Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Professional cricketer and off-spin bowler, known for his six for 25 in the West Indies.
On the island
Eight records
Not explicitly stated in transcript; this disc is not mentioned.
The keepsakes
No book or luxury recorded for this episode.
In conversation
Presenter asks
0:00Do you remember how old you were when you first took an interest in cricket?
I've taken an interest in cricket ever since I can remember. Almost since I could walk, I think I've had either a ball or a bat in my hand, yeah.
Presenter asks
0:56What went wrong with [your job in a bank]?
Well, the war, principally. Yeah, uh the war came along in thirty nine and uh I I joined the army and and and went abroad.
Presenter asks
1:39What happened after after [the war]? Did you go back to banking?
Uh no, I didn't actually. I spent uh a short while in London before I was demobilised and during that time played some uh club cricket in London. Whilst I played this club cricket uh I was spotted I suppose and uh asked to go to Kennington Oval and play in a trial match. This I did and uh almost immediately after the match they they asked me to become a professional cricketer.
Presenter asks
We hear a lot these days about the strain on bowlers, bowlers cracking up, especially fast bowlers, before the end of the season. What are your views on that? Is it a terrific strain?
Yes, it is, of course, particularly for a fast bowler. If you imagine that a bowler's got to pound his heart out for six and often seven days a week for four months, then by July and August comes he's going to be pretty tired and if he's overexerted himself when he was a little tired earlier on then he's going to pull a muscle or get a strain. I think it's it's a very arduous programme indeed for a fast bow[ler].
Presenter asks
3:24Does that raise the point that perhaps there is a bit too much cricket [nowadays]?
Yes, I think there I think there is too much. Not not so much the charity matches, which really are not hard work, but uh the [county] programme itself. Uh it's uh it's a very difficult question actually and uh although it's easy to condemn it until there's a a better alternative suggested then then what are we going to do?
Presenter asks
4:16You've had about ten years now as a professional cricketer, Jim. Have you noticed any changes in that time? I mean, is the standard, in your opinion, getting higher or is it dropping at all?
I should say that quite definitely the standard is much higher now than it was soon after the war. It's uh I notice it particularly as a bowl[er], it's much harder to get wickets here than it was then. And I think looking at the England sides just after the war and looking at them over the last two or three years it is proof enough, I believe, that the standard of English cricket has improved tremendously. Nowadays, for instance, we've got half a dozen fast bowlers to pick from. After the war we hadn't got one.
“I've taken an interest in cricket ever since I can remember. Almost since I can walk, I think I've had either a ball or a bat in my hand.”
“I played at school in the morning and played in Bradford League, that is professional league cricket, on Saturday afternoon.”
“It's purely a strain on that joint, it's the forefinger which imparts a spin and bowling every day for nearly ten years now and then of course the joint becomes enlarged and you get a little arthritis in there.”
“Nowadays, for instance, we've got half a dozen fast bowlers to pick from. After the war we hadn't got one.”