Not The Spin [Issue 8]
Martin Chandler |Published: 2021
Pages: 40
Author: Lomax, Ian Brodkin, Stuart Cavanagh, Roy and Clarke, Garry (Editors)
Publisher: Lancashire Action Group
Rating: 4 stars
It has been a year now since Issue 7 of Not The Spin appeared, and in that year a great deal has changed in the world, even at Emirates Old Trafford albeit not, it would seem, within the committee room of Lancashire County Cricket Club.
Anyway for those unfamiliar with Not The Spin you can find out more about its raison d’être here, and a review of Issue 7 here. What then does Issue 8 bring forth?
The bad news is that the stand off between the Lancashire Action Group and the club seems to have become entrenched. The editorial deals with that of course, but just in case anyone believes that just maybe the club are right to ignore the Group there is reproduced in full an open letter sent to the club’s new chairman. Also appended is a brief response promising a further communication, and then ….. nothing.
So we will have to wait until Issue 9 for an update about any possible rapprochement but, in the meantime, we have an English cricket season to enjoy, hopefully, as scheduled. There is therefore an introduction to the county’s five new signings, although that is undermined by the subsequent unavailability of Aussie paceman Jackson Bird through injury. On top of that the recent news on that score about the marquee signing of IPL superstar Shreyash Iyer is of concern.
On a more parochial level co-editor Stuart Brodkin contributes a piece on the subject of young batsman Josh Bohannon, and Mark Gretton takes a look at the county’s coaching staff, with an emphasis on the recent elevation to that group of Graham Onions. On a more controversial level we are treated to The Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Cricketer, the subject matter of which is the county’s star turn Jos Buttler, who is well on the way to ‘celebrating’ a thousand days without actually turning out for the county.
One of the great things about cricket is its rich history, and Not The Spin features historical subjects as well. Roy Cavanagh turns the clock back a century to look at Lancashire’s 1921 season. From there the action moves forward to the end of the last century as Paul Fitzpatrick recalls the career of Michael Atherton, and Mark Giles writes about the county’s one day triumphs of the mid 1990s. There are even a couple of book reviews too, Red Rosecentric ones of course.
And finally, I learnt something about money. Tucked away at the end of the booklet is a piece by Stephen Cawley that explains how the funds to rebuild the hotel at Old Trafford were raised by issuing bonds. I am a great believer in the old adage that if it sounds too good to be true it almost certainly isn’t – well this particular investment seems to have been the exception that proves the rule.
Although Not The Spin is inevitably aimed primarily at a Lancastrian audience it will be of interest to all who follow county cricket. At £2 plus postage it is not a significant expense and, as an added bonus this time the back page has succeeded, despite the long odds against doing so, by finding some humour in the current global pandemic, and doing so very cleverly indeed.
Leave a comment