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Athers: “Offspinners were crap in my day!”
By Scott 2 years ago, at the start of February Leave a comment on this post
If it’s Sunday, it must be time to see what Mike Atherton is writing in the Sunday Telegraph.
Mike, if you read this, I pick on you because your good. I don’t do this to Roebuck or any of the other hacks out there.
This week, our hero is writing about England’s dire spinning options heading to India. No doubts there. But not to worry, no English spinner was ever going to bowl out Dravid, Tendulkar and co. England’s strength is in their pace bowlers. If England are going to win in India, it will be Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff that are the men to do the job
But Athers goes into his own memory to make a point:
The best off-spinner that I played against, Tim May, didn’t bowl a ‘doosra’ but he did grasp the need to vary his pace and his flight, change his angle on the crease and give the ball such an almighty rip that a huge, bleeding gash was routinely opened on his spinning finger each time he started a spell.
TIM MAY????
*scott falls on the floor laffing*
Truly, your kidding, right? Actually, “Mayhem” was a pretty decent offspinner, who never took himself very seriously at all. It’s one of the funny things in life that Tim May, who was a affable joker of a player has transformed into the uber-serious head of FICA, the cricketer’s union.
The first Test I ever actually went to was Australia vs West Indies, 1992-93 (yes THAT one, where we lost by one run.) I had to catch my train back to the country town I was living in, so I had to leave the ground with an hour of play to go. As I regretfully walked out the Victor Richardson Gates at the Adelaide Oval, May was just coming on to bowl. He took 5 for 9 in that hour, routing the West Indies, and causing the rest of Adelaide to lose the plot. And I missed it! And Tim scored 42 not out to nearly take Australia to the Frank Worrell Trophy. There was real steel under that goofy grin, and real talent, too.
But I still want to know how much Mayhem paid Athers to write that. All of Tim May’s friends, family and fans want to know!
Tags: adelaide, andrew-flintoff, athers-sunday-telegraph-column, australia, fast-bowlers, fica, mayhem, michael-atherton, off-spin, rahul-dravid, sachin-tendulkar, simon-jones, spin-bowlers, tim-may, victor-richardson-gates, west-indies |
3 Responses to “Athers: “Offspinners were crap in my day!””
February 5th, 2006 at 8.50 am
February 5th, 2006 at 10.07 am
Being the great King of Spain fan that I am, I was slightly dismayed that he didn’t even mention the ripper of the delivery Giles bowled to Martyn in the Ashes, at Trent Bridge when he wrote of the best deliveries bowled by English spinners in the last decade. True Martyn is not quite a Sachin Tendulkar, but that ball was a better one then the one that Virgil bowled to get Sachin out, IMHO. And it was an Ashes test, it’s got to be more special then that Sachin wicket.
Coming to think of it, Giles has bowled many great deliveries, there was this wonderful one to Lara, that got him at Lord’s two season ago, in that test where he got 9. That is almost just as good a delivery.
I agree thought that if England have to win in India it will be their quicks who will do it for them, not a Monty Pensar or a Shaggy Udal. As much as I like lovley Ian Blacky (let’s not go in to the whys of this), he isn’t a test-bowler, not at least as yet. And without an almighty King of Spain and style and The Weakest Link winner by their side, any English spinner is going to struggle. That his hip operation revealed some early signs of arthritis is the most depressing news I have come across in recent times.
February 5th, 2006 at 10.44 am
I attended the four days of that Test Match. Not having taken Tim May too seriously up until that point I learnt a lot of respect for the guy. The Windies’ pacemen were lethal at that stage and this pudgy spinner stood up to them. And to this day I don’t believe that McDermott hit that last ball.
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