The trial of the Pakistani cricketers started yesterday and this is another sad day for cricket. I didn't wish to speak of it though then out of respect for Graham Dilley who had sadly died.
I am saddened that my beautiful game, the game I have loved and cherished over all my life has been yet again tarnished by the greed of a few and the stupidity of a few more. If these cricketers are found guilty then the whole game must stand up and take a very serious look at itself very much more than Lord Condon ever did.
Present professional cricketers, coaches and administrators are the ones charged with the safety of this wonderous game. It is up to them to stand up and be counted and anyone found guilty of besmerching those standards should face the severest of punsihments. If that includes expelling whole countries from the system then so be it if they were found to have knowledge of these things.
One way of stopping this happening though is to have decent wages throughout the system. The riches of the IPL is only redistributed to a few yet there are millions of people playing cricket in India where we know that the social structure will lead to temptation for those in an impoverished position from those who would be their controllers. In Pakistan there are few rewards for their top players and it is therefor easier for those in the world of crime to influence those players. It is much more difficult I think in England, Australia or South Africa because the remuneration of even journeymen professionals is generally better than that of internationals from other countries but that doesn't mean it can't go on.
Likewise the riches of the ICC, now based in the Middle East of course, do not filter sufficiently down. Television money does not get to those most needed of places even though this is claimed. Too much politics goes on and too many people want too much power.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the world of cricket I implore you understand that this game has the power to shape and influence the way the world moves. What happens on the cricket pitches of the world should be an example to the youth of the world that there is a better way to act a better way to behave and a better way to live.
Friday, 7 October 2011
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Lillee caught Willey bowled Dilley
Graham Dilley has died at the age of 52 and my heart lies sad today.
He is without a doubt the forgotten hero of a test series that has always become known as Botham's Ashes. Yet for those of us who love our cricket, and particularly for those of us who were playing at the time we all know that had it not been for Graham Dilley's resolute batting in that Headingley test match one wonders would England have won the match and ultimately the series.
He was a consummate professional, a fine man and in another era would have shone brighter in the starlight.
Let us hope that he has found peace in the great pavilion in the sky and he is looking down and smiling at the number of times that people will say Lillee caught Willey bowled Dilley and remember.
He is without a doubt the forgotten hero of a test series that has always become known as Botham's Ashes. Yet for those of us who love our cricket, and particularly for those of us who were playing at the time we all know that had it not been for Graham Dilley's resolute batting in that Headingley test match one wonders would England have won the match and ultimately the series.
He was a consummate professional, a fine man and in another era would have shone brighter in the starlight.
Let us hope that he has found peace in the great pavilion in the sky and he is looking down and smiling at the number of times that people will say Lillee caught Willey bowled Dilley and remember.
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
The King is dead! Long live the King
I read today an interesting article about the gathering of the great fast bowlers and how the art is dying because of the wickets that are being made batsman friendly.
I was a fast bowler, and for those people who suffered injuries at my hand they will testify to how fast I was. I still remember one match when I was playing against York in the Yorkshire league, before helmets had really become widespread, Barry Wood tossed me the ball and said go on see if you can do some damage. It was an interesting turn of phrase because the opening batsmen got the first ball under the chin and the second uprooted his middle stump with a yorker. Number 3 came in all cockily and told me I had been lucky so you guessed it, chin ball, to which his response was, after he picked himself off the floor, can I get a helmet out here please. He didn't last very long either. Mind you I had just come off the back of 7-32 and 7-19 in my previous Varsity game so I was kind of on a roll.
That said I think here lies the problem. It's not the pitches as such it's the fact that batsmen look like medieval knights now. Protection has advanced so much that it is really difficult to intimidate top batsmen like you could do in the olden days. Sure the even bounce has made life easier the days of Sabina Park wickets are probably done and dusted but great fast bowlers have always found a way on batting tracks. That is what made them great.
I remember a great batsman called Sir Vivian Richards once saying that he didn't need a helmet because he had a bat. And maybe that's what we need to do ban helmets for batsmen. Bugger the health and safety and the political correctness. Keep them for children like rugby players and boxers have done but once you step out as a professional then ban them.
Then to quote Kipling .......Then you will be a man my son!
I was a fast bowler, and for those people who suffered injuries at my hand they will testify to how fast I was. I still remember one match when I was playing against York in the Yorkshire league, before helmets had really become widespread, Barry Wood tossed me the ball and said go on see if you can do some damage. It was an interesting turn of phrase because the opening batsmen got the first ball under the chin and the second uprooted his middle stump with a yorker. Number 3 came in all cockily and told me I had been lucky so you guessed it, chin ball, to which his response was, after he picked himself off the floor, can I get a helmet out here please. He didn't last very long either. Mind you I had just come off the back of 7-32 and 7-19 in my previous Varsity game so I was kind of on a roll.
That said I think here lies the problem. It's not the pitches as such it's the fact that batsmen look like medieval knights now. Protection has advanced so much that it is really difficult to intimidate top batsmen like you could do in the olden days. Sure the even bounce has made life easier the days of Sabina Park wickets are probably done and dusted but great fast bowlers have always found a way on batting tracks. That is what made them great.
I remember a great batsman called Sir Vivian Richards once saying that he didn't need a helmet because he had a bat. And maybe that's what we need to do ban helmets for batsmen. Bugger the health and safety and the political correctness. Keep them for children like rugby players and boxers have done but once you step out as a professional then ban them.
Then to quote Kipling .......Then you will be a man my son!
Another season draws to an end
The Autumnal winds have started to blow the leaves from the trees, the nights are starting to draw in once again and so we come to the end of the English Cricket Season. Has it been a good one? I think so and not just in terms of sport but in terms of attitude and in life coaching.
We have seen a near total demolition of the worlds top test team by the team destined to be the top team. We have seen a retiring veteran take what can only be described as the catch of the decade on T20 finals day and we have seen more injuries than in an Italian Serie A match.
Young players are coming through, old players retire and ex-players bemoan the state of the game. The reality though is that cricket continues, and will continue for a long time to come for this is still the game where fairness comes first and where sport and honour are more important than money.
So I say thank you for the season, for all those who have contributed so much, congratulations to the winners and to the losers better luck next time. Let us all now move forward to the next great spectacle.
We have seen a near total demolition of the worlds top test team by the team destined to be the top team. We have seen a retiring veteran take what can only be described as the catch of the decade on T20 finals day and we have seen more injuries than in an Italian Serie A match.
Young players are coming through, old players retire and ex-players bemoan the state of the game. The reality though is that cricket continues, and will continue for a long time to come for this is still the game where fairness comes first and where sport and honour are more important than money.
So I say thank you for the season, for all those who have contributed so much, congratulations to the winners and to the losers better luck next time. Let us all now move forward to the next great spectacle.
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Will he? Won't he?
The Oval, the final test. the final chances.
Can the little master do it? Can he after all the trials and tribulations that have gone on in the past few weeks conquer that final ledge, that Hillary and Tenzing moment.
Well I for one hope so.
Do I want England to win, yes absolutely, but I want cricket to win more. I want to see a fine match, played hard, but fair and an England victory with a Sachin hundred.
In Indian philosophy karma reigns supreme and some may say that India would have been better with the referral system not favoured by Sachin, so karma came back to deny him the final hooray. Well the series is won and now it would be right for that score to be notched. I wish him well.
Let Jerusalem play loud, let the crowd join in celebration and let the match begin.
Can the little master do it? Can he after all the trials and tribulations that have gone on in the past few weeks conquer that final ledge, that Hillary and Tenzing moment.
Well I for one hope so.
Do I want England to win, yes absolutely, but I want cricket to win more. I want to see a fine match, played hard, but fair and an England victory with a Sachin hundred.
In Indian philosophy karma reigns supreme and some may say that India would have been better with the referral system not favoured by Sachin, so karma came back to deny him the final hooray. Well the series is won and now it would be right for that score to be notched. I wish him well.
Let Jerusalem play loud, let the crowd join in celebration and let the match begin.
Monday, 15 August 2011
Of sporting behaviour not of greed and malice
Congratulations to England on becoming the world's top test team. I have waited so very long to hear those words and I am delighted for Andrew Strauss, Andy Flower and all the players,coaches, backroom staff and of course the faithful.
A friend of mine wrote on twitter about how Shane Warne had apparently switched thoughts and jumped on the band wagon and how it had amused him. I can see his point but I'd like to add a different dimension on things if I may.
I have grown up loving sport form being a young child. I have been fortunate to play my beloved cricket at a high level, not the highest unfortunately but I have represented my country even if only at a Varsity Level, and a long time ago at that. I have also played badminton to a county level once even ranked, which to look at my body now you would not believe, and became a scratch golfer before my accident. I have also played football, rugby and hockey to a reasonable standard, was no pushover on a squash court and even though I swam like a brick I would still have a crack and enjoy the competition. I can safely say that sport runs through my veins.
And that is the point, sport has shaped my life. It has taught me so very much.
So to the weekend and two very different situations. Birmingham, battered by rioting hosted the England v India Test Match and amid death and destruction there was joy and friendship with supporters of both nations enjoying a wonderful days cricket.
And then to St James Park in Newcastle where 'bad boy' Joey Barton deliberately feigned injury so as to get an Arsenal player sent off. This is in stark contrast to MS Dhoni a couple of weeks earlier who had played by the rules of the game but showed tremendous courage when calling back Ian Bell because he believed the spirit of the game to be more important.
And here in a nutshell we can see the problem with our society.
Sport is a barometer in many ways and the most high profile sports such as football, cricket and rugby are a reflection of our society.
No one disputes that Rio Ferdinand had a tough upbringing and he is without a doubt one of the most eloquent of footballers but he plays for a manager who doesn't rebuke his players for rowing with referees and in many ways has encouraged that. I don't dislike Sir Alex, what he has done on a positive level is indeed admirable, but I do dislike him allowing his players to act like thugs on the field. The late great Brian Clough would speak to referees about his players and make sure that if any of his players showed dissent to an official they would have him to deal with. Rio could take a positive lead in this but often in the past he has been there with the loudest voice. A referee is a referee and as a human being they will inevitably make mistakes but they are there for a purpose.
The FA are also responsible for this because they do not rule the game anymore, money rules the game, FIFA is highly corrupt, and the media court the celebrity fanning the flames. There is none of the Sir Stanley Matthews attitude but lots of the George Best.
Reflect that back to cricket, rugby, hockey and many other sports. When did you see a rugby player have a go at a referee? When Stuart Broad showed only the smallest of dissent he was hit rapidly in the pocket. And although we all know of the Freddie Flintoff, the morning after the night before, incident following the Ashes victory of 2005 it did not lead to mass headlines other than he's a jolly good fellow. Following that things calmed down and cricketers were once again being praised or derided for their sporting ability not their occasional misdemeanour.
Sport teaches us how to be. It teaches us how to act. The sad thing is that over the years sport has been removed from our nation's schools because competition is bad. Even sports days have become a bit of a joke because there cannot be competition! We have dug up our school playing fields to sell for housing estates or industrial development. And that is because short sighted politicians have only thought about the next election not the future of a generation.
Changing our attitude to society can be done through changing our attitude to sport. As Bill Shankly once said "football is not a matter of life or death it's more important than that."
Well I would say that sport is not a matter of life or death it is more important than that. You do not have to be good at sport to enjoy it but it can go an awful long way to showing a better way. And if you do not like sport that is okay too because there are many other things that can do the same but our so called superstars and celebrities must start to show us some positive role modelling and soon!
A friend of mine wrote on twitter about how Shane Warne had apparently switched thoughts and jumped on the band wagon and how it had amused him. I can see his point but I'd like to add a different dimension on things if I may.
I have grown up loving sport form being a young child. I have been fortunate to play my beloved cricket at a high level, not the highest unfortunately but I have represented my country even if only at a Varsity Level, and a long time ago at that. I have also played badminton to a county level once even ranked, which to look at my body now you would not believe, and became a scratch golfer before my accident. I have also played football, rugby and hockey to a reasonable standard, was no pushover on a squash court and even though I swam like a brick I would still have a crack and enjoy the competition. I can safely say that sport runs through my veins.
And that is the point, sport has shaped my life. It has taught me so very much.
So to the weekend and two very different situations. Birmingham, battered by rioting hosted the England v India Test Match and amid death and destruction there was joy and friendship with supporters of both nations enjoying a wonderful days cricket.
And then to St James Park in Newcastle where 'bad boy' Joey Barton deliberately feigned injury so as to get an Arsenal player sent off. This is in stark contrast to MS Dhoni a couple of weeks earlier who had played by the rules of the game but showed tremendous courage when calling back Ian Bell because he believed the spirit of the game to be more important.
And here in a nutshell we can see the problem with our society.
Sport is a barometer in many ways and the most high profile sports such as football, cricket and rugby are a reflection of our society.
No one disputes that Rio Ferdinand had a tough upbringing and he is without a doubt one of the most eloquent of footballers but he plays for a manager who doesn't rebuke his players for rowing with referees and in many ways has encouraged that. I don't dislike Sir Alex, what he has done on a positive level is indeed admirable, but I do dislike him allowing his players to act like thugs on the field. The late great Brian Clough would speak to referees about his players and make sure that if any of his players showed dissent to an official they would have him to deal with. Rio could take a positive lead in this but often in the past he has been there with the loudest voice. A referee is a referee and as a human being they will inevitably make mistakes but they are there for a purpose.
The FA are also responsible for this because they do not rule the game anymore, money rules the game, FIFA is highly corrupt, and the media court the celebrity fanning the flames. There is none of the Sir Stanley Matthews attitude but lots of the George Best.
Reflect that back to cricket, rugby, hockey and many other sports. When did you see a rugby player have a go at a referee? When Stuart Broad showed only the smallest of dissent he was hit rapidly in the pocket. And although we all know of the Freddie Flintoff, the morning after the night before, incident following the Ashes victory of 2005 it did not lead to mass headlines other than he's a jolly good fellow. Following that things calmed down and cricketers were once again being praised or derided for their sporting ability not their occasional misdemeanour.
Sport teaches us how to be. It teaches us how to act. The sad thing is that over the years sport has been removed from our nation's schools because competition is bad. Even sports days have become a bit of a joke because there cannot be competition! We have dug up our school playing fields to sell for housing estates or industrial development. And that is because short sighted politicians have only thought about the next election not the future of a generation.
Changing our attitude to society can be done through changing our attitude to sport. As Bill Shankly once said "football is not a matter of life or death it's more important than that."
Well I would say that sport is not a matter of life or death it is more important than that. You do not have to be good at sport to enjoy it but it can go an awful long way to showing a better way. And if you do not like sport that is okay too because there are many other things that can do the same but our so called superstars and celebrities must start to show us some positive role modelling and soon!
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
That's the spirit
Today as Birmingham recovers from a night of rioting two teams will face each other in combat. If England should win then they will be officially the best team in the world, if India should win they will keep their fingers around that mantle.
In reality it does not matter who wins for what they are doing by playing the game is making a bold statement of intent. They are saying for every honest man, woman and child in this world that decency and camaraderie and good things will continue despite the cowardly, wicked behaviour of a minority of mindless people.
Stand up for cricket, may the best side win and may the game go on, forever.
In reality it does not matter who wins for what they are doing by playing the game is making a bold statement of intent. They are saying for every honest man, woman and child in this world that decency and camaraderie and good things will continue despite the cowardly, wicked behaviour of a minority of mindless people.
Stand up for cricket, may the best side win and may the game go on, forever.
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Did I say this before?
Well, well, well, what a day at Trent Bridge.
Thank goodness for a courageous man!
Was Ian Bell out? Yes.
Did Ian Bell make a schoolboy error? Yes.
Did MS Dhoni do the right thing? Yes.
Three out of three ain't bad? Well let's get into the nitty gritty shall we.
There will be many our there, especially in India who will call for their captain's head on a pole. He was weak they will say, he was wrong they will say.
Firstly let me ask the question what would have happened if this was Sachin in Mumbai who had endured such a thing? It would never happen I hear you say. But what if?
What MS Dhoni showed today is that the game of cricket supersedes all those earthly common frailties of greed and control. It shows us that there is a better way. It is an example to our children of how to win or lose. I don't think that Sir Alex would ever react like that and that is why football teaches young children that it is all about greed.
Cricket and in particular today MS Dhoni have shown children that it is a game and it should be played in a certain way. He showed children there is a better way.
And it reminds me of the words of Kipling in the poem.......If you ....
Thank goodness for a courageous man!
Was Ian Bell out? Yes.
Did Ian Bell make a schoolboy error? Yes.
Did MS Dhoni do the right thing? Yes.
Three out of three ain't bad? Well let's get into the nitty gritty shall we.
There will be many our there, especially in India who will call for their captain's head on a pole. He was weak they will say, he was wrong they will say.
Firstly let me ask the question what would have happened if this was Sachin in Mumbai who had endured such a thing? It would never happen I hear you say. But what if?
What MS Dhoni showed today is that the game of cricket supersedes all those earthly common frailties of greed and control. It shows us that there is a better way. It is an example to our children of how to win or lose. I don't think that Sir Alex would ever react like that and that is why football teaches young children that it is all about greed.
Cricket and in particular today MS Dhoni have shown children that it is a game and it should be played in a certain way. He showed children there is a better way.
And it reminds me of the words of Kipling in the poem.......If you ....
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Victory but with a tinge of sadness
Now some people will say that I am going a bit soft in the head in my old age. As a young fast bowler You never gave an inch they will say. Victory at all costs they will say. And they would be right.
As a youngster I didn't really understand the beautiful game. Sure I knew that it was about batting as long as possible or getting 20 wickets but the finer nuances escaped me. Even when I took over captaining Huddersfield after Barry Wood left it was still about victory. All I knew how to do was scrap. And it was street brawling not karate.
And then I moved to London through work and joined Old Whitgiftonians. Cricket in Surrey on fine fast tracks was far more polite than the brass knuckle stuff of the Huddersfield and even the Yorkshire League. Tea was finer, proper tea cups even, not the mug that we'd get served up at a cold windy day at Hall Bower when I was a whippersnapper.
I only played a short time in Surrey alas as I was offered the professionals role at Lockwood in the Huddersfield League so every weekend I would commute back up the M1 to have a brawl again. However I had learned a lot in that period of time down South. I had learned most importantly it is not simply about the victory but about how you win. Gordon Gekko was preaching greed is good but the real deal was all about the game. Because without the game you have nothing.
And so to Lords this last week, the very epitome of the beautiful game and one of the greatest batsmen the world has ever seen. The pressure must have been enormous on the Little Master but his grace and strength is a lesson to us all. He missed out on the honours board and India lost the test. Yes well played England, a fine victory with some inspired bowling and backs to the wall batting.
Yet at the back of my mind and in the depths of my heart there is a little sadness for the Little Man with the most gargantuan talent. So remember all you budding Sachin's or Shanes or Swanns out there it is never victory at all costs because the game should always be the winner.
As a youngster I didn't really understand the beautiful game. Sure I knew that it was about batting as long as possible or getting 20 wickets but the finer nuances escaped me. Even when I took over captaining Huddersfield after Barry Wood left it was still about victory. All I knew how to do was scrap. And it was street brawling not karate.
And then I moved to London through work and joined Old Whitgiftonians. Cricket in Surrey on fine fast tracks was far more polite than the brass knuckle stuff of the Huddersfield and even the Yorkshire League. Tea was finer, proper tea cups even, not the mug that we'd get served up at a cold windy day at Hall Bower when I was a whippersnapper.
I only played a short time in Surrey alas as I was offered the professionals role at Lockwood in the Huddersfield League so every weekend I would commute back up the M1 to have a brawl again. However I had learned a lot in that period of time down South. I had learned most importantly it is not simply about the victory but about how you win. Gordon Gekko was preaching greed is good but the real deal was all about the game. Because without the game you have nothing.
And so to Lords this last week, the very epitome of the beautiful game and one of the greatest batsmen the world has ever seen. The pressure must have been enormous on the Little Master but his grace and strength is a lesson to us all. He missed out on the honours board and India lost the test. Yes well played England, a fine victory with some inspired bowling and backs to the wall batting.
Yet at the back of my mind and in the depths of my heart there is a little sadness for the Little Man with the most gargantuan talent. So remember all you budding Sachin's or Shanes or Swanns out there it is never victory at all costs because the game should always be the winner.
Monday, 25 July 2011
From Father to Son
August 1977, I woke early, very early for me. It was dawn. I crept into my parents bedroom and my father was awake smoking his customary cigarette. He told me to look out the window and see what the weather was like. It was OK and looked like it might be a glorious day.
"Well I'd better get up" he said. "Time to make some sandwiches and get off"
It was really going to happen I was going to my first Test Match, to Headingley, to the home of my beloved Yorkshire County Cricket Club, to see my hero.
We arrived at 5.45 having driven from Huddersfield. There was a queue already. The early editions of the papers were being sold. Just one story on the back pages. Just one thing that mattered.
We finally got into the ground at about 9am and positioned ourselves pretty much at mid wicket on the hallowed Western Terrace. Just in front of us sat a group of Castleford miners who had taken the day off to be there. They didn't have seats but that wasn't a problem as the hundred or so Watney's Seven party packs that they had brought would make a fine substitute and later on in the day keep us all entertained no end.
Out came the captains and the toss was completed. The tannoys raged out and the cheer went up, England to bat.
Out they came the great Greg Chappell in front. Out they came captain with plastic skull protector, hero with collar up. And then it started with old tormentor Jeff Thomson winding up and like the trebuchets of old sending down a vicious missile he promptly did for captain Brearley. Woolmer in, soon Woolmer out and then came the hero of the Centenary Test, Derek Randall, the clown who four days later would take the catch that gave brought home the Ashes, that healed the scars of Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust if Lillee don't get ya then Thommo must!
The day crept on he kept his nerve, Labrooks were getting nervous the miners had a bet on. Past his 50 sun getting hotter, bitter being drunk, noise getting louder sandwiches consumed, first day cover bought, atmosphere becoming tenser, Randall gone and Grieg in. Six over fine leg for the big man. Still he kept going.
Collapsing beer cans for seats led to continual laughter from the terrace. More laughter as the miners tried to put them back to no avail as they collapsed causing the domino effect.
And then Grieg gone, Gooch in running out of partners would he do it. Chappell to bowl steps forward stroked down the ground, four, eruption, Vesuvius in the shape of massed Yorkshiremen flowing onto the pitch.
I wanted to go, I so wanted to go but my dad's hand on my shoulder stopped me. Oh how I wished I had gone.
Day ends off we trudge hero not out, memories etched. Miners five hundred quid richer.
That was the day my dad took me to Headingley to see Geoffrey Boycott score his Hundredth Hundred.
And why have I told you this. Well listening to Aggers today before the start of play going around the crowd at Lords listening to all the stories reminded me of that day when my passion for the game of cricket exploded, especially when a little six year old lad told us about his hero, and how 1 billion Indians were hoping and longing for their hero to score his Hundredth Hundred. And secretly I think all cricket lovers too!
"Well I'd better get up" he said. "Time to make some sandwiches and get off"
It was really going to happen I was going to my first Test Match, to Headingley, to the home of my beloved Yorkshire County Cricket Club, to see my hero.
We arrived at 5.45 having driven from Huddersfield. There was a queue already. The early editions of the papers were being sold. Just one story on the back pages. Just one thing that mattered.
We finally got into the ground at about 9am and positioned ourselves pretty much at mid wicket on the hallowed Western Terrace. Just in front of us sat a group of Castleford miners who had taken the day off to be there. They didn't have seats but that wasn't a problem as the hundred or so Watney's Seven party packs that they had brought would make a fine substitute and later on in the day keep us all entertained no end.
Out came the captains and the toss was completed. The tannoys raged out and the cheer went up, England to bat.
Out they came the great Greg Chappell in front. Out they came captain with plastic skull protector, hero with collar up. And then it started with old tormentor Jeff Thomson winding up and like the trebuchets of old sending down a vicious missile he promptly did for captain Brearley. Woolmer in, soon Woolmer out and then came the hero of the Centenary Test, Derek Randall, the clown who four days later would take the catch that gave brought home the Ashes, that healed the scars of Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust if Lillee don't get ya then Thommo must!
The day crept on he kept his nerve, Labrooks were getting nervous the miners had a bet on. Past his 50 sun getting hotter, bitter being drunk, noise getting louder sandwiches consumed, first day cover bought, atmosphere becoming tenser, Randall gone and Grieg in. Six over fine leg for the big man. Still he kept going.
Collapsing beer cans for seats led to continual laughter from the terrace. More laughter as the miners tried to put them back to no avail as they collapsed causing the domino effect.
And then Grieg gone, Gooch in running out of partners would he do it. Chappell to bowl steps forward stroked down the ground, four, eruption, Vesuvius in the shape of massed Yorkshiremen flowing onto the pitch.
I wanted to go, I so wanted to go but my dad's hand on my shoulder stopped me. Oh how I wished I had gone.
Day ends off we trudge hero not out, memories etched. Miners five hundred quid richer.
That was the day my dad took me to Headingley to see Geoffrey Boycott score his Hundredth Hundred.
And why have I told you this. Well listening to Aggers today before the start of play going around the crowd at Lords listening to all the stories reminded me of that day when my passion for the game of cricket exploded, especially when a little six year old lad told us about his hero, and how 1 billion Indians were hoping and longing for their hero to score his Hundredth Hundred. And secretly I think all cricket lovers too!
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