Hi everyone!
Bernard, Duke of Norfolk, was a passionate cricket follower, frequently present at Hove, a President of Sussex, President of MCC and eventually individualist manager of overseas tours, including Ted Dexter's England team tour of Australia.
Bernard was not however a fluent run scorer.
In the frequent games he played on his own magnificent ground at Arundel, it was important to give 'one off the mark' to avoid both the Ducal Duck and a dark dark night in the dungeon.
Robin Marlar, Bowling to Dukes
in
Prince Philip: Cricket’s Royal Duke
Recently published by the Sussex Cricket Museum, the booklet is an homage to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died on 9 April 2021, just 62 days before his 100th birthday.
The Duke was a lifelong cricket
fan.
From captaining his school XI at Gordonstoun in the
1930s.
To playing in the 1940s and ‘50s.
Twice being President of the MCC.
Through to his final visit to Lord, on 3 May 2017. On the next day came the announcement that he would not carry out public engagements after the autumn.
The booklet has some tremendous Top Tales.
On that final visit to Lord’s to
open the new Warner Stand, the duke unveiled a plaque, saying:
You are now seeing the world’s most experience plaque-unveiler.
On being asked – aged 95 – if he
would prefer to use the lift for lunch on the top floor of the Stand, his puzzled response was
“No, thank you.”
An article by Roger Packham describes a game in 1949 when the Duke turned for Mersham, a village, near Ashford in Kent.
His bowling that day earned him three wickets for 27
and he memorably clean bowled the Aldington village 'slogger'.
However, the efforts of Prince Philip with the bat were
not successful for he was given out lbw, first ball and was photographed
graciously walking from the wicket.
It is not recorded whether the adjudicating umpire came from Aldington.
We’ve all come up against umpires like that !!
The centre piece of the booklet is the games in 1953 and 1957 at Arundel, where the Duke of Norfolk played host to the Duke of Edinburgh.
The games are described by Robin Marlar, former Captain of Sussex, President of the MCC and Cricket Correspondent of the Sunday Times.
In front of a huge crowd in the 1953
game, batting No.5 the Duke came to the wicket at 101 for 3.
He was soon cleaned bowled by Sussex’s George Cox !
As all good matches should do, the
game went to the last over …
With Alf Gover [Surrey and England] at the crease, there were seven runs
required for victory and it was made clear to the bowler, Robin Marlar, that
Duke Bernard was keen to win the match.
The umpires were 'Tich' Cornford of Sussex and Herbert Strudwick of Surrey, two fantastic former wicket keepers and it was Cornford whose raised finger for an lbw against Gover settled the issue.
Always as well to have the Home Umpire for the last over !
---
Lord Ric’s Recommendation:
This is a wonderful booklet.
If like me, you love cricket from Lord’s to the village green, it is one you will want to own !!
---
In amongst those well-loved stories, there was one personal initiative of the Duke of Edinburgh’s that I was unaware of …
When President of the MCC in 1949 he chaired a special General Meeting of Members which approved the creation of the class of Honorary Cricket membership and to offer it to English [ now worldwide] professionals who had retired from the game.
Take a look at:
https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-club/mcc-honorary-life-members
You’ll find plenty of your Favourite Legends:
Deadly Derek, Knotty & Phil Edmonds …
Did I mention the Sussex Legends, including:
John Barclay, Ian Gould, Imran, Matt Prior, Snowy …
And – you knew he was always going to be there, didn’t
you ??!! … Young Jim !!
It got me thinking about watching
cricket at Arundel … …
Imagine ... The Duke of Norfolk has asked You to watch cricket there, with dinner afterwards at the Castle.
You can bring 11 Guests + 3 Travelling
Reserves.
All must have played for Sussex !!
So here goes with My Sussex Dinner XI:
The oldest: John Wisden (of Wisden’s Almanac fame) was born in 1826.
The youngest: Chris Adams (the most successful
Sussex captain) was born in 1970.
I can definitely say that conversation
will be Lively !!
In a future blog I’ll provide some pen portraits of the
guests
---
Perhaps we will get the Invite from
the Duke …
And perhaps we won't !!
But in any event…
Once the Fixtures for Season 2022 are published, let's get a date in the diary to watch together at Arundel !!
Lord Ric of Beckley Furnace
PS
The blog started with a reference to the Duke of Norfolk being manager of Ted Dexter's England team tour of Australia, back in 1962/63.
Ian Wooldridge of the Daily Mail wrote:
It was the first time that most of us had met the
portly, florid aristocrat...we hardly knew what to expect: he hadn't exactly
sprung to mind as a front-running candidate for the job.
It was
a black-tie affair,
of course, and none of us dared get drunk. Eventually, over the port, the port, the Duke rose,
cleared his throat and delivered himself of a sentence I shall treasure till
the end of my days: "Gentlemen", he said, "I wish this to be an
entirely informal tour. You will merely address me as 'Sir'".
The grand old duke is dead now, alas, but he loved
that tour of Australia more than any other official duty he had ever undertaken
in his auspicious public life...
I could write a whole volume on the Duke Down Under.
I’ll end with my own favourite story about
the Duke.
And his love of horse racing.
It is from Thank You Hermann Goering: The Life of a Sports Writer by Brian Scovell.
Another
classic story was about one of his many visits to race meetings in Australia.
He
was in the paddock one day and noticed that a trainer had slipped something
into the mouth of a horse. As a leading figure in the Jockey Club and the
Queen's representative at Ascot, he said to the trainer, 'What's that you've
given to the horse?"
The trainer said, 'Oh, your Grace, not to worry. It was a lump of sugar. Here,
have one yourself. I'm having one myself.'
The Duke popped the lump of sugar into to his mouth and ate it, and the trainer
did the same.
Just before the start, the trainer was heard giving the jockey his instructions.
'With two furlongs to go,' he said, 'let him go and give him all you've got.
If
anyone passes you after that, it will either be myself or the Duke!'
