I entered them and you may endured about longest waiting line, to have Greig’s trademark. Whether it try finally my change, I summoned up bravery and you may informed him, with a small quaver, that it was a great “helluva hook”. A unique idol minted indeed there and. For another ten years, when he went toward broad stream, Greig ended up an advisable however, tricky character – a silver doubloon, never totally dropping their elemental lustre however, appear to in need of restorative polishing. Across the second few seasons, I spotted your down at the Hove in the most common household video game. Conserve for 5 wickets and a quick 93 against Hampshire inside July 1969, I don’t contemplate him and work out people high sum. But the guy constantly did one thing. A booming safety drive or a tow test Thailand kvinder i os jumping from the scoreboard for six.
Sussex thrashed all of them, and Greig are People of Suits: 54 in the first innings, regarding 199, immediately after which five wickets
Or a beneficial bouncer injudiciously intended for Mike Procter’s lead, just who up coming strike him to possess cuatro, cuatro, 6, cuatro as he are clobbered for over 130 away from 20 strange overs. In which he usually signed autographs. I had him 7 moments in two seasons. After, he also told you, “Ach, it’s your once again. I never watched him refuse people. We sat underneath the spread boughs of the well-known lime tree. Robbo regaled us right through the day that have stories out-of viewing Les Ames, Godfrey Evans and you will Doug Wright since the a beneficial boy. The middle mutton is actually a mind container who’d set-up an encyclopaedic knowledge of Kent cricket, and to their unique dad’s noticeable pleasure, not only admonished your when he nudged me personally and discussed an attractive “popsy” about audience but fixed your as he got particular truth otherwise profile completely wrong.
Which was tend to. Robbo try never one to own mathematical outline; it was the storyline you to definitely mattered. Kent’s illustrious record – if or not reality or myth – did not assist much thereon hot July big date. Towards the end of the day, one another center mutton and you can Robbo themselves have been demonstrably smitten. I understood one to be true once the, despite their child regarding earshot, my buddy don’t talked of the fresh new enough time streak out of piss, however, regarding “Greigy”.
Greig played merely a services part one to day; an instant-flame 36 about Sussex innings and two wickets, along with that of Kent’s top scorer, Graham Johnson, trapped of the Tony Buss out of a long-start
And you may Sussex made it happen once more 3 years after. Gillette Cup quarter-last, August step 1, 1973, during the Hove. By this big date Greig try a freshly created England pro and you may Sussex chief. Again, I went with Robbo, and now we very nearly skipped they. My brother had organized the afternoon however when we pitched right up ticketless at Tate Doorways, we were securely turned into out. A great sellout. The brand new stewards (“bloody little Hitlers”) didn’t come with truck with Robbo’s “Get real, it is the boy’s birthday now.” (It wasn’t.) However,, the guy wasn’t giving up you to definitely without difficulty whenever told a tiny warily about how I had with the floor 100% free having my personal mates, the next thing We knew I found myself providing my portly brother a base-up over the garden wall structure of 1 of larger property you to definitely backed onto the ocean avoid of your own ground. In to the, buoyed by our very own victory, Robbo’s appeal hit overdrive and then he somehow sweet-spoke the shorter draconian for the-soil ushers so effectively, we wound-up on the gangway of your own members’ pavilion, right next to the players’ balcony. In the basic innings I saw since the Greig did his ways compliment of almost an entire package away from Benson and you will Bushes, and Robbo, the actual only real Kent supporter in our midst, cheered all the work on since the his lads chased 264 on 2nd. Now a teenager, I happened to be a little embarrassed from this, but thank goodness truth be told there just weren’t several. Runs, that’s. Kent was in fact bowled away to own 135. But you to definitely don’t matter. As the professionals endured toward outfield and basked about thank you of your 10,000-strong audience, Sussex had acquired. We noticed while the quick boys in line to get the skipper’s autograph – I became to start with one to today – and you may noted one Robbo got entered them. The guy and you will Greig was indeed soon engaged in transferring talk. Each other had been laughing, thoughts tossed back, as the waiting line out of quick boys stretched, progressing anxiously out of feet to legs. Once just what searched forever, it shook give warmly and Robbo patted his this new buddy familiarly on the rear. The guy emerged bounding back up the newest pavilion procedures, clutching his closed scorecard – “It’s for the center lamb,” the guy lied – and you may beaming of ear to ear. “They are a soft big bloke.” The sense it had been Greig’s Sussex you to won the online game try palpable. John Spencer, brand new Sussex bowler, told me recently when Greig took more than, the entire atmosphere at a pub “dogged because of the backbiting, cynicism and you may negativity” altered nearly right away. Greig was a breathing off bracing water air.
