Out-standing in the field- Article #35 on CricHQ.com

My interview with Auckland umpire Ben Jackson who is trying to win an AMP Do Your Thing Scholarship.

http://www.crichq.com/media/article/102/out-standing-in-the-field

XI Jayasuriya knocks to remember- Article #34 on CricHQ.com

With Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya retiring after 22 years at the highest level, I take a look back at his eleven best ODI innings.

http://www.crichq.com/media/article/79/xi-jayasuriya-knocks-to-remember

Memorable career for Southern- Article #33 on CricHQ.com

In keeping with the recent theme of county cricket on the site, and as Hampshire prepares to host its first-ever Test match against Sri Lanka next week beginning on June 16, CricHQ.com is delighted to have been able to delve into the past to bring you a very special and exclusive interview with former English county stalwart John Southern. Bearing similarities to the West Indies' Sulieman Benn in being a very tall orthodox left-arm spinner, Southern was a key member of the Hampshire side throughout his nine-year career from 1975 to 1983. During this lengthy period he fashioned a very respectable record for himself, collecting 412 wickets in 164 first-class matches at an average of 29.81, as well as 17 five-wicket hauls. He also tasted cup success as part of the Hampshire sides which were victorious in the John Player Sunday 40-over League in 1975 and 1978. After playing with the very best players the world had to offer, including the South African opener Barry Richards, the West Indian opener Gordon Greenidge and West Indian fast bowlers Andy Roberts and Malcolm Marshall (the latter three currently starring in Fire in Babylon, a documentary charting the rise and ultimate domination of West Indies cricket from the 1970s onwards), and against many more English and world legends, Southern emigrated to New Zealand. Soon after he found his way to King's College in Auckland where he has remained to this day, utilising both his BSc (Hons) from Southampton University to become a chemistry teacher as well as the experiences learnt from being involved in cricket for nearly 50 years. Back in late December of last year, he kindly invited CricHQ.com to his chemistry classroom to discuss his career and his thoughts on a number of topics regarding the health of our summer game.

Good afternoon. What made you become a bowler, and indeed a spinner at the start when you were growing up as a young boy? 

I was at school in London, and a past old boy of the [William Ellis] school was Freddie Titmus, who left the school at 16 and was a famous English cricketer who did the Double [1000 runs and 100 wickets in a first-class county season. Titmus did so eight times]. Obviously I was in London and I supported Middlesex, and I basically pretended I was Freddie Titmus, even though I bowled left-handed and he bowled right-handed (laughs), so basically that's where it came from.

And were you satisfied with your batting ability when you were young?

No, no, you learnt about it. Playing in first-class cricket was a lot more difficult than any other cricket. In club cricket I would score 40s and 50s. I was always a bowler, but when I first started playing first-class cricket I was obviously a number 11, and my prime aim was to hit every left-arm spinner for six, which I did mostly! (laughs) I hit [former England spinner Derek] Underwood for six, I hit [former Indian captain Bishen] Bedi for six, I hit [former India left-armer] Dilip Doshi for six, and I hit [former Yorkshire captain] Phil Carrick for six into a bucket behind the scoreboard! [Former England and Yorkshire wicketkeeper David] Bairstow behind the stumps said, "I bet you couldn't do that again!", and of course, no I couldn't! After that, because I bowled a lot and had lots of runs scored off me, I made more effort and by practising in the nets on a regular basis, it becomes important.

So how did you end up at Hampshire?

I went to university there. I was at school in London, and had mostly played cricket for a club side. When I was looking to go to university, I also knew that Southampton University, where I went to, was quite a strong cricketing university and they had a lovely ground. There was a possibility that during the vacation I could play for the Hampshire Second XI, which is in fact what actually happened.

Now we're going to go back 35 years (quips "oh god!") in time, to 1975, when you made your County Championship debut against Gloucestershire. It was quite a good start for you personally, scoring 18 and possessing match figures of 12-8-6-1. How nervous were you before the start?

No, well, I wasn't nervous, because we batted and we were lucky in that we had Barry Richards, and at lunch we were 180 for something, and Gloucestershire at that stage were not very strong. I thought this was an easy game and I went in, and [former England left-arm orthodox spinner] John Childs, who came out to Auckland later on, was bowling for them and I hit him for a six and a few fours. Then, at the end of the day I got a bowl right at the end, and in fact I think I bowled six overs [sic. four] without a run being scored. I ended the day with six overs and six maidens [sic. four and four], or something like that, and I think I got a wicket the next day. But as I say, Gloucestershire weren't very strong, and it was a very easy way to make a debut! (laughs)

And what was it like playing your first match with people like Barry Richards and [former England all-rounder] Trevor Jesty?

It was fantastic, actually it was more interesting that I was playing on a ground at Bristol where someone like [former England captain] Wally Hammond had played, and even [former England captain] WG Grace had played. They played at a lot of grounds in Bristol, but I think that was one of their main grounds [the County Ground was indeed their main ground]. It was slightly run down, and it's barely recognisable today because obviously they play one-day internationals there so there's a lot of changes. It was the history though. And there were very few people there, so it was like playing in a Second XI game. Obviously it was fun to play with Richards, but Gloucestershire were not very strong.

Gloucestershire did have [all-rounder] Roger Knight, [left-arm spinner] David Graveney and [former international umpire] David Shepherd though?

At that stage that was before [South African all-rounder Mike] Procter arrived, and then they became a one-day force, but of all the teams you wanted to play against they were probably the easiest ones (laughs), apart from the Universities.

You soon encountered the formidable figure of a certain Yorkshireman called Geoffrey Boycott. What was it like bowling to him, and did you find him prickly as a person, as many others have?

Yeah, I played against him, not very often. One of the things I do regret was that of the batsmen I managed to get out, because most people would get out to me because they'd hit me for a four and a six [and get complacent], I never actually got him out. But he wasn't that difficult to bowl at. We played a game once at Bournemouth on a Bank Holiday Monday and there was a big crowd there, and he blocked all morning. At lunchtime, having batted for two-and-a-half hours, he was 36 not out, and he just literally made no effort. By the end of the game, the game was going nowhere, and really he was a Test match player, and county cricket wasn't that important [to Boycott]. What you did not want to do was get out to him when he bowled, because he bowled with his hat on and he bowled these horrible little in-duckers and none of the batsmen wanted to get out to Geoffrey.

And how would you rate him, in terms of England's all-time great batsmen?

I think technically he was fantastic, I think he saved games and obviously he played when there were no helmets. He was obviously a tremendous tactician. I wouldn't say he was my favourite person to watch, I think you had to be a Yorkshireman to do that, but you couldn't but admire his determination, both on and off the field.

You also had the privilege of playing against many touring Australian sides, and you had Gordon Greenidge in your ranks in the first of those matches in your debut season. When he was at the wicket, did the intensity rival that of a Test match?

I think for the West Indian players, yes certainly. We had Barry Richards, and for him it was very much so, in that he wanted to prove himself, but by the time I was playing Barry had played for a long time and that was just the era when they tended not to play, to save their better players. For instance, when we played the West Indies Barry never played, Gordon never played. Mind you, after that [first game] obviously he was touring, and he never played against us. I did play against Gordon once, and got him out. Much to his disappointment, I bowled him round his legs. It was a first-class game [sic.], I think he was playing for DH Robins' [XI] at Eastbourne [sic.], but he'd scored a lot of runs by then. He was a phenomenal player. We played against him [sic. watched him play for DH Robins' XI at Eastbourne against the Pakistanis] in a game and he got 250 [sic. 273*], and he got a six every time he got to a 50 or 100, it was just amazing. Yet, when he first started it was literally his captain Richard Gilliat who was the deciding factor on whether they kept him at Hampshire or not, because at that stage he had nowhere near the co-ordination and the power that obviously he later had. They were literally in the nets bowling at his bat, which made me realise that when you play cricket you go through these trots when nothing goes right and then when everything goes right, and you have to be patient, which is where the New Zealand cricket side [go wrong]. We [England] picked the best players and so did Australia in their first Test match side [in the recent Ashes series], and they ought to persevere with them because the best players are the players you pick before you play. Unless there's an injury, it seems crazy not to play them.

You also played with Andy Roberts and Malcolm Marshall. How did you get along with them, and did they fit the stereotype of the nasty West Indian fast bowler?

No, they were both actually totally different. Andy was very quiet. I played with him before I played first-class cricket because he had to qualify before we played county cricket. It was scary seeing him play against 2nd XI players. I remember once when the opposition declared with six wickets down because four of the opposition had retired hurt. I was fielding at third man, and I was the busiest person on the field! (laughs) He was very gentle. Whereas Malcolm was a total extrovert, he was happy. He was a brilliant player and it was such a tragic loss that he died so young. He was such a nice person. I suspect when he played Test cricket, particularly in the West Indies, he was probably slightly different when he was bowling then, but certainly he was a wonderful, lovely and effervescent person.

Heading back to that Australian tour game, how much did the Aussies sledge?

No, they didn't. In those days, they were preparing for a Test match and it was a very professional effort, they were getting on with it. It was just business really. I played against Ian Chappell's side, I played against a team captained by Greg Chappell and I might have played against another side. We had one game where we didn't play at all for three days, so they just played Aussie Rules all the time on the outfield. Barry Richards played three of them consecutively at squash, and beat them all because he was a fantastic squash player.

In that first game, Ian Chappell made a hundred before you got him out...

I didn't get him out, he was caught by Gordon Greenidge at short extra cover. He hit the ball an inch off the ground, and Gordon caught him. What I hadn't realised up until then was that basically he didn't let me bowl, I could not. He was up and down the pitch, I bowled the ball in the right place but he never allowed me to bowl so it was a real learning experience. To say 'c Greenidge b Southern', well it was nothing to do with me! (laughs)

Do you think he was the same back then as he is now?

Yes, he was very much in the Australian mould. I'm not sure he was fighting people in the carpark [the scrap with former England captain Ian Botham during the last Ashes series], but he was very aggressive. They also had Rodney Marsh and Max Walker, who were very strong personalities. They also obviously had Dennis Lillee but he didn't say very much. I think Jeff Thomson wasn't playing then [sic. he was], but he came on the next tour. They were big Australians, that's all! (laughs)

You also took a six-for against a later Australian touring side [in 1980]...

That was the highlight of my career. Later on in the season, the Australians were asked to pick the best batting and bowling performance in the county games and they picked my performance. I think I got 6-90 [sic. 6-109] off about 40 overs. It was quite funny because I was in the Second XI, and we had an off-spinner who was [mainly] in the first team but for some reason I got all the bowling. There were a lot of left-handers, they had Graham Yallop, Allan Border, Graeme Wood, and I kept getting them out. I got all the left-handers out [sic. only Yallop]. I do remember though Lillee hit me out of the ground for six, but 6-90 [sic. 6-109], I've still got the scorecard!

In that first season, you picked up your best first-class bowling figures of 6-46 against Gloucestershire, although by this stage they had Sadiq Mohammad and Zaheer Abbas in their side. How satisfying was it to get Zaheer in particular, who was renowned for his skill against spin?

The most satisfying thing about cricket is actually winning a game. I know that seems odd, because you will win a game, but batting-wise I remember hitting the winning runs against Lancashire in a game, not that I'd scored very many, but I hit it and we walked off. Also to take the wickets to win a game in the second innings. I remember we played there and getting David Shepherd out caught at forward short leg and we finished at lunchtime, and yes it was fantastic.

And what was it like to play against [former England captain] Brian Close, who even in his mid-forties was known as a hard man, especially after the battering he received in 1976 for England against the West Indians?

He was a madman, he was a man with very strong cricket ideals. He had these ideas of what he was going to do. There were normally three teams on the field - there was our team, there was Somerset, when I played against him, and there was Brian Close. He was also probably the world's scariest-ever driver. He used to write off cars all the time, and how he survived I don't know! (laughs) But he was a brave man, I must admit. I went and watched him play at Lord's [sic. Old Trafford] in 1976 when he and [former England batsman John] Edrich were the combined age of goodness-knows-what [84]. We didn't have a game and we went up and watched. The umpires allowed the West Indians to totally intimidate, and they basically just battered them to death. He didn't flinch at all though, it was amazing, it really was.

At Close's Somerset, you also came upon [former West Indies captain] Viv Richards and Ian Botham who were at relatively early stages in their careers, and you also dismissed Viv in a tour match against the West Indians after he'd scored...

176. Yes, bowled Southern 176. I remember.

Did you think, even at that stage, they would go on to be greats of the game?

Oh no. Well, Viv and Andy came over to London when I was at university and [former England fast bowler] Alf Gover, who ran the cricket school there, contacted the counties and said "we've got two players here". Hampshire wanted Andy Roberts and Somerset got Viv Richards. Later on in the season, he was playing for Bath and he was scoring hundreds and hundreds of runs. We played a 40-over game in the Second XI competition, to mimic the senior games, and we played them at Yeovil. We had Andy Roberts and they had Viv Richards. We batted first and got about 180 [sic. 199], and Brian Rose, who played for England later and was captaining them [sic. he was not], had Viv coming in at number 3. Some lad from the Lord's groundstaff came in at number 5 and ran out Viv Richards, and we thought this is fantastic! Now that lad was Ian Botham (laughs), so we won the game. It was interesting to see both of them at the same time. Later on obviously Botham then played a few more games, and was the same sort of character, but they were both phenomenal. Later on Joel Garner arrived, and the three of them were phenomenal together, and Somerset as a team were really successful, especially in one-day cricket.

Also in that Somerset side was a young Peter Roebuck, who later became Somerset captain. Botham was quite critical of him, so did you interact much with Roebuck and what was he like?

Him and [former England off-spinner] Vic Marks were both at Oxford [sic. Roebuck went to Cambridge University], and they both had strong personalities. Roebuck was a very odd person. He'd come from Millfield [School], I'm not sure if Vic had come from Millfield [sic. Blundell's School], but obviously they were deep thinkers. You can imagine with Somerset, the Yorkshire [nature] of Brian Close and then Botham and Viv Richards, it was a funny mix. It was interesting to see that both Vic Marks and Peter Roebuck went into journalism. They were obviously strong thinkers and Roebuck became captain later on, and again, a bit like Brian Close, he had ideas and he wasn't always very popular with his side, but I think ultimately at the heart he was thinking cricket, and he obviously is still a very astute cricket thinker, even again, slightly different.

You also played Bishen Singh Bedi in a few games, and he was a left-armer like you...

He was amazing, he was a huge character. When we played Northants they had [fast bowler] Sarfraz Nawaz from Pakistan, they had [former Pakistani captain] Mushtaq Mohammad and they had Bishen Bedi, and all the rest seemed to come from Durham, so you could never understand a word anybody said! But Bedi was an amazing cricketer. When I first started playing and I was batting against him, I couldn't believe that you could hear the ball fizzing as it came to you and it dipped. When you hit him for six, and I did, he would clap you because obviously, you knew you were going to get out to him. He was an interesting character, and of course his turbans were always really interesting because you wanted to know what colour he was wearing, and he had the most dramatic colours. Some people reckoned they could work out what his attitude was by the colour he was wearing. I don't think it was quite true, but he was certainly a brilliant cricketer and fantastic to play against. It was the same with [former Indian captain] Kapil Dev, who played for Northants later, he was also really interesting to play against, totally different. [Former Indian captain] Sunil Gavaskar played for Somerset, and in fact my favourite player to play against was [former Indian captain Gundappa] Viswanath, a very small man but yet, the way he manoeuvred the ball around the field, in fact you didn't mind getting hit for four because he did it in such an elegant, stylish way.

Did Bedi offer you any advice?

There was not really much advice from Bedi, there wasn't a lot of talking. I think you had to go and talk to him and at that stage, I was busy really with ticking off my hitting-left-arm-spinners-for-six list! (laughs) We played a game against Northants once, and [former international umpire] Dickie Bird was umpire, and I got two in two balls and I was on the hat-trick at Bournemouth. Bedi was playing but he wasn't in the hat-trick [opportunity]. And I ran up and bowled the hat-trick ball, and there was a huge appeal from behind the stumps. I didn't hear anything, and Dickie Bird looked at me and he said [nervously], "I didn't hear anything". He said "Not Out" and he was really apologetic because he thought there may have been something. Then about three balls later, I bowled the same sort of ball and this time he said "I heard that!" and he gave him out, so I got three wickets in an over but I didn't get a hat-trick. Northants weren't fantastically strong then, subsequently when they had [former England captain] Allan Lamb and people like that they were, but at that stage they weren't too difficult a side to play against. Sarfraz was very moody, and so was Bishen, but obviously when the mood took him... What amazed me about him was how quickly he bowled it. It came through the air so quickly. It was fantastic to play against those players. In fact, when I first played against Warwickshire, they had five players who could not play for England. Obviously they tightened up [the rules] after that, and for the last few years it's been one or another. But when I was playing, apart from the Australians, all the best players in the world were playing against me, so it was fantastic to play against all these players. Even though you only played against them a few times, it was marvellous.

Did those overseas players generally get on well with their fellow domestic guys?

Err, I'm not saying they were mercenaries, it depended on the county you played [for]...

Was there maybe an element of superiority?

No, each of the counties had their particular character. Obviously with Yorkshire['s no overseas players policy], there was nobody. With Derbyshire, at one stage they had [former West Indian fast bowler] Michael Holding and [former New Zealand captain] John Wright, and they could only play one, and it depended upon the pitch, and everyone was really relieved when, with due respect, they played John Wright rather than Michael Holding. Obviously, Somerset with [Viv] Richards and Garner was quite intimidating, and I suspect playing against Hampshire, with either Marshall or Greenidge or [Barry] Richards or Roberts, you know, the Yorkshiremen would say, "how many of your foreigners have you got this time?", because that was [their view of it], but we were very lucky. Gloucestershire had Zaheer and Procter. [Former Pakistani captain] Imran [Khan] and [former Pakistani captain] Javed Miandad and [fast bowler] Garth le Roux played for Sussex, so we really were really lucky then, and the South Africans especially because obviously they weren't playing Test cricket then, so they were playing for keeps. The others, no I don't think so. There wasn't a lot of socialising that went on, because we had such a big schedule. During the summer we would play 44 days out of 46, so if it was a hot day, you were knackered and you wanted to rest. Normally, if it was the third day, you were off somewhere because you had to go and play the next day, so there was no thought to it. There's a lot of cricket played. For instance with the Test matches nowadays, they don't have that relaxation time because the tours are much shorter and much more condensed.  

One-day cricket was relatively entrenched domestically by the time you began, but you only played a handful of one-dayers. Why do you think that actually happened and did you like the format?

In those days, the spinner wasn't seen as important. We had a spinner. I did win a couple of John Player medals in the 40-over games, and we got to the semi-finals of a Gillette Cup [in 1976], which was a 60-over game then. We played against Northants who had [former England all-rounder] Peter Willey and Bishen Bedi, and in fact myself and the other Hampshire spinner, who's still an umpire, Nigel Cowley, actually bowled better on a torn and worn wicket than these two. Unfortunately our batsmen underestimated them, especially Barry who tried to cut Peter Willey. Unfortunately, what looked like quite a gettable target was... well we didn't [sic. Hampshire batted first]. Hampshire did finally get to a final but I was long gone, but basically I was there to bowl for three-day cricket, so I would play on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, and on Sunday I'd be twelfth man, and if it was a one-day midweek game I'd be playing for the Seconds, because basically all I could do was bowl. I wasn't a fantastic fielder, I never was, I caught more than I dropped, but really they had a recipe for success which involved medium-pacers and batsmen, and that wasn't part of what I did.

What was your reaction, and the general reaction, upon hearing of [former England captain] Tony Greig's alignment with World Series Cricket?

Well, obviously, it made my life different. We earned more money. I was actually, in that year, the year it all happened, I was going to go to Oxford and get a teaching degree and get a Blue, which in those days was a kudos, but in fact with capper going [Gilliat retired while Greig, recently replaced as England captain by Mike Brearley, completed his defection], we lost players and I decided to stay because I got more money. Tony Greig was just like he is now, he had lots to say, he was a good cricketer, he wasn't a great cricketer, but because he had such confidence, he could compete at the top level. I remember we played him at Hove, I only played against him a couple of times, and I picked the ball up at third man and he ran a single and he decided I couldn't throw it, so I ran him out! (laughs) So he totally underestimated me! (laughs) But he was good for English cricket and he's still good today, he's around as a commentator. He doesn't live in the past, he's still entertaining, still relevant I think.

How close do you think you were to an England cap, and what were your impressions of your fellow contenders?

I was never close. I had a good season in 1976 [sic. 1978], but unfortunately at that stage I developed back problems. At that stage I had my best season, I took about 80 wickets [sic. 76], but [former England leg-spinner] Phil Edmonds and [former England left-armer] Nick Cook were playing and there were some good left-arm spinners. But basically, I wasn't a good enough cricketer to deal with it. I was mentioned as someone they [the selectors] would think about, but never really, no.

You took a five-for in your penultimate match, but in your last match, you didn't bowl at all. Talk us through how your career ended...

I thought I actually took a five-for in my last game [sic. penultimate] against Notts. Possibly I did [in my second-last game], but I certainly remember against Notts we won a game and I took 5-for in that game on a turning wicket at Bournemouth. I'd decided then that basically I was coming to New Zealand anyway, and I was going to look to do something different, because at some stage you were going to have to. It's a long time ago, I only remember the good days! (laughs)

So [your career did not finish] on an acrimonious footing?

No, no, it wasn't at all. I'd had a lot of back trouble, and I wasn't being picked in the one-day games and the focus was on them. I quite enjoyed playing second-team cricket. I was captain, and we were successful, and it was great to be captain! For instance, on the day that Prince Charles got married to Princess Diana [Wednesday 29 July 1981], I was captaining against Surrey at Bournemouth [sic. the match started Wednesday 5 August 1981], and Geoff Howarth was the captain of Surrey at the time, and he was also the New Zealand captain at the time. So we did play against some quite good players [even at second-team level]. But in the end, I'd decided I wasn't going to get any better and I had to do something different.

So how did you make the move over to New Zealand, and eventually Auckland?

I coached. One of the things a professional cricketer had to do during the off-season, because his contract then was from April the 1st to September the 30th, is you had to do something. I did all sorts of things in England and also some coaching in South Africa and Australia and here. Basically I met my wife here, and I was coach of a local club and we did reasonably well. So we decided to come here. I asked [former New Zealand captain] Glenn Turner about Auckland. Perhaps now I know he was the wrong person to talk about Auckland (laughs), but I did know lots of people who'd come to Auckland. [Former England fast bowler] Mike Selvey, who's now a journalist, and [former England wicketkeeper] Ian Gould, who's now an umpire, and lots of other people. So I knew it was a reasonable place to come to.

So for how long did you play and coach club cricket over here, and for which side?

Well, once I stopped playing in 1983, I stopped playing cricket. I was still playing when I played over here. I coached Eden Roskill and I did a stint at Counties. I coached in the Manurewa-Papakura area, I was also employed by Counties to run one of their tournament sides as well. Unlike a lot of my colleagues who will play until they drop, some will also pick up a golf club and they won't play cricket again. But I've been involved since I stopped playing cricket for just as long as I seemed to be playing cricket, and I still enjoy cricket.

So when did you finish coaching at club level?

I would say probably around 1984-1985, so it was about 25 years ago. So I was playing cricket for 25 years and coaching cricket for 25 years, which is scary! (laughs) But I must have been playing from when I was very young, I think I was 8 when I first started in my primary school side. 

And so how did you get involved with King's College?

My father-in-law was at the Teachers' College, and he knew the head of cricket [at King's] at the time, who is now in Sydney, and they were looking for someone to coach the First XI, and the rest is history. So when I first arrived here, I obviously did have Chemistry as a degree, but I taught Social Studies and English. [Soon after] I began to coach cricket, so that's what the connection is. It's what you know, not who you know. It was a totally different place from what it is now.

And so how long have you been at the school?

1986 was when I first arrived, and I took the First XI in October of that year, and for a few years after that. I then ran the cricket programme here, and subsequently I've been coaching the Colts side [combined Year 9 and 10 students] rather than the senior sides. So it's coming up to 25 years, which is scary but fantastic as well!

Moving onto issues facing the game, you played in some matches where there was a 100-over limit for the team batting first, and a 200-over limit for both teams' first innings combined. Did you like that concept?

Because it was three-day cricket, it worked out that you needed that time, because if the wickets were not helpful to the bowlers, basically the game became a stalemate. In fact there were some games subsequent to that where they didn't even get through two innings in three days without any interruptions from rain, so obviously that was no good. So they tinkered around, and they also had bonus points for taking wickets in the first innings and for scoring 25 runs, and sometimes it ended up with teams getting 14 bonus points and 10 for a win. So they obviously tinkered, but now with four-day cricket they can obviously do a lot more. The wickets are a bit better. When we first started playing we had to bowl 118 overs in a day, which is amazing compared to what they do now. So we did play a lot of cricket. I think one-day cricket had meant people are more attacking now, and I suppose the games do get more conclusions.

Much has been made of modern players' schedules, and in your playing career, as you've noted, the schedule was still quite tight. Do you sympathise with modern players or did you embrace the schedule when you were playing?

No, I don't. I think they don't play as much as we used to. I suspect the quality of cricket is better, it's always improving because technology, their fitness and their skills are improving, but I don't think mentally they are. In the good old days before I started playing, people in county cricket would bowl over 1000 overs a year and bat over 60 times. I don't think they do that now, they can't [get the Double] because nowadays they have to play in four different competitions. So I don't [sympathise]. Obviously travel's a bit better. I would get into a Mini and drive 400 miles up the motorway. The senior pros had their cars and they had expenses. Nowadays I suspect they have air-conditioned coaches etc.

Another constant debate is about overseas players. Having played with and against many imports in county cricket, do you think it enhanced the competition and English cricket?

Yes, I do. I think it does. It also increases the interest for the spectators. Playing against better players is much better than playing against average players. If you've got a couple of good English players and add to that a couple of good overseas players... Obviously it got out of hand, as I mentioned earlier, when Warwickshire would have their five or six that weren't qualified [for England], and obviously that's no good.

So do you prefer the more restrictive numbers allowed today?

I'd like to have at least two per side. I don't know what the current rate is in English cricket [two plus any players covered by the Kolpak rule which has since been significantly tightened], but obviously it's great to see in New Zealand cricket more and more overseas players coming to play in local competitions because it only enhances the standard. [English batsmen] Jonathan Trott and Graeme Hick, all those players, made a real addition and a bonus to New Zealand cricket. I don't think we should get to the stage where, like in the English Premier League [football], there have to be at least six [locals] in the squad but they don't have to be on the field. I think to have good players is really important.  

And what did the other counties think of Yorkshire's policy of absolutely no overseas imports, until [former Indian captain] Sachin Tendulkar in 1992?

Well, again, I admired their stand. You had these stories about Yorkshiremen travelling across the world to make sure their son and heir was born in Yorkshire so that, if [the chance] happened, they could play [for Yorkshire]. One of the most famous Yorkshireman in fact wasn't a Yorkshireman anyway, [former England captain] Lord Hawke, he was the doyen of Yorkshire cricket. Again, I think there was tradition. In the end, Yorkshire have benefited from all the overseas players they've had, and to be competitive, it's a different age now anyway.  

So do you think the standard of county cricket [in your career] was of an equivalent level to today, or slightly lower?

No, I don't think it was at the same level. Obviously there are a lot of factors. There's the type of competition, there's the quality of the pitches, there's whether [the game has meaning and is] important. I can remember a game when we played Warwickshire where there was nothing on it, and the Warwickshire over-rate was below where it should have been, so they began bowling 30 overs an hour and it was a farce. I don't think there was enough stress put on the spectator being the important person. It was almost as though, "look they're watching" and we didn't know why they were watching. So it was a little bit of narrow thought about that. Nowadays people expect value for money, and obviously the grounds that we used to play on were very odd. I can remember getting changed once in a deckchair shed at Weston-super-Mare, and when we played Derby we got dressed in the old Racecourse and it was about 10 minutes to get to the pitch, it was so far away. Obviously the pitches and facilities are much better, and it's an entertainment package because of what people can get there and they expect more. It's a bit like everything I guess, everyone expects more for their money.

[Former Hampshire captain] Mark Nicholas is also a source of contention, particularly with his commentary. So how do you rate him as a commentator, and what was he like as a player and a person?

Very similar! (laughs) Mark was from the English public school system, and he had a way with words. He was a good player, he was captain [from 1985-1995], in fact the county I played for wouldn't actually make you captain unless you had three initials and went to a public school! It's changed a bit now, but I admire him. He's a professional, he's made a good niche for himself, just like anybody who's carried on after cricket and is still relevant, I think it's fantastic. He was enamoured with Barry Richards and Richie Benaud, and it's fantastic to see that he's commentated with them. Richie Benaud's still there, it's amazing that he's lasted that long. Mark has made a mark in Australia, where obviously they are very much pro-Australian, and for an Englishman with his voice to have succeeded with the Chappells and everyone else, it would be interesting to know what the politics are behind all that. He was an average county cricketer, he was a bowler and a batsman who captained England A. He wasn't a fantastic player, but on the right sort of wicket... When he was playing in Natal over there [in an unsuccessful stint], he was very young and that was before he got into [the full side]. It was Natal obviously because of the connection with the Smiths and Barry Richards as well. A lot of Hampshire players went over there and played club cricket, and a lot of them were Second XI players. Some succeeded, some didn't. They had a good time, if you know what I mean! (laughs)

Pitches in your era. Did they favour the bowlers more?

Well, they weren't covered, so obviously that helped. But also it didn't help, for instance two years in a row we played Sussex at Hove. On a Saturday they got 350, it rained on Sunday, and we were facing Imran Khan on Monday on a wet wicket. It was ridiculous. But having said that, when I got my best bowling analysis it was 6-46 on a wet wicket. Players of the past would say batsmen ought to be able to play on all sorts of surfaces, if it turns, well big deal, it's got to be able to turn. But it did make a lottery out of it. So I think now when the wickets are covered, it's a truer match and competition in that the weather doesn't play a part.

As a spin bowler, generally were they more friendly or more like the traditional English wicket?

It was interesting because most wickets were very slow. When they were wet they were spiteful, and it didn't matter who bowled. When we used to play against Kent, Derek Underwood was a genius. He would wear a mark, because basically he would bowl six different balls but the ball would always pitch in the same place. After two days of bowling on it he'd worn this hole and it was just literally unplayable. Whereas I would bowl and I would have nowhere near the accuracy, I would take six wickets in a game and he would take ten or twelve. The opposition would turn up and say "where's this minefield?", and all you could see was this mark that he's made where he's just constantly pitched the ball. He was brilliant.

We've often heard uncomplimentary stories from county players about the standard of accommodation and pay and so forth. Do you concur with their assessment that counties treated their players poorly?

Ten years earlier, they were changing in different dressing rooms. In fact the two captains changed in the same dressing room, and the amateurs changed in one dressing room and the professionals changed in another, and they came on the field in different gates. You had to call the amateurs Mr, and they called you so-and-so. Even when I was playing on the groundstaff, before I started playing [for the full side], I had to bowl at the members. They would turn up at six o'clock after their work and expect to have some net bowlers and some practice. They weren't very good players, but that's what they expected. Obviously it's changed a lot now. Again I suppose you can talk about football. They had 20 pounds a week, and now [Manchester City's Argentine forward and captain Carlos] Tevez is on 286 thousand pounds a week. So the money is just in a different league. It was just a game that you played and it was a different era. Obviously people always want more money, but you enjoyed it while you played it.

And do you think the greats of your era would have prospered to the same level in today's era?

Yes, yes, I think the greats in any era are the best that there are. The debate about [former Australian captain Don] Bradman or WG Grace etc., were they good enough, oh yes, I think they would be. There's so many percent in any era who are brilliant. You've just got to look at how much Bradman, how much Viv Richards and [former New Zealand fast bowler] Richard Hadlee were better than everybody else. So at any era, the best cricketers were and obviously we can play this game as to who was better but you can't do that. All you can say is in any era, there are better players than there are others.

Of the touring teams you faced, which played spin the best?

They could all play. The thing that you knew once you played against really top-class batsmen was that as a slow bowler, no one had problems against spin. Obviously against the quick bowlers you had less time, but whether you were playing Viv Richards or Zaheer or Javed Miandad, they basically never allowed you to spin the ball. The minute they got out, or they got themselves out, we reverted back to a normal game when an English player came out. Suddenly the ball was allowed to spin because they just weren't able to combat you. That was when I first realised, when I started playing against Ian Chappell, I was at university, or had just finished, and came out and started bowling and had been very successful in club cricket. But he wouldn't let me bowl. I had to keep bowling at his foot to stop him hitting it on the full toss. So it was a revelation.

You played with and against hundreds of international and domestic players over your career. Out of all these players, firstly who were the best Englishmen you played with or against, and why?

Batting-wise, I would say probably [former England captain] David Gower. As a bowler, obviously Derek Underwood. As a wicketkeeper, [former England keeper] Alan Knott was amazing. As a quick bowler, probably Ian Botham. Gower was a fantastic fielder.

Best foreigners you played with or against, and why?

Overseas players, well they were all good obviously. Viv Richards was easily the best that I played against. Barry Richards was the best cricketer that I never played against, and I still think he's the best batsman that I've seen. We played against Sunil Gavaskar in a touring game. It was the second game of their tour, and he batted all day for a hundred, and then we took the new ball and thirty minutes later, he was out for 166. So he'd been using the game as a net. I remember seeing [former Pakistani captain] Majid Khan. He was a fantastic player. He scored fifty and I think there'd been something like fifteen fours [sic. thirteen], or something ridiculous like that. He made the game look so simple. He played with a helmet and a floppy hat, he just looked like a club player, but he was brilliant. The Chappells were really good fielders. [Former Australian batsman] Ross Edwards was a brilliant fielder. Gordon Greenidge was probably the hardest thrower I've ever seen, and [former West Indian all-rounder] Collis King and Viv Richards as well. The top players, because they're so co-ordinated, are all brilliant fielders. Zaheer hated to field, so basically at every opportunity he'd get off. Obviously Barry Richards was a fantastic slip catcher. We had Richards fielding at slip and Greenidge at gully. It was just amazing. And if it wasn't turning, to have Greenidge fielding at short extra cover, it meant that all my off-side fielders could be four or five metres further back. It was brilliant. So they were all very good fielders.

From your career, what would you say were the three most memorable moments that stand out?

That game against Australia when I bowled and got the 6-for, that was obviously my most satisfying performance. Two moments that involved Viv Richards [come to mind]. One when he hit the ball past me when I was bowling. I followed through, and it went between mid-off and extra cover. I can still hear the sound of the ball on the grass because he hit it so hard. Another which says Richards 'stumped [former Hampshire captain Bob] Stephenson bowled Southern 0'. I bowled and got him out for nought, which was fantastic! (laughs)

You were capped in 1978 by Hampshire. Were there any expectations or standards you needed to reach in order to receive that?

Well, you had to have shown yourself to be a reliable and regular member of the first team. I was capped against Pakistan, and what that automatically means, the minute you get capped if you play for another ten years - I didn't - you get the opportunity of having a benefit. Obviously a benefit then was slightly different from what it is now. A benefit then  was a season when you could raise money - normally you'd have someone to do it for you - and it was tax-free. That was obviously the perk, it was almost like the pension, that a professional cricketer would get.

You got the cap after three years. Was that a normal timeframe in which to receive it?

It varied from county to county. I'd played regularly for three years and I was an average player. I wasn't a fantastic player but I did enough. That was fantastic. Sometimes people are capped after one game, especially if they're an overseas player, and some people never get capped. Certainly when I was playing, it was very much a kudos. You wore a different blazer and different tie, and people treat you slightly differently. You weren't on the groundstaff so you didn't have to roll the pitch and clear up after the game, so there was certain things that came with it.

So overall, would you say you generally have fond memories of Hampshire?

Yes totally. Yes it was fantastic. It was a wonderful experience. I wouldn't have swapped it for anything. I was cricket-mad when I was young, and I'm still cricket-mad. To have played at all those places - Old Trafford, Lord's, Canterbury - and to meet people like Don Bradman and [former England wicketkeeper] Les Ames. I met someone who played with WG Grace, and obviously to play against my contemporaries like Botham, [former England captain Mike] Gatting, all those people who went on to become legends of English cricket. It was fantastic and really wonderful. I can still remember being [at King's] and Richard Hadlee, he wasn't Sir then, he had been brought to the school to talk to [the students] and as I walked down the drive, he looked up and said, "hello John! How are you?" And you could see all the boys thinking "my god, who is this person that Richard Hadlee knows?" (laughs) So it's something that you can't take away, to have played cricket. Even if you played once, it's something but to have played for eight or nine years, it's fantastic.

You played a lot at the Northlands Road ground. How was that as a ground?

It was a dump. It was a total and utter dump. It was behind Southampton football ground. They've now changed it and obviously the ground they've now got, the Rose Bowl, is out where the university used to play and near what used to be the local airport. That's now a highly developed ground where they hold one-day internationals. This place just had wooden stands, it was very small straight and it was very old-fashioned. It was derelict, and I can see why they obviously moved. The ground itself was sold, because it was in the city it was developed and they made a lot of money out of that. A lot of grounds were like that. Northampton was terrible, as I said Derby was terrible, they were probably right for their time. The Test grounds were wonderful, you could go and play at The Oval and at Lord's and today, they're a lot better, but even then they were fantastic.

So you think it was a good decision to move to the Rose Bowl?

Oh I'm sure it was. As far as Hampshire were concerned, they weren't making any money and they were still running on a very old-fashioned model. They're now obviously much more upmarket. I still get my annual membership and I still get a car parking ticket, not that I've ever used it (laughs), but they're much more go-ahead now and the actual thing makes more money.

So you like the path the county has taken under the new owner Rod Bransgrove?

Yes. I think they had to. It was survival or die. It was really important. Most of the rural counties have all had to do that. For instance when we played, we used to play at Basingstoke, Portsmouth and Bournemouth. They used to play on the Isle of Wight as well as Aldershot, and they couldn't do that and make money. So they've had to consolidate and play at one ground. I think they still play the odd game at Basingstoke, but it's the same with most of the counties. they now can no longer play in all the different grounds, they have to play at one and have a proper money-making process.

So it was a positive move to have [former Australian captain] Shane Warne and [former England captain] Kevin Pietersen coming to the club?

Well, I suppose so. [Australian captain] Michael Clarke and [Australian all-rounder] Shane Watson have also been there. Obviously, I've lost a little bit of touch there now, but I think that's just a necessity.

One of the more controversial moves was the global partnership with the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals. What do you think of that?

Obviously it's a different animal, the Twenty20. It's a bit like in soccer, the Champions League, and in rugby, the Super 15. It's a totally different game and a totally different setup. It's something for 2010, not for 1980 or 1990, when we played 40, 45, 50, 55, 60-over cricket and three-day cricket at different grounds. Obviously it's what people want to go and see. Now there's another hybrid in Australia with the split-innings one-dayers [45 overs per side but played across four innings, now discontinued], a bit like [former New Zealand captain] Martin Crowe's Cricket Max [concept]. I think they're always tinkering to try and find something new which the crowds will go and see.

Do you think it was like that when one-day cricket was introduced in England around your time?

Yes, very much so. It was viewed as something different, and no one likes change. Some famous President [America's 28th President Woodrow Wilson] said, "if you want to make enemies, try and change something". When they first started playing, the first one-day games were 65 overs and the bowlers bowled thirteen overs [each], and then it went to 60 overs, and they've tried all sorts of different things there. We used to have a ten-over slog if it rained on a Sunday, but they're always changing. As long as Test cricket isn't changing, that's important that it's still there. It is the ultimate challenge. I don't see Twenty20 as proper cricket. Well people are developing different shots, so it's not the cricket I know.

Do you still follow county cricket relatively regularly?

No, I don't. My colleagues do. I look occasionally. I obviously follow Test cricket, but there's so much cricket played now and it's getting so accessible. I think I followed it as long as the players who I was playing with [were there], and in fact when I do watch it now I look to see who the umpires are to see if they're people I played with. To see if he's still there, he's still there, and there's an amazing number of them in county cricket who were my contemporaries. So I'm more interested in who the umpires are, rather than who the players are! (laughs)

And enjoying the Ashes at the moment?

Yes, yes, staggered by Australia's decline. I just find it amazing that they didn't see the signs coming and they've just literally let it get to this state, but things go in cycles. When I first started playing, when Allan Border was captain, they were really struggling then, but they got through it and they produced some fantastic sides. It goes in cycles.

Do you think England will be able to become the number 1 Test side and challenge India and South Africa?

No I don't think so. It's very difficult, I think the idea of the World Test Championship is quite difficult to do because it's going to take so long, and home advantage is so important in certain fields. If you're playing in India and the temperature is 38 degrees and the humidity is very high and you're having to live all the time there, it's quite difficult. Whereas if you're playing in New Zealand, possibly if you're playing down in Invercargill and it's minus ten [degrees] it's slightly different, but it's very difficult to get any sort of parity. The fifty-over, sixty overs initially, World Cup is still probably the only real way that we can currently test world domination. As long as the Ashes and the five-match [Test] series happen against the major countries, I think that's quite important. It gives the teams a challenge. The three-Test series doesn't quite do that, and the two-Test series is just ridiculous, isn't it? I think there has to be a chance for having a decider, for it to be one-all and for the third one to be relevant. Two Test matches is just ridiculous, and to have no practice games as well, for teams to just turn up and go straight into a Test match. I know it's an economic thing, but it's just unrealistic.

That's where England is probably a bit different because on an English tour they always have those tour games...

Well they made it their point to have those warm-up games, so they could get some sort of feeling for it. And obviously in the past when I was playing, the touring sides came across from, say Pakistan and New Zealand, they shared a summer and they had three Test matches each, but they played against all the counties. Whereas now they will play possibly a couple against some very low-level county sides and most of their tour is made up of Test matches, and then of course the one-day series, which tends to have more games. I see the current series [England in Australia 2010-2011] has got seven one-day internationals after the Test matches.

Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you, cheers.

Photo kind courtesy of King's College and Gael Panama (Marketing and Communications Manager).

Disclosure: The author is a cricket coach at King's College.

Big guns face off- Article #32 on Twenty20.co.nz

A pre-game look at the India-Australia World Cup quarterfinal.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/22/03/2011/big-guns-face-off

Pressure's all on India- Article #31 on Twenty20.co.nz

Preview of India's World Cup chances.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/14/02/2011/pressures-all-on-india

McIntosh shocks Volts- Article #30 on Twenty20.co.nz

Match report from the One-Day semifinal where Tim McIntosh clubbed his highest domestic one-day score to help Auckland defeat Otago.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/09/02/2011/mcintosh-shocks-volts

Ryder gives NZ WC hope- Article #29 on Twenty20.co.nz

Match report from a face-saving victory for NZ in the 6th ODI against Pakistan at Auckland's Eden Park.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/05/02/2011/ryder-gives-nz-wc-hope

Pakistan win ODI series- Article #28 on Twenty20.co.nz

Match report from Pakistan's series-sealing victory over New Zealand in the 5th ODI at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/03/02/2011/pakistan-win-odi-series

Gutsy Hopkins battles on- Article #27 on Twenty20.co.nz

An interview with an honest Gareth Hopkins after he was dropped from the New Zealand side in all formats.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/27/01/2011/gutsy-hopkins-battles-on

Hopkins puts out Firebirds- Article #26 on Twenty20.co.nz

Match report from a domestic one-dayer between Auckland and Wellington which saw an excellent hundred from Aces skipper Gareth Hopkins.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/12/01/2011/hopkins-puts-out-firebirds

Taufeeq salutes skipper- Article #25 on Twenty20.co.nz

Day 2 press conference from the 1st Test between New Zealand and Pakistan at Seddon Park in Hamilton.


http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/09/01/2011/taufeeq-salutes-skipper

Shafiq and Misbah prosper- Article #24 on Twenty20.co.nz

Day 2 match report from the 1st Test between New Zealand and Pakistan at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/08/01/2011/shafiq-and-misbah-prosper

Both sides relatively happy- Article #23 on Twenty20.co.nz

Qoutes from the corresponding press conference after Day 1 of the 1st Test between New Zealand and Pakistan from Seddon Park in Hamilton.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/07/01/2011/both-sides-relatively-happy

Rehman and Southee star- Article #22 on Twenty20.co.nz

Match report of Day 1 of the 1st Test between New Zealand and Pakistan in the 2010/2011 season live from Seddon Park in Hamilton.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/07/01/2011/rehman-and-southee-star

Aces crowned champions- Article #21 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report from the HRV Cup final as the Auckland Aces head off to the Champions League after a thrilling 4-run win over the Central Stags at Colin Maiden Park.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/02/01/2011/aces-crowned-champions

Adams backs Aces- Article #20 on Twenty20.co.nz

My interview with former Black Cap Andre Adams ahead of tomorrow's HRV Cup final, as well as a preview of the Auckland Aces' chances.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/01/01/2011/adams-backs-aces

Pakistan outgunned- Article #19 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report from the 2nd Twenty20 International as NZ beat Pakistan to seal a series win.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/28/12/2010/pakistan-outgunned

Southee stuns Pakistan- Article #18 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report from the 1st Twenty20 International at Eden Park as New Zealand beat Pakistan by 5 wickets.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/26/12/2010/southee-stuns-pakistan

Pathetic Pakistan pounded- Article #17 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report from Colin Maiden Park as domestic Twenty20 table-toppers Auckland topple the touring Pakistanis.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/23/12/2010/pathetic-pakistan-pounded

Aces hold off Wizards- Article #16 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report from the Auckland Aces' ultimately comfy 12-run win over the Canterbury Wizards in the HRV Cup at Colin Maiden Park.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/21/12/2010/aces-hold-off-wizards

Tendulkar the Unmatchable- Article #15 on Twenty20.co.nz

My tribute to Sachin Tendulkar after the Little Master reached Test century number 50.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/20/12/2010/tendulkar-the-unmatchable

Rain trumps the Aces- Article #14 on Twenty20.co.nz

My report on the rain washing out the Auckland Aces' weekend double-header against the Otago Volts and the Wellington Firebirds.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/19/12/2010/rain-trumps-the-aces

Knights disarm Wizards- Article #13 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report from Hamilton of the Northern Knights' pummelling of the Canterbury Wizards, including quotes from former South African opener Herschelle Gibbs, now playing for Northern.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/17/12/2010/knights-disarm-wizards

McGlashan seeking call-up- Article #12 on Twenty20.co.nz

My interview with former Black Caps keeper Peter McGlashan ahead of the Northern Districts Knights' match with the Canterbury Wizards.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/17/12/2010/mcglashan-seeking-call-up

India seek history- Article #11 on Twenty20.co.nz

My preview of India's Test leg in South Africa, a battle between No 1 and No 2.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/16/12/2010/india-seek-history

Hakaraia cautiously hopeful- Article #10 on Twenty20.co.nz

My interview with new Auckland Aces debutant Dusan Hakaraia ahead of his side' match in Invercargill against the Otago Volts.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/10/12/2010/hakaraia-cautiously-hopeful

Best King's side I've coached- Article #9 on Twenty20.co.nz

My interview with King's College 1st XI coach and head of cricket operations Roy Goodyear ahead of his side's trip to the Gillette Cup, New Zealand's premier secondary schools tournament.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/06/12/2010/best-kings-side-ive-coached

Aces turn tables on Stags- Article #8 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report from Colin Maiden Park for the 2nd game of the HRV Cup between the Auckland Aces and the Central Districts Stags, including quotes from former Black Cap and Aces captain for the game Lou Vincent.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/03/12/2010/aces-turn-tables-on-stags

Adams excited about trip- Article #7 on Twenty20.co.nz

My interview with Auckland Aces' overseas import, Englishman Jimmy Adams, before their opening HRV Cup game against the Stags.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/03/12/2010/adams-excited-about-trip

Stags outclass Knights- Article #6 on Twenty20.co.nz

My match report live in Hamilton from the opening HRV Cup game for 2010-2011 between defending champions the Central Districts Stags and the Northern Districts Knights, including quotes from former Black Caps Mark Richardson and Shane Bond (now CD's bowling coach).

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/03/12/2010/stags-outclass-knights

Ghosts of 2000 still loom- Article #5 on Twenty20.co.nz

My take on the Pakistan spot-fixing controversy, the PCB, Ijaz Butt and why I believe Pakistan should be banned from international cricket for at least one year, as well as a nostalgic look back at a Mohammad Azharuddin special at the Basin Reserve in 1998.

http://www.twenty20.co.nz/articles/15/09/2010/ghosts-of-2000-still-loom