Russell's brush strokes on two fronts at Lord's (28 August 1999)

28 August 1999

Russell's brush strokes on two fronts at Lord's

Charles Randall

Jack Russell, cricketer and painter, reaches a summit in both his careers tomorrow when he takes part in his first final for Gloucestershire at Lord's.

The NatWest Trophy contest, against Somerset, satisfies his ambition of reaching heights with his beloved county, and his oil painting, The Winning Moment, will be on view for the first time as his first true magnum opus.

The massive picture of this year's World Cup final was commissioned by NatWest Bank at a cost of undisclosed thousands, and the presentation is due to be made to the bank's chairman, Sir David Rowland, at 10.15 am tomorrow.

Russell is very proud of his picture, and if Somerset chose some highbrow sledging tactics in the field such as "dauber" or "failed cubist" it would no doubt upset him very much.

The abrasive go-getting attitude of John Bracewell, Gloucestershire's coach, was legendary during his playing days as New Zealand's off-spinner. John Wright, his captain, recalled in his autobiography: "He's got a good nasty streak. The opposition don't like him because he's intimidating. He can be as hard on himself and his team-mates as he is on the opposition."

Wright, who is now Kent's coach, remembered batting against Bracewell in New Zealand domestic cricket and stunning him into silence by calling Bracewell an "effing curly-haired golliwog". One trusts the Gloucestershire players have enjoyed their season.

Jamie Cox has been expanding his cricket experience since taking on the Somerset captaincy on his first visit to England.

The Tasmanian's dream of playing at Lord's is to be realised tomorrow, but he has already reached one personal target - his maiden first-class wicket.

His off-break victim at Taunton happened to be a fellow Australian, the Sussex import Michael Di Venuto, whose disgust was mollified by his own maiden wicket in the same match, that of Cox.

Against Middlesex, Cox infuriated another Australian, Justin Langer, by dismissing him for 96.

Mark Alleyne, the Gloucestershire captain, is being urged to use a relic from 1895 to gain a mystical advantage at Lord's tomorrow. Tony Brown, the county's leader in the 1973 final, pinned a white linen scarf commemorating W G Grace's 100th hundred on his locker at Lord's and Sussex, the favourites, were duly beaten. The scarf disappeared but it was discovered recently in a drawer in the club's museum at Bristol, revived for use as a lucky charm.

If Somerset win and decide on a sing-song, their coach, Dermot Reeve, might be tempted to get his guitar out. Rob Turner, the wicketkeeper, is the best musician, an accomplished pianist, but he is reluctant to play by ear. He is out of practice anyway because he cannot find a suitable upright for his new cottage in Taunton.

John Buchanan left Lord's with mixed memories last year. The innovative Queenslander was disgracefully rejected by Middlesex after one season as coach, but he is among the front-runners for the Australia job with Allan Border and Steve Rixon. 'Buckie' could be back at headquarters in 2001 after all, this time with the Ashes.

Channel 4's cricket theme music Mambo No 5, by Lou Bega, is expected to go top of the British charts this weekend. That is some contrast to Dave Stewart's World Cup record All Over The World, which was released after England had been knocked out and disappeared without trace. The Test series was also traumatic, but people can still recognise a good tune.

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