The Twelfth Man 2011

24 Matthew Hayden Standing My Ground Published by Aurum Press (hb) – £20.00 I have to confess to sharing my life-long love for cricket with reading about the great game, but I have become selective for there are so many being churned out-many of them being ‘ghost written’ too, which I dislike. This one is delightfully easy to read and I have to admit to having a great admiration for the ‘big man’. I have watched him play many times-more in Australia than back home. I’ll never forget watching a Test Match at the MCG against India and having talked my way into the Members enclosure was fascinated by the packed stands all around. Turning to a couple seated behind me, I asked the man if he’d take a photo of me across the crowd. After he’d done this he asked ‘Would I like a photo with his boy behind me?’. His ‘boy’ of course was Matthew batting out in the middle. A happy memory and I can recommend this great book to anyone, the story of a ‘good Catholic boy’, a famous ‘sledger’, but above all one of the outstanding members of a marvellous Australian team. N.H. Not in My Day, Sir Cricket letters to The Daily Telegraph Edited by Martin Smith Published by Aurum Press (hb) – £14.99 I was thrilled to get hold of this book, a collection of letters sent to The Telegraph between 1928 and 2010, written by a great range of cricket lovers, authors like Cardus, Swanton, players like C.B.Fry, Percy Fender, David Sheppard and so many others as I skipped to and fro. Found one from my pal Mick Baxter of Walton, but so many and the lack of an index adds to the pleasure. This is the sort of book I will take with me to read when I travel on t’bus to Headingley, covering a wide range of topics, bringing back so many memories. N.H. This time Geoff told the Society about his cricket heroes. His first hero was A.B.Sellers. Geoff spoke of the day when he travelled to London with Brian Sellers and Arthur ‘Ticker’ Mitchell to face an MCC committee when Geoff’s bowling action was under scrutiny. “I got on the train at Pudsey, I met Brian and Arthur and I didn’t say a word until we got to London. I just listened to those two talking about cricket. When we got there Brian told me ‘I October – Geoff Cope made a welcome return to the Society and kicked off our 2010 speaker programme Wombwell’s Winter Season 2010/11 Reviewed by Tom Hudson and Neil Whitaker Photos by Margaret Harrison and Beryl Ambler don’t believe you throw and I will back you’. Sellars was something special.” “Johnny Wardle was a great person who was so special to me. When I spent time with him sorting my action out, he told me ‘after this you would play for England, if you don’t it will be my fault and if you do I want nothing for it.’” Geoff played for England in India and in the same team was Derek Randall. “After he took a great catch in a Test, the Indian crowd loved him. He picked up and eat fruit which was thrown at him. He then pretended he was ill and a stretcher came out for him. After a few yards Randall just jumped off the stretcher. Geoff didn’t play in the Centenary Test match in Melbourne in March 1977 but was in the squad. “In our second innings Derek made 170 but when he was on 130 he was felled by a bouncer from Dennis Lillee. After he received treatment he was ready to face the next ball. But as Dennis was about to delivery Derek pulled away. When Lillee got closer to Derek Randall and Randall said to him ‘Dennis that last ball was a bit quick’. Rodney Marsh fell to the ground with laughing at that.” “At a match at Portsmouth I went to the press box to look for Bill Bowes but the press box was empty apart from one journalist who said to me ‘I like being in the company of cricketers’, it was John Arlott and I didn’t Geoff Cope receives his Wombwell glass from vice-chairman Ron Firth