Open Writing

As I've now passed the biblical three score years and ten I often look back on my journey through life and think what might have been. I'm told psychologists have argued for decades about the hereditary and environmental theories of human development. I believe the former influenced my behaviour the most and that I was born with a natural ability for ball games. However, given this natural ability in the lottery of life were the right career decisions made at the right time, or what might have been?

For example, did I do right in changing from bowling fast-medium as I did at school, to bowling slow spin when I joined South Shields Cricket Club. By the time I had finished growing I had an ideal build for a fast bowler. Also I shall never know what might have been if I had broken my apprenticeship and signed professional fulltime for Newcastle United and/or Northamptonshire C.C.C.

Some people argue, even in the 1950's, it was very difficult, given the ability, to succeed in two professional sports at the same time, or to flourish on the cricket field as both a batsman and bowler. It's my experience in county cricket that most batsmen are not good bowlers, but given the opportunity many bowlers could have been excellent batsmen, had they not, like myself, been guided into a more specialised role of a bowler. Others have said that by becoming a utility player at Newcastle I contributed to my own downfall. Whatever the answers, we can't go back.

I recall a headline in the Green Sports Gazette which, referring to me read; "The All-round Dilemma of the All-rounder" My father who encouraged and guided me in everyway possible, was in spite of my relative success, a little disappointed I didn't make it to the top in at least one sport.

The psychology of football and cricket is also vastly different. Facts and figures of individual batting and bowling count at the end of the season in cricket, and this is on which players are judged, hi football a player can have a good or a bad game but it doesn't show so quantitatively in the next day's paper or in a league table.

Also in cricket a batsman's job is a lonely one. One false stroke and he is out, usually until the next match; in football a player can miss an open goal one minute, score a beauty in the next and all is forgiven.

On the County Cricket circuit during my early years it was great to be away on tour playing two games a week, living in hotels and seeing the country. The humour of cricketers is well known - the banter and the sarcasm - it's all good fun and when the team are doing well, it's even better.
After a few years somehow it's not the same. If you are not performing well - and it happens to most of us - you tend to feel out of it and the team seem to lose that respect for you they once had.

In eleven summers at Northampton, I enjoyed most of them, played with and against the very best cricketers, and had experiences I will never forget. Yes, the worry, the pain, the torment, the massive disappointments, the buzz, the camaraderie and the fascination of cricket -I experienced them all, was it all worth it? Disappointments? Yes. Regrets? None at all.

I guess we must have all loved the game, because we certainly weren't in it for the money. The salaries weren't lucrative but the non-financial benefits were good. I met many fine people on my travels and played with and against the best in two sports I loved. Certainly better than working in a shipyard!