Better Than He Knew

Graham Barlow

Description

Better Than He Knew: The Graham Barlow Story recalls the cricketing life of Graham Barlow, a talented all-round sportsman and largely unsung member of the Middlesex team that dominated domestic cricket from 1976 to 1985. Emerging from schoolboy cricket, seven years passed before he established himself in 1976. Cast aside after a 300-day international career, his focus on fitness and fielding often overshadowed his pugnacious batting. After a disastrous 1982, promotion to the top of the order to open with Wilf Slack provided the stability that he longed for and triggered the most successful period of his career until injury forced retirement. A global coaching career followed with success in New Zealand as head coach of Central Districts. Better Than He Knew is a deeply personally tribute that includes Graham's memoirs and synchronistic thoughts about the ups and downs of his life and career. There's also insight from former team-mates, whose stories celebrate this likeable cricketer and a golden era of county cricket.

Sujets

• Críquet
• Cricket

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 27 juin 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781801502795
• Langue: English

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2022
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Graham Barlow with James Hawkins, 2022
Every effort has been made to trace the copyright.
Any oversight will be rectified in future editions at the earliest opportunity by the publisher.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 9781801501194
eBook ISBN 9781801502795
---
eBook Conversion by www.eBookPartnership.com
Contents
Introduction
1. Highs and lows
2. Not bad at this
3. Brentham and beyond
4. Travelling with Fred
5. Camaraderie and quirks
6. Loughborough days
7. Drill sergeant return
8. Good weather, good wickets
9. 4.25
10. A truly unforgettable experience
11. Rushing in, diving about
12. The only way is up
13. A glimpse of things to come
14. Keeping the faith
15. Going silly and then goodbye
16. Panache and solidity
17. Testing times
18. Meeting Rose brings a change of focus
19. Hard work pays off after a cold start
20. A final Championship
21. Thank you, Bob
22. That infectious laugh
Statistical overview 1969-1986
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Photos
To my late parents, John and Chris, who gave me my love of cricket
Introduction
13 August 1981
For a cricket-mad 13-year-old on his school holidays, visits to the County Ground to see Northamptonshire play were special occasions. Northamptonshire had a good side in the early 1980s, and there was so much to be learnt by watching your heroes. The highlight of any day was always the opportunity to get out and play on the outfield with friends, or anyone you could join in with. Opportunities to relive what you had just watched or seen on television were scarce once play got underway, but before play, and at lunch, tea and stumps were times to be treasured.
On this day, the 1980 double-winning team of internationals, Middlesex, were the visitors. Before play started on the second morning, a member of the opposition interrupted the game that my two friends and I had started. Carrying his Duncan Fearnley bat and gloves, he called over to us with a cheery voice and London accent.
Hey lads, fancy bowling a few at me? It was Graham Barlow. When he tossed us a ball, we knew it was an offer we couldn t refuse. The next 20 minutes were spent either fielding crisp front-foot strokes from a deepish mid-off or mid-on or bowling at the blond left-hander. He thanked us, signed an autograph or two, then returned to the changing rooms to prepare for the resumption of his innings, being one not out overnight.
G.D. Barlow ct and bld Williams 54
A first innings half-century followed, during which Graham shared a solid century opening stand with another left-hander, who was using a Gunn & Moore bat. Although he was unknown to us at the time, this was Wilf Slack. There was also a 30-odd in the second-innings run-chase that ended with Middlesex nine wickets down and some way short of their target, mainly due to five wickets from off-spinner Richard Williams. Being an aspiring opening batsman myself, I liked what I saw from this newly acquired role model, not just the combination of watchful defence and punchy front-foot strokes, but the positive intent, laced with aggressive running between the wickets. From that day on, I tracked Graham s progress in newspapers and on Ceefax, researched his past career and collected anything that was relevant. I would never have believed that 40 years later, all the stuff that I collected and collated would prove so useful.
I still kept the faith during a forgettable 1982 season, and in 1983, Graham returned to the County Ground and scored 77 to secure the man-of-the-match award in the NatWest Trophy quarter-final. This innings was laced with more crunching boundaries and some trademark nimble footwork against the spinners on a slow turning pitch. The partnership of 149 for the second wicket with Clive Radley was full of very loud calling and positive running that took the game away from Northamptonshire. The match was televised, and I set our newly acquired VCR to record for the full three-hour tape. From the recording (now on DVD), I can quote Tom Graveney to the word, when Graham reached his half-century.
An excellent innings this by Graham Barlow - when he is at the wicket, there is always something going on. Never a truer word was spoken.
Two years later when Graham returned on what would be his final match at Northampton, he scored a polished 141 in the first innings and was part of another three-figure opening stand, again with Slack, by now his trusted opening partner and room-mate. By this stage I was playing regular Saturday cricket, but I made sure I was there on the Saturday morning to see Graham start his long innings, before departing to my own game. Middlesex went on to win the match comfortably, coincidentally, by 141 runs.
This book will tell the story of a naturally talented schoolboy sportsman, born into a working-class family in rural Kent, five years after the end of the war. His career with Middlesex spanned 17 years and is best remembered for pugnacious batting in a variety of roles, exemplary fielding, and his pre-season fitness drills. Seven years after his debut, in the scorching summer of 1976, his telling contributions with the bat and in the field played a significant part in the county s first outright Championship win for 29 years. Graham s career highlight came in late August that year with his international debut against the West Indies at Scarborough, where he made an undefeated 80. He was then selected to tour India, Sri Lanka, and Australia the following winter and played in three Test matches, the last being in the Silver Jubilee Test at Lord s against Australia in 1977. His return to Middlesex colours saw him play in one of the most successful county sides over the next decade. Graham was held in high regard by colleagues and opponents alike as a consummate professional and was a much better player than he knew, with his fielding prowess often overshadowing his many forceful innings. Throughout his career, Graham had his share of ups and downs. From 1983, the last four years of his playing career were probably his most successful and saw him achieve longed-for stability at the top of the batting order.
After injury ended his playing career suddenly in 1986, Graham relocated to South Africa and the next ten years were the most difficult of his life following a tragic car accident. After a period of turmoil, he coached both Eastern Province and Border before emigrating to New Zealand, where he masterminded a State Championship win with Central Districts in 2005/06. I kept an eye on his coaching career from afar, but it was not until I had an article published in The Cricketer magazine in June 2015 that this book was even considered. Some years passed and I tracked Graham down to Whangarei where he was teaching English. After making contact, Graham suggested that he would like to sort out his imminent retirement and relocation to Queensland first. Once he and his wife Rose were settled in Noosa, we got underway, and the book was created with numerous meetings on video calls and messages between us. There have been times when it has been rather like a jigsaw puzzle, slotting memories into place as they were jogged.
As a novice writer, I feel extremely privileged that Graham has allowed me to delve into his life and cricketing career in the way that he has. As the process went on, the author-subject relationship undoubtedly grew, as trust was built. It became apparent how much Graham was enjoying going down memory lane, as he would describe it. His recollection of events has sparked lots of memories and rekindled friendships with past colleagues. At all times, Graham has been open and honest in recording the journey of his life and describing the many characters he came across along the way. Graham believes that everything has simply been a series of coincidences rather than an actual career, which is a nod to his admiration for the renowned Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Graham discovered Jung s books and theories on synchronicity after a particularly difficult time in his life during the early 1990s. To confirm Graham s thinking, a truly coincidental event happened. Three months into writing the book, I lost my father, John, who although not a cricketer himself, was instrumental in fostering my love of the game. During the process of sorting his belongings, I took several bags of clothes to a local clothing bank. As I emptied one of the bags, there were several old ties. One stood out immediately, which I hadn t seen for more than 30 years - it was Graham s benefit tie from 1984. As I fished it out of the recycling bin, one word came into my mind: synchronicity.
For our many meetings, the time difference between us has never been an issue - usually mornings for me and evenings for Graham. The differing climates have caused some amusement, though; me wrapped in a blanket and Graham in a T-shirt, both of us drinking tea, made by our patient wives. In the book I have tried to stick with Graham s and the many other contributors words as closely as possible and I hope this is apparent by the way the text is laid out.
Graham Barlow may not be the first name that springs to people s minds