[Cricket] RIP Ian Thomson

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

Fast medium - or perhaps not quite fast medium would be more accurate. Wicketkeepers would stand closer to the stumps to him than they would have done to Trueman, Statham and the like - and Gunn was a very good wicket keeper, so a stumping wasn't that extraordinary.

On the categories of fast bowlers you've reminded me of my days thumbing through the Playfair* annuals. I was always intrigued by the distinctions between RF, RM, RMF and RFM. As they didn't have speed guns in those days, I suppose it was a bit of a guessing game!

* Curses! I just went to check this out from old Playfairs of the 1960s and discovered I must have thrown them out at some stage.

 

[Gwylan]

Also from that era, Les Lenham who is still going strong at 85 and with his son Neil also playing for the county and now grandsons Archie and Scott on the books, there are the makings of another Sussex dynasty.

There are quite a few from era who are, happily, still with us. Robin Marlar (slightly before my time) is 90, while Dexter and Tony Buss are in their 80s. Sadly, Terry Gunn died a couple of months ago.

 

[Pevenseagull]

I believe he was England's oldest living test player - I'm not sure who has that honour now: Ray Illingworth?

Sadly, he completes my team of Sussex players who I saw but who are no longer with us.

Richard Langridge
Alan Oakman
Ken Suttle
The Nawab of Pataudi
Graham Cooper
Tony Greig
Umer Rashid
Alan Mansell
Ian Thomson
Matthew Hobden
Don Bates
12th man Mark Faber

A decent team that

every time I see Umer Rashid's name ....


I am fully aware that connecting the success of Sussex from the early 00's to Rashid's tragic death is trite ... but I do know that he was in many players minds when they needed to find something in themselves to push harder

.... welling up thinking about it