How old are us CricketWeb members?

[Kweek]

39?

 

[archie mac]

39?

True, but I am 350 days shy of that scary number

 

[Anil]

"a massive zebra" wrote:

Lovely to have you here. Did you ever manage to attend a Test Match in which Bradman was playing for Australia?

Thank you for those warm words of welcome, "a massive zebra". As others pointed out I saw Bradman bat in two test matches. The 103 he hit at Headingley in 1938 was majestic -- a real thrill for me -- a never to be forgotten experience. He did indeed fall LBW at 11 in the Old Trafford Test in 1948 and that was a disappointment, for as my father begrudgingly said: "He's not like other batsmen because he always looks like he is going to hit a century when he walks out from the pavilion and everyone expects it".

BTW, several people have asked me if I think Don Bradman was superior to present day top flight batsmen and if he would do as well in the modern game. I think the comparison is impossible to make -- I think Bradman would still dominate if he played today but, with Lara and Tendulkar on the scene, no where near as much as he did in the 1930s. My father -- a fervent England supporter -- used to say that Jack Hobbs was a better batter than Bradman, well, I didn't believe that (and the statistics don't support it), but I didn't see Hobbs bat. However, I did see Bradman bat and I am still awed by his incedible footwork
and the way he always seemed to be in exactly the right position to dispatch the ball with consummate skill. I also believe that Lara and Tendulkar would be just as brilliant with the bat had they played back then as they are now -- similarly, I think Jack Hobbs would be an outstanding opening batsman no matter what era he played in.

I forgot to mention on my Web page that I did see Bradman bat a third time during the Australian 1948 Invincible tour -- at Scarborough, Yorkshire, vs H.D.G. Leveson-Gower's XI. Bradman hit a sparling 153 and Sid Barnes (he of the magnificent off-side strokes and my other favorite batsman) 151. This was the last at bat in England for both of them -- I think they played a match in Scotland before leaving for Australia. BTW, I witnessed some of the greatest fast bowling I have ever seen in that match as Ray Lindwall took six wickets for 69 runs at a wonderfully controlled but blistering pace.

wow!! a warm welcome to the forum!

 

[honestbharani]

Welcome aboard, sir. I would like to know how good guys like Vinoo Mankad and Vijay Hazare and C.K.Nayudu were. I assume you may have seen them play live. Can u tell me how good they were? Because, these days all past players get better every day.

 

[jamesicus]

Thank you for the welcome, honestbharani, you wrote:

Welcome aboard, sir. I would like to know how good guys like Vinoo Mankad and Vijay Hazare and C.K.Nayudu were. I assume you may have seen them play live. Can u tell me how good they were? Because, these days all past players get better every day.

I never saw Mankad or Nayudu play -- they were both professionals in the Lancashire League in the late 1950s after I had left England.

I saw Vijay Hazare play -- he was the professional for Rawtenstall in 1949 -- and he was a indeed a magnificent batsman with a vast array of elegant strokes -- very much like Tendulkar to me. He was also a fine medium/fast bowler and a much respected individual.

I also saw Lala Amarnath play -- he was the professional for Nelson in 1939 -- in his prime. He was a great all round cricketer of enormous talent -- and a superb batsman.

 

[Shoaib]

Yes -- I was born 28 August 1929 --- been in love with cricket all of my life.

James

A very warm welcome to the forum ,Sir.

 

[Nate]

17. And James, amazing. Good on you for posting here.

 

[honestbharani]

Thank you for the welcome, honestbharani, you wrote:

Welcome aboard, sir. I would like to know how good guys like Vinoo Mankad and Vijay Hazare and C.K.Nayudu were. I assume you may have seen them play live. Can u tell me how good they were? Because, these days all past players get better every day.

I never saw Mankad or Nayudu play -- they were both professionals in the Lancashire League in the late 1950s after I had left England.

I saw Vijay Hazare play -- he was the professional for Rawtenstall in 1949 -- and he was a indeed a magnificent batsman with a vast array of elegant strokes -- very much like Tendulkar to me. He was also a fine medium/fast bowler and a much respected individual.

I also saw Lala Amarnath play -- he was the professional for Nelson in 1939 -- in his prime. He was a great all round cricketer of enormous talent -- and a superb batsman.

Thanks for the information, James (I hope you don't mind me first naming you, sir.) My dad always says Lala was the finest all rounder India produced. I guess he must have had reasons, even though I still think he is wrong. HOw would u compare Kapil and Lala?

 

[jamesicus]

honestbharani, you wrote:

Thanks for the information, James (I hope you don't mind me first naming you, sir.) My dad always says Lala was the finest all rounder India produced. I guess he must have had reasons, even though I still think he is wrong. HOw would u compare Kapil and Lala?

Please do call me James. I think the skills of Kapil and Lala are parallel.

James

 

[Pratters]

Welcome to the forum James. Cricket followers are the true example of people young at heart. Age makes cricket followers wiser, at least that is the general feeling I get seeing Eddie first, then Sanwarjeet Singh and now you on the forum.

From first impressions, you seem a person who would make the forum much more richer by your presence.

I have been watching cricket since the age of 9, 1991 and am glad of that lot called true cricket fans.

Cheers and welcome aboard.

 

[jamesicus]

Thank you for that very nice welcome, Pratyush.

 

[SJS]

Hi James

I had an intial look at your site yesterday as I was going by car through Central india. It was an absolute delight. i intend to spend more time on it later.

When I started playing serious cricket around 1965, I did have opportunities to talk to senior Indian cricketers, particularly those from Northern India who would have been closer to your age group but one was so much in awe of them being a teenager myself that one didnt make best use of those opportunities.

Later I have had the occasional chat with old Indian cricketers (two with Hazare and Lala Amarnath being perticularly memorable) particularly with hazare which was less than ten years ago and I chatted with him for a couple of hours as he was inaugurating a double wicket competition in baroda and the organisers as well as everyone else seemed to have no use for one of India's greatest ever batsmen other than the opening ritual. Good for me since it meant I had him to myself for so long.

I have been lucky to have as a neighbour (for about six years till his death) and a family friend (for about 25 years) Ramesh Buck Divecha, the indian medium pacer of the early fifties and spent absolute memorable times talking cricket with him until Alzheimers finally took him away mentally and then death took him physically. Through him I met his friend and University mate Carr from england on a couple of occasions.

Other than this, one hasnt had an occasion to talk to anyone from your generation from another country who shares ones passion for the game. I am absolutely delighted to be able to do this off and on with you on the forum.

Warm welcome and regards

Swaranjeet

 

[jamesicus]

How very nice of you to write those kind words, Swaranjeet. I too treasure the opportunities I had to to meet and talk with some of those great players of yesteryear.

As I mention in my Web pages, Swaranjeet, I had the rare opportunity to meet some of those players by virtue of being a scoreboard operator at Burnley Turf Moor CC (Lancashire League) in the late 1940s. I volunteered to be the gofer who went to the Pavilion to get sandwiches and drinks for the scoreboard crew between innings. That gave me the opportunity to drift into the player's dressing rooms and hopefully see the club Professionals. A fairly close friend of mine (the son of one of my father's best friends), Ken Walker, was one of the Burnley amateur players and he aided me with an occasional introduction.

I found the great players of that generation to be most gracious and dignified -- except Cecil Pepper who was a rambunctious character -- but with a good and kindly heart. I didn't get to meet all the great players, but some of my favorites -- because of their consideration -- were Sid Barnes, Everton Weekes, Vijay Hazare, Manny Martindale and Bill Alley.

Learie Constantine, George Headley and Lala Amarnath were somewhat before my time -- I was only a youngster when I saw them play as Club Professionals in the Lancashire League in 1938/39.

I will expand more on this as I refine my Web pages.

James

 

[jamesicus]

Hi James

I had an intial look at your site yesterday as I was going by car through Central india. It was an absolute delight. i intend to spend more time on it later .......... Swaranjeet

Today I added a page relating to Lancashire cricket during WW2 that you may find interesting, Swaranjeet:

http://jp29.org/adcwt.htm

It includes a photograph showing the huge bomb crater next to the Test pitch at Old Trafford resulting from the horrendous air raid blitz on Manchester during Christmas 1940.

I saw a glimpse of the destruction (which included incendiary and HE bomb damage to the Pavilion and stands) when my mother and I visited our relatives who lived in Stretford (adjacent to the Bridgewater canal) just outside Trafford Park, during Whitsuntide, a three day holiday that encompassed Sunday 1 June through Tuesday 3 June in 1941. My mother had decided that we should visit our relatives in order to take them some extra food rations and clothing -- they had endured the Christmas 1940 Blitz and a series of air raids in the spring. There hadn't been an air raid in the Manchester region for almost a month, but the sirens sounded late on Whit Sunday night and we spent the next couple of nights in the air raid shelter as the Manchester region underwent its second heaviest air raid of the war. I detail the event on my Web page. It was sad for me to see Old Trafford so devastated for I had spent many happy hours with my father watching Lancashire (and the 1938 Australian team) play there before the war.

 

[Adamc]

Wow, that's an incredible picture. I'm surprised I've never seen it anywhere else.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Wow i admire your knowledge and your memory james .. the way you have described it.. makes it seem like it was only yesterday.. Makes me think you might have not gone too hard on the old whiskey during your years to preserve those brain cells? Puts a bit of embarrasment to my generation (current) of merry men..

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Hi, James. I'd like to echo everyone elses greetings. It's great to have someone of your age and cricketing knowledge here.

I was wondering (although he was probably before your time somewhat) if you ever had the opportunity to watch Stan McCabe bat. The only person I've known who had first-hand knowledge of cricket in that period (my Grandfather) always maintained that, regardless of what statistics might say, McCabe was the second greatest batsman Australia ever produced. Whether that's true or not, did you ever see him?

 

[Corbin]

well im 14

welcome james, You know you could use the quote feature it would say you the time of having to write out what they said

 

[King_Ponting]

well im 14

welcome james, You know you could use the quote feature it would say you the time of having to write out what they said

he already is????

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Well I felt old-ish at 34 surrounded by these pups, but now I feel a pup myself, so to speak.

Welcome James, old cake.