I don't even want to mention this one's name. I kind of feel like another searchable voice on the Internet saying how sad it is isn't what he wants, nor deserves.
I've been working through Trescothick's biography and was struck by these lines:
'Sometimes, watching from the other end, he would amaze you by doing things you never saw coming. He would shape to leave the ball, then, with hands as quick as a cobra's strike, blast it through midwicket for four. Why Dermot (Reeve, then Somerset coach) wanted to change his technique I'll never know, but that was the beginning of the end.'
There's little for me to say, other than that I've read and heard rather more than I saw. The stories suggest he really was destined to be one of the all-time greats. In the Ian Botham Stand they thought he was the best they'd ever seen. And some of them had seen Richards.
The stories also suggest the seeds of failure were always there. Atherton recounts walking out with him on his debut and the crowd cheering - he said 'That's the noise they'll make when you come back with a hundred,' and his response was 'They won't if I make 0.' To Atherton it's very telling. I guess it was, but then he failed. I think more than anything he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A few years later and he and Trescothick would have opened for county and country - I have no doubt.
This is where it all ended.
Actually it was a recent chat in the curry house that lead me to that story. I played in that league briefly when I was 16. The standard was incredibly varied. One moment you'd face some geriatric, the next Stuart MacGill was bowling (admittedly that's a somewhat extreme example - fuck knows why he decided to play there. And yes since you ask, I faced one over and didn't get near a single ball). It was pretty tough, basically - the pitches were a bit crap for a start.
92.75! Ridiculous....and sad, I guess. I hope he's happy.
I've been working through Trescothick's biography and was struck by these lines:
'Sometimes, watching from the other end, he would amaze you by doing things you never saw coming. He would shape to leave the ball, then, with hands as quick as a cobra's strike, blast it through midwicket for four. Why Dermot (Reeve, then Somerset coach) wanted to change his technique I'll never know, but that was the beginning of the end.'
There's little for me to say, other than that I've read and heard rather more than I saw. The stories suggest he really was destined to be one of the all-time greats. In the Ian Botham Stand they thought he was the best they'd ever seen. And some of them had seen Richards.
The stories also suggest the seeds of failure were always there. Atherton recounts walking out with him on his debut and the crowd cheering - he said 'That's the noise they'll make when you come back with a hundred,' and his response was 'They won't if I make 0.' To Atherton it's very telling. I guess it was, but then he failed. I think more than anything he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A few years later and he and Trescothick would have opened for county and country - I have no doubt.
This is where it all ended.
Actually it was a recent chat in the curry house that lead me to that story. I played in that league briefly when I was 16. The standard was incredibly varied. One moment you'd face some geriatric, the next Stuart MacGill was bowling (admittedly that's a somewhat extreme example - fuck knows why he decided to play there. And yes since you ask, I faced one over and didn't get near a single ball). It was pretty tough, basically - the pitches were a bit crap for a start.
92.75! Ridiculous....and sad, I guess. I hope he's happy.
Yes, anyone who was around Taunton (or Bath, where he made 206 in the game in which Tres made his maiden ton) in Lathwell's heyday will tell you he was one of the best natural timers of the ball they've ever seen. He really was gifted.
ReplyDeleteAnd he's back playing this season, keeping his son company in Braunton seconds. 20-odd and three cheap wickets last week.
Excellent! Glad he's still playing.
ReplyDelete