The Twelfth Man 2014

! 25 ' HOWZAT?'THE' SIX&SIXES& BALL'MYSTERY' ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( By(Grahame(Lloyd.(Published(by(and(available(from( Celluloid(Ltd,(51(Henley(Street,(Lincoln,(Lincs,(LN5( 8BB.(£14.99( In%October%2009%broadcaster%and%journalist,% Grahame%Lloyd,%accompanied%by%John%Parkin,%the% nonHstriking%Notts%batsman%at%Swansea%in%1968%when% Garry%Sobers%hit%six%sixes%in%one%Malcolm%Nash%over,% visited%Wombwell%to%talk%about%his%book,% Six(of(the( Best %(reviewed%and%featured%in%the%2009% Twelfth( Man ).%Grahame’s%wellHreceived%tome%marked%the% 40 th %anniversary%of%the%recordHmaking%feat%and%he% and%John%gave%us%a%memorable%Society%evening.%% Published%in%2008% Six(of(the(Best %cast%doubt%on%the% authenticity%of%the%cricket%ball%that%the%auctioneers,% Christie’s,%claimed%was%used%in%that%historic%over%at%St% Helen’s%on%31%August%1968,%and%which%they%then%sold% for%the%remarkable%sum%of%£26,400%in%2006.% Grahame’s%follow%up%publication,% Howzat?(The(Six( Sixes(Ball(Mystery ,%now%brings%us%the%complete%story% of%his%forensic%and%exhaustive%search%for%the%truth% about%one%of%cricket’s%most%iconic%pieces%of% memorabilia.%% The%Duke%ball%sold%by%Christie’s%(one%of%three,%they% claimed,%were%used%in%the%famous%over)%resurfaced%in% 2012%at%a%Bonham’s%auction.%Thankfully%they% withdrew%it%from%sale%in%light%of%the%overwhelming% weight%of%evidence%provided%by%the%author%to%show% that%it%was%not%the%‘genuine%article’.%Operation% Howzat%was%underway%and%the%detailed%record%of% what%unfolded%over%the%next%18%months%is%provided% in%this%absorbing%and%pageHturning%account.%Several% of%the%subjects%involved%with%the%original%ball%sale%in% 2006%(a%group%dubbed%‘The%Gang%of%Nine’%by%Lloyd)% do%not%emerge%with%their%credibility%intact:%for% certain%Christie’s%(current%and%former%staff%alike)%and% also%the%strange%silence%from%the%Glamorgan% archivist%seems%most%baffling.%Others%(Jose%Miller% [owner%of%the%Duke%ball]%and%Sobers%himself)%seem%to% have%acted%at%times%“in%blissful%ignorance%and% innocence”.%The%author%outlines%his%full%his%reasons% for%writing%the%book%in%this%edition%of% The(Twelfth( Man ,%so%I%will%not%steal%his%thunder.%Suffice%to%say% Grahame%will%be%back%at%Wombwell%in%October%2014% to%narrate%the%mystery%in%person%and%it%should%be%a% Society%night%not%to%miss.%For%those%who%cannot% make%the%meeting%I’d%recommend%buying%the%book%–% you%won’t%be%disappointed.% %%%%%%%HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH% FRANK'MITCHELL:'IMPERIAL'CRICKETER' By(Anthony(Bradbury.(ACS(Publications(–(£14( In%late%November%2013,%active%Yorkshire%CCC% Southern%Group%member%Tony%Bradbury%gave%the% Society%a%nostalgic%evening%with%memories%of% Yorkshire%matches%and%players%from%the%late%1940s% and%50s%and%in%particular%reflections%of%his%cricketing% hero%Len%Hutton.%Tony%has%written%for%the%YCCC% Yearbook%every%year%since%1993%and%regularly% contributes%articles%for%other%cricketing%publications,% including%the%Southern%Group%newsletter%and%ACS% Journal.%Surprising%then%that%this%is%his%first%published% cricket%book%(his%one%other%work%was%on%early% London%County%Courts)%and%is%number%34%in%the%everH expanding%series%of%‘Lives%in%Cricket’%books%produced% by%the%Association%of%Cricket%Statisticians%and% Historians.% Author and WCLS secretary Mick Pope takes a look at the latest cricket literature on offer