Tag: Swans

All Time XIs – G for Glory

An all time XI of players whose given names begin with G, a massive honourable mentions section which includes mention of today’s WBBL Challenger match, and a photo gallery.

Today I choose an all time XI of players whose given names begin with Gs. This letter poses particular challenges which I will explain in the course of the post, and there are a vast number of honourable mentions.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. *Graeme Smith (South Africa, left handed opening batter, captain). A superb playing record and an outstanding captain.
  2. Gordon Greenidge (West Indies, right handed opening batter). One half of the West Indies greatest ever opening pair. His highlights include twin tons on the most difficult surface of the 1976 series, two contrasting double centuries against England in 1984, one a brutal match winning knock at Lord’s after England had the temerity to declare their second innings closed on the final morning (and some reckoned they should have done so earlier), and the other a ten hour marathon innings which put his side fully in control of the match at Old Trafford.
  3. George Headley (West Indies, right handed batter). Nicknamed ‘Atlas’ because he seemed to carry his side on his shoulders, he is among the select few to have played over 20 test matches and have an average of above 60 – 60.83.
  4. Graeme Pollock (South Africa, left handed batter). Another member of the select club referred to above. In what proved to be South Africa’s last series before isolation he set an individual scoring record for that country with 274 against Australia. That score has been beaten by four players since South Africa’s readmission – Daryll Cullinan, Gary Kirsten, Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla.
  5. Greg Chappell (Australia, right handed batter, occasional medium pacer, occasional leg spinner). A superb batter, one of the safest slip fielders the game ever saw and a part time bowler of two types.
  6. Garry Sobers (West Indies, left handed batter, left arm bowler of every type known to cricket). The most complete player the game has ever seen, and therefore, as always when he is eligible for selection, the first name on the team sheet for this XI.
  7. Gilbert Jessop (England, right handed batter, right arm fast bowler). The ultimate X-factor player, with an approach to batting ideally suited to someone coming at number seven in a strong side.
  8. +George Duckworth (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). A great wicket keeper, and in a side with the batting guns possessed by this one I am not worried about his limited skill in the latter department.
  9. George Lohmann (England, right arm medium fast bowler, right handed batter). Of bowlers to have taken at least 100 wickets he has the best average by some way, a barely believable 10.75, and also the best strike rate – a wicket every five and a half overs on average.
  10. George Dennett (Gloucestershire, left arm orthodox spinner, left handed batter). Never capped for England, but 2,151 FC scalps at 19.82 a piece. England were exceptionally well served by left arm spinners in his playing days – Rhodes, Blythe, the all round skills of Frank Woolley and Roy Kilner etc.
  11. Glenn McGrath (Australia, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). We have our ‘enforcer’, one of the greatest of all time.

This side has a stellar top six, including the most complete player the game has ever known, the ultimate in x-factor players at number seven, a great keeper and three great specialist bowlers. The bowling does not have quite the dazzling array of options possessed by some of my sides, but I do not think that McGrath, Lohmann, Dennett, Jessop and Sobers would be likely to find capturing 20 opposition wickets beyond them on any surface.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

This will require a systematic approach, so I shall work my way down the order…

OPENING BATTERS

Glenn Turner, the only New Zealander ever to score 100 first class hundreds is the biggest miss here, but Gautam Gambhir of India would also have his advocates, Gary Kirsten of South Africa deserves a mention (and can have the head coach job that England infamously refused to give him allegedly because his power point presentation wasn’t good enough) and George Gunn, who played for England many years ago, and absolutely did things his way also deserves a name check.

MIDDLE ORDER BATTERS

These guys missed out because of the stellar cast available to fill these slots. Geoff Howarth of New Zealand, Gundappa Viswanath of India and Gilbert Parkhouse of England would all have merited serious consideration for a letter less well stocked with world beating batters, but none can get in here.

ALL ROUNDERS

The presence of five of the greatest ever specialist batters and Sobers limited the scope for the inclusion of all rounders. Luminaries such as George Giffen (Australia, right handed batter, off spinner), George Hirst (England, right handed batter, left arm fast medium) and two leg spinning all rounders, Greville Stevens (England) and Garnet Lee (Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire) all missed out. Had I been picking with limited overs in mind Glenn Maxwell of Australia would have been one of the first names on the team sheet, but I preferred Jessop at seven, and the only one of the top six who I could even have contemplated not picking was Greg Chappell. George Pope of Derbyshire and England was a good enough all rounder to merit a mention as well. George Ulyett, who played for England in their very early days and had an HS of 149 and a BB of 7-36 was also unlucky.

WICKET KEEPERS

Godfrey Evans was the nearest challenger to Duckworth, wkith Graham Manou, a fine keeper who was scurvily treated by the Aussie selectors of his day and Gil Langley of Australia also in the mix.

SPIN BOWLERS

George Simpson-Hayward, the last underarm bowler to make a serious impression at test level (over 20 wickets in his only test series, against South Africa in South Africa) was close to dislodging Dennett. George Macaulay of Yorkshire and England never managed much at test level.

PACE BOWLERS

It is in this category that we meet the greatest number of top cricketers to miss out for this letter. Garth Le Roux, the giant South African quick of the 1970s and 80s never got to play test cricket, otherwise he might well have had a slot. Graham McKenzie, the best Aussie pacer between the retirement of Davidson and the rise of Lillee was also close. George John was rated by CLR James as the finest of the early West Indian fast bowlers, but he was finished before they started playing test cricket. Gideon Elliott who had a very brief but freakishly successful fast bowling career in the late 1850s and early 1860s (48 wickets at less than 5 a piece, including innings figures of 9-2) deserves a mention. George “Tear ’em” Tarrant was a hugely successful fast bowler in the era immediately before the rise of WG Grace, but the way the good Doctor quelled those who before he came along had intimidated by dint of sheer pace on often treacherous pitches explains why I overlooked him. Had I not had Sobers to perform the role, two candidates for the role of left arm pacer would have been Gary Gilmour (Australia) and a gamble on George Garton, yet to establish himself as an England player. George Freeman, whose 288 FC scalps came at less than 10 a piece was another in the mix. George Geary might have had the slot I gave to Lohmann, but my feeling is that the difference between their test records is too great to be put down solely to the flat pitches on which Geary had to operate at that level. Glenn Chapple of Lancashire is a what might have been – injuries prevented him from gaining international recognition, and as fine a player as he was in domestic cricket I cannot justify dropping either Lohmann or the other Glenn to make way for him.

THE WOMEN

I was not able to include a female in this XI, but the Challenger in the Women’s BBL took place today, and Grace Harris with a superb innings, Georgia Redmayne with a great display of wicket keeping, and Georgia Voll with a stellar bowling performance all had big days out in a superb win for Brisbane Heat over Perth Scorchers, while Georgia Adams, a spin bowling all rounder, is also making a name for herself. Of the players I have named the most likely to earn a place in this squad in years to come is Redmayne, who if she continues to keep the way she did today could challenge Duckworth.

EXEAT

I have doubtless missed some of the riches available for this XI, though I do remind people wishing to comment that I have declared a policy of not selecting anyone who made rebel tours of Apartheid South Africa. Please feel free to make suggestions, so long as you examine the effect they would have on the balance of the side. With five batters and a batting all rounder having ironclad cases for inclusion fitting in enough bowling is a challenge for this letter.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

All Time XIs – Given Names Beginning With E

An all time XI of cricketers whose given names begin with the letter E and a large photo gallery.

Today I pick an all time XI of players whose given names begin with the letter E. A couple of selections may well raise eyebrows but I reckon all are well justified. There will be an honourable mentions section.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. Eric Rowan (South Africa, right handed opening batter). At a time when South Africa weren’t the strongest he managed to record a test average of 43.66. His highest score was 236, which at the time was the highest individual score for South Africa, beaten by Graeme Pollock in the last series of South Africa’s first incarnation as a test nation. There was a famous occasion when notified while a match was in progress that he had been dropped for the next one he proceeded to show the selectors what they were missing by scoring a match saving 156* in the final innings, batting right through the final day.
  2. EM Grace (England, right handed opening batter, lob bowler). He was the first member of his family to be an acknowledged cricket marvel (his eldest brother Henry first developed the family’s ruling passion, and his love for the game led to their father and an uncle, Alfred Pocock, coaching the whole family). His bowling achieved some great successes as well – on one occasion he accounted for the famously hard to shift Harry ‘Not at Dorking’ Jupp with a steepling lob that landed exactly on top of the stumps, dislodging a bail.
  3. Everton Weekes (West Indies, right handed batter). One of the greatest batters ever to play the game.
  4. Eddie Paynter (England, left handed batter). The highest career average of any left hander to have played 20 or more tests, 59.23. That included double centuries against both Australia and South Africa. His most famous innings was an 83 in stifling heat at Brisbane, when he was suffering severe tonsilitis and rose from his hospital bed in England’s hour of need, which helped England secure the victory that confirmed them as winners of the 1932-3 Ashes.
  5. Elias ‘Patsy’ Hendren (England, right handed batter). Only Hobbs scored more than his 170 first class hundreds, and only Hobbs and Woolley exceeded his 57,610 first class runs. One record which remains his is most FC centuries at a single ground, 74 of his having come at Lord’s.
  6. *Eddie Barlow (South Africa, right handed batter, right arm medium pace bowler, captain). He averaged 45 with the bat at test level, and while his bowling was not much used at that level his FC bowling figures stack up well. He was an inspiring captain, in the 1970s he invigorated a Derbyshire side who had grown used to propping up the championship table and led them to some very respectable finishes.
  7. +Eleanor Threlkeld (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). One of the best contemporary wicket keepers, and a fine batter as well, as evidenced by the match winning hundred she scored for Thunder against Storm in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy (50 overs per side, the longest non-test match format played by women) on September 16 this year.
  8. Ernie Robson (Somerset, right arm medium fast bowler, right handed batter). An excellent bowling all rounder. His outswing was rated by Jack Hobbs, aka The Master, as the most difficult bowling he ever faced.
  9. Ernest Jones (Australia, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). One of the fastest bowlers of the 1890s, he once famously sent a ball through WG’s beard.
  10. Erapalli Prasanna (India, off spinner, right handed batter). One of four spinners to regularly play for India in the 1970s (he, Bedi and Chandrasekhar were indisputably world class practitioners, the fourth member of the quartet, Srinisvaraghavan Venkataraghavan was a cut below the rest).
  11. Eric Hollies (England, leg spinner, right handed batter). Possessor of the all time worst wrong way round disparity between runs scored and wickets taken in FC cricket (1,673 FC runs at 5.00, boosted by 282 not outs in 616 innings, and 2,323 Fc wickets taken at 20.94 each). Also the man who stopped Bradman from recording a final test average in three figures, bowling him for a duck in his last test innings, which turned 6,996 runs at 101.39 into 6,996 at 99.94.

This side has a powerful top five, a quality all rounder, a quality keeper who can bat, a fine bowling all rounder and three splendid and contrasting specialist bowlers. A bowling attack that has Jones, Robson and Barlow to bowl pace/ seam, Hollies and Prasanna to bowl spin, and EM Grace as a wildcard has both depth and variety.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

The opening batters had few challengers – Eve Jones’ left handedness bringing her into the picture, but not being sufficient to dislodge either of my choices. On a spinning pitch Eddie Barlow would give way to Enid Bakewell, an all rounder whose bowling stock in trade was left arm orthodox spin, with EM Grace taking the captaincy. Ernest Tyldesley was the best batter to miss out, a member of the 100 FC hundreds club and possessor of a very respectable test record. Two Eds, Joyce (Ireland/ England/ Ireland) and Smith (England) were respectable rather than outstanding. The main keeping rivals to Threlkeld were EFS Tylecote who as a schoolboy in 1868 took advantage of the batting friendly conditions of Clifton College to score the first recorded quadruple century in any form of cricket, 404* in a house match (31 years later another schoolboy, AEJ Collins, scored 628* in a house match at the same ground), and going on to keep wicket for England, Edward Pooley who should have been England’s first ever keeper but was cooling his heels in a New Zealand prison when the appointed time arrived and EJ ‘Tiger’ Smith of Warwickshire and England. Ernie McCormick was fast but erratic, and his 1938 tour of England was ruined by no-ball problems. Ernest Toshack had his moments as a left arm medium pacer, including taking 5-2 in an innings against England but did not have a weighty enough record to garner more than an honourable mention. Eiulf Peter ‘Buster’ Nupen, the only test cricketer to date to have been born in Norway, would be in the mix if the match was to be played on a matting wicket, but not otherwise. Edwin Tyler, a left arm orthodox spinner, once took an all-ten for Somerset, but falls short overall. Edward Wainwright of Yotrkshire and England had a good record as an off spinning all rounder in FC cricket, but failed to take a wicket in any of his five test appearances, finding the Australian pitches of 1897-8 unresponsive to his type of bowling, setting a trend that has continued to the present day when it comes to English off spinners in Australia. Ellyse Perry is a magnificent cricketer, but for this exercise she could only be picked if her batting was good enough on its own, and given the strength of the upper and middle order of this side I do not think it is. I end with a ‘what might have been’ – Edwin Boaler Alletson (Nottinghamshire). At Hove in 1911 he reached lunch on the final day on 47* from 50 minutes, which appeared to be merely delaying the inevitable. 40 minutes after the resumption he holed out in the deep – for 189! Those last 142 came out of a last wicket stand of 152 with Bill Riley, which left Sussex grateful to emerge with a draw after they lost a few early wickets in their second innings. This was Alletson’s maiden ton, and it ended up being a first and only for him. Had that innings given his career the boost it should he might well have had the slot I gave to Ernie Robson, but it proved a flash in the pan, and nor was his bowling that impressive overall.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

All Time XIs – Given Name Begins With B

An all time XI of players whose given names begin with B with a lot of honourable mentions, a look at plans for the creation of a new library/ community hub in King’s Lynn and a large photo gallery.

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.

How the new building in New Conduit Street might look.
Floor plans (two pics)
Bricks made fron recycled materials.
Tiles made from recycled materials.
Our current library, a listed building.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Time for my usual sign off…

All Time XIs: ODI From Before the ODI Era

The Men’s ODI World Cup is now underway (I did not get to catch any of the opener between England and New Zealand yesterday – between 9:30AM when I set out on an extended walk to the bus stop to get the bus to Fakenham before work and 8:25PM when I got home from an evening talk at The Globe Hotel in central King’s Lynn I was at home for less than 20 minutes, in between the two events, though the evidence is pretty conclusive that England either batted badly, bowled badly, or weren’t good enough in either department), with The Netherlands giving a decent account of themselves against Pakistan today. I am marking the start of the tournament with an ODI XI made up exclusively of players who played before ODIs were a thing (I have slightly cheated with one player, who made a duck in his only ODI appearance).

A FURTHER OUTLINE OF THE BRIEF

ODIs are different from T20Is and other very short form games. While the emphasis is still on fast scoring it is also necessary to be able score genuinely big runs to do well in ODIs, whereas a collection of lightning fast 20s, 30s and 40s will do very nicely in T20. Thus, at least at the top of the order one cannot simply select super fast scorers with no regard for the size of their scores.

THE XI IN BATTING ORDER

  1. Bert Sutcliffe (New Zealand, left handed opening batter). The possessor of the two highest FC innings ever played in New Zealand (385 and 355), and noted for the speed of his scoring – that 385 came in a total of 500 all out, and the opponents, Canterbury, managed only 382 off the bat in their two innings combined. One account I have read of that innings said that he “dominated the Canterbury bowlers and dominated his partners”.
  2. Victor Trumper (Australia, right handed opening batter). At Old Trafford in 1902, knowing that Bill Lockwood would be dangerous once the pitch and the run up area had dried sufficiently for him to be risked, Trumper scored a hundred before lunch on the opening day, by which time Australia were 173-1. Lockwood was indeed difficult after lunch, and even with Joe Darling smashing a rapid half century by way of a counter Australia only managed 299. They won the match by three runs, after England had reached 92-3 in pursuit of 124 in the final innings and then collapsed, and with that victory secured retention of The Ashes.
  3. Charles Macartney (Australia, right handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner). Against Nottinghamshire in 1921 he scored 345 in less than four hours at the crease, still the highest score by a member of an Australian touring party in England. Five years later at Headingley, after Warren Bardsley fell to the first ball of the match, he emulated Trumper’s 1902 feat of having a century on the board by lunch on the first day of a test match. His bowling feats included a ten-wicket match haul in a test match.
  4. Graeme Pollock (South Africa, left handed batter). One of the greatest batters ever to play the game, and known for seriously rapid scoring.
  5. Garry Sobers (Nottinghamshire, West Indies, left handed batter, left arm bowler of every type known to cricket). The most complete player ever to player to play the game.
  6. +Les Ames (Kent, England, right handed batter, wicket keeper). Over 1,100 FC dismissals, including an all time record 418 stumpings, and over 100 FC hundreds, 75 of which were scored while in possession of the gauntlets (at the start of his career he had to wait for John Hubble to retire before getting the keeping gig, and lumbago in the later stages of his career meant that he had to yield the gloves to a young Godfrey Evans. He twice won the Lawrence trophy for the fastest FC century and once when Kent were set 219 to win in 90 minutes Frank Woolley was asked if they could do it and replied “yes, if Les fires”. Les did fire on that occasion, and with Woolley himself also contributing handsomely Kent achieved their outlandish chase.
  7. *Gilbert Jessop (Gloucestershire, England, right handed batter, right arm fast bowler, captain). The holder of the record for the fastest test century ever scored for England, a record he has held since 1902 (it has been challenged a couple of times recently, but stands for the moment). In FC cricket he scored the second and third fastest hundreds ever made against serious bowling (i.e not bowlers who were giving runs away in an effort to induce a declaration), in 40 and 42 minutes respectively. The latter became the fastest ever FC 150 (63 minutes) as well, and ended in a score of 191 in 90 minutes. He was also a useful fast bowler, habitually taking the new ball for his county, and a gun fielder.
  8. Alan Davidson (Australia, left arm fast bowler, occasional left arm orthodox spin bowler, left handed batter). 186 test wickets at 20.53, a test match HS of 80 (in test cricket’s first ever tie – his four contributions being 5-135, 44, 6-87, 80). He was also a brilliant fielder, nicknamed ‘the claw’ on account of his ability to hold barely believable catches.
  9. Billy Bates (Yorkshire, England, off spinner, right handed batter). A superb all rounder, the first ever to score a 50 and take a 10 wicket haul in the same test match. He was also extremely economical as a bowler, on one occasion bowling a spell of 17 (four ball) overs from which just eight runs accrued.
  10. Alfred Shaw (Nottinghamshire, Sussex, England, right arm medium, right arm slow bowler, right handed batter). Possibly the most economical bowler ever to play the game – he bowled more FC overs than he conceded runs. He took just over 2,000 FC wickets at 12 a piece, including 186 at 8.54 in his best season.
  11. Sydney Barnes (Warwickshire, Lancashire, England, right arm fast medoiujm bowler, right handed batter). 189 wickets in just 27 test matches at 16.43. Although he fared a lot better against South Africa, who were often fairly hapless with the bat than he did against Australia, his record against the latter was still mighty fine – 106 wickets in 20 appearances, 77 of those wickets in 13 matches down under. Although his position at number 11 is justified he did once produce a crucial 38* in a test match, helping the last wickets to score the 73 needed for England to win.

This side has massive batting depth – even Barnes at number 11 was far from being a bunny, while there are seven top line batters, and two bowling all rounders at eight and nine. The bowling, with Barnes, Davidson, Shaw, Bates, Jessop, Macartney and Sobers is similarly replete with both depth and variety.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

There are far too many of these for a full listing, and many would fully justify places in this XI. I particularly regretted not being able to accommodate leg spinning all rounder Percy Fender. I look forward to seeing reader suggestions.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

The next few pictures were taken inside The Globe Hotel.

England Women’s Squads For Upcoming Series Against Sri Lanka

A look at the England Women’s squads for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and a huge photo gallery.

This post looks at the England Women’s Squads for the ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka.

THE SQUADS

These are the squads courtesy of the cricket section of the BBC website:

T20: Heather Knight (captain), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Lauren Filer, Mahika Gaur, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Issy Wong, Danielle Wyatt.

ODI: Heather Knight (captain) Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Lauren Filer, Mahika Gaur, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Nat Sciver-Brunt.

THOUGHTS ON THE SQUADS

Sophie Ecclestone is being rested for these series on grounds of workload management, which is also why Nat Sciver-Brunt is only playing the ODI series. Beaumont in spite of her recent record breaking innings in The Hundred remains out of favour in T20Is. Among the inclusions the biggest news is the presence in both squads of Mahika Gaur, a 17 year old pace bowler. The T20I squad offers the possibility of all three of Gaur, Lauren Filer and Issy Wong playing together which would be quite something. There is also a maiden call up for Bess Heath, a 21 year old wicket keeper who will be second in line behind Amy Jones. I am not a fan of this particular selection – I would have preferred to see Rhianna Southby or Eleanor Threlkeld got this spot. Overall I am happy enough with these selections, and I am confident that England can win both series.

PHOTOGRAPHS

I have a large photo gallery to finish with…

This sequence of pictures illustrate amply why I have dubbed this structure “Cormorant Platform”.

Lake District 2023: Birds of Windermere

A look at the bird life in and around England’s largest lake as part of my series about my holiday in the Lake District.

Welcome to the latest instalment in my series about my holiday in the Lake District. In this post I focus on the bird life in and around Windermere, of which there is a considerable quantity.

BIRDS OF MANY TYPES AND SIZES

As well as expected water birds (swans, ducks, geese, gulls, terns etc) there were also species that live close to the shores of the lake, including pied wagtails. I have also included in this post a few birds seen a little further from the waters edge.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Three Little Snippets

Exactly what the title suggests!

Just a brief post to remind people of my existence. I shall follow my title precisely…

ONE: HEARING AID

Ten days ago I was fitted with a hearing aid. I have had to change the batteries once (this is in keeping with the advice I was given that these batteries, which are specially made for use with hearing aids, and can be obtained free of charge either at the hospital or at the West Norfolk Deaf Association have a lifespan of approximately one week.

TWO: A MASSIVE AUCTION

A longstanding client of James and Sons is selling his collection. He was a bulk collector of stamps, postal history and first day covers. Yesterday I began the process of imaging these items, which will be going under the hammer in April. Even selling the stuff by the box/ crate, with no small lots, it will be a two day sale. Here are some samples from yesterday…

Lot 396 (I extracted the close ups above at home from this image).

UNUSUAL BIRD SIGHTING

This is today’s sign off – I was out walking earlier (it is sunny today in King’s Lynn, though still cold enough to warrant a coat), and I saw a Little Egret in Bawsey Drain, not very far from my house…

These five images show the Egret

TEST XI AND 12TH MAN – ONE PLAYER FROM EACH NATION

Responding to an entertaining challenge thrown down by cric blog to name a test XI and 12th man featuring one current player from each of the 12 test playing nations. Also features some photographs.

This post was inspired by a challenge tweeted by @cric_blog:

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I responded on twitter, but there is a limit to how much detail one can go into there, so I am now putting up a blog post to provide a fuller explanation of my thoughts (I thank CricBlog for setting a tough but fun challenge and inspiring me to create a blog post – a combination of an English late autumn/ winter and lock down is not exactly ideal for providing inspiration!).

SELECTION ISSUES

The 12 test playing nations are: Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe. Some of these nations have many current greats to choose from, others have very few players to merit consideration. I also wished as far as possible to pick players in appropriate places in the batting order and to have a properly balanced side.

THE SQUAD FROM 1-12

  1. Dominic Sibley (England) – an opening batter who knows how to bat for a long time. He has impressed considerably since his selection for England, which was earned the old fashioned way by scoring shedloads for his county.
  2. Babar Azam (Pakistan) – he often bats no3 in long form cricket, but he can also open, his class is unquestionable, and his attacking inclinations make him a suitable partner for the solid Sibley.
  3. Kane Williamson (New Zealand) – one of the finest long form batters the game has ever seen, and certainly in the top handful of contemporary batters whatever the format.
  4. Virat Kohli (India) – Another all time great.
  5. Angelo Matthews (Sri Lanka) – Averages 45 with the bat and is also a potential sixth bowler with his medium pace. Sri Lanka are not especially strong at the moment, limiting one’s options in terms of selecting a team of this nature.
  6. +Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh) – A fine wicket keeper and worth his place as a middle order batter as well, the little Bangladeshi can be counted as one of two genuine all rounders in the XI.
  7. *Jason Holder (West Indies) – lower middle order batter, quick bowler and captain. He has a test double century to his name and has also taken some major wicket hauls, including a six-for to start the first test series of the 2020 English season. Although the West Indies ended up losing that series I was overall impressed by Holder’s captaincy and had little hesitation over giving him that role in this team. As an aside, England owe the Windies big time for this summer and should have reciprocal tours of that part of the world high on their priority list.
  8. Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) – an outstanding leg spinner and a useful lower order batter, he was the easiest selection of all for this squad, so far above his compatriots does he stand.
  9. Mark Adair (Ireland) – pace bowler, useful lower order batter (he averages over 25 in first class cricket). He was impressive with the ball at Lord’s in 2019, his only test to date.
  10. Kagiso Rabada (South Africa) – pace bowler. The quickest bowler in the squad, and the best of the three pace bowlers I have named.
  11. Nathan Lyon (Australia) – the best current off spinner (only Murali among off spinners I have seen in action ranks as an unquestionably better bowler – sorry Swanny), and a suitable ‘spin twin’ for Rashid Khan.
  12. Brendon Taylor (Zimbabwe) – Zimbabwe has few stand out names at present, but as a 12th man a wicket keeper who is also a good enough willow wielder to average 35 in test cricket is a pretty decent option.

THE TEAM ANALYSED

This team has a well matched opening pair, an outstanding no 3 and 4, a no 5 who has a very respectable record, an excellent keeper/batter, and Holder filling the all rounders slot at seven. The bowling line up, with Rabada taking the new ball alongside Holder or Adair, a third high class pacer and two outstanding and contrasting spinners in Rashid Khan and Nathan Lyon is also formidable. I would fully expect this team to give a good account of itself in any conditions. For more about my ideas on selection policies and team balance you can look at my ‘All Time XIs‘ series and/or at my ‘100 cricketers‘ series.

EXTENDING THE CHALLENGE

Please feel free to use the comments to indicate your own selections, sticking to the brief of one player per test playing nation. Those who fancy a really serious challenge are invited to pick a XII on similar lines to go up against mine (without thinking too hard I can identify nos 4, 5, 6 (or 4, 5, 7 or 4,6, 7) and 11 of such a combination and would be interested to see if these names feature).

PHOTOGRAPHS

I finish this post with some photographs (to view an image at full size please click on it):

All Time XIs – Surrey

My all-time Surrey XI, as I find ways to make up for the absence of live cricket.

INTRODUCTION

Since there will be no cricket, or any other sport come to that, for a while I am going to fill the void by playing selector for a few all-time squads. Since I grew up in south London I will start with Surrey.

MY SURREY XI EXPLAINED

  1. Jack Hobbs – more first class runs and more first class hundreds than anyone else, also still has the England record for Ashes runs – 3,636 of them, including another record, 12 centuries in those matches. He was also a more than handy bowler of medium pace and a brilliant fielder at cover point. His claim to an opening slot is unanswerable.
  2. John Edrich – the left hander was one of three strong contenders for this slot, and both of the other two, Andrew Sandham and Tom Hayward, actually did open the innings with Hobbs, but although I see the value of picking an existing partnership, Edrich’s left handedness creates an extra problem for the fielding side to contend with, and for me that is the crucial factor.
  3. Ken Barrington – finding big run scorers associated with Surrey is not difficult, but what sets Barrington apart (and no 3 is has natural position) is that he was even more of a heavy scorer at test level (average 58.67).
  4. Graham Thorpe – that rara avis an English middle order batter from the 1990s with a record to boast about. A century on debut against Australia and an average in the mid 40s maintained through precisely 100 test caps tells its own story about his consistency.
  5. Peter May – In what was an overall low scoring decade (the 1950s) he maintained a test average of 46.77, and was also highly prolific for his county.
  6. +Alec Stewart – in spite of the fact that doing so loses some of the brilliance of Stewart the batter I name him as keeper for the sake of the balance of the side. The leading scorer of test runs in the 1990s, and a very able keeper. Given the top five he would very likely be coming in with free rein to play his strokes.
  7. *Percy Fender – a fine all-rounder, a highly respected captain who many felt should have had the England job and precisely the right kind of person to be batting no 7 in a strong team – he holds the record (35 minutes) for the fastest century against genuinely first class bowling.#
  8. Alec Bedser – a man who in the period immediately after World War two was not just the spearhead, but pretty much the entire spear of England’s bowling attack, and the first to take 200 wickets for England.
  9. Jim Laker – probably the finest of all orthodox offspinners, and for Surrey he was frequently more successful away than at home (in each of seasons 1955, 1956 and 1957 this applied to name but three).
  10. Tony Lock – the other half of the great spin pairing of the 1950s, a slow left-armer.
  11. Tom Richardson – a fast bowler who took more wickets for Surrey than any other bowler in their history. His 1,000th first class wicket came in his 134th first class match, and his 2,000th in his 327th.

This team consists of an awesome top five, a batter-keeper at six, an all-rounder and four frontline bowlers. There are two left handers among the top batters, and the bowling contains the new ball pair of Richardson and Bedser, an offspinner, a slow left armer and a leg spinner (Fender), plus Hobbs’ medium pace if required. I have not included an overseas player, but if mandated to do so I would bring in Waqar Younis in place of Richardson.

George Lohmann (definitely in an all-time Surrey tour party as cover for Bedser), Martin Bicknell, Bill Lockwood and Alf Gover all merit consideration as bowlers, while other than the openers I could not accommodate Douglas Jardine and Eric Bedser were two of the better batters to miss out. Mark Ramprakash did not come into my calculations because his record at the highest level was ordinary, and the bulk of his runs for Surrey came while they were in division 2 and not up against the strongest bowling attacks.

PHOTOGRAPHS

 

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I am rationoing my photographs at the moment because I cannot be sure of getting opportunities to take more in the immediate future.

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England Lose Twice In Under 24 Hours

Accounts of the Rugby World Cup Final, a WBBL T20 and England’s 2nd T20I v New Zealand. Also lots of photographs.

INTRODUCTION

Most of my readers will be aware of what happened in Yokohama yesterday morning, but that was not the only fixture involving an England team this weekend, and before sharing some photographs I mention both matches.

ENGLAND RUGBY TEAM HAMMERED

England went into the men’s Rugby World Cup final as favourites, having downed the mighty All Blacks in the semi-final. I was listening to commentary on the Women’s Bag Bash League game while keeping an eye on developments in the Rugby. The best it got for England was when they were briefly level at 6-6. Thereafter South Africa were utterly dominant, the two tries they ran in near the end merely making the scoreline a realistic reflection of that dominance. The WBBL game was excellent. The victorious Melbourne Stars had spinners bowl 12 of their 20 overs, and those 12 overs went for a mere 51 between them. Lizelle Lee scored an astonishing century for the Stars to give them a very respectable total, which their bowlers as described above defended.

NEW ZEALAND LEVEL T20 SERIES

England won the first match of the five game T20 series in New Zealand, but the hosts struck back in the small hours of the morning GB time. Worcestershire’s Pat Brown got slapped for 32 off just two overs, while Lewis Gregory who mysteriously also only got two overs started his international bowling career by knocking a stump back with his very first delivery and finished with 1-10. England were not up with the rate at any point of the chase, and when their final wicket fell to the penultimate ball of the game the margin was 21 runs (substantial in this form of the game). Chris Jordan had a fine match for England, with 3-25 and then 36 off 19 balls (second top England score behind Dawid Malan with 39). Saqib Mahmood, picked without the domestic figures to suggest international quality, had 1-46 from his four overs, a very poor showing.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off (features a couple of spider pics near the end)…

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The “Impossipuzzle” – merely difficult when an autistic person who enjoys puzzles takes it on (total completion time aprrox three hours).

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At the autism friendly social group, King’s Lynn Library, next two sessions Wednesday November 13 and Monday November 25.

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Ths puzzle was much easier than the other featured here. Can you spot what is wrong with the track arrangement that forms a border?)…

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…As shown trains can get on to the circle of track but not off it.

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Spotted while out and about today, a small hedgehog near the Gaywood River (three pics)

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