Good old Ollie comes to town
Remembering Colin Milburn, a man who lost an eye, but never his spirit
22-Oct-2016
From his size to his strokes to his jokes, Colin Milburn was a darling of England and Northamptonshire cricket in the 1960s and a play about his life will tour 18 county clubs this November. Matthew Engel, in the Guardian, takes the opportunity to remember a man wouldn't even let a car crash and a lost eye dampen his spirit.
However, the play will also reflect the first and most important fact about Colin Milburn: that he was an absolutely fantastic cricketer. In an era when sixes had not been cheapened by repetition, he hit them regularly. He did not need a heavy bat: he was the heavy, about 19st of him at peak. He was not big-boned or bulked-up - he was fat. But he was not a novelty turn. His technique was fundamentally correct, when he put his mind to it. However, when he decided a ball wanted hitting, it stayed hit.