Outside London and the Home Counties we go berserk whenever the thermometer creeps close to 25 degrees. Imagine the feeling now after a fortnight of such temperatures! At least the cricketers are getting onto the pitch and fans are confident of buying discounted advance T20 tickets safe in the knowledge the game won't be rained off, unlike last year's miserable summer.
For anybody aged at least 50 or so, the word heatwave conjures up memories of 1976. Weeks of unending sunshine, no wind, the school sponsored walk being curtailed for fear of mass hopitalisation, while the UK economy went down the toilet. Then, as now,it was foreigners getting the blame. In 2013, it's European migrant workers. 37 years ago, it was the Caribbean population in the cities. The white English backlash acquired a voice in the neo-Nazi National Front while these days it's the rise of UKIP and the English Defence League.
Living in Essex black faces were extemely rare but what I shared with the West Indians living in London, Birmingham, Bristol and elsewhere was enjoyment of Caribbean cricket and watching Clive Lloyd's new team bewitch and bewilder England, and not just in terms of cricket. The cacophany of rhythmic beer can percussion, especially at The Oval, still rings in my ears now - and I experienced it only via BBC TV. The vast brown desert of The Oval's outfield traversed by Michael Holding's mesmerising run-up also remains fixed in the brain.
The book and film 'Grovel!' brilliantly evoke the atmosphere of the cricketing summer, and reminded me, sitting in the uncomfortable heat, of the selection measures resorted to by England to counter the threat posed by the four-man pace attack. The notion of a barrage of dangerous bouncers seems alien in these times of batting-friendly rules. Then, while umpires could intervene to stop 'intimidatory' bowling, there was no limit to the number of short-pitched deliveries. And Lloyd's attack took full advantage. Trouble is, the ludicrously long run-ups employed by Andy Roberts, Wayne Daniel, Holding and co made for a dreary spectacle. Twelve overs an hour became the norm, later prompting minimum over rules in Test cricket. The strokeplay of Lloyd, Roy Fredericks and the relatively youthful Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards was anything but boring. Quite the reverse, and Viv became my all-time favourite sportsman on the back of his scintillating drives hooks and pulls that long hot summer.
But I digress. 1976 was also the summer of recalls for batsmen considered well past their prime, or those whose prime had previously gone completely unnoticed by the short-sighted selectors in their ivory tower at Lord's. In 1975, the grey-haired, bespectacled figure of David Steele had been summoned to replicate his form for Northants, particularly against fast bowling, against Lillee and Thomson. He had scored no centuries but had avoided calamity to the extent that his efforts (rather than achievements) earned him the unlikely accolade of BBC Sports Personality of the Year! A year later, he was an automatic choice, at 33, for the West Indies series. But who to join him?
The answer was probably the oldest English Test side of all time. Geoff Boycott was missing through bloody-mindedness then injury, Dennis Amiss because of fear of fast bowling after being hurt a few times, and so the 39 year-old John Edrich was crucial to open the innings. 34 year-old John Snow remained England's best fast bowler, despite being increasingly injury-prone. However, some of the young county batsmen were not considered ready to throw into the firing line. Enter Brian Close. At 45, the former England captain and professional Yorkshireman (see also Boycott) had moved to lead a young Somerset side but his fearless persona and willingness to take the bruises rather than risk reckless hooks to the short stuff catapulted him into the England team. He performed well enough to keep his place but the West Indies were simply too good. Skipper Tony Greig was given a torrid time after his 'grovel' comments and another late 30-something in good nick for his county, Chris Balderstone, was given a couple of Test caps.
His first innings at Headingley brought 35 runs in 3 1/2 hours before being caught behind off Roberts. Second time of asking, he was out in similar fashion for just 4. At The Oval, he bagged a pair, as Holding ran rampant. By the time England introduced people like Peter Willey, Mike Selvey, Geoff Miller and Frank Hayes, the series was already lost. Willey and Miller continued their international careers but the following years saw wholesale changes promoted by the departure to the 'Packer Circus'.
Nevertheless, I'm just happy to soak up all this sunshine and recall the glorious summer of '76. Get me another Cornetto!
