Many Happy Returns of the Day Sir Vivian

Just wanted to wish a happy birthday to one of the greatest cricketers I have ever seen live, Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, who turned 70 yesterday. You may read about his life here.

England are currently being battered in the first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. Sadly, at 127 for 5 as I write, it's no surprise. To cheer myself up I will (once again!) add my favourite photo I got of the maestro, an incredibly rare moment in his career as he is clean bowled at Lords, by Derek Pringle I think.

Sheila D Hill MBE 1928-2022

News has just reached me of the death of Sheila Hill. A tweet from the Marylebone Cricket Club announced that:

"MCC is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sheila Hill, MBE. 

Sheila helped shape the Laws of Cricket and was instrumental in the training of umpires around the world.

Her contribution to cricket cannot be overestimated, and our condolences go to her family and friends."

In the world beyond cricket, for me and countless others, Miss Hill was our teacher at SPGS. I was in her Maths division for 5 years. 

I am grateful to her for two things in particular.  Firstly, that although I did not feel I was good enough to be in Div 1, she never doubted that it was where I belonged. Secondly, and I'm not sure how to explain this, Miss Hill had a certain aura. My form in particular had a bit of a rep for being naughty. However, in Miss Hill's presence you behaved. It never even crossed your mind to do otherwise. She never raised her voice, she never expressed frustration or any negative emotion. She was calm and correct, and we did maths. And once in a while there was even a twinkle in her eye. But we knew nothing about her life outside the classroom, not even the cricket. 

Throughout my years of being a teacher, Miss Hill has been a model for me. How a teacher can hold the attention of a class like a swan, serene on the surface, doing all the work out of sight. She clearly loved her subject, and wanted us to find it enjoyable rather than onerous (I still remember how to make a hexiflexagon!). May she rest in peace.

NB  Some of her cricket statistics may be found here. And a tribute from Middlesex Cricket may be found here.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Mahmood bowls to Babar at the start of the Pakistan innings in the second T20 at Headingley today.

If you are a cricket fan, you'll know what's going on. If not, here is the tea-towel version:

Cricket:  As explained to a foreigner ...

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each person that's in the side that's in goes out, and when they are out they come in and the next person goes in until they are out. When they are all out, the side that is out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get people still in and not out. When someone goes out to go in, the people who are out try to get them out, and when they are out they go in and the next person in goes out and goes in. There are two people called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the people who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the players have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the people have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!

A Rare Cricketing Moment

Photo: Ariel J Friedlander

Some of you, I know, enjoy watching cricket. Not most of you, but I know some people who do. For those of you who claim it is difficult to understand, there's a famous sort-of-explanation of the rules, which makes baseball look simple IMO:

The Rules of Cricket:

* you have two sides, one out in the field, and one in.

* each player in the side that is in, goes out; and when they are out, they come in and the next player goes in until they are out.

* when they are all out, the side that is out comes in, and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those who are coming in out.

* when both sides have been in and out, that is the end of the game.

The author of that is anonymous, which is a good thing. meanwhile, back to my photograph. I think it is a rare cricketing moment because Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards is one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the sport and, I think, rarely clean bowled. So I am rather pleased to have taken a picture of him having been clean bowled. If you look carefully, you can see a flying bail just above Graham Gooch's head.

I looked up the details and I record them here for my statto persona:

2nd Test Match

England v. West Indies

at Lords Cricket Ground, 16th June 1988

2nd innings

IVA Richards (c)  b. Pringle         72

(W. Indies won by 134 runs)

Don't Look Back. Or Maybe I Should!

Grant Hall intercepts a Wolves attack

This is a photo taken from my season ticket seat in the upper tier with a compact camera at the last QPR home game. It's not bad. It's probably not as good as I used to be, but I don't get to practice that much. 

Why do I still take pictures, even though nobody uses them and they are mostly rather pedestrian? I say to myself that I am keeping my eye in. I think it's probably being a bit of a fangirl. I suspect I may kind of miss the good old days when I used to be on the pitch, and had a proper photographer's view of the action.

Possibly it is time for a kick in the pants, ravaj! If I had wanted a longer career as a football photographer, why did I give it up and go to rabbi school? I was very clear at the time, saying to anyone who would listen that when I was older and looked back on my career, I didn't want to see that all I had done amounted to some random bits of newspaper floating in the wind. I wanted to look back and see a life that had been useful and hopefully made a positive difference.

It's all very well being nostalgic for the "good old days". However, if I'm going to look back, then perhaps it's better to agree that I had some great experiences, enjoy some of those memories, and then turn to the question - if I am waxing so nostalgic, what is that telling me about now? What is the problem that needs to be addressed!

John Elway at Wembley Stadium

Nu, hurrah that I got to see the Denver Broncos play at Wembley in 1987 (1987, how can that be 29 years ago already?!). 

I've seen great moments at the Oval ...

Sir Viv clean bowled

... photographed icons at Wimbledon ...

Jimmy Connors

...  & in the theatre.

The Cherry Orchard 1989 with Dame Judi Dench

I've been welcomed by people at their office ...

Kermit with his boss

... and have been thrown out of Hammersmith Odeon by another (I'm looking at YOU Joan Baez).

accidental double exposure after reusing Baez slide film for Arlo

Lots of stories to tell. Meanwhile, it's time to stop procrastinating, look forward, and go do my Italian prep for my class on Monday. A presto!

A Very Important Question

As usual, Calvin asks the important question. But there is always the possibility of a change of mind and/or heart. Take, for example, a cricket match in Nottingham yesterday. An England batsman was given out just before tea, but after a discussion in the pavilion, the Indian captain decided to reinstate him. He did not have to.

Today's Guardian asks: "Is upholding the spirit of cricket more important than getting rid of an in-form opposition batsman?" Votes are currently running at over 70% for Yes. While I am glad to see such a percentage, it is also sad that such a decision has been a cause for praise and rejoicing, rather than accepted as standard practice.

Boxing Day Magic

First the Aussies are all out in the MCG Test for under 100, then QPR thrash promotion rivals Swansea 4-0, including a mesmerising display by the one and only Adel Taarabt! A frabjous day.

The Second Test

Apologies for those of you expecting a religious treatise or an ancient myth. This is cricket. Unless you are English or Australian, you'd better go browse in the blogroll because this is serious business. After a humiliating whitewash last time the Ashes were contested down under, England have made a fine start this time round. The photo above is the schadenfreude-of-the-week moment, as the Aussie captain Ricky Ponting is out first ball at the beginning of the Second Test.

Another Great Shot

This is from the second day of the second Test match against Australia. The wonderfully-named Graham Onions smashes a four past the despairing grasp of an Aussie fielder. I love this photo!

Triumph and Disaster

Love this photo - wish I'd taken it. England win. New Zealand lose. End of.

The Odd One Out?

1. Everton Weekes
2. Dwight Washington
3. Mahendra Nagamootoo
4. Kennedy Brighton
5. Berkeley Gaskin

These are names of West Indian cricketers. One of these names is not like the others. That is because it it not real. Which do you think is the odd one out?

Answer in the comment section later today ...

Catching Up

Here are a couple of stories that I found interesting during the sad hiatus of the past week. Was just too sad to post. Better now.

1. Horror of horrors, from the Telegraph:

"Chocolate should be taxed to control obesity epidemic, doctors are told ... Chocolate should be taxed in the same way as alcohol to control Britain's obesity epidemic, a medical conference has heard"

What is wrong with people? No, let me restate that - what is going on in the UK? It seems like the government has decided to make laws to fix every problem, rather than finding ways to encourage people to fix themselves. Tax chocolate? Not while I am alive! Of course, that may not be long if I eat it since I am diabetic. Nevertheless, surely this is not the way to go:

"Dr David Walker said chocolate used to be a treat, but has become a harmful addiction, causing weight problems, diabetes, high blood pressure and back pain. Consumers are often eating more than half a day's worth of calories when they polish off a bag of chocolates in front of the television, he claimed."

Excuse me for a moment, I think there is an old piece of Ritter Sport with hazelnuts in the back of my cupboard. Back soon.

2. The Prince must be fumigated, from the Times:

This turns out to be an ecological issue, rather than a political statement.

"The normal procedure for greeting royal visitors involves a red carpet, an official welcoming committee and possibly a fanfare or two. Last night, however, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall received a rather less gracious reception on their arrival in the Galápagos Islands, when they were thoroughly fumigated before being allowed off the plane."

The rest of the story is here.

3. England win the World Cup of cricket, from the Telegraph:

"Charlotte Edwards thus joins Rachel Heyhoe-Flint and Karen Smithies as the only English cricketers - of either gender - to lift a global trophy, "I don't think it will sink in for a while," said Edwards afterwards, "but this is a special moment and we'll remember this for the rest of our lives. The team have been amazing."

No-one can doubt that England were the best team in a tournament they dominated from the start. They only lost one match - and that a dead rubber against Australia with qualification already guaranteed. Claire Taylor finished as the World Cup's leading run-scorer and off-spinnner Laura Marsh the leading wicket-taker, but the real quality of the squad was in its depth."

Yes, ok, I snuck a sporting reference in here at the end. However, this is a major achievement. And a major achievement for English women. So three cheers for the English cricketers: Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

england win a sporting contest

monty panesar celebrates his sixth wicket
england won the test series against new zealand. while monty cleaned up the the last kiwi batters, the man of the match and the man of the series was voted to be our old friend r.j. sidebottom. mazel tov to all, and thank you for not embarrassing us again :-)

what about a bit o' cricket?

r j sidebottom celebrates
a strange-looking man, perhaps. he is celebrating great success in a game that most people i know not only say they do not understand, but also believe that they never will understand. ryan sidebottom has just taken 7 wickets in the first innings of the deciding test match against new zealand, thus bringing england back into the game (if their batsmen do not blow it).

i can try to translate, e.g., the pitcher has got 7 outs. there are only two innings each in the game, and you have to make 10 outs to end the innings. you score runs to win. the team with the most will claim victory. this part is easy. it is only when you start trying to explain that there are two people batting together and they both have to run to score a run, well that is where the trouble starts. suffice it to say that for an england fan, ryan did good today, and that makes us happy. even if he would look so much better with a haircut. but then so would i :-) goodnight all.

cricket news - england are not losing

c'mon peeps give me a break. the yanks just lost to the mets and cannot buy a win, the scum are in the cup final today against man ure, the qpr chaps are on holiday, and england had a really good couple of days of cricket. this picture is of their newest possible star - matt prior. he got a century* today. it came off 105 balls*, and he is the first england wicketkeeper* to score a century on his debut.

[simultaneous translation into american:
* scored 100 runs at bat in one inning
* pitches
* catcher]

official: it was murder

unbelievable & scary as excrement - the jamaican police have now announced that bob woolmer was murdered. read about it in the times

on the itv news tonight there were hints of speculation that this murder had to do with corruption in cricket, in particular match-fixing, and that maybe mr. woolmer had something to do with that. the bbc website presents a statement from his family here

views from other newspapers

like i said previously, is the apocalypse on its way?

woolmer latest

bit of a wobbly here - woolmer's death is now being treated as 'suspicious':

bbc sport

what does this mean? reuters reports the statement made by the jamaican police:

"Having met the pathologist, medical personnel and other investigators, there is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Woolmer which we are now treating as suspicious"

rumours now are going around that it may be murder. these are, however, just rumours. lawrence booth in yesterday's grauniad makes the case for stress:

"The suggestion that the stress of the job may have played a part in Woolmer's death has been supported by one of his predecessors as Pakistan coach, Richard Pybus. "I know it's the toughest job in cricket today," he said. "It's a very turbulent society and a very political environment to work in. Pakistan cricket seems to lurch from one drama to another and, as a coach, it takes a cumulative effect on you. Sometimes people can underestimate how great a toll that is. I know it took its toll on me as an individual, especially at the last World Cup.

"I think it's sad that Bob couldn't finish his work at the World Cup but all the stuff with that team wears you down.

"[Pakistan] have an amazing capacity to ambush themselves and never get into a space where it's simply plain sailing for a coach. You're always sitting there waiting for someone to lob a hand grenade and waiting for it to go off. You can never plan with such a team, because you don't even know what is happening tomorrow. I've always been sensitive to that, and I caught up with the side during their recent tour of South Africa and I could see that things were taking their toll on Bob then."

Woolmer was given an early taste of what to expect when fans back in Pakistan reacted to the team's 491-run defeat to Australia at Perth in December 2004 - his first Test in charge - by burning effigies of the new coach."

bob woolmer r.i.p.

(in his playing days)

unbelievably shocking - the pakistan coach, just a few hours after his team had been unexpectedly knocked out of the world cup, has died at the age of 58.

bob woolmer was a well-known cricketer when i first started getting into the sport, and current opinion is that while he was never world-class as a player, he became just about the best coach in the world today.

(doing what he loved best)

no reports yet as to what happened, although one piece i read mentioned that he was diabetic. therefore he could have had a heart attack, and the stress of what had just occurred on the cricket field could also have sent his blood sugar shooting up. he was found unconscious in his hotel room, and died at the hospital. it may not be cancer, but it bloody well sucks to have diabetes.


some current reports:

sporting life on yahoo
bbc sport online
the telegraph
ivo tennant in the times
the times obit
david hopps in the independent

belated st patrick's day congratulations ...

...to the irish cricket team, that not only won a match at the world cup, but also knocked pakistan out of the tournament at the preliminary stage. found these great shots of a catch online (if you know who took them, let me know so i may credit them)

aussies win

aussies win
Originally uploaded by ravaj.

the answer to yesterday's question is:

no.

here you see shane warne beginning what will no doubt be a long and national celebration of the poms going down down under.

can't talk about qpr at the moment cos they haven't won in weeks or scored a goal or even drawn. the scum are catching man ure, and the yankees are talking about trading my man melky.

what kind of monday morning is it when the best news is that the suffolk police have arrested a man in connection with the murders of the 5 prostitutes?