A while back, I posted news of how I might have played cricket for Yorkshire if only I'd known at the time that I needed spectacles - and that, had I done so, I might have had the miserable experience of spending a career opening the batting with Geoffrey Boycott (HERE).
However, now that some cine film of my youthful batting has been become available in digital format, the empirical evidence suggests it was a fantasy (even though I was summoned to the nets at Headingley twice for inspection - see HERE for 'professional coaching' experience).
It may not be too bad for a 12/13 year old facing up to his (very) big and intimidating brother, but too much right hand resulted in a tendency to scoop up rather easy catches to mid-off or mid-on:
World exclusive: vintage video of famous cricketers from the 1950s
Thanks to my brother (@dsa99uk), who's just had some 16mm cine film taken by our late mother converted to DVD, here's a chance to see how many cricketing celebrities you can spot (and watch some action) at the Scarborough cricket week during the 1950s.
The players had to walk across the ground from the pavilion to the tea tent, which provided better opportunities for film-makers than it did for autograph hunters - because some, like Trevor Bailey, would never sign during the day but would sit in their car at close of play and oblige however many there were of us.
In this film, look out for: Denis Compton, Brian Close (still with a bit of hair?), Frank Tyson, Brian Statham, Godfrey Evans, Peter Loader, Willie Watson, Johnny Wardle, Fred Truman and Richie Benaud - and, if you can identify any of the others, let me know.
I'm not sure if the first fast bowler (from the right) is Frank Tyson or Brian Statham, but the one bowling from the left must surely be Fred Truman...
P.S. Thanks to Jonathan Calder (otherwise known as @lordbonkers) via Twitter for confidently confirming that the mystery bowler is Frank Tyson.
Tony Blair on masterful form in Newsnight interview with Paxman
I've been frustrated all this week by the BBC website's erratic policy on deciding which of their video clips can be embedded on other sites and which ones cannot.
The clip I've been unable to post here - of Tony Blair's Newsnight interview with Jeremy Paxman on Monday night - will be available for a few more days on iPlayer.
If you didn't see it, I'd strongly recommend that you act quickly and watch it before it disappears (from HERE) , as it's an fascinating reminder of just how effectively he can (still) perform, even in an interview - and of how much he must be envied by his successors and their supporters.
Had I not wasted so much time looking for an 'embeddable' version, I might have been able to add an analytic comment or two, but that will have to wait until it becomes more readily available.
If any readers did make a video of it and/or stored it on their Sky box, you'd be doing a public service, at least for me, by posting it on YouTube, ASAP....
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