Players / Brian Close

The Tao of short leg

Banished to Boothill

Apr 11, 2014: The short leg position has traditionally gone to the junior pro, chosen for being disposable, not necessarily well-qualified

Benaud's Manchester miracle

Aug 1, 2013: England needed 256 in 230 minutes at Old Trafford. Ted Dexter blazed 76 but a wily Australian captain had the final say

1967

Geoff Boycott's Indian bore

Sep 22, 2012: As the England opener showed, there are occasions when the score itself is less important than the way the runs are accumulated

ODIs: still necessary, no longer evil

Sep 5, 2012: How much of the backbone England currently show can be traced to the benefits of one-day cricket?

England v West Indies, 3rd Test, Edgbaston, 4th day

Joyful Tino produces day to remember

Jun 10, 2012: Tino Best came within five runs of immortality and did so with a brilliance that put him up there with anybody in the great litany of Test cricket's unlikely performances

'You need to change the way the batsman plays'

Feb 9, 2012: Fielding up close to the bat isn't just about pulling off blinding catches and taking blows to the body

1976

Luck and a helicopter

Sep 26, 2009: The 1976 John Player League went down to the wire... and left the BBC relying on guesswork to avoid backing a losing horse

Brian Close

Life of Brian

Aug 4, 2009: Sixty years ago he was a prodigy who served notice to the world - before he went missing and later turned up as a brave old man against the West Indies firing squad

Cricinfo XI

Ripe old age

Jul 31, 2007: Eleven players who continued turning out well beyond normal retirement age

Vic Marks on Brian Close

Learning at Close quarters

Jul 17, 2007: He didn't always remember Vic Marks' name but that didn't stop Brian Close earning a lasting place in the Somerset spinner's affections

1976

Who's grovelling now?

May 19, 2007: When Tony Greig overstepped the line on the eve of England's series against West Indies

July 2006

Who got Boycott biffing?

Jul 5, 2006: Simon Lister interviews the key members of Yorkshire Gillette Cup Final winning team

Cricinfo XI

Dangerous games

May 2, 2006: One of the enduring images of watching South Africa of late has been the frequency with which Makhaya Ntini has struck batsmen on the head. Here, Cricinfo picks out 11 moments where tempers spilled over off the field&

The Wisden Cricketer - March

'Pressure is a journalist's word'

Mar 3, 2006: Dan Brigham talks to four of England's youngest debutants about the first experiences of Test cricket

India v England, 1st Test, Nagpur, 1st day

Rookie Cook's tasty treat

Mar 1, 2006: Paul Coupar's verdict on Alastair Cook's impressive debut

Cricinfo XI

Standing in at the deep end

Feb 28, 2006: It's been a week to remember in the captaincy stakes, with Zimbabwe's Terrence Duffin plucked from obscurity, and England's Andrew Flintoff stepping into the breach for England

Yorkshire v Surrey, Gillette Cup final, Lord's, September 4, 1965

A startling performance by Boycott

May 14, 2004: Yorkshire produced their most convincing form of the season when beating Surrey by 175 runs in the final of the Gillette Cup

If at first you don't succeed...

Jul 23, 2003: All Today's Yesterdays - July 23 down the years July 22 | July 24 1953 Birth of a batsman who took a while to find his feet in Test cricket but went on to become the best of his generation

The original Little Master

Jul 10, 2003: 1949 In Bombay, one of the greatest openers of all time is born

All out for 25

Jul 2, 2003: 1969 The day David slayed Goliath