Northants won the toss and put us in too. At least they will be pleased with no extras!
As a Sussex supporter, it was sad to see Harry Finch's plummet in form over the last two years. He always looked to be a good long-term prospect, but he couldn't score a run for love nor money. I don't think batting at three in a weak Sussex batting line-up did him any good. I hope he finds some form and gets a gig with Kent. I expect he'll score a couple of tons against Sussex this season!
Just watched an incredibly moving video about Alan Igglesden and the work of the Professional Cricketers Trust help in assisting him in living with a brain tumour. This is the link to the film and below that is an article by Michael Atherton about Iggy:
The last time I saw Alan Igglesden in the flesh, he gently guided my thumb into a hole in his head. The hole was hidden by a full thatch of hair — not quite the mullet he sported in his heyday as a beanpole fast bowler for Kent and England, and grey now, but a full head of hair nonetheless. The hole? Well, that was a reminder of the trauma that struck this most amiable of giants once his professional playing career was over.
We were chatting at the England players’ dinner four years ago, organised by Andrew Strauss, the England director of cricket at the time. During his speech that night Strauss told the story of Fred Tate, who played one Test for England, disastrously so, in 1902. The moral of the tale was that it didn’t really matter how many games you’d played for England, or how well you’d played — you belonged to a rather special club.
The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) is like that as well. No matter how many first-class games you have played, how many runs you’ve scored or wickets taken, once you have been a professional cricketer, once you have signed on the dotted line for a county, it is there for you, in good times and bad. Mostly bad, because that’s when it comes into its own.
Iggy is a member of both clubs. He played for Kent between 1986 and 1998, taking 503 first-class wickets and 190 in List A cricket. He was tall, nippy, moved the ball away; quite a handful on his day. England came calling in 1989, memorably so during a summer of four Ashes defeats and numerous injuries, when 29 players were used. Micky Stewart, the England coach at the time, described him as the 17th-best seamer in the country before a debut at the Oval for the sixth and final Test; it was meant as a reflection on the injury list, but wasn’t taken that way by those hungry to apportion blame.
He played two more Tests after that, under my captaincy in the Caribbean in 1993-94, and four one-day internationals. He continued to perform ably for Kent, until the end of his first-class career four years later, and, pretty much, that’s when the troubles began. Specifically, one day in 1999, when representing Berkshire, he had an epileptic fit and the subsequent brain scan to discover the cause showed a tumour the size of a junior cricket ball.
Because of its location, the tumour was inoperable. He was put on an experimental drug regime, which first reduced the tumour to the size of a golf ball and then stabilised its growth and, for a long time, things were manageable. He taught and coached at Sutton Valence School, near Maidstone in Kent, and then in Yorkshire, where he moved to be with his wife, Liz, a teacher. They settled in Keighley and in 2013, against the odds given the drug regime he had been on, had a daughter, Beth.
What Liz calls “the quiet time”, when life was manageable despite the tumour, was coming to an end. In 2009 the tumour erupted. Iggy had life-saving surgery in Sheffield, followed by chemotherapy. In 2015-16 there were signs that the tumour was growing again. Despite this, he was a full-time father to Beth at this point, while Liz was working, and so he enjoyed those marvellous early years of parenthood — a precious memory.
Then, three years ago, came a stroke. The timing, Liz says, was “hideous”, since she had just given up full-time work and they had hoped to start a business together. He endured a hospital stay of two months and was paralysed down his right side, but eventually got some movement back in his right arm and right leg, so that he could walk with sticks. He recovered to the point where Liz felt comfortable enough leaving him on his own for stretches at a time. A recovery of sorts.
Then, in September last year, the hammer blow of another, more serious, stroke, which, Liz says, “completely wiped him out”. The three-month stay in hospital was difficult, given Covid restrictions, which initially meant that he could not see family for weeks on end.
The paralysis of his right side returned; his movement has barely come back, and talking is difficult. The cruel irony is that he can now barely lift the arm that once propelled a cricket ball at nearly 90mph. Iggy’s left side, though, is fine, as he demonstrated to me on FaceTime at the weekend — he always had a strong leading arm and pull through. With Liz’s help, we chatted about old times: about part of a winter we spent together in Cape Town, between the time of Nelson Mandela’s release from Robben Island and the ascent to the presidency of South Africa. Iggy was playing for Greenpoint Cricket Club and Boland and I was recovering from back surgery there.
We talked about the Oval Test of 1989 — his first, my second — and his first two Test wickets, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh, two good scalps to pocket. We talked about the England A tour to Kenya and Zimbabwe in 1990 and about the tour to the Caribbean in 1993-94: 46 all out in Trinidad, a remarkable win in Barbados and Brian Lara’s world-record 375, which, because Iggy was injured, he — thankfully for him — missed.
Before we talked, I had an image in my mind of Jim Carrey in The Truman Show when he finally realises his world is fake and tries to escape, and Ed Harris, as the godlike Christof, sends winds, rain, lightning and then, finally, the mother of all storms to stop the journey.
As his boat rights itself in the storm, Carrey looks up to the sky, rain lashing down, and wonders what else the fates have in store for him. You wouldn’t blame Iggy for looking up and wondering: is a brain tumour not enough? Now a stroke, and then another?
But Iggy, at 56, is not one to wallow in self-pity; before his tumour and afterwards, he has always had an amazingly positive view of life. Liz says that he got Covid-19 in February, but only mildly, and within days had the nurses at the hospital eating out of his hand, bringing extra biscuits and goodies — and this despite not really being able to communicate. Zoom talks with friends — Liz singles out Phil Tufnell as one who has been incredibly supportive — are upbeat, as was our conversation over the weekend.
Through it all, he has concentrated on living his best life and on raising awareness and money for brain cancer, more than £300,000 now for The Brain Tumour Charity, for whom he is a patron. But things have become incredibly difficult and stressful in the past year, on the back of the second stroke. It means that he can no longer be given treatment for the tumour, nor can scans be taken, and so they are in the dark as to what is happening inside his head — literally.
The Professional Cricketers’ Trust, which is the charitable arm of the PCA, is releasing a film today to highlight Iggy’s plight. It is a difficult watch. The family are incredibly thankful for the support that the Trust has provided. Funds, first of all, to allow Liz to give up her job and become a full-time carer, as well as a stairlift that allows Iggy the independence to get up and down the stairs and spend time in the garden on warm days, rather than being stuck in his room, and a mobile scooter that enables trips out.
Journeys to Bingley Congs, for example, the local cricket club that has become something of a lifeline, as all good community clubs are, of friendship and fun no matter what. On Friday a few of his former Kent team-mates — Steve Marsh, Matthew Fleming, Martin McCague and Dean Headley — will make the trip up to Yorkshire to say hello and remember the good times. There have been plenty of them.
Iggy is a legend, i went to sutton valence school for a few years when he was master of cricket there, incredibly popular bloke both with staff and students, always had a group of sixth former lads following him around looking up to him. Heartbreaking to see how bad its gotten for him, "Liz" or Miss Farley as i knew her was my english teacher and helped to stoke my love for reading and creative writing, heartbreaking to see her dealing with it too.
Found it very difficult to watch. Hope he spends the rest of his days in as little pain as possible.
The injury news really doesn't get any better. Milnes is out of the 4 day game starting tomorrow against Yorkshire so that makes 6 in total missing with Kuhn, Groenewald, Stewart, Podmore and Quayyum all on the treatment table.
We take 13 and have added O'Riordan, Gilchrist, Muyeye and Quinn to the team that played in the last CC match.
The injury news really doesn't get any better. Milnes is out of the 4 day game starting tomorrow against Yorkshire so that makes 6 in total missing with Kuhn, Groenewald, Stewart, Podmore and Quayyum all on the treatment table.
We take 13 and have added O'Riordan, Gilchrist, Muyeye and Quinn to the team that played in the last CC match.
Bloody hell, has the Charlton injury crisis moved down the A2?
The first issue is that Stevens, Podmore and Milnes picked up 63 wickets between them last season with the whole of the rest of the squad taking just 24 between them. With two of them out that means that we have become reliant on a 45 year old to bowl the opposition out!
The second problem is our batting which has been horrendous. I believe that Billings is back in the country now but will need to quarantine for 10 days.
The first issue is that Stevens, Podmore and Milnes picked up 63 wickets between them last season with the whole of the rest of the squad taking just 24 between them. With two of them out that means that we have become reliant on a 45 year old to bowl the opposition out!
The second problem is our batting which has been horrendous. I believe that Billings is back in the country now but will need to quarantine for 10 days.
Imagine if Stevo hadn't been given another year...
In true Kent style the 2s have gone from 200-0 (Finch 119 & Gordon 86) to 235-8.
The story of the collapse is the introduction of Jack Laraman who has figures of 16-6-33-5. Jack came through the Kent age group system and still plays for Lordswood. The last 2nd X1 game he played appears to have been back in 2018 for Surrey so he is clearly now opted to try to gain a pro contract with Northants.
As a side line, Jack's Dad, Carl, was a youth team player with Charlton and coached for nine years before moving to Arsenal where he spent 13 years coaching. His departure came under a bit of a cloud when he and Steve Gatting were suspended in 2018 following complaints from some U23 players relating to alleged bullying.
I was the year above Jack at School. Played a fair few games of cricket together. If I'm honest I felt he was good but not that good. Long time ago now though.
Cummins has been struck several times on the body, including the helmet and doesn't seem to know that much about batting which is probably reflected by his lifetime best score of 29.
Let's hope that the blows haven't affected his short term memory and that he will be sufficiently fired up when it comes for him to bowl!
Comments
Found it very difficult to watch. Hope he spends the rest of his days in as little pain as possible.
https://www.kentcricket.co.uk/news/quinn-joins-on-loan-for-four-championship-matches/
That whip round was definitely worth it !
We take 13 and have added O'Riordan, Gilchrist, Muyeye and Quinn to the team that played in the last CC match.
The second problem is our batting which has been horrendous. I believe that Billings is back in the country now but will need to quarantine for 10 days.
Think my rain dance won't be required on Saturday....
...but the game could be over by then of course.
Come on Kent !!!!!!
Let Us Pray for runs!
4-1
DBD caught third slip for 4
Cox caught second slip 20 (60)
Crawley 21* (50)
65-3
Crawley 37* (68)
Crawley 38* (81)
Leaning 0* (12)
Crawley 50*
Crawley caught by the England captain for 90 (171)
Leaning 26* (95)
Robinson 4* (13)
Leaning out for a painstaking 47 (153)
Robinson 36* (51)
Robinson chips one to mid wicket for 38 (71)
Stevens caught behind for 9 (28)
O'Riordan 4* (16)
Gilchrist 3* (3)
Gilchrist bowled 9 (26)
O'Riordan 13* (43)
Let's hope that the blows haven't affected his short term memory and that he will be sufficiently fired up when it comes for him to bowl!