Of History & Of Legend

History has its truth, and so has Legend.

Legendary truth is of another nature than Historical truth.

Legendary truth is invention whose result is reality.

But, History and Legend have the same goal; to depict eternal man beneath momentary man.

Quatre vingt treize by Victor Hugo

Hi everyone!

Season 2017 should have started with my first Day at the Cricket being on Thursday 30 March  for Cambridge University v Nottinghamshire at Fenners.

But as Harold Macmillan (may have) famously said: " Events, dear boy, Events". And it was one such Event that meant at very short notice I  had to be in Newcastle on business on the 30th.

A disappointment, partly because it was the one time I was planning to watch Nottinghamshire as part of watching all 18 Counties this Season. Re-planning is underway !

And it was also disappointing as I haven't been to Fenners since 1974. 

So many memories of regularly watching cricket there in the early 1970's...

A mere 44 years ago & within a  couple of weeks of  my 21^st birthday I was there with the Young Man – our friendship by then already stretching back over 15 years & now well over 60 years - sitting on the grass on the extra cover / midwicket boundary on the Glisson Road side of the ground for all three days of Combined Universities v New Zealand, chatting to & sharing an orange with the NZ bowler Dick Collinge.

The Young Man remembers EW ‘Jim’ Swanton, Cricket Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph from 1946 to 1975, sitting outside the Pavilion, resting his eyes in the afternoon sun after a really rather decent lunch !

I’ll be writing a blog about Jim later in the season.

For now, let me tell you what former England Captain Ray Illingworth said about Jim:

"Being such a Snob, Jim doesn't even travel in the same car as his Chauffeur."

As for the game itself, it was one of the most exciting I’ve ever, ever seen.

NZ scored 250 and the Universities replied with 299.

With NZ getting 259 for 7 declared in their 2^nd innings, the Universities were set 211 to win.

By very last ball on the third & final afternoon the Universities required 4 to win with NZ needing to take one final wicket.

It ended honours shared with the Home team finishing on 207 for 9.

The Universities were well captained by Phillipe-Henri ‘Phil’ Edmonds, who went on to play for England in over 50 Test matches.

Many a tale to tell about Phil ...

You might like the one about the tour to India in 1984/85. England were playing India  in Calcutta. With the hosts playing at a snail's pace towards an inevitable draw, Phil, who was fielding at square leg, produced a copy of the Daily Telegraph and proceeded to read it!

And, of course, there are Phil’s then wife Frances’s wonderful, wonderful books about being on tour with England in the mid 1980’s. 

Two of the wittiest, most incisive books ever written about cricket:

Who can ever forget what she wrote about - without naming about him - England’s Great All Rounder of the 1970s and ‘80s?

I have always been physically afraid of people whose body weight in kilos

 is numerically higher than their IQ.

Once he’d had the 'Rithmetic explained to him, the Boy from Bucklers Mead Comprehensive wasn’t very impressed!

Frances could be equally acerbic about Phil:

Reputation for being awkward & arrogant, 
probably because he is awkward & arrogant.

Works hard at trying to be controversial & iconoclastic, 
but basically a pillar of the Establishment.

Editor:

Lord Ric & Phillipe-Henri share the same educational establishments in The Skinners’ School, Tunbridge Wells & Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

Beyond that I am unable to comment on what other – if any – characteristics they share!

But, notwithstanding Phil’s many & varied talents – including making £20 million in three days in 2005 from his investment in White Nile -  looking back over four decades to the match at Fenners the Universities player who very much took the eye was the No.4.

He top scored in the 1^st innings with 73 and then again with 88 in the 2^nd. As well as taking 7 for 146 in the match.

Many a blog written and many a tale told about Sussex Legends, not least two from the 1950’s & ’60’s:

Young Jim & Lord Ted

But today it is time to speak of a Sussex player from the 1970’s & ‘80’s, a Prince amongst Men, for the No.4 for the Combined Universities is the Legend who is Imran Khan.

Legends’ Lane, Hove

Born in 1952 in Lahore, Pakistan & educated at Worcester RGS & Keble College, Oxford, Imran was a registered Worcestershire player when I first saw him play. But from 1977 to 1988 he was a Sussex player & it was at Hove where another Sussex Legend, John Snow,  assisted Imran in turning his left shoulder more towards fine leg, to help achieve the out-swinger & become a technically competent fast bowler.

Never in doubt that Imran & Snowy open the bowling in my Sussex All Time Dream XI !

Of course, when it comes to Sporting Legends everyone has their favourites; and Imran Khan is right up there for me.

Let me tell you why …

To be a Legend you must have Performance.

In his 88 Tests for Pakistan over the 21 years between 1971 & 1992 Imran scored 3,807 runs at an average of 38 with 362 wickets at 23. He is one of only 8 Test players ever to make 3,000 runs & take 300 wickets and the 2^nd fastest to get there after the Boy from Bucklers Mead Comprehensive, Sir Ian Botham.

Imran captained Pakistan to win the 1992 Cricket World cup, taking the last wicket himself.

Yes, Imran had Performance.

But to be a Legend, Performance on its own won’t be enough; you must also have Panache.

The dictionary defines Panache as: flamboyant confidence of style or manner.

Never more was this characteristic demonstrated than in the Sussex v Middlesex match at Hove over the August Bank Holiday weekend in 1981.

Phil Edmonds, acting captain for Mike "Degree in People" Brearley, won the toss and batted. Middlesex made just 154, with Imran taking 4 for 41 and Garth Le Roux 3 for 32.

With Middlesex’s fastest bowler Wayne Daniel picking up an injury, it was Simon Hughes – these days known as The Analyst and the current editor of The Cricketer magazine - who led the attack. 

Sussex made steady progress, passing Middlesex’s total for the loss of only 5 wickets.

Hughes was loathe to bowl any bouncers for in Imran & Le Roux for Sussex had two ferocious fast bowlers in their ranks.

On one of those boiling hot days you just occasionally get on the South Coast, when Hughes ended a long spell, Imran asked the Middlesex Captain: “May I take my helmet off, now?” Edmonds agreed, and on came the sunhat.

Hard to even begin know why, but Phil decided to irritate Imran. He told Hughes to have just one more over with a couple of Bouncers. Imran was unready for such a ball & he could only fend the ball to gully for an easy catch.

Whilst Hughes took 5 for 94 in his 34 overs, Sussex ended with 252, a lead of 98.

When Middlesex came out in bat, Imran was fired up from the very first ball, taking 6 for 52 in Middlesex’s 157 all out.

Captain Barclay and fellow opener Mendis opened for Sussex, who won easily by 10 wickets.

And the moral of the story?

So, you too want to be a Legend ?

You have Performance and you also have Panache.

So just the one thing left to do: Have you read the Greatest book ever written on Management?

As The Postman always says: It’s all about Delivery !

Can you Deliver when it really, really matters?

Let me finish this blog with the story of Sydney University v North Sydney in 1984.

Whilst in Sydney Imran was staying at The Connaught, overlooking Hyde Park and would drive around town in a red sports car.

Imran’s team Sydney University were defending just 180, with North Sydney making easy work of the run chase.

During the lunch interval Imran left the ground with a Blonde in the red sports car and drove back to The Connaught.

The Connaught, Sydney

The Special on the lunch menu is highly recommended !!

No sign of Imran as the lunch interval ended and so Sydney University had to take to the field with only with 10 men.

At 130 for 3 North Sydney were strolling to victory.

20 minutes into the afternoon session, Imran Khan and the Blonde returned.

Imran ambled on to the field, taking his place down at fine-leg.

As a wicket fell, leaving North Sydney to get a further 30 runs with four wickets remaining, Imran Khan walked up to his captain Mick O’Sullivan, offered no explanation as to why he had been late back from lunch, simply stating: “I will bowl now”.

The match report records:

The long struggle on the second day saw us restricting the run rate but finding it difficult to obtain wickets.

That is until at 2.10pm after a slightly longer than scheduled lunch (for who knows what) Imran’s wonderful words, “Captain, I will bowl now” were uttered.

After a big Imran off cutter hit Graham Spring’s stumps, Greedy Grimble chipped in with Trevor Chappell’s wicket. Two more Imran off cutters for LBWs saw the game turn our way.

Good pressure was maintained and we scraped home by 9 runs. 

Imran’s 4-25 from 23 overs was a high point.

As team member Kerry O’Keeffe’s famously said:

Once Imran got those Balls swinging, he was impossible to play!

I did tell you that Imran Khan was a Legend !!

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TBH, I can’t promise you that Lunchtime with Lord Ric on the deckchairs at the Cromwell Road end will be anywhere near as exciting as Lunchtime with Imran would have been at The Connaught ...

But anyway, why not get a date or three in your diary to watch some cricket with me in Season 2017?

After all ….

Why read a Lord Ric Cricket Blog, when you can be in one. ^©

See you soon!!

Lord Ric of Beckley Furnace

Follow me on Twitter: LordRic52

PS

Can it be that this October Imran will turn 65?

As I edge  - with some sense of trepidation -  towards my own 65^th birthday on 21^st June, I’d like to end with another quote from Victor Hugo:

Whenever a man's friends begin to compliment him about looking young,

he may be sure that they think he is growing old!

Keep the compliments coming !!