious care he took to ensure that whilst TMS was on air the County Championship was not forgotten. This was evident in the importance he attached to the reading of scores from grounds around the country. There is a danger in these days of central contracts with counties resigned to seeing very little of their star players that test cricket is seen as something that 'floats on high' and the underpinning structure of the county game is consequently ignored. With the passing of Christopher Martin-Jenkins the first class county game may need a new champion.
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