Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

I got frogmarched, very much against my will, to go to a pub - a public house, ffs - to have Lunch with some friends today to celebrate Blandy's Birthday.
I love Blandy, but going into a pub is a step too far for me, I'd not do that for almost anyone. I sulked & pouted like a spoilt brat.

I'm not sure if I've ever told you this Kendall, but I bloody love you.

/hero worship.

He did look like a smacked arse for the duration of it mind.

Oi!

That was me looking happy.

[elBlandie]

"played like a mummified cock"? That was a bit loose for you!

[tikay]

The cricket, proper stuff (Test Matches) v nonsense (One Day stuff).

Thanks for the comments.

Hands up, I was in a foul mood yesterday, & I was a bit unfair on the one-day stuff. It used to be the tail, & now the tail not only wags the dog, but it pays for it too.

It just does not do much for me, it's like comparing RL to RU - different things, for different people.

I'm sure it's very skilled too.

One of the dreams of my miserably failed attempt to retire - next time, I'll get it right - was - well here's a brief list.....

Sit & watch (On TV, not live, cba with that) EVERY ball of EVERY Test Match. Any Test Match, it does not matter. A 5 day match is like a long TV Series, it gives time for the characters & personalities to develop. And the cricketers wear proper cricket gear, white flannels & stuff. Coloured kit, for cricketers, a white ball, wtf?

Sit & watch (on TV) every moment, all 4 days, of The British Golf Open - The Open - & all the other Golf Majors, too. Ditto ditto.

Watch (on TV) the whole of the Cheltenham Fessie, Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood, (not Aintree though, for some reason, the National is just a handicap).

And so on.....

Would I watch a ODI? Doubt it, unless everything else on the TV was dreadful, Davina-dreadful.

But the one-day stuff must be a terrific betting-medium, maybe that's half the problem, I don't bet these days. I could be tempted, though, once I retire. It matters more when there is money on it, as the saying for a famous bookie used to say.   

Longy said it was maybe £3 to watch the final session of a County Match. That'd be massive value, imo. Added to bucket list.

Ted Dexter, the Gillette Cup, 1962? I loved that, but it was in it's proper place then, an acccesory to the real thing. Now it's the Boss.

IIRC, the annual Sunday League Final was one of the highlights of the year. It started as Gillette, became the John Player Cup, then the NatWest Cup. I think.

Who can forget? - or would want to forget? - Bumble, in that famous One Day Final? So yes, in it's place, it's OK.

I would watch, or listen, to Bumble, Botham, Willis & Co all day & night, even if it were one-day nonsense, I suppose.

[TheChipPrince]

Any thoughts on Boycott Tikay?  I see you didn't list him.

[tikay]

Any thoughts on Boycott Tikay?  I see you didn't list him.

Lots!

I saw him doing the "round-up" last night on Telly, & I nearly cried. How old is he now? However old he is, he looks older, & the hat does not help.

I idolised him as an England opener, everything about him, (ditto Brian Close - I really ought to write abook on Brian Close, what a legend!), the way we could rely on him to dig in, to be bloody-minded, & refuse to yield, or be intimidated. Did he ever play a bad innings for England, when we really needed him? Not many, for sure.

Then he retired, became a pundit, TMS regular, I still idolised him. Blunt, forthright, "that's no bloody good, line & length, line & length".

But then he had that business with the lady, where, iirc, he knocked her about or whatever, & I got uncomfortable with my affection for him. Then he got ill, & I never knew whether to wish him well, or what.

Now, he's sort of paid his bills, he got chucked off TV & Radio for a while, so that's all right. Sort of. Everyone has to pay their bills, then that's it.

But when I watched him last night, I think he looked so awful, I'm not sure I want to remember him, visually, looking like that. Maybe he should stick to Radio.

It really disturbed me, to be honest, seeing him look so wrinkly & old. Struck home a bit, a home truth, too. I stared in the mirror today, wondered how I look to others, as someone in their mid-sixties, commentating on a young man's game. Hmm.  PS - don't all rush to agree with that last bit, purlease.

Geoffrey Boycott overall? Bloody legend, & hero. Add Lester Piggott, & Brian Close, to that, too. I'll do a Top Ten Sporting Legends shortly, in fact. 

[The Camel]

The cricket, proper stuff (Test Matches) v nonsense (One Day stuff).

Thanks for the comments.

Hands up, I was in a foul mood yesterday, & I was a bit unfair on the one-day stuff. It used to be the tail, & now the tail not only wags the dog, but it pays for it too.

It just does not do much for me, it's like comparing RL to RU - different things, for different people.

I'm sure it's very skilled too.

One of the dreams of my miserably failed attempt to retire - next time, I'll get it right - was - well here's a brief list.....

Sit & watch (On TV, not live, cba with that) EVERY ball of EVERY Test Match. Any Test Match, it does not matter. A 5 day match is like a long TV Series, it gives time for the characters & personalities to develop. And the cricketers wear proper cricket gear, white flannels & stuff. Coloured kit, for cricketers, a white ball, wtf?

Sit & watch (on TV) every moment, all 4 days, of The British Golf Open - The Open - & all the other Golf Majors, too. Ditto ditto.

Watch (on TV) the whole of the Cheltenham Fessie, Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood, (not Aintree though, for some reason, the National is just a handicap).

And so on.....

Would I watch a ODI? Doubt it, unless everything else on the TV was dreadful, Davina-dreadful.

But the one-day stuff must be a terrific betting-medium, maybe that's half the problem, I don't bet these days. I could be tempted, though, once I retire. It matters more when there is money on it, as the saying for a famous bookie used to say.   

Longy said it was maybe £3 to watch the final session of a County Match. That'd be massive value, imo. Added to bucket list.

Ted Dexter, the Gillette Cup, 1962? I loved that, but it was in it's proper place then, an acccesory to the real thing. Now it's the Boss.

IIRC, the annual Sunday League Final was one of the highlights of the year. It started as Gillette, became the John Player Cup, then the NatWest Cup. I think.

Who can forget? - or would want to forget? - Bumble, in that famous One Day Final? So yes, in it's place, it's OK.

I would watch, or listen, to Bumble, Botham, Willis & Co all day & night, even if it were one-day nonsense, I suppose.

Wasn't the Sunday limited overs tournament a league, not a cup?

[tikay]

Here's a snap Top Ten Sporting Legends, compiled on the hoof, without any prompting.

I think half would be on the list anyway, but I'm bound to have forgotten somes, so will have to chop the list around.

PS - It's more than Ten, & I've not started yet. The cull will be painful.

Lester Piggott.

Joe Mercer.

Henry Cecil

Sir Alex Ferguson. (I know he can be a cock, but what a record he has).

Alec Stock

Stanley Matthews.

Jimmy Greaves.

Jimmy White.

Sir Geoffrey.

Brian Close.

Botham.

Billy Wright.

Arsene Wenger.

Fred & Joe Davis.

Lillee & Thompson.

The Rev David Sheppard.

David Bryant.

John Trollope.

Stan Bowles or Rodney Marsh.

Johnny Giles & Billy Bremner.

Viv Richards.

Alan Knott & Deadly Derek Underwood. They only worked in tandem.

John Surtees.

Derek Minter.

Juan Manuel Fangio.

John Cooper.

Of God, this was a bad idea. The short list will be 50.

[TheChipPrince]

But when I watched him last night, I think he looked so awful, I'm not sure I want to remember him, visually, looking like that.

Thanks for that.

The above quote I think is what a lot of people think of Alex Higgins before his end, a real 'shadow' of what he was.

[TightEnd]

Gillette Cup 1962 became the Nat West mid 70s. 60 overs, now 50

Benson and Hedges began late 60s, 55 overs. Until mid 2000s

John Player League early 1970s to now, 40 overs. Was Sundays now shoehorned into the schedule whenever under various brandings

three competitions for One dayers, domestically until the advent of 2020

now

20-20

40 over comp in two divisions

Nat West, regionalised til quarters

[tikay]

But when I watched him last night, I think he looked so awful, I'm not sure I want to remember him, visually, looking like that.

Thanks for that.

The above quote I think is what a lot of people think of Alex Higgins before his end, a real 'shadow' of what he was.

Good analogy.

[tikay]

Gillette Cup 1962 became the Nat West mid 70s. 60 overs, now 50

Benson and Hedges began late 60s, 55 overs. Until mid 2000s

John Player League early 1970s to now, 40 overs. Was Sundays now shoehorned into the schedule whenever under various brandings

three competitions for One dayers, domestically until the advent of 2020

now

20-20

40 over comp in two divisions

Nat West, regionalised til quarters

Trust you to know all that off pat.

Bet you never even googled it!

[Moskvich]

Who can forget? - or would want to forget? - Bumble, in that famous One Day Final? So yes, in it's place, it's OK.

Don't really want to pick holes in your great selection of sporting moments! And as a Lancastrian I may be embarrassing myself here if I'm overlooking something - but wonder if you mean David Hughes, rather than Lloyd, in the Gillette Cup semi-final in the dark...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Th1MFS_O-4

Anyway, pretty amazing scenes for a county game, looking at it now - and plenty of the crowd well under the age of 60, watching a full 120 overs in a day...

[Pelham Boy]

Gillette Cup 1962 became the Nat West mid 70s. 60 overs, now 50

Benson and Hedges began late 60s, 55 overs. Until mid 2000s

John Player League early 1970s to now, 40 overs. Was Sundays now shoehorned into the schedule whenever under various brandings

three competitions for One dayers, domestically until the advent of 2020

now

20-20

40 over comp in two divisions

Nat West, regionalised til quarters

Without checking The Gillette Cup became Nat West In 81 ( i think). Northants v Derbyshire final. I was there. Match was tied and Derby won on losing fewer wickets.

[TightEnd]

Gillette Cup 1962 became the Nat West mid 70s. 60 overs, now 50

Benson and Hedges began late 60s, 55 overs. Until mid 2000s

John Player League early 1970s to now, 40 overs. Was Sundays now shoehorned into the schedule whenever under various brandings

three competitions for One dayers, domestically until the advent of 2020

now

20-20

40 over comp in two divisions

Nat West, regionalised til quarters

Trust you to know all that off pat.

Bet you never even googled it!

No sir, I know my cricket stats. I used as a kid get taken to the oval by grandparents. This would be mid 70s. I would be set challenges from the Playfair cricket annual and the members would bet against my grandad that I wouldn't know a stat from the book. If I knew it, my grandad won the £1/£5 whatever

I usually knew, and kept getting taken to the cricket in the summer holidays


Pat Pocock, Robin Jackman, the fearsome Sylvester Clarke, Intikhab etc

Still go nuts at cricket stats to this day

[tikay]

Who can forget? - or would want to forget? - Bumble, in that famous One Day Final? So yes, in it's place, it's OK.

Don't really want to pick holes in your great selection of sporting moments! And as a Lancastrian I may be embarrassing myself here if I'm overlooking something - but wonder if you mean David Hughes, rather than Lloyd, in the Gillette Cup semi-final in the dark...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Th1MFS_O-4

Anyway, pretty amazing scenes for a county game, looking at it now - and plenty of the crowd well under the age of 60, watching a full 120 overs in a day...

Bugger. Again.

Yes yes, of course.

I'm really losing it, I need to think a little more before I rush into print.

Sorry.

Still, you mention "sporting moments". A Top Ten of those, on the insta-snap-hoof.....

Piggott wining The Derby on The Minstrel. Lifted it over the line.

Dickinson's Gold Cup 1-2-3-4-5.

Bustino v Grundy, the King George at Ascot.

Captain Christy, Boxing Day at Kempton.

Leeds v Chelsea Cup Final replay.

Pat Carllson, Monte Carlo Rally.

Mike Hailwood, TT.

Any Golf Major won by Gary Player or Jack Nicklaus.

Woods 2000 Open win. 72 holes round St Andrews, & never in a bunker once. Unbelievable. And I was there.

Seve, any win, but preferably playing at Augusta.

Senna's final race.

Schumaker at Spa in a Benetton. Or was it a Tyrrell?

Jeez, this is too much fun. I need to go do some work.