bagapath
International Captain
you must tell us about that first hand experience. i am very eager to hear all about it.
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Fast bowler survival - rank the best fast bowlers of all time
- Thread starter stephen
- Start date
robin tumman
Cricket Spectator
Yes!
YES,
My Dad took me to a test match in the late 1950s, and I saw Fred bowl live at Headingley, but I don't remember who it was against.
The next time I saw him was at the Scarborough Festival in the early 1960s - I was a boarder at Scarborough High School for Boys, but I boarded at a small boarding house on North Marine Road - my attic room overlooked the ground.
Better still, Fred came to our shool when I was 15 to do some coaching. He was bowling off spinners to me and I was batting. He walked up the pitch to me, and told me that I would never make a batsman as long as I had a hole in my "arse" - UNLESS I learned to keep a straight bat!
Actually, I was a fast bowler like him, but I didn't have the courage to tell him - or even TALK to him ; he was my hero!
I managed to "bunk" into the ground at Scarborough Festival when he was bowling - it was about 1963 : I sat near the entrance, side-on to the wicket, and I was amazed that when he bowled, I couldn't pick up the ball at all - he was that fast ; and this was at the twilight of his career.
He really WAS the greatest fast bowler who ever drew breath - better than Tyson (though not as fast fast), better than Statham (who was a great bowler), better than the Bedser brothers ; better than Lillee, and all the bowlers before and after.
In later years, when his pace was reduced through age, he could swing the ball both ways, he could cut the ball off the ground both ways, and his change of pace was magnificent - he was the personification of the fast bowler.
I remember when he came to our school, I did eventually pluck up the courage to tell him that I was a fast bowler like him - and he told me that what one needed to be a fast bowler, was strong legs, wide shoulders and a fat arse!
I could only subscribe to the latter - and still do - at 64 years of age!
He was a wonderful man - a TRUE ambassador for the game.
And wouldn't it be great if we had someone like him now - AND Geoff Boycott!
Kind regards,
Robin Tumman.
YES,
My Dad took me to a test match in the late 1950s, and I saw Fred bowl live at Headingley, but I don't remember who it was against.
The next time I saw him was at the Scarborough Festival in the early 1960s - I was a boarder at Scarborough High School for Boys, but I boarded at a small boarding house on North Marine Road - my attic room overlooked the ground.
Better still, Fred came to our shool when I was 15 to do some coaching. He was bowling off spinners to me and I was batting. He walked up the pitch to me, and told me that I would never make a batsman as long as I had a hole in my "arse" - UNLESS I learned to keep a straight bat!
Actually, I was a fast bowler like him, but I didn't have the courage to tell him - or even TALK to him ; he was my hero!
I managed to "bunk" into the ground at Scarborough Festival when he was bowling - it was about 1963 : I sat near the entrance, side-on to the wicket, and I was amazed that when he bowled, I couldn't pick up the ball at all - he was that fast ; and this was at the twilight of his career.
He really WAS the greatest fast bowler who ever drew breath - better than Tyson (though not as fast fast), better than Statham (who was a great bowler), better than the Bedser brothers ; better than Lillee, and all the bowlers before and after.
In later years, when his pace was reduced through age, he could swing the ball both ways, he could cut the ball off the ground both ways, and his change of pace was magnificent - he was the personification of the fast bowler.
I remember when he came to our school, I did eventually pluck up the courage to tell him that I was a fast bowler like him - and he told me that what one needed to be a fast bowler, was strong legs, wide shoulders and a fat arse!
I could only subscribe to the latter - and still do - at 64 years of age!
He was a wonderful man - a TRUE ambassador for the game.
And wouldn't it be great if we had someone like him now - AND Geoff Boycott!
Kind regards,
Robin Tumman.
Agent Nationaux
International Coach
Great story Robin and a pleasure to read your experience at meeting your hero. But we all have our heroes in cricket and wouldn't compromise them for anyone else. 
smash84
The Tiger King
Great story Robin and a pleasure to read your experience at meeting your hero. But we all have our heroes in cricket and wouldn't compromise them for anyone else.
Days of Grace
International Captain
Gough had it covered.
Great story and I hope you can post more. How many test matches have you seen live?
robin tumman
Cricket Spectator
Hi D of G,,,,
I came from a poor family - but my Dad did take me to a couple of tests - I was there when Brian Close, playing aginst the Windies, kept going down the wicket to Hall and Griffiths, and I remember the photo in the paper the next day of his chest covered in ugly black bruises!
I was married at 19 and had 2 kids wihin 18 months, and we were always struggling for money, frankly I preferred playing the game to watching it.
It's only in later life that I've been watching the game.
Sadly, I never saw Geoff Boycott live, but I was at 1 of the tests in 2005 at Lords, when we won the Ashes ; and a few years earlier, I went to Trinidad with a pal to see Harmy destroy the WI in Port of Spain.
I now live in France, so it's a bit costly to get back to the UK just to see a match.
Although I love rugby and football, cricket has been my lifelong passion ; it's the greatest game ever invented.
My Dad had very little to do with his 6 kids - he was always off playing cricket or football - he played cricket right up to his death at 53 in 1963 (I was 15). He was captain and secretary of Clifton Cricket Club in York. They had no home ground, and therefore played all their games away. Sometimes, as a young lad, he'd take me with him - to Scarborough or Whitby - I adored those trips out, because we never went anywhere as a family.
A few years ago, I wrote a poem about the day when he bought me my 1st bat (I was about 6 or 7) - I'll copy and paste it for you here......
My First Cricket Bat.
"Mitchells for Sports" reads the sign at the door,
A Saturday morning in '54,
Hundreds of goodies awaiting enticement,
An overwhelming sense of excitement.
Dad lifts the latch and an old bell rings,
A cornucopia of wonderful things,
The smell of linseed and wax made from bees,
And dreaming of scoring with consummate ease.
"It's the feel", says my Dad, "Not the weight, nor the size",
This singular purchase is opening my eyes,
There are so many pitfalls ; you could make a slip,
The willow, the splice and the length of the grip.
The feeling of pride as we make our way home,
Do you know it's the first time that we'd been alone?
Fifty years later and now I can see,
It wasn't the bat - Dad was out, with ME!
I hope you like it.
Kind regards,
Robin.
,,,,not very many to be honest ; particularly when I was young, because A) I couldn't afford it, and B) I joined the RAF in 1966, and spent 5 years in Berlin, where we played on matting wickets, and I hated them!Gough had it covered.
Great story and I hope you can post more. How many test matches have you seen live?
I came from a poor family - but my Dad did take me to a couple of tests - I was there when Brian Close, playing aginst the Windies, kept going down the wicket to Hall and Griffiths, and I remember the photo in the paper the next day of his chest covered in ugly black bruises!
I was married at 19 and had 2 kids wihin 18 months, and we were always struggling for money, frankly I preferred playing the game to watching it.
It's only in later life that I've been watching the game.
Sadly, I never saw Geoff Boycott live, but I was at 1 of the tests in 2005 at Lords, when we won the Ashes ; and a few years earlier, I went to Trinidad with a pal to see Harmy destroy the WI in Port of Spain.
I now live in France, so it's a bit costly to get back to the UK just to see a match.
Although I love rugby and football, cricket has been my lifelong passion ; it's the greatest game ever invented.
My Dad had very little to do with his 6 kids - he was always off playing cricket or football - he played cricket right up to his death at 53 in 1963 (I was 15). He was captain and secretary of Clifton Cricket Club in York. They had no home ground, and therefore played all their games away. Sometimes, as a young lad, he'd take me with him - to Scarborough or Whitby - I adored those trips out, because we never went anywhere as a family.
A few years ago, I wrote a poem about the day when he bought me my 1st bat (I was about 6 or 7) - I'll copy and paste it for you here......
My First Cricket Bat.
"Mitchells for Sports" reads the sign at the door,
A Saturday morning in '54,
Hundreds of goodies awaiting enticement,
An overwhelming sense of excitement.
Dad lifts the latch and an old bell rings,
A cornucopia of wonderful things,
The smell of linseed and wax made from bees,
And dreaming of scoring with consummate ease.
"It's the feel", says my Dad, "Not the weight, nor the size",
This singular purchase is opening my eyes,
There are so many pitfalls ; you could make a slip,
The willow, the splice and the length of the grip.
The feeling of pride as we make our way home,
Do you know it's the first time that we'd been alone?
Fifty years later and now I can see,
It wasn't the bat - Dad was out, with ME!
I hope you like it.
Kind regards,
Robin.
robin tumman
Cricket Spectator
OH, and BTW....
And how come Boycott doesn't get a place in your England team - which, incidentally, looks 1 bowler short IMO?
Regards,
R.
....although Darren Gough was a fine bowler, you couldn't mention him in the same breath as FST!Gough had it covered.
Great story and I hope you can post more. How many test matches have you seen live?
And how come Boycott doesn't get a place in your England team - which, incidentally, looks 1 bowler short IMO?
Regards,
R.
longtom
School Boy/Girl Captain
robin,
Being somebody who only became aware that a game like cricket exists in his late twenties (and who became an instant convert) I really enjoy your stories a lot. It is really interesting to hear how cricket works and worked on grass root level in different countries.
I am now an umpire in the lower leagues in South Africa so I do get an idea what sacrifices are required to play the game in an increasing economically challenging environment in the 3rd World. You really have to love the game to put up with all this ... and these guys do...
Keep it coming!
Being somebody who only became aware that a game like cricket exists in his late twenties (and who became an instant convert) I really enjoy your stories a lot. It is really interesting to hear how cricket works and worked on grass root level in different countries.
I am now an umpire in the lower leagues in South Africa so I do get an idea what sacrifices are required to play the game in an increasing economically challenging environment in the 3rd World. You really have to love the game to put up with all this ... and these guys do...
Keep it coming!
robin tumman
Cricket Spectator
Dear Tom,robin,
Being somebody who only became aware that a game like cricket exists in his late twenties (and who became an instant convert) I really enjoy your stories a lot. It is really interesting to hear how cricket works and worked on grass root level in different countries.
I am now an umpire in the lower leagues in South Africa so I do get an idea what sacrifices are required to play the game in an increasing economically challenging environment in the 3rd World. You really have to love the game to put up with all this ... and these guys do...
Keep it coming!
I am amazed that anyone can grow up in SA and not become indoctrinated with the game ; given that nearly half of England's current Test team is South African!
The real sad thing in my mind, is how few British schools now still play cricket - when I was a lad growing up in Yorkshire, we were all obsessed with the game. My Dad told me that golf and tennis were for cissies, which is a shame, because I didn't take them up until middle age, and absolutely adored them both.
I remember as a young boy, the cricket season approaching, and from March onwards, my Dad used to oil his bat on a Sunday afternoon, and spend hours bouncing a cricket ball on it to get it into shape for the adventures ahead.
As kids, in summer holidays, I used to arrange private games against the villages around York, and we'd all cycle to the appointed ground, with the minimum of kit, because very few of us had any. I used to "borrow" my Dad's bat, pads and ball as my contribution (he would have thrashed me if he'd found out!), and one of the lads had 2 sets of stumps he "borrowed" from his Dad. We had some fantastic games - 1 of the lads had "nicked" a scorebook from Mitchell's sports shop, so every game was scored properly, and we had our own league table, which Clifton usually won - mainly because we had some very good young cricketers in our area.
Here's another story I think you'll like - and a true one.
Around the late 1970s, I moved to Manchester, and managed to get my 2 kids into private schools, with the assistance of a grant. My son Nick went to Manchester Grammar School ; sadly, he wasn't interested in cricket - he was football mad.
However, he was in the same year as 3 outstanding potential cricketers of the 1980s - Michael Atherton (115 Tests for England - a record 54 as captain), Gary Yates (Lancashire County cricket player and now one of their coaches), and Mark Crawley (a very good batsman for Lancs and Notts - actually, his younger brother John crawley later eclipsed him by playing 37 Tests for England!).
When Nick was in the 6th form, he begged me to go and see MGS opening bat Mike Atherton, who had broken all sorts of records for the school, "carrying" his bat on many occasions, and scoring hundreds of runs. The day I went to see him with Nick, he got a workmanlike 70+ runs, and I was impressed with the 16 year old, but told Nick that he would struggle when up against men : how's that for sound judgement?
Anyway - here's the juicy bit of the story ; the school had a garden party in July to raise funds, and part of the entertainment was a challenge to any of the fathers to pay £1 per over to bowl at selected members of the school 1st team - if anyone knocked the stumps over, the prize was £10.
At the time (I was about mid-30s), I'd joined Whalley Range cricket club as a fast bowler, and was making a comeback at cricket, after having given the game up when I was in Berlin at the age of about 26.
I paid for my over - Mike Atherton was the batsman - I took a huge run-up, and bowled him a bouncer at about 80 mph, which whistled around his ears ; though he didn't appear in the slightest perturbed. Next ball, I hurtled in and bowled him a yorker which demolished his stumps, but unfortunately I hadn't warmed up sufficiently, and I tore several muscles in my ribs which kept me out of cricket for the rest of the season, and which still trouble me now, 30 odd years later.
However, that's my claim to fame - I bowled Mike Atherton out, and pocketed ten quid!
None of the other fathers managed to win a tenner.
I wonder if Mike ever reads this site ; he might remember this momentous occasion in his illustrious career!
My comeback at cricket only lasted a couple of years - I'd lost my pace and previously natural ability to swing the ball, and, although I played for the 1st team at Whalley Range, there were a couple of young bowlers much better than me.
Lastly, here's a little story you might enjoy...
In the recent Test series against India, I remember Nasser Hussein arguing with Bumble - he'd been told that some Yankee meteorologist chap (from NASA I think) had declared that the prevailing weather conditions had absolutely nothing to do with whether the ball swung in the air, or not.
That is absolute crap!
I don't recount this to blow my own trumpet (though it may read as though I do!), but I was playing in a school 1st team match in about 1963, at Oliver's mount in Scarborough - that's a huge hill overlooking the seaside resort where they used to (and may still do) have motorcycle racing around the mount. There was a cricket pitch on top of the mount.
It was a bright June afternoon, with not a cloud in the sky.
We batted first, and I made a lifetime best 68 not out, going in at No 6 (I was never a very good batsman). We scored about 180 (can't remember how many overs we played - I would guess about 30).
Just before the opposition went in to bat, a sea fret (that's a kind of fog, with lots of moisture in the air) descended on the ground ; visibility wasn't too good, but I opened the bowling. I could always swing the ball - but only away from the right-handed batsman ; I never mastered the in-swinger, much to my chagrin.
Anyway, my 1st ball swung so much it was declared a wide - and thereafter I was unplayable : the ball was swinging MILES! I was aiming well outside leg stump for the ball to miss the bat on the offside.
I took 7 wickets for 3 runs - including 4 wickets in successive deliveries - something that had never been done at the school before, and possibly not since. By coincidence, I found the ball that was presented to me the other day, in one of the packed boxes in our garage. I was surprised that it's an undersized ball!
To accentuate the point, I played in another game when a sea fret came down - this was in a schools cup final played at Scarborough's cricket ground on North Marine Rd., just a stones throw from the sea. Again the ball was swinging wildly, but so much this time that none of the opposition could get a bat on it, and I only took 1 for 12. However, our other opening bowler, who was a straight line and length bowler, took 9 for 30 odd. Don Wilson (Yorkshire and England), who was watching the game, came up to congratulate me afterwards.
So, you see, it's absolute rubbish - at the start of the day, when there's a bit of cloud cover, the ball will swing moreso than later in the day.
As a matter of interest, I'm a big fan of Jimmy Anderson, who has the amazing ability to swing the ball both ways at pace - I used to have to slow down to get swing.
Anyway, I'd better bugger off now.
Kind regards,
Robin.
longtom
School Boy/Girl Captain
Great stuff, Robin, really enjoy it.
As far as I am concerned I only came to South Africa 1992 - just in time for India's first tour here after readmission. Those were the days when Kumble was still wearing those funny glasses and Aza was the big gun. We played with the Kirsten brothers, Keppler, McMillan, Matthews, Hansie, Donald, Richardson to name but a few. I was hooked.
Previously I lived in Germany and as you probably know as good as I do - no cricket there. Certainly not out in the open and certainly not in my time. Played a bit of baseball - and that was considered way exotic at the time.
Thanks for your anecdotes - I really enjoy them.
Regards
longtom
bagapath
International Captain
Dear Mr. Robin
My respects, Sir. Very inspiring to hear stories from your past. And it is touching to hear about your financially tight childhood that still couldn't kill your love for sports, or life in general. I can relate to that very well.
Glad you got that tosser Mike Atherton with a 1 and a 2. He learnt to deal with the bouncer-yorker combo only after you earned your tenner, I am sure.
Siva
My respects, Sir. Very inspiring to hear stories from your past. And it is touching to hear about your financially tight childhood that still couldn't kill your love for sports, or life in general. I can relate to that very well.
Glad you got that tosser Mike Atherton with a 1 and a 2. He learnt to deal with the bouncer-yorker combo only after you earned your tenner, I am sure.
Siva
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robin tumman
Cricket Spectator
Agent Nationaux
International Coach
Thanks for the posts Robin. Loved your stories and got a nice tingly feeling after reading your poem. BTW, Atherton is one of my fav England batsman and a proper gentleman.
robin tumman
Cricket Spectator
Je suis d'accord Agent.
He was a gentleman as a boy, and remains so - and a very knowledgable commontator.
Regards,
R.
He was a gentleman as a boy, and remains so - and a very knowledgable commontator.
Regards,
R.
robin tumman
Cricket Spectator
Respects to you too Siva.
BTW, I'm sorry about the injuries which decimated your Test side earlier in the year - it made the series a no-contest.
I am one Englishman who isn't gloating.
Kind regards,
Robin.
PS Atherton isn't a tosser, he was an exceptional opening bat and captain, and is an absolute gentleman - like many of your countrymen I've met during my several visits to Goa.
BTW, I'm sorry about the injuries which decimated your Test side earlier in the year - it made the series a no-contest.
I am one Englishman who isn't gloating.
Kind regards,
Robin.
PS Atherton isn't a tosser, he was an exceptional opening bat and captain, and is an absolute gentleman - like many of your countrymen I've met during my several visits to Goa.
Agent Nationaux
International Coach
I'm guessing you are living in Normandy.
robin tumman
Cricket Spectator
Non monsieur, a cote de Beziers, Languedoc Roussillon (L'Herault).
R.
Outswinger@Pace
International 12th Man
Great story that, Robin. As were the others. Just read all your posts and absolutely loved your anecdotes. I try to do the same thing that you did all your life - bowl quick and try to swing it. Still would like to believe (ambitiously, perhaps) that I have fifteen or so years left in my system!
Also am incredibly jealous of the fact that you got to see Trueman bowl live, who unfortunately hung up his boots decades before I was born. If there is one cricketing memory I'd love to go back in time for, that would be it.
What a legend!
I think it's fair to conclude that I'll love every moment of your stay on this forum.
fredfertang
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Love the Atherton story Robin
There are some who maintain, though I can't remember who or why, that Atherton lurks around CW from time
If true then I think England's erstwhile skipper should offer you an all expenses paid trip to one of next summer's tests by way of further reward
How about it Athers?
There are some who maintain, though I can't remember who or why, that Atherton lurks around CW from time
If true then I think England's erstwhile skipper should offer you an all expenses paid trip to one of next summer's tests by way of further reward
How about it Athers?
bagapath
International Captain
yeah, he doesnt come through as one. i called him that with a wink.