A DEBT OF GRATITUDE...

I don`t take The Times - it`s a bit heavy for me and a bit big and I`m not sure I would have the stamina to plough through it all.   I`m sure that is to my detriment but I did pick up on the sad news that The Times` cricket correspondent, John Woodcock, has passed away at the age of 94.

He was know as `The Sage of Longparish` after the Hampshire village he called home.  He was said to have seen more Test matches than anyone - over 400 of them - except for Richie Benaud and his 33 years as The Times correspondent earned him the right to a lasting place in the annals of cricket journalism.   Between 1981 and 1987 he edited Wisden`s Cricketers` Almanack, copies of which adorn my eclectic bookshelves and I think it was that connection that made me pause and reflect on the strength and depth of cricket writing over the years.

So in acknowledging the debt of gratitude to John Woodcock it gives me the opportunity to give my thanks also to the many cricket writers who have provided so much enjoyment over the years and makes me wonder why it is that cricket seems to be the one area in the sporting world that provides literature of arguably the highest quality of any other.  It surely must be down to the game itself which whilst taking anything up to five days to play - and then not always leading to a result - provides ample opportunity for reflection which can then be translated into intelligent, thoughtful and considered commentary.

I`ve got a few of them on my bookshelves.  Biographies of  Harold Larwood, Harold Gimblett, Tom Graveney;  autobiographies by Ben Stokes, Robin Smith:  histories of county teams such as Somerset, Glamorgan, Hampshire; and what you might describe as collective essays about the spirit and charm of the game and its way of life by authors such a David Foot, Duncan Hamilton and David Frith.   

They are books to keep, not to throw away, to read them again if only as a reminder of and another escape into the other worldly sanctuary of the beautiful game.   And the curious thing is that however many times I get one down from its shelf, there is always something new to discover, some new perspective and yet another reason to be thankful.