Today I look at cricketers whose given names begin with B. My XI is I believe a very good one and quite a few fine players had to miss out.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

1. Bert Sutcliffe (New Zealand, left handed opening batter, occasional off spinner). The Kiwi left hander, scorer of the two highest first class innings ever played by anyone from that country (385 and 355) and successful at test level as well deserves his place here.
2. Barry Richards (South Africa, right handed opening batter, occasional off spinner). He played in what turned out to be the last series of South Africa’s first incarnation as a test nation, and in four matches scored 508 runs at 72.57 with two centuries. Normally I would not read much into such a small sample size, but pretty much everyone who saw him bat and has expressed an opinion on the matter reckons that he was good enough to have maintained that average over a long test career had he been given the chance (among them Don Bradman, who officially consigned South Africa to exile from the international arena) and that domestic cricket was just too easy for him to keep him properly motivated.
3. Brian Lara (West Indies, left handed batter). The holder of the world first class and test record individual innings (501* and 400*), also scorer of 688 runs in a series in which he, a left hander, had to contend with Muralidaran on pitches made to measure for the off spinner.
4. Babar Azam (Pakistan, right handed batter). One of the finest of contemporary batters.
5. Basil D’Oliveira (England, right handed batter, right arm medium pacer). In spite of the fact that due to the circumstances of his birth (born in South Africa and possessed of dark skin) the opportunity to play international cricket arrived far later than it should have done, and at an age when many are thinking about the impending end of their careers he established a fine test record.
6. +Ben Foakes (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). This slot was one of the first to be filled in this XI.
7. *Ben Stokes (England, left handed batter, right arm fast medium bowler, captain). I have named him as captain of this XI due to his success with the England test team, and placed him at number seven because I think he is well suited to batting in that position in a strong line up, which this is.
8. Bart King (Philadelphians, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). over 400 wickets in 65 first class appearances at just 15 runs a piece, and a batting average of 20 as well. In the last of his four visits to England with Philadelphian touring sides he topped the first class bowling averages for the season, claiming 87 wickets at 11 each.
9. Brian Statham (England, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). For England, where he was generally number two bowler to either Tyson or Trueman, and had to take the end they did not want he took 252 wickets at 24 a piece. For Lancashire, when he had the choice of ends, he claimed wickets at just 18 a piece.
10. Bishan Singh Bedi (India, left arm orthodox spinner, right handed batter, vice captain). I don’t always name a vice-captain in these XIs, but although there are several other former skippers in this XI I feel that while Stokes has to be skipper, Bedi stands far enough clear of the rest to warrant being named vice-captain. 266 test wickets at 28.71 each earn him his place in this XI.
11. Bhagwath Chandrasekhar (India, leg spinner, right handed batter). Whereas Bedi was a classic left arm orthodox spinner and was simply better at doing what such bowlers do than most other such this guy was an absolute one of a kind bowler. The pair were regular team mates through their careers, and I reckon they would do even better in this side than they did in actual life.

This side has a powerful batting line up – a very strong top four, and arguably four all rounders, with King’s batting and bowling averages being the right way round. The bowling, with Statham and King opening the attack, Stokes and D’Oliveira available as back up seam options, two superb specialist spinners, and the opening batters able to bowl fill-in off spin if needed is both strong and superbly varied. This side will take a lot of beating.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Before I get into the actual honourable mentions there are two things to be cleared up to set the scene.

BILL/ WILLIAM AND BOB/ ROBERT

Bill and Billy are nearly always diminutive forms of William, and would therefore belong under the letter W in my classification. The two main exceptions I can think of are Billy Stanlake and Billy Taylor, both of whom were actually given the name Billy. Neither have records that would enable them to dislodge any of my choices, though Stanlake would enter the reckoning were I thinking in limited overs terms. Similarly, Bob and Bobby are generally diminutives of Robert and would be filed under R. NB while it is a diminutive Ben escapes this because it is short for either Benjamin or Benedict, which begin with the same letter.

I will go through the actual honourable mentions in batting order. Belinda Clark of Australia was closest to dislodging either of my chosen openers, though not massively close. Brendon Kuruppu, scorer of Sri Lanka’s first ever test double century did little outside of that one huge innings, while two Bens, Compton and Charlesworth, have yet to be given the opportunity to show their mettle at the highest level. Barry Wood would have merited serious consideration for a limited overs XI – his list A record was outstanding, and in that format his medium pace was often very valuable as well. Brad Hodge like so many of his generation missed out on international recognition due to the sheer strength of Australian sides in that era. Basil Fitzherbert Butcher had a fine test record, but not good enough to dislodge any of my chosen batters. There have been many quality keepers whose given names begin with B: Ben Barnett, Brian Taber, Brad Haddin, Budhi Kunderan and Brendon McCullum being five who deserve a mention, with the last named obviously getting a coaching gig. Brian Close had a fine record for Yorkshire and later for Somerset, where he taught a county unused to winning how to do so, but his England record does not stack up. Another Yorkshire Brian, Sellers, could only have been considered had I been struggling for a skipper, and I wasn’t. Brian McMillan had a fine record for South Africa, but not good enough IMO to dislodge D’Oliveira. Bruce Taylor of New Zealand was a decent all rounder, but not good enough to dislodge Stokes or King. Ben Hollioake’s untimely death in a car accident prevented him from qualifying. Brett Lee had a respectable record as a fast bowler, but he was somewhat expensive. Bruce Reid might well have had a place had he been able to keep himself in one piece for any length of time, but his actual record does not qualify him for selection. Ben Hilfenhaus was a useful fast-medium bowler, but in the 2010-11 Ashes when confronted with a strong batting line up he looked decidedly unthreatening. Brydon Carse is genuinely quick, but is also very erratic and hence always likely to be expensive. The almost anagrammatical Brian Brain fell too far short of the necessary class for me to accommodate him. Brian Langford and Bruce Yardley were fine off spinners, but with Bert Sutcliffe and Barry Richards both part time offies I preferred the Indian duo of Bedi and Chandrasekhar as my specialist spinners.

KING’S LYNN LIBRARY

King’s Lynn Library will be moving from its current premises to the site of what used to be the King’s Lynn branch of Argos. The current premises are a listed building and therefore have to be preserved, and it is an essential part of the plan that whatever the current premises become it will be something that is fully accessible to the public (so no flats, no private business premises etc.). The new building will be constructed using environmentally friendly materials, with the ground floor featuring stone, and the upper floors and the roof featuring bricks and tiles, the latter made from recycled materials (I have seen samples of such materials at the library, and was favourably impressed). There is an initial consultation taking place which has two days to run (click here). If this scheme is carried out properly the new library/ community hub could become a modern landmark fully in keeping with Lynn’s history as a medieval town, as well as serving its purpose as library and community hub. Also a vibrant new establishment in place of the shell of the old Argos cannot fail to be an improvement.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Time for my usual sign off…