WILLOW TALK AUGUST THE NEWSETTER OF THE ESSEX CRICKET SOCIETY WILLOW TALK

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1 WILLOW TALK AUGUST THE NEWSETTER OF THE ESSEX CRICKET SOCIETY WILLOW TALK It does not seem long since I was writing my notes for the end of season meal last April. We had 38 members at the Riverside Inn in Victoria Road Chelmsford and had a very enjoyable evening meal. Well here we are over halfway through the season and thinking of our chances of promotion. However, first I have to pass of news of the sudden death of society member, Roy Richardson. Roy was on holiday in Canada with his wife when he died suddenly. I attended his funeral service at Chelmsford crematorium with several other members of the society and a very large gathering of his family, friends and ex work mates from the Post Office. The Club are having an improved season after last year. There have been some very good wins mixed with some high scoring matches without results. Although by the time this edition reaches you the T 20 finals will have been held and I hope that we have had a successful day. Some of the highlights that I have enjoyed this season have been the matches at Somerset when Essex were set a last day total of 347 to win. This was achieved with Mark Pettini scoring 124, his maiden century. James Foster was not out 82 and this together with a not out 1 st innings of 26 goes a long way to prove that he can also bat, despite what the critics have to say. Ryan ten Doeschate also scored 50. In the 1 st innings Andy Flower scored 161 and Ronnie Irani 141. Essex also went on to win the 1 day game the next day. Another high scoring game was at Chelmsford against Worcester when Worcester made 650/7 dec. with Jacques scoring 244. Essex in their 2 nd innings had Bopara 127, Irani 97, Foster 61 and Tudor 93. Then at Northampton last week with Northants scoring 660/5 dec. with S Peters making 178 and D Sales 225, L Klusener 124 not out setting Essex quite a task to save the follow on. (510). This match saw J Foster getting his 250the victim and also his 200 th catch. Andy Flower scored 271 not out in an innings when he faced 471 balls in his marathon 10 hours 24 minutes at the wicket with 37 x 4 and 1 x 6. This total passed his highest ever score of 232 and as you can for the 7 th wicket and 123 between Andy and Andy Bichel for the 8 th wicket. Bichel scored his first 50 runs in 43 balls and ended up with 74, which included 7 x 4 and 2 x 6. J Foster joined in with 60 runs and J Middlebrook with 45. Essex ended with a new record score of 620. Jenny has arranged the following speakers for the coming winter; THURSDAY 14 th September - Note change from usual Tuesday Speaker to be arranged 10 th October - John Barclay. 14 th November - Derek Randall. To be confirmed. 12 th December - AGM followed by Andrew Hignell. Glamorgan scorer and author. 9 th January Murray Hedgcock. Australian journalist & writer. 13 th February. - Mike Denness - To be confirmed. 13th March - To be arranged 10 th April - Evening meal. Enclosed is your renewal application for the coming winter and also one for you to pass on to any prospective member who you may know who would like to join us for the coming winter. Geoff Bendall see in our milestones section there was also record partnerships between Andy and Tim Phillips of 124

2 STEPHEN CHALKE Our guest speaker for the February meeting was the cricket author Stephen Chalke who had visited the Society previously in On that occasion he had spoken about his first book entitled Runs in the Memory, County Cricket in the 1950s which was published in This was followed by Caught in the Memory, County Cricket in the 1960s. Since then he had published several other books, including One More Run a book with Stephen talking to Bryan Bomber Wells at Cheltenham in 1999 about the County Championship match played at the Cheltenham Festival in 1957, when Gloucestershire beat Yorkshire by two wickets. In 2001 Stephen wrote At the Heart of English Cricket the Life and Memories of Geoffrey Howard. Howard was one of cricket s finest administrators. He was the England manager in Australia when Len Hutton s side defended the Ashes in He was the manager in Pakistan when the high-spirited drenching of an umpire led to a diplomatic crisis. He was the secretary at Old Trafford when the pitch was prepared for the Test in which Jim Laker took 19 wickets. He was also the secretary at The Oval when the telephone call came from South Africa, following Basil d'oliveira's century. Stephen referred in particular to his latest book, Drawn to Sport with Ken Taylor which was about to be published. Ken Taylor was in summer a professional cricketer for Yorkshire, and in winter a professional footballer for Huddersfield. His wages allowed him to study art at first Huddersfield College and then at the prestigious Slade School of Art in London - at the same time as playing professional sport. For anyone who remembers the not-so-long-ago days when professional sportsmen played cricket in the summer and football in the winter (Chris Balderstone and Jim Standen, and further back Denis Compton and Willie Watson, for example). At different stages Taylor was managed by Shankly, and played for England at Lord's. However, Stephen focussed largely in his talk on No Coward Soul, his moving biography of Bob Appleyard of Yorkshire and England. The story of Bob Appleyard is one of the most extraordinary in the history of English cricket. He did not make his debut for Yorkshire till he was 26 years old, immediately altering his bowling style to meet the challenge of county cricket. He took 200 wickets in his first full season, the only bowler ever to have achieved this feat. The following spring he was diagnosed as suffering from advanced tuberculosis, as a result of which he spent eleven months in hospital. He had the upper half of his left lung removed and had to learn to walk again. He missed two whole summers. Yet he returned so successfully that he was in the England team by the second Test and spent the winter in Australia, a key member of Len Hutton s Ashes-winning side. Further injuries brought his career to a premature end. Nevertheless his final figures, both for Yorkshire and for England, place him alongside the best bowlers in the history of the game. Stephen gave a very illuminating and emotional account of Bob s life and career, keeping everyone spellbound. Members were so keen to hear more from Stephen that there was no hesitation in agreeing to dispense with the usual Question and Answer session after the interval so that he could continue his perceptive talk and read further extracts from his book. We would like to thank Stephen for providing us with such a highly entertaining and educational evening. We look forward to welcoming him back once more before too long. JOHN CHILDS Tim Percival (2) John Childs was our guest speaker for the March meeting. John took over from Peter Such as Director of the Essex Cricket Academy at the start of the 2005 season. John started by explaining the work of the Academy. The Essex Cricket Academy will in years to come hopefully be the cornerstone on which the

3 development of the Club's future talent is based. In the future the names of the players who have benefited from the Academy System will speak for themselves. It is envisaged that the next generation of England players will have passed through the County Academy System. John explained that the Academy concentrated on the five major areas that help to make up a top-class cricketer, they are technical, tactical, physical, mental and lifestyle. Each of these areas are addressed with the use of specialists. The aim is to provide an environment where each player has the maximum opportunity to flourish as a cricketer whilst still furthering his academic education. The programme is designed to ensure that whatever the outcome, every graduate from the Essex Academy is better prepared for the challenges that life presents to us all. Each scholar is encouraged to develop as a character and as a person in a Club where values and traditions are as important as the demanding coaching standards that are set in training and on the field of play. The aim is to make the Essex Cricket Academy the pinnacle of the development of cricketing excellence in the region. Alastair Cook became the first cricketer in the country to graduate from the Academy system to full England honours when he represented England in the Test series with India in March There are 13 youngsters on the Academy this season, including Beth Wilde the first lady Academy member. Others include fast bowlers Jahid Ahmed, Maurice Chambers and Mervyn Westfield as well as batsman Tom Westley who made his first team debut in the match against Sri Lanka earlier this season. John looked at the prospects of the first team for the coming season. Tim Phillips would get some opportunities in the absence of Danish Kaneria. Spinners tend to hunt in pairs, and Tim needs to work as part of a unit with James Middlebrook. Alastair Cook was not expected to play for Essex very much due to England commitments. Alex Tudor was still in rehab and would not be fit for the start of the season. Graham Napier would not be an automatic selection and needed to improve his stamina. John also talked about his playing career with Gloucestershire, recalling the match at Southchurch Park, Southend in 1977 where Mike Proctor took a hat-trick in the Essex second innings by dismissing Brian Hardie, Ken McEwan and Graham Gooch. Zaheer Abbas just loved to bat. He scored a double century and a century in the same match three times, and Sadiq Mohammad once scored six centuries in consecutive innings. We would like to thank John for providing a very entertaining evening. Tim Percival THE SEASON SO FAR OUR CHAIRMAN S ASSESSMENT PART 1 THE ENGLISH SCENE Before addressing an eminently upbeat assessment of Essex s season to date, I have to say a number of issues on the domestic front give cause for concern. The unprecedented lack of terrestrial coverage of Test matches this summer was neatly summed up the other day by Justin Langer as calamitous. Richie Benaud agrees. The full extent of the damage will only be quantifiable several years hence. (3) England s cricket since last year s Ashes triumph has been a classic case of after the Lord Mayor s Show. Significantly the two key wins at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge coincided with England, possibly for the last time ever with the current team, being at full strength, while Australia were without McGrath. Meanwhile Vaughan s knee, Flintoff s ankle, Giles s back and Simon Jones s this that and t other threaten to render our tenure of the little urn unlikely to see in the New Year! Nor can we glean the slightest encouragement for our World Cup prospects in the Caribbean from our shambolic 5-0 thrashing by Sri Lanka. Duncan Fletcher duly got the plaudits for the golden summer of But does his overall record stack up and is he a malign influence on our domestic game? The fact the indelibly right Geoff Boycott refers to him through gritted teeth as Mister Fletcher is a non-endorsement equivalent in racing parlance to a Timeform squiggle. The vexed issue of Test players

4 being unavailable to their counties is at times justifiable apropos bowlers but scarcely in the case of batsmen. Take a close look at the performances of our batsmen. Count the collapses even in tour games other then Tests. Verdict: not enough time in the middle. The blind faith in Geraint Jones? Unfathomable. The failure to take either of our two best wicket-keepers, Read and Foster, to Pakistan and India? Eriksonian! Fletcher insists we play too much domestic cricket. There are four weeks in 2006 where Essex barely have a game. It is international cricket that has seen the workload spiral from a typical fifty days two decades ago to about seventy nowadays, and that takes no account of the ever-greater intrusion of oneday internationals. The demand from the England coach for more 50 over domestic cricket has led to the ruination of two formerly much-loved one-day tournaments. To cut the Sunday league, now known as the NatWest Pro 40, to a mere 8 matches is like running the Grand National over only one circuit of Aintree. This is to accommodate the wretchedly flawed league format of the CGT. The introduction of semi-finals next season merely underlines how much better a competition this was when it was a knock-out tournament from the outset, and over 60 overs, not 50. The powers that be love to talk about encouraging the grass roots, but ruthlessly excommunicated the Minor Counties. With the pot of gold overflowing from the Ashes summer and the Twenty 20 bonanza, this was a diabolical decision, and a sad betrayal of many of the game s most dedicated and loyal servants. Here again, the full extent of the damage will only be quantifiable in the fullness of time, but it is sad to see the romance being wrung out of the most romantic of sports. Heaven forefend football ever expunges non-league teams from the F.A.Cup. Isn t it interesting that amid the whirlwind of incessant change inflicted on the game in recent years, the one undeniable success, Twenty 20 cricket, is the only one conceived purely with the counties interests in mind? PART 2 ESSEX My admiration for the job Ronnie Irani is doing is like a well-known brand of petrol. Total. It is only his second year as supreme. Two years ago my half-term appraisal was scathing. As I write this report in the wake of the Twenty 20 quarter-final defeat of Yorkshire, the spirit in the dressing room and the professionalism of the players as a team are the most impressive to my eye since the great side of the eighties. To some, great captaincy is about inspired bowling changes and cunning field-settings. Far more important than that is to get the very utmost out of your players. This is what leads to the whole exceeding the sum of the parts. His handling of the media is exceptional while his rapport with the Chelmsford crowd is another huge plus. More than 30,000 have flooded through the gates to watch the five Twenty 20s and the first Pro 40 and they never leave without hearing the captain thank them for their role as twelfth man for his team. It may not be rocket science, but it s great PR and decidedly shrewd. Broadly speaking the early part of the season was hampered by the May Day injury to Darren Gough at the Rosebowl, which definitely cost us that game and quite possibly cost us ultimate participation in a Lord s final against Lancashire in the CGT. Our intended overseas player, Mitchell Johnson, was claimed at the last minute by Australia, Alex Tudor had yet to recover fitness, and our pace-bowling department was severely undermanned. The simultaneous recovery of Gough and the arrival of Andy Bichel in mid-june have given Essex the platform for what could be a magnificent season. At the time of going to press, Essex lie third in the Championship, too far behind leaders Surrey but close enough to Worcestershire to overhaul them if they can win the forthcoming showdown at New Road in August. It is tempting to think this will be all the harder for being on away soil, but all four wins have been on the road at Cardiff, Taunton, Derby and Bristol. The County Ground, such a bastion in one day tournaments, continues to be a nemesis in the four day game. Maybe it is to our advantage that two of our last three at home are at Southend and Colchester. It will be galling if we finish third the very season third is no longer good enough, but at least the side knuckles down and fights all the way, something that certainly wasn t always the case a few years ago. The win at Bristol was a particularly good example of retrieving a lost cause and was rightly hailed by the captain as one of the finest he had ever been involved in. Noteworthy Championship highlights: Andy Flower

5 169 and Ravi Bopara 159 putting on 339 for the third wicket at Cardiff in April where Ryan ten Doeschate made his maiden Championship ton; Tony Palladino s magical spell of 5 for 9 in 6.4 overs against Leicestershire at Chelmsford; another huge partnership involving Andy Flower 161 at Taunton with Irani 141 not out; Mark Pettini made 124 in the second innings, his maiden Championship century; Varun Chopra s century on Championship debut at home to Gloucestershire, having been dropped on 0, making him Esssex s youngest ever Championship centurion; Irani s unbeaten 122 in the wonderful setting of Whitgift School against Surrey, where Andre Adams hit a thunderous 75 and Andy Flower made a magnificent 111 in the second innings, a knock he described as reminding him of Test Cricket; in the same game Ryan ten Doeschate recorded championship best figures of 5 for 133; Ravi Bopara s 127 against Worcestershire at Chelmsford; Andy Bichel s 6 for 38 on debut at Derby; Andy Flower s leviathan 190 at Bristol; Irani s 139 and Grant Flower s 101 against Glamorgan at Chelmsford. There have been 13 hundreds but only three five-fors. The once prestigious one day knock-out tournament has been sacrificed on the altar of theoretically improving England s ODI fortunes by increasing the number of domestic 50 over games. The result is neither use nor ornament. Essex nonetheless had a great chance on paper to top their CGT conference. One day competitions turn on single moments. In one and the same instant, Pietersen was dropped on 0 and Gough pulled a hamstring. Essex still finished a creditable third with six wins and had there been quarter-finals, as in the Twenty 20 competition, might well have gone on to win. As it was, failure to defend 296 against worthy winners Sussex at Chelmsford firmly nailed down the coffin lid. Essex s previous efforts in the Twenty 20 had scarcely inspired confidence and a heavy defeat in the first game in the prosaic surrounds of Beckenham against Kent hardly suggested better days lay ahead. Still less when we declined from 61-0 to 90-5 against Sussex at Chelmsford. A second defeat here would have been fatal, but a magnificent 93 run partnership between Ryan ten Doeschate and James Middlebrook took Essex to almost 200, Gough s sensational opening salvo flattened Sussex and we were suddenly zeroes to heroes. Graham Napier, 3 for 19 and Irani, 81*, facilitated the easy win over Hants at Chelmsford and superb bowling by Tim Phillips and a princely 83 from Ravi Bopara produced the best win of all against Surrey at the Oval. James Foster s stumping of Ramprakash was exquisite and his explosive cameo with the bat ensured a great victory. The Rosebowl once again proved an unhappy venue, another case of a defeat plucked from the jaws of victory, but it proved a blip not a crisis. Will Jefferson, almost like the prodigal son, returned for his first game of the season and blasted Essex to victory over Middlesex at Chelmsford with a savage half-century. The defeat of Kent at the County Ground with a 50 from the skipper meant we had won all four home games in front of packed houses. Still we needed a result in the last game at Hove to ensure a home quarter-final. Irani had promised the Chelmsford faithful to deliver same and how he kept his word! Essex needed 19 off the last 10 balls, whereupon the big man smote two mighty sixes and, with wickets tumbling and one still required, hit the last ball for four to reach his century, 100 not out off 61 balls and nary a slog in his entire knock. His gesture of triumph spoke volumes. It had been his greatest ever innings. The quarter-final against Yorkshire in front of yet another packed house saw the visitors threatening start torpedoed by a quite wonderful spell by man of the match Tim Phillips, 2 for 11 in his four overs. Even Darren Lehmann could scarcely lay bat on ball. We welcome back Danish Kaneria next season, but for me it must not be at the expense of Tim in any competition. His variations of pace and flight were Machiavellian. Essex s rapid scoring rate was matched by the fall of wickets and 73-5 was worrying, but the ice man, Ryan ten Doeschate, and the rampant James Foster took Essex majestically through to their first ever finals day at Trent Bridge on August 12. My vote for player of the tournament goes to Ryan ten Doeschate, magnificent fielding, electric running between the wickets and not out five times in nine innings. Finals day is a great occasion to savour. Sunday August 13 is allocated as a reserve day should the weather intervene, and Essex have a tough draw against Leicestershire in the semi-final. The Foxes have made every one of these occasions, they beat us the only other occasion we reached the quarter-final stage, but they lost their semi last year and no one should be overjoyed at the prospect of playing Essex this season. The only downside to this momentous campaign has

6 been the club s woeful mishandling of ticket distribution for the quarter-final, with members treated with a cavalier disregard. I understand an apology is forthcoming and lessons learned. Meanwhile Essex could not have made a more convincing start in their attempt to retain their Sunday league title than in their 109 run annihilation of Northamptonshire in the first Pro 40 game at Chelmsford. Once again, the fielding was breathtakingly brilliant. Paul Newton PLAYER PROFILES from our Chairman RONNIE IRANI magnificent in the form of his career with the bat and getting the last ounce out of his players. Handles a high-pressure job with impressive serenity and is approaching the legendary status of the county s all-time greats. ANDY FLOWER the definitive class act. Seems to be concentrating on the Championship these days, where he has already notched up another five immaculate centuries, most of them big ones, but none better than the lowest of them, 111, at Whitgift School against an international attack. A top international coach at some point in the future. DARREN GOUGH the focal point of the Essex attack. Any thought that he hadn t much cricket left when he joined us has long since been scotched by a succession of wholehearted performances in all competitions. The world s best number 11 to boot and on merit ought to be in the reckoning for England s World Cup squad. But does Duncan Fletcher like dancing? ALASTAIR COOK we rarely see him nowadays but at the age of 21 already has three Test tons under his belt, and is the first English batsman since David Gower to gain a regular place while under the age of 25. ANDRE ADAMS some excellent performances with the ball, often without a great deal of luck. Would bat two or three places higher in almost any other county side. Sadly sidelined with ankle injury of late. GRAHAM NAPIER having a quiet time until re-emerging with a series of superb spells in Twenty 20, regularly clocking speeds of 86 mph. Another to suffer from injury at a most unfortunate moment. (6) RAVINDER BOPARA terrific prospect, still only 21, huge appetite for the game. Can be tentative early in an innings but likely to get better and better. Back in top form with the ball after a poor spell. Tremendous asset in the field and could be a key player over the next decade and more. JAMES FOSTER has become a magnificent wicket-keeper. Some of his stumpings have been Jack Russell standard. More than deserves to represent his country again but it probably won t be under the current coach. Some excellent one day knocks but could have done with a few more Championship runs. JAMES MIDDLEBROOK has struggled to match last season s magnificent economy in one day cricket but still producing good spells in the four day game. Terrific man to come in about 7 in all forms of the game, equally capable at playing defensive and attacking innings. ANDY BICHEL his arrival has lifted the side at a crucial stage of the season. Buried at 9, we haven t seen much of him as a batsman as yet, but his bowling has been a great asset to the side. Plays the game with a smile on his face and quick to lend encouragement to his colleagues. ALEX TUDOR great to see him beginning to get his rhythm back after so long out with injury. Good spells at Derby and Bristol and, like Bichel, an engagingly genial man. RYAN ten DOESCHATE another man who exudes an enthusiasm for the game. Has lost his place in the Championship side for the moment, having taken a healthy number of wickets but at too great a cost. There is no doubting his importance to the one day side, a key member of the Totesport league success last season and of the Twenty 20 campaign this. Becoming a huge favourite with the Chelmsford

7 crowd. Magnificent fielder. VARUN CHOPRA what a start to his career, looking not unlike a right-handed version of Alastair Cook, a remarkably calm assurance at the crease for one so young and a superb cover drive to boot. TONY PALLADINO a great start to the season with his 5 for 9 spell against Leicestershire, but unable to get in the team regularly. MARK PETTINI has taken the opportunity to open impressively in all forms of the game. Has regularly launched Essex s Twenty 20 innings with a flourish. Must work hard in the four day game to turn 40s and 50s into hundreds. Superb fielder WILL JEFFERSON a frustrating year, bedevilled by injury, then having to wait his turn to get back in the side. Sooner or later, his luck will change for the better. A tremendous player to watch when on song. GRANT FLOWER didn t resume this year in the form he ended last, but has looked much more like it with good performances with bat and ball in the recent Championship games against Gloucester and Glamorgan. TIM PHILLIPS a revelation in his first season where he has commanded a regular place. Has performed very creditably in the four day game, while he has proved Essex s hardest bowler to score from on more than one occasion in Twenty 20. Not impossible he might make up into an England prospect. MILESTONES IN 2006 (as at 30 July 2006) For Essex 200 matches R.C.Irani runs R.C.Irani 6000 runs A.Flower 1000 runs M.L.Pettini 200 victims J.S.Foster 200 catches J.S.Foster All first-class cricket 100 matches J.S.Foster 100 matches A.J.Tudor runs A.Flower runs R.C.Irani 3000 runs A.N.Cook 3000 runs J.D.Middlebrook 1000 runs M.L.Pettini 800 wickets D.Gough 650 wickets A.J.Bichel 300 wickets A.J.Tudor 250 victims J.S.Foster 350 catches A.Flower 250 catches J.S.Foster 150 catches G.W.Flower 50 catches A.N.Cook Highest match aggregate v Somerset at Taunton New record innings total 620 v Northamptonshire at Northampton New record innings total against 660-5d by Northamptonshire at Northampton JAHID AHMED impressed when brought in for the vital Twenty 20 game at Hove, immediately picking up the vital wicket of Chris Adams. Decent fielder, very keen and a promising start. (7) New record partnerships

8 Essex v Glamorgan 3 wkt 339 R.S.Bopara & A.Flower at Cardiff Essex v Northamptonshire 7 t wkt 124 A.Flower & T.J.Phillips at Northampton 8 t wkt 123 A.Flower & A.J.Bichel at Northampton Essex v Somerset 4 t wkt 278 A.Flower & R.C.Irani at Taunton Essex v Surrey 9 t wkt 124 R.C.Irani & A.R.Adams at Whitgift School Essex v Worcestershire 10 wkt 97 R.S.Bopara & D.Gough at Chelmsford Thanks to Brian Heald (8)