Streetwise
Banned
Close would have been around 44-45 in that match and playing his first test series for 9 years. This is just information.
Edit: He was over 45yrs old.
Edit: He was over 45yrs old.
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Hardest ever player
- Thread starter The_roc
- Start date
Son Of Coco
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Wasn't really missing the point SJS, just commenting on the fact that it looked like he nearly had his head taken off. Close didn't look like he comfortably left that particular short ball, although if he wasn't watching it then he probably would have been killed.It wasn't the first time Close was facing a barage from a fast bowler and he NEVER got out of the way.
To say that he "only just" got his head out of the way, is to miss the point. Firstly, it is the best way to leave the bouncer-to see where it is coming and then get out of the way. Otherwise you duck like, say Yuvraj, and find the ball was going where you took your head anyway.
I do not know if you watched Gavaskar batting. He was a master at it. He would just sway slightly out of the way at the very last moment and allow the ball to p[ass inches from his face and he faced real fast bowlers and opened the innings and almost never got hit.
Of course there is a difference between Gavaskar and Close in class and that is why we say Close is the "toughest" nut to crack. Inspite of his limitations as a batsman he went right behind the ball, as the greatest players of fast bowling would, and then tried getting out of the way. He did not always manage to succeed and has had some fearsome blows in his long career but then that is what we are discussing, right ?
I didn't go into discussing Close's toughness (and certainly wasn't doubting it), I think that's evident in a couple of hits he took. Saw him get hit in an area I'd rather avoid getting hit myself, and while he didn't go to ground the discomfort was obvious
Personally, I would've been in tears, chewing on one of the stumps to numb the pain.
SJS
Hall of Fame Member
There is a very interesting bit in his autobiography about an earlier barrage he faced from Hall and Griffith in 1963 at Lord's. Close was making a comeback after two years in the wilderness. Dexter had insisted on having Close in the side (thery weren't great friends but Dexter had respect for him as a cricketer and felt he would be invaluable against the West Indian pace attack.Wasn't really missing the point SJS, just commenting on the fact that it looked like he nearly had his head taken off. Close didn't look like he comfortably left that particular short ball, although if he wasn't watching it then he probably would have been killed.
I didn't go into discussing Close's toughness (and certainly wasn't doubting it), I think that's evident in a couple of hits he took. Saw him get hit in an area I'd rather avoid getting hit myself, and while he didn't go to ground the discomfort was obvious
Personally, I would've been in tears, chewing on one of the stumps to numb the pain.
England lost the first Test by ten wickets- almost by an innings really for West Indies needed to score just 1 run in their second knock. Close scored 30's in both innings batting at number six.
At Lord's in a low scoring match, England needed 234 in the fourth innings to draw level in the series. They lost Edrich, Stewart and Dexter with just 31 on the board. Cowdrey and Barrington took the score to 72 and then Hall hit Cowdrey on his arm and broke it.
In walked Close with England facing defeat and Hall and Griffith breathing fire.
Everybody in both innings had been getting out to balls which flew off the 'ridge' it was liable to shoot through low. Batting, as you might say, was not easy. And then there was Charlie.
In these circumstances, with Hall rather in his element, your first consideration was simply survival. With the ball rearing as it was it required intense concentration to keep the bat and hands out of the way of balls which flew - and there were plenty of them. In the first innings I had ht Wes for a cover-driven four and he had given me a stare. We both knew what was coming next and I got into position for a bouncer. Sure enough it came but it came at a speed which was shattering, climbing like lightening. I was going through the hook when I realised, "You'll never get there in time." And then, as a terrifying after thought, "God, it's coming straight between my eyes."
I swayed my head away. I'll never know how I got my head out of the line in time but I felt the ball tug at my right eyebrow as it went on and up, over Derryk Murray's head to land far, far behind the wicket keeper. That was Wes Hall on a wicket with pace bounce and the ridge. At the other end was Charlie. We had problems.
As if they weren't enough... there were several interruptions for rain and bad light with the result that the batsmen had no time to settle in whilst Wes and Charlie could have a rest and come roaring at us again.
For a time I batted with Barrington who was so often glorified as England's saviour in Tests. He didn't like it much in this one. He backed away, swished at air, carved over the slips and I said to Sid Buller, the umpire, "If I batted as badly as Ken is doing now I'd never play for England again."
But he stayed on to get 60, somehow or other, and when he was out we were 130 for four. A win was still on but the difficulty of scoring runs, plus the interruptions made it a tall order. After tea we were not just fighting the opposition but the clock as well. Something had to be done.
I decided to upset Wes.
Now walking down the pitch to him may have looked a bit dramatic but it wasn't unthinking bravado. Far from it. By getting a long way down I was countering to some extent the effect of the ridge but even more important, I made Wes lose his rag.
In he came all power and fury, and just as he was getting into his delivery stride he saw me coming towards him. His eyes popped like chapel hat-pegs. He screamed to a halt, clutching his back and groaning. It took a lot of consoling and coaxing from Frankie Worrell to get him back at the end of that long, long run and start all over again.
I had won the round. After that he wasn't quite the same. He was looking out for me coming at him. His line and length suffered. He was still fast and he was hostile. Only an idiot would imagine that it was going to be easy even after that. I was hit. I was hit a lot of times. And there was still Charlie lurking around, awaiting his recall. But I scored runs and kept on scoring them until a glance at the clock told me we had about 18 minutes to get 16 to win.
Jim Parks had come and gone for 17. Freddie Titmus for 11 and Freddie Trueman for none. David Alan was with me, doing a fine job of keeping an end propped up. I couldn't expect him to get runs. He was doing enough by simply being there. Cowdrey had a broken arm and I didn't know if he could come out to bat or not. That left only Shack.
I had to get those runs.
Eighteen minutes would give us four overs at most at their bowling rate, probably only three. And here comes Charlie now.
During the whole of that series, whenever a stand seemed like developing, on would come C C Griffith to break it. It happened again and again. Still, I had coped with him that afternoon and could do it again. What I had to concentrate on now was where to score those 16 runs.
Worrell was one of the most astute captains so I had to out-think him as well. I had to break up the pattern of the bowling and find gaps in the field. Most of the fielders were back when I had the strike and it wasn't going to be easy to score four runs an over specially as I had to shield Allan from as much of the bowling as possible.
I noticed that Rohan Kanhai, who was at mid-wicket, came in a long way to cut off the single so that decided me. If I could pass him as he moved in and get a four through there we could push for the rest.
In came Charlie Griffith from the Nursery End, the same casual, easy run up, and then suddenly it was the bouncer. Not only that, but it came up the hill as well, like an off-spinner. . . a very, very fast, bouncing off-spinner. I'd set my body in line with the ball so that if I missed it, it would hit my body. I hadn't reckoned for the movement up the slope. The ball just caught the bottom edge and squeezed through between my arm and my body as it screamed up. Murray took the catch standing twenty yards back and I was out for 70.
Of course the ball was thrown. No one on earth could have bowled at that speed from that approach. We managed a draw .... but at least I wasn't an irresponsible idiot in the eyes of most cricket writers... not that time.
In these circumstances, with Hall rather in his element, your first consideration was simply survival. With the ball rearing as it was it required intense concentration to keep the bat and hands out of the way of balls which flew - and there were plenty of them. In the first innings I had ht Wes for a cover-driven four and he had given me a stare. We both knew what was coming next and I got into position for a bouncer. Sure enough it came but it came at a speed which was shattering, climbing like lightening. I was going through the hook when I realised, "You'll never get there in time." And then, as a terrifying after thought, "God, it's coming straight between my eyes."
I swayed my head away. I'll never know how I got my head out of the line in time but I felt the ball tug at my right eyebrow as it went on and up, over Derryk Murray's head to land far, far behind the wicket keeper. That was Wes Hall on a wicket with pace bounce and the ridge. At the other end was Charlie. We had problems.
As if they weren't enough... there were several interruptions for rain and bad light with the result that the batsmen had no time to settle in whilst Wes and Charlie could have a rest and come roaring at us again.
For a time I batted with Barrington who was so often glorified as England's saviour in Tests. He didn't like it much in this one. He backed away, swished at air, carved over the slips and I said to Sid Buller, the umpire, "If I batted as badly as Ken is doing now I'd never play for England again."
But he stayed on to get 60, somehow or other, and when he was out we were 130 for four. A win was still on but the difficulty of scoring runs, plus the interruptions made it a tall order. After tea we were not just fighting the opposition but the clock as well. Something had to be done.
I decided to upset Wes.
Now walking down the pitch to him may have looked a bit dramatic but it wasn't unthinking bravado. Far from it. By getting a long way down I was countering to some extent the effect of the ridge but even more important, I made Wes lose his rag.
In he came all power and fury, and just as he was getting into his delivery stride he saw me coming towards him. His eyes popped like chapel hat-pegs. He screamed to a halt, clutching his back and groaning. It took a lot of consoling and coaxing from Frankie Worrell to get him back at the end of that long, long run and start all over again.
I had won the round. After that he wasn't quite the same. He was looking out for me coming at him. His line and length suffered. He was still fast and he was hostile. Only an idiot would imagine that it was going to be easy even after that. I was hit. I was hit a lot of times. And there was still Charlie lurking around, awaiting his recall. But I scored runs and kept on scoring them until a glance at the clock told me we had about 18 minutes to get 16 to win.
Jim Parks had come and gone for 17. Freddie Titmus for 11 and Freddie Trueman for none. David Alan was with me, doing a fine job of keeping an end propped up. I couldn't expect him to get runs. He was doing enough by simply being there. Cowdrey had a broken arm and I didn't know if he could come out to bat or not. That left only Shack.
I had to get those runs.
Eighteen minutes would give us four overs at most at their bowling rate, probably only three. And here comes Charlie now.
During the whole of that series, whenever a stand seemed like developing, on would come C C Griffith to break it. It happened again and again. Still, I had coped with him that afternoon and could do it again. What I had to concentrate on now was where to score those 16 runs.
Worrell was one of the most astute captains so I had to out-think him as well. I had to break up the pattern of the bowling and find gaps in the field. Most of the fielders were back when I had the strike and it wasn't going to be easy to score four runs an over specially as I had to shield Allan from as much of the bowling as possible.
I noticed that Rohan Kanhai, who was at mid-wicket, came in a long way to cut off the single so that decided me. If I could pass him as he moved in and get a four through there we could push for the rest.
In came Charlie Griffith from the Nursery End, the same casual, easy run up, and then suddenly it was the bouncer. Not only that, but it came up the hill as well, like an off-spinner. . . a very, very fast, bouncing off-spinner. I'd set my body in line with the ball so that if I missed it, it would hit my body. I hadn't reckoned for the movement up the slope. The ball just caught the bottom edge and squeezed through between my arm and my body as it screamed up. Murray took the catch standing twenty yards back and I was out for 70.
Of course the ball was thrown. No one on earth could have bowled at that speed from that approach. We managed a draw .... but at least I wasn't an irresponsible idiot in the eyes of most cricket writers... not that time.
archie mac
International Coach
Archer
bagapath
International Captain
i am a big big fan of allan border's for his never say die spirit. he is a major inspiration for me every time i feel down and out.
he never once threw a game away in his 16 year career. opponents had to win by playing better than him each time they faced border. AB didn't believe in shortcuts. he didn't encourage politics. he made the best use of his talents. he was certainly the best batsman, skipper and team man he could be.
he never once threw a game away in his 16 year career. opponents had to win by playing better than him each time they faced border. AB didn't believe in shortcuts. he didn't encourage politics. he made the best use of his talents. he was certainly the best batsman, skipper and team man he could be.
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