If January is good for one thing, its reading books. And you don’t even have to buy them yourself. It could be crime fiction (violent Scandinavian crime investigated by edgy loner policeman, they’re intimately linked with it somehow, drink and fags, some light meaningless sex, more crime, a chase of some sort, the odd text, ends with suicide), sports biographies (stay away from anything hardback), photo compilations (wow – look how blue that water is!) or a quirky something else which someone thought that’ll do. For me, this included a brilliant run down of, statistically, the 100 greatest Test centuries of all time. Pure indulgence.
I won’t spoil the fun, but the list was put together using a suitably geeky matrix of factors, including total runs, speed, influence on match chances (not result), quality of bowling attack, pitch conditions and % team total. There were a few other factors but I forget – not important. What was important however was the book’s increasingly eulogistic enthusiasm for each innings – reading it you felt you were climbing a mountain of cricket history to reach the peak of leather on willow perfection. Of equal excitement was the combination of innings/stories/games/names from years gone by, sitting alongside contemporary innings that I can remember seeing on TV or reading about online whilst dodging work. Read it – you’ll feel ready for the season once you’re done. Masterly Batting: 100 Greatest Test Centuries, by Patrick Ferriday and Dave Wilson.
But it got me thinking – what makes a great Wick innings? There are less centuries scored so we shouldn’t restrict it to the big innings, but there must be a hidden subconscious criteria that defines what is Great and what isn’t. You could make a book out of this, but for now, let’s include the following:
• An individual over achieving. Not just doing well, but breaking a personal barrier such that they enter a new imaginary part of their cricketing career where their ambitions are at a new level and expectations (of themselves and of them by others) are a step change over and above what they were before.
• Something to do with the zone. Everyone has their zone, and when its found there is a buzz on the sidelines because you know something special is about to happen. The zone could last for only a few balls, but its about the moment, and if this coincides with a match situation, a story, or a personal achievement it makes for greatness.
• Mental images. Great Wick innings are generally accompanied in my head with visuals implanted on my brain, or quotes from fielders or supporters that add to the story. It doesn’t need to be pretty, it doesn’t even need to be particularly special or clever, just something to asscoiate the innings with the moment.
• Generally these innings are part of special games – usually close, well earned, or important victories.
Ok – so here are three that immediately spring to mind, in no particular order. And also there are many more one could talk about – and in fact I probably will in the coming year – but these three are a good start:
1. Finbar Murray c.60 v Oxted & Limpsfield. 2012
Against a team who would eventually get promoted (justifiably so), Finbar came of age for the 1xi in a dramatic way. Having started the season as a keeper and #11 (in a team of 11 batsmen), he showed early on that he was willing to fight for his role. Anyone who was at Stoke D’Ab that day will testify to this. Slowly Finbar moved up the order and against Oxted he was in fine form as an opener.
Chasing around 200 to win, we started brightly enough with no alarms until Fin popped his shoulder. Having informed the skipper as to his predicament, the inevitable response of ‘Can you still bat?’ led to 30 minutes of the most ferocious hitting you could see. Having only one arm working properly prevented working the ball, but playing straight was still possible. It started to rain 6s over long-on – all top hand power. The innings of c.60 was the foundation of a special gloomy victory, whose story has its own match report.
2. Chares Edmonds 25 v Unknown a Sunday a few years back
Charles Edmonds’ Bajan displays are well documented – see here – but for me it all began a few years previously when on a bright Sunday afternoon at the age of maybe 15 he scored which at the time was surely his highest ever score (c.25), but definitely his longest ever innings (30 overs?). It came within a century partnership with of over 100 with myself (ahem), but I found far more joy in watching a young player make his first meaningful contribution to a senior game of cricket in a winning cause.
3. Tom Crowther X v Sinjuns, 2013
Sinjuns’ relegation last season was not unexpected, but to look in detail at results they can justifiably point to at least being competitive in most, and very competitive in many. Clearly there was something in their DNA which meant they struggled to get over the line – but until that point was reached games were often quite close.
In alien conditions (dead track, old ball, in at #3), Tom showed admirable constraint and patience to battle his natural instincts in what proved to be a not-quite-match-winning innings, topped off by a last over victory hit by Maingot over the bowlers head. There is actually very little I can remember about Crowther’s knock, other than to say I remember him going for a walk and getting stumped just shy of 50. It was tedium personified – but full of character and led to a vital victory in what was a potential banana skin.
Imagine writing a book on great Wick innings’ (hint hint).
