Tony Greig

Speaker 10:00

Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Disc's Archive. For rights reasons we've had to shorten the music. The programme was originally broadcast in nineteen seventy six, and the presenter was Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:31

On our Desert Island this week is a cricketer, and a very distinguished cricketer, Captain of England, Tony Gregg. Tony, you're one of those fortunate people who get two summers every year. You've been in Australia all the winter.

Presenter0:43

That's right. Yes. It's uh it's tremendous fun. It's always nice coming back to England and seeing everyone look so white and feel so healthy. But I I particularly enjoy coming back to the cold actually. I've had twenty summers in a row now. Yes. And so I love the cold.

Speaker 10:49

The hell's it?

Presenter0:57

Twenty summers in t in ten years. That's right.

Presenter1:01

On your travels in warm climates have you come across any desert islands?

Presenter1:05

No, I think I've come pretty close to a few of them. Uh, up in the Barrier Reef we had a look at one or two islands around there, but I've never really bumped into anything that's

Presenter1:13

Being as remote as a desert island would be. Could you endure loneliness?

Presenter1:18

I think my wife would say in no way in the world could I do without her, certainly.

Presenter1:23

I think that perhaps I could for a short period in compensation, what would be the happiest thing to have got away from?

Presenter1:31

Ooh, well I should think the tax man probably would be a front runner for anybody in this day and age. Is music important in your life?

Presenter1:40

Yes, I love music. I've always regretted the day that I didn't

Presenter1:43

Learn a little bit more about it at school, get on the piano. I always thought the chap who was in the

Presenter1:48

music room with the music teacher was uh

Presenter1:51

Perhaps a little bit of a wet. And uh that was, you know, the sort of school I was at and that we had to be on the sports field and I I've regretted that and I'd love if I had it all over again, I'd certainly Get into the music room and get on the piano.

Presenter2:03

Oh, I'm hopeless. Terrible. What was your plan in choosing these eight records? Are you looking back?

Presenter2:09

Well, when I was asked, I thought, well, the best thing to do is really stick to what has happened and the music I've enjoyed over my 29 years. What's the first one?

Presenter2:19

There'll always be an England by Verilyn. I was

Presenter2:22

Brought up.

Presenter2:23

on Veralin and Don Bradman and

Presenter2:26

The B B C Overseas Service was my father.

Presenter2:29

was sent out to South Africa, so that was our music. You were brought up in South Africa, of course. That's right, I was born out there. My dad was with the RF in charge of an air school out there and uh

Presenter2:40

So we had to he had to be reminded of the old country and

Presenter2:44

Vera Lynn's hits of the blitz were the end thing, and we all had to keep dead quiet, and I loved it.

Tony Greig2:48

There'll always be an England while there's a country lane.

Tony Greig2:59

Wherever there's a cottage small, Beside a field of grain, There'll always be an England While there's a busy stream.

Presenter3:18

Vera then, what's your second record?

Presenter3:22

Scotland the brave, would you believe?

Presenter3:24

Kenneth McKellar. Again, I think this goes back to

Presenter3:28

the young days and my dad being a Scotsman.

Presenter3:31

We used to obviously talk about the old folk up in Scotland a lot and we had a lot of pictures and I'd never really met them.

Presenter3:37

So, I suppose my dad, being a true blue Scotsman and Rangers man,

Presenter3:43

and had to get the message over to us somehow and uh so we had a lot of Scottish music in our home and I I still love Scottish music.

Presenter3:50

Listen to it a lot whenever I can and this certainly is one of my favorites.

Tony Greig3:55

Hark, when the night is falling, here, here the pipes are calling, Loudly and proudly calling down through the glen. There, where the hills are sleeping, now feel the blood are leaping, high as the spirits of the old pilen. Calling gallant famous God pipes my mountain neighbour, High May and proud ballots glorious.

Speaker 14:15

Oh thank you.

Presenter4:25

Kenneth McKellar. When did you start cricket?

Presenter4:28

Oh, I think I started in the back lawn, in the garden, really, with

Presenter4:32

Round about seven, eight, round about there we had a tremendously good garden boy.

Presenter4:36

A little fellow who came to our door, never forget it. Uh all he had on was a pair of plimsoles. We call plimsoles tackies in South Africa and uh

Presenter4:43

He got the nickname Tackies'cause that's about all he had on at the time and uh he used to vault him in the back yard and that's how it really started for me.

Speaker 14:46

Please

Presenter4:49

You did very well at school. You were captained cricket, rugger, and tennis. And then you were going on to Rhodes University to read history. What happened to that?

Presenter4:57

Well again, I suppose I was lucky. I seemed to be a very lucky man. I I was exempted from military training, which was compulsory because they didn't have enough room for all the school leavers that year.

Presenter5:08

And so I had a year to kick my heels and as a result of that I was invited to come over and play a few games of cricket for the Sussex Second Leven and visit my family in Scotland, which was a great opportunity for me and a very lucky one. Why Sussex?

Presenter5:22

Well at school um we always had a Sussex cricketer come out in the off season and coach us. My connection was totally with Sussex. I must have been coached from the age of ten by five or six different Sussex cricketers. They played you in a scratch side against Cambridge University and you scored two centuries.

Presenter5:39

Yes, uh I was nursed a little bit. In fact, there was uh a Sussex orientated side. Uh Mike Brearley was captain. He'd been asked down to captain the team.

Presenter5:48

And I got my two hundreds, the second one. I think I was nursed very carefully by Mike Greery, and he allowed that to happen, and that certainly set me on the way, I think. They certainly took an interest. So the following season you were in the first team. How old were you?

Presenter6:02

I was twenty then.

Presenter6:04

And that of course was the start of a of a big career for me. By that time I'd decided that cricket was going to be it and I'd given away history in Rhodes University.

Presenter6:13

And thought I'd have a crack at it, perhaps for five or six years, and see if I could make the grade, and it all happened in that first match. There was never any fuss that you weren't really a Sussex man.

Presenter6:22

Not at all. When I think back now, I think

Presenter6:24

They really accepted me with open arms and said, Come and have a game. Good. That is the way they thought. What happened in your first championship match? It was a against Lancashire.

Presenter6:33

That's right. I was I'll never forget it because I was playing against two of my schoolboy idols, uh Higgs and Statham, were the two opening bowlers for Lancashire and I went out there in real trouble and

Presenter6:43

I got 50 and I was very happy and I got 100 and I was over the moon and before I knew what had happened I'd got 156 and of course I really thought I was a star then and the press were there and the television and everyone and I really began to believe that I was the greatest player around and the funny thing was that it was my first lesson because the next game we played was against Cambridge and a young man called Ackfield who subsequently became quite a good off spinner bowled me out first ball for nought and so my whole world was shattered.

Presenter7:13

Nevertheless, later in the season you took three Hampshire wickets and four balls and eight Gloucestershire wickets for 25 runs. So you came out alright in the season. Yeah, that is about the extent of what I did that year. I think that's what kept me in the first team. Let's have your third record. What's that, Tony? Well, the third record is I'll Never Find Another You by the Seekers. They were a very popular group out in South Africa and I used to listen to a lot of their music and I just enjoyed The Seekers very much.

Tony Greig7:41

There's a new world somewhere, they call the promised land. And I'll be there someday if you will hold my hand. I still need you there beside me, no matter what I do.

Tony Greig8:04

For I know I'll never find another you.

Presenter8:11

The Seekers

Presenter8:13

I tony, you're an all round cricketer. A vital statistic. How tall are you? Six seven. Six seven. You're really too tall to be a really fast bowler, is that right? Yeah, I'm glad to hear someone say that, because that I think that is right. I think that you can be a bit too tall. There are a few exceptions, but I think that

Presenter8:30

Most really fastbowlers are a little bit more compact than I am, I'm sort of long and streaky.

Presenter8:35

How do you manage for gear? Can you get pads long enough? Oh, I've got the greatest pad makers in the world working for me and the other.

Tony Greig8:41

Ashley Taylor

Presenter8:42

Oh yeah, they they do me a great service, an extra two inches below the knee and two above the knee and

Presenter8:49

What about bats? An extra two inches on a bat? No, no, no, no. I've changed my stance. I got so used to using an ordinary long-handled bat I decided to stand up a little bit more and in fact people would probably notice that I stand with my bat off the ground. And that's because of my height. I try and keep my head still. It's vital when you're trying to pick up Thompson and Lily, I tell you. You're one of those who are agitating for more protective clothing, for light helmets.

Presenter9:11

Yes, certainly. Um I I have said this for a year or two now. I believe that the batsman should wear something to protect the temple area. It's very easy to ride a broken jaw or a few stitches over the eye or broken nose. You can get those fixed quite easily. But when you're someone like I, I've got a wife and family and I want to get home at night.

Presenter9:33

One tends to worry a little bit about really getting badly hurt. Let's get back to your career. When did you first play for England?

Presenter9:39

I played for England.

Presenter9:41

against the rest of the world. Now, when was that? Nineteen seventy?

Presenter9:45

You know that I can't really remember. I have to get that wisdom out. Well, I'll tell you, it's 1970. As I said, I've been doing my homework. I see. How many Test matches have you played?

Tony Greig9:50

What if I behave?

Presenter9:55

Well again, I I should think around about 45, somewhere around 45. Is that right?

Tony Greig9:58

Morika.

Presenter9:59

I don't know, there's a bit of homework I haven't done.

Speaker 110:00

It's a bit of homework.

Presenter10:02

I know that you've hit 2,000 runs and taken 100 wickets in tests and that that's a record for so few tests, 45 you say, as you've played. Yes, well that's I think probably the most important thing about it all. At the end of the day it's the runs and wickets you get and you've got to relate that to the test matches you play and I'm very happy with the way I've been lucky, really have been lucky. I was around at the right time. You've been captain of Sussex since 1973.

Presenter10:30

It was doing pretty badly when you took over. I'm still doing badly. I was going to mention that. No, no, no, no. We're on the crest of a wave. We're about to.

Tony Greig10:34

We should

Speaker 110:36

Oh no, no, we're in trouble.

Presenter10:39

Kill them all, as they say.

Presenter10:41

No, I'm very happy. I think that probably

Presenter10:44

Now for the first time ever since I first came to Sussex, we've really got down to the brass dacks and we're sorting things out. We've got a good administration, we've got a new secretary and we've got a very go-ahead chairman at our club. We've got some very good young players, but we've missed a bit of experience and we've drafted two experienced players into the side now and

Presenter11:01

The only thing is obviously the test matches. You know, we go away for test matches, Jon Snow and myself, and left the youngsters on their own, which

Speaker 111:06

Yeah.

Presenter11:08

can be quite difficult. But I I I'm certainly very

Presenter11:11

optimistic about Sussex's future. I think we've got a

Presenter11:14

Our good years ahead of us. I hope you're right.

Tony Greig11:17

What about the struct?

Presenter11:22

Is there too much of it?

Speaker 111:22

Uh

Tony Greig11:23

The world

Speaker 111:23

Uh

Presenter11:24

Yes, I I believe we play too much cricket. I think, you know, it must have been tremendous playing in the days where you could play four days or three days and have a day off on Sundays. And I think now we we're travelling around too much.

Presenter11:35

And I believe really that the structure has got to change because I think it is unfair that a chap who wants to be a solicitor or a teacher or a banker, you name it, can't play for England unless he really has to give that job away and become a seven-day a week county cricketer. I think that we should perhaps think about getting around to the way they play everywhere else in the world.

Presenter11:57

Which is by giving everyone an opportunity. That way we'll be picking from more people and um I think the game will be healthier for us. A little pioneering down at Sussex.

Presenter12:06

Record number four, what's that? Happiness. Ken Dodd.

Presenter12:10

I've always tried to be the happy guy and uh

Presenter12:13

And I've always loved the song for that reason, that's why it's gotta be happiness.

Tony Greig12:17

Happiness is a field of grain Turning its face to the falling rain I see it in the sunshine, breathe it in the air Happiness, happiness everywhere A wise old man told me one time Happiness is a frame of mind When you go to measuring a man's success Don't count money, count happiness, oh happiness

Presenter12:47

Gendod.

Presenter12:48

Tony, you were appointed captain of England last season. You're reappointed for this season. How do you find the job? One of the things that has come out of being captain for me is that I perhaps pay less attention to the importance of my own game in that I don't really care if I do well or otherwise. When I say that, of course, I do really, I suppose everyone wants to do well in their own field, but to me, it's become more important for the team to do well because, at the end of the day, as captain, if your team does well, then you're captain in the next game. And I'm.

Presenter13:20

Enjoying Captaining England so much that I want to hang on to it for as long as I possibly can and the only way I can do that is by making sure that we do well. That enjoyment comes over, I'm sure, because everybody says you brought action and some good old-fashioned glamour to the game. It's also said, and this is rare and very useful, that you can hate on the field, hate your opponents.

Speaker 113:25

Yeah, it's a very good thing.

Presenter13:44

Well, yes, I think you've got to be able to switch that on and off. I I find myself in a position where, you know, even against

Presenter13:50

the chaps who I tour with, when I'm playing against them in county matches, I I try harder, I really get that hate campaign going, the old adrenaline gets bubbling inside me and I it really I get stuck into them, but the first thing I think about when I get off that field, no matter what sort of situation we've been in and how nasty we've been to each other, I I try and get in there and have a beer with the

Presenter14:10

I said, Jeff, I'd be nice to you if you like.

Presenter14:13

Now you're captain of England and you're a South African. Has this produced any

Presenter14:19

Friction? Oh yes, I'm aware of the problems. Uh there must be quite a lot of people who believe that as a South African perhaps I shouldn't be Captain of England. Um

Presenter14:28

On the other hand, all I say to that is that I didn't put my hand up and say, please pick me. I was asked to Captain England. And we want a good captain. Well, I'm very grateful for the honor, and that's all I can say about that. You've got the West Indians here. Do you think you can see them off?

Presenter14:41

Yes, I think certainly we can see them off. I don't like making big statements about what we're going to do to people because invariably they backfire, but I think that we've certainly got a situation in this country where there are a lot of cricketers who know that they've got a chance of making a name for themselves in Test cricket. And we saw David Steele last year grab that opportunity and show a little bit of true blue

Presenter15:05

English blood and guts. I'll never forget giving David Steele his cap in England blessing we have that little ceremony.

Presenter15:11

And I gave him his England cap, and after so many years in the Northampton side,

Presenter15:15

All he could think about was perhaps one day playing for England, and I remember giving him the cap, shaking him by the hand, and as I shook him.

Presenter15:22

Tears fell down on my hands. Now and I knew there that I had a guy that would fight for me until the death. And that's what it's all about at the end of the day.

Presenter15:29

How much say does the captain have in selecting the team? Enough? Oh certainly, yes. I'm very happy with the way I've been involved, both on tour as vice captain and in England with the selection committee. We have four selectors and chairman. And so the captain I think is drafted in as number five and certainly they give him a very good hearing and I'm very happy with the way it is.

Presenter15:51

Here's a good corny question. What's the most exciting game of cricket you ever played?

Presenter15:55

Oh, plenty. Thompson and Lily, they keep coming to mind when people talk about exciting games.

Presenter16:01

Um, one at Hove, I remember, against the West Indies. Probably the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me was leading England onto the field at Lourdes against the Australians. I think that probably the most exciting single incident. But

Presenter16:12

As far as adrenaline was concerned, I think going out to bat in Brisbane in front of all those Queenslanders, going out and taking guard with Lily,

Presenter16:21

hovering in the background and that's right and five slips and three gullies and you know all the screaming and shouting and thinking, well, what am I doing? Long way away from home. That's our record number five.

Presenter16:34

Well number five is Welcome Home, Peterson Lee. My wife picked it up and I think she gets the message through to me now and again when I've been away for

Presenter16:42

A long while uh playing cricket. We love the record and it also seems to get put on whenever I've been away for a week.

Presenter16:49

I'm so lone, my lord.

Tony Greig16:51

But without you.

Tony Greig16:56

You're part of everything I do.

Tony Greig17:05

When'd you come back?

Tony Greig17:08

And you're beside me

Tony Greig17:13

These are the words I'll sing to you.

Presenter17:18

Peters and Lee.

Presenter17:20

Now it is

Presenter17:21

Cricket is big business. There's a lot of money in cricket for the successful player, much more than there's ever been before.

Presenter17:27

Yeah, I think that's fair comment, and I think it's very good actually, forgetting about my personal situation.

Presenter17:33

I think that it's good for the youngsters to know that if they do make the grade, there is something for them at the end, if they're up there and it's always a great challenge. I think this is one of the the glamorous things about golf and tennis.

Presenter17:45

And all of a sudden, you know, the cricketer is getting somewhere near.

Presenter17:49

Well, cricketers are entertainers. This is show business. Well, that's exactly right. We certainly are. And that's something which must never be forgotten. I think cricketers, the more they think about that, get out there and play cricket as an entertainer, the better. Record number six. Let's go straight into that.

Presenter18:04

Och please daddy. I think I've got that right. It was from Waiter Minim, Jeremy Taylor. This is a little bit of South Africa really coming out in me. I

Presenter18:13

I remember this guy, Jeremy Taylor, and we used to play this record a lot because it was very funny. It was about a lot of the things that were happening in South Africa at the time, and uh it was number one on the hit parade, would you believe, but uh we all loved it very much and as kids really.

Speaker 318:28

Ah, please, Daddy, won't you take us to the drive-in? All six, seven of us, eight, nine, ten. We wanna see a flick about Tarzan and the ape men. And when the shire's over, you can bring us back again. Popcorn, chewing gum, peanuts and bubblegum, ice cream, candy, floss, and Eskimo pie. Ah, Daddy, how we miss bullseyes and licorice. Caca-Cala, ginger, beer, and Canada dry.

Presenter18:59

Jeremy Taylor in a South African song from Wait a Minim, I won't attempt to do the title in the South African accent. As a youngster, Tony, did you do any camping out?

Presenter19:09

Not really, no. Um pity. That's right. I'm going to ask you how you'd manage on this Pacific Island. Could you build some sort of shelter? Oh, I reckon if it came to the crunch, yes, I'd be all right. Can you cook?

Presenter19:19

Yes, no, I reckon I'm all right in the cooking. Not a great cook, I th you know, down to the basics, boiled eggs and things like that. That's right. Would you try to escape?

Speaker 119:25

Things like that are.

Speaker 119:27

Would you try to

Presenter19:29

I think that there would probably come a time where I might. I'm a pretty adventurous sort of guy. I think I would think about it very seriously.

Speaker 119:33

I was thinking

Speaker 119:35

Caution.

Presenter19:36

Yes, there'd be a touch of caution. What next? Another record. Well, my big star really, Neil Diamond, I've always thought he's been tremendous. I I love his music and one of the tracks which I really do enjoy is Husbands and Wives.

Tony Greig19:51

Two broken hearts, lonely looking like houses.

Tony Greig19:56

Where nobody lives.

Tony Greig20:06

Two people each having so much pride inside.

Tony Greig20:11

Neither side forgive.

Presenter20:18

Neil Diamond, and now we've come to your last record. I think the big stars at the moment, the new stars if you like, are the ABBA. I certainly heard a lot of them in Australia. They're very popular out there and I do, I do, I do, I think is a tremendous record. And I'm not a great man for the big noisy bands and things like that. I like something like this. It's not.

Tony Greig20:40

Be your leave me, make your choice, but believe me.

Tony Greig20:50

Do I do what do I do I do?

Tony Greig20:57

I can't conceal it, don't you see? Can't you feel it? Don't you do?

Presenter21:09

I do, I do, I do by ABBA. If you could take just one disc out of this eight, which would it be? Oh, no hesitation. Neil Diamond, I'd take him every time. Husbands and wives. No trouble. And one luxury to take with you to the island? My life really revolves around sleep and cricket and I can't take any people to play cricket with me so I'd have to take a bed. I I think that I would have a tremendous bed built.

Presenter21:31

with a perfect mattress and I'd take it and put it on that island and put a roof over the top and that'd be my start.

Presenter21:38

All right. One book apart from the Bible, Shakespeare and Big Encyclopedias.

Presenter21:42

Well, I'm sure that I'd have to certainly do some work and

Presenter21:46

My work is cricket, and so I'd have to write a very, very intricate and serious cricket book.

Presenter21:51

And in order to do that, I'd have to have some sort of reference. So I would be going for a wisdom. You should have asked for pens and paper as well. I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll give you a supply of all the volumes of wisdom as far back as the start of your career, and we'll put the start of your career at eight. And then you can write on all the fly leaves and down the margins. We'll get around it that way. And thank you, Tony Gregg, for letting us hear your desert island disc. And we wish you a singularly successful summer. Well, thank you very much. It's been great being with you. Goodbye, everyone.

Speaker 122:13

Get around it that way.

Speaker 122:31

You've been listening to a podcast from the Desert Islandists Archive. For more podcasts, please visit bbc.co.uk/slash radio four.