Cricket diary: Lost luggage adds to ills for flying doctor (8 Aug 1998)

8th August

Cricket diary: Lost luggage adds to ills for flying doctor

Compiled by Clive Ellis

ALI BACHER's diplomacy on the international cricket circuit in furtherance of South Africa has won him almost universal acclaim - but that has not stopped the doctor twice committing something of a faux pas on their England tour this summer.

He unexpectedly arrived in Leeds for the start of the final Test only to find that his luggage had gone astray en route. Dressed in an open-collar green polo shirt, the United Cricket Board's managing director could not gain entry to the VIP enclosure because of the lack of a proper shirt and tie and spent the day in the open in the members' seats.

That followed an extraordinary experience during the Lord's Test when, as an honoured guest in the president's suite, Dr Bacher went to the toilet but because he had left his glasses behind went in the wrong door and found himself locked in a cubicle in the ladies.

The doctor spent some uncomfortable minutes waiting for the coast to clear before making a dash for freedom. He recollected afterwards that the incarceration "seemed like a lifetime".

A BIT of West Indian oneupmanship in Kent this week: Sandwich Town thought they had pulled off a coup when they recruited West Indian opener Philo Wallace, but opponents Suttonians had two former Test players on duty.

Richie Richardson has played for and captained Suttonians for the past two seasons and the guest star was none other than Desmond Haynes.

Suttonians, unbeaten since early June, won narrowly and came up against another West Indian giant on Thursday when they played Reigate Priory - fast bowler Ian Bishop.

On this occasion Richardson hit the winning runs off the final ball, bowled by Bishop, who believed he had seen a Test bowler of the future in Robert Joseph. The already rapid 16-year-old Antiguan started at Sutton Valence School last year and has also been 12th man for Kent.

Suttonians have formed an intriguing bridge between schools and club cricket by merging the former Lashings side with Sutton Valence, and the school players have benefited enormously through rubbing shoulders with seasoned internationals.

THE Australian Cricket Board are likely to give umpires the power to penalise negative bowling during this winter's Ashes series.

The ACB's umpiring manager, Tony Crafter, said they would almost certainly adopt a recommendation by the International Cricket Council allowing umpires to call wides against bowlers who consistently bowl outside the leg stump.

"It's not going to penalise someone like Shane Warne bowling into leg-side footmarks with an attacking field," Crafter added.

THERE are uneasy parallels between the first day's play at Headingley and the deciding Test against Pakistan in 1992.

As now, the series was poised at 1-1 and whereas England collapsed from 181 for three to 230 all out on Thursday, they subsided from 182 for three to 207 all out on the opening day at the Oval as Wasim Akram gained extravagant reverse swing after tea.

Pakistan went on to win by 10 wickets.

SRI LANKA'S short tour has brought a revival of interest in the musical tribute which greeted their World Cup triumph two years ago.

The jolly ditty, Sri Lanka Champions of 1996, was composed by Herb Fernando, who is the father figure in the north London-based Sri Lankan baila band Family Affair.

The cassette is being stocked at the MCC Shop and the Oval Shop, but Fernando's big ambition is that the song should be played over the public address system at both Lord's and the Oval.

Sri Lanka play England at headquarters in the triangular one-day tournament next Saturday and the one-off Test begins at the Oval on Aug 27.

Sri Lanka Champions of 1996 is a miracle of fitting in multi-syllabic lyrics, starting with the factual: "Sri Lanka won the World Cup from Australia on 17th March 1996."

Every member of the team gets a name check and the song even philosophises over the excitement of one-day cricket. "Brave bat, fiery bowling, strong leadership, brings high-speed thrills and victories," sing Herb Fernando's wife Carmen and son Glenn.

Compiled by Clive Ellis

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)