Saturday, September 30, 2006
Born Free (1966) *
Lions, jungle, Africa, all sorts going on, seemed a bit soppy - to think that 30 years later Kenya would slay the mighty West Indies in the World Cup - a West Indies team with Ambrose, Walsh, Richie Richardson, Ian Bishop and a little known player called Lara. It also contained Roger Harper, one of my favourite players. I once saw him flay Middlesex for 7 x 6s and 6x 4s at Uxbridge in 1985, including a one-handed six over third-man off a Wayne Daniel beamer. Oh, happy days. He made Daniel toil that day, but Middlesex had the last laugh and whopped us by an innings. I seem to recall Flash Cowans was on a hat-trick and who should come in: one of cricket's all time worst batsmen Jim Griffiths. Griffiths kept him out for the hat-trick, but then was run out for a rare high score of one. Griffiths is in that select category of players who have taken more wickets than they have scored runs.
Roger Harper was a world-class fielder too, possibly the finest ever groundfielder. In a neat twist, he is now Kenya's coach.
Flash Cowans had played his last test for England before he was 25. Ironically, when he dropped his pace he became one of the finest exponents of seam bowling in England at the time, and at a time when the England team was crying out for such a player, Cowans was ignored. I defy anyone to prove to me that the England selectors of the day actually went and watched any matches and assessed the players rather than picking the team from the averages published in the Times.
Oh, yes - the film, 1 star, for some nice pictures of lions.
Roger Harper was a world-class fielder too, possibly the finest ever groundfielder. In a neat twist, he is now Kenya's coach.
Flash Cowans had played his last test for England before he was 25. Ironically, when he dropped his pace he became one of the finest exponents of seam bowling in England at the time, and at a time when the England team was crying out for such a player, Cowans was ignored. I defy anyone to prove to me that the England selectors of the day actually went and watched any matches and assessed the players rather than picking the team from the averages published in the Times.
Oh, yes - the film, 1 star, for some nice pictures of lions.
