TINGED WITH SADNESS..
Well, that`s it then. The `festive season` is finally over. Christmas and New Year with all its excesses and indifference came and went but there were instances which brought perhaps more than a tinge of sadness to the proceedings.
We learnt of the death of former England cricket captain Tony Greig, perhaps best remembered for his rallying assertion that the West Indies would be made to`grovel.` Which is a pity, because there was so much more to him than that. He captained England in 14 Tests, played 58 times for his adopted country, scoring over 3,500 runs and taking over 140 wickets. By any yardstick he was an outstanding cricketer and it seems unfair that he has been lost to us at just 66.
The loss of Christopher Martin Jenkins, again far too early, is mourned by cricket lovers, not for his playing but for his interpretation in voice and print of the most beautiful game of all. CMJ provided the counterpoint to Tony Greig in that he was `old school,` urbane, perhaps even patrician, but deeply in love with the game and all it has to offer. I was particularly drawn to Mike Selvey`s recounting of an incident in the West Indies when both he and CMJ were on journalistic duty.
Travelling by car towards Bridgetown for the Test Match, Selvey was driving and noticed his passenger - ever anxious to be in contact with his newspaper back in England - tapping away on a handset and getting more frustrated as the messages he was trying to send never left his hand-held machine. It was then that Selvey realised that CMJ was tapping away on a tv remote, having picked it up in the hotel, where he had left his mobile phone. It seemed to sum up CMJ`s attitude to most things modern and it is for his reluctance to leave the past behind and embrace the brave new world as much for his immense contribution to our enjoyment of cricket, that he too will be deeply missed.
We learnt of the death of former England cricket captain Tony Greig, perhaps best remembered for his rallying assertion that the West Indies would be made to`grovel.` Which is a pity, because there was so much more to him than that. He captained England in 14 Tests, played 58 times for his adopted country, scoring over 3,500 runs and taking over 140 wickets. By any yardstick he was an outstanding cricketer and it seems unfair that he has been lost to us at just 66.
The loss of Christopher Martin Jenkins, again far too early, is mourned by cricket lovers, not for his playing but for his interpretation in voice and print of the most beautiful game of all. CMJ provided the counterpoint to Tony Greig in that he was `old school,` urbane, perhaps even patrician, but deeply in love with the game and all it has to offer. I was particularly drawn to Mike Selvey`s recounting of an incident in the West Indies when both he and CMJ were on journalistic duty.
Travelling by car towards Bridgetown for the Test Match, Selvey was driving and noticed his passenger - ever anxious to be in contact with his newspaper back in England - tapping away on a handset and getting more frustrated as the messages he was trying to send never left his hand-held machine. It was then that Selvey realised that CMJ was tapping away on a tv remote, having picked it up in the hotel, where he had left his mobile phone. It seemed to sum up CMJ`s attitude to most things modern and it is for his reluctance to leave the past behind and embrace the brave new world as much for his immense contribution to our enjoyment of cricket, that he too will be deeply missed.
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