My Hundred: from 10 to 6

 10: Majid Khan

The Pakistani’s career was already well established when he exploded into my consciousness in 1974. I think I was at my Nanna’s house one August day when Dad and I were watching an ODI against England. Majid Khan was blazing a century at a pace almost unknown in those days. I was an instant fan. Sadly he had few opportunities to play international one-day cricket although he was a brilliant batsman to watch in the first-class game, too. He was undoubtedly a superior strokemaker to his cousin Imran but of course not quite up to his bowling standard. Majid also graced Glamorgan for a few years in the Seventies, consistently one of the best in the county game. What I particularly liked about him was his old-school attitude. He would think nothing of ‘walking’, and had the serenity to defy the feared West Indian pace attack on their own territory while retaining a sense of style. 

9: Sunil Gavaskar

Another hero of mine from the 1970s was Sunil Gavaskar. There was something noble about such a short batsman ducking and weaving against the world’s fastest bowlers and to this day nobody has beaten his aggregate of 774 in a Test series against West Indies. He could be frustratingly slow, as illustrated by his notorious 36 not out for India in a 60-over World Cup innings but in the Test match arena, he was the greatest batsman of his era, able to defend stolidly then hook a bouncer with ease.

‘Sunny’ rewrote the record books many times, becoming the first man to play a hundred consecutive Tests, score 10,000 Test runs, and setting the bar for centuries at 34, which lasted for almost two decades until his famed successor Tendulkar zoomed past. Gavaskar managed just one season in county cricket (for Somerset!) but my abiding memory is of his wonderful last day 221 at The Oval in 1979 which so nearly earned India a sensational victory. Chasing a target of 438, stumps were drawn at 429-8, ending an absorbing day’s play. Having willed him to succeed I was left emotionally drained. He was an inspiration. 

8: Sarfraz Nawaz

A contemporary of both Majid and Gavaskar, Sarfraz Nawaz was a very different kettle of fish. At six feet six he was unusually tall for the sport in those days but he was nowhere near as quick as Thomson, Holding, Garner et al. I recall trying to copy his short, shuffling stride, which deceived so many batsmen. He was a stalwart of the Northamptonshire attack for many years, an almost alien presence with his height, moustache and consistent success with the ball.

What he lacked in pace he gained in skill, a pioneer of reverse swing which influenced fellow Pakistan legends such as Imran or Waqar Younis. Like Stuart Broad, for instance, he could be distinctly average, then produced devastating bursts. His 7-4 in 33 balls to turn the tables on Australia in 1979 at the MCG was astounding, and his bowling was decisive in Pakistan’s first series win over India. He wasn’t always a gentleman on the pitch and in retirement was often outspoken about issues such as match-fixing: a better cricketer than politician! 

7: Sarah Taylor

On the face of it, perhaps an unexpected choice for a top-ten position, but Sarah Taylor epitomises the importance of personality and enjoyment of playing cricket that seems rare in this modern world of millionaire contracts and hard-nosed professionalism. She first made her mark for England as a 16 year-old and, as women’s cricket boosted its profile, Taylor was undoubtedly one of the world’s shiniest stars. She became the first woman to play men’s grade cricket in Australia and has contributed to assorted record ODI partnerships, in the process exhibiting some flamboyant strokeplay. She also demonstrates the tidiest, most athletic wicketkeeping standing up of anyone I can recall, of any gender.

However, when I first watched women’s cricket on the telly, Sarah stood out for her sunny disposition on the pitch. Instead of snarling sledging she could be heard bantering with colleagues, always bright as a button. For instance, I was at Cardiff enjoying an Ashes T20 when she was forced to make an acrobatic catch from an over-enthusiastic Katherine Brunt throw. Even from my seat I noted her exaggerated glare towards the fielder before her face exploded into a smile. You don’t get that from Jonny Bairstow! She was probably the last person I'd expect to have her career curtailed by anxiety issues, but her first time-out was announced in 2015. This speaks volumes for the horrors of mental illness as well as the character of Sarah Taylor.

6: Peter Trego

In May 2019 I was at Lord’s to witness Somerset’s One Day Cup triumph. Tom Abell lifted the trophy but nobody looked more delighted to have won than Peter Trego. The all-rounder had been an integral part of Somerset in all competitions for so long, with little silverware to show for it so he could be forgiven for hurrying around the entire boundary clasping every outstretched hand, including mine. It was the highlight of my day.

Whilst Tregs hasn’t represented his home county throughout his career, it was still a shock when, last season, having limited opportunities in our First XI, he transferred to Nottinghamshire. At 39, he has nonetheless done a cracking job with the ball in the four-day Bob Willis Trophy, and I don’t begrudge him one bit. He was probably the first sportsman I observed wearing an ugly ‘sleeve’ tattoo but I much preferred watching his energetic fast-medium bowling and wide smile as he crashed another T20 ball into the Taunton crowd. He probably peaked too late for England selectors but he will always be a West Country folk hero - and mine.

Ellyse Perry Keeps Aussies in Charge

The single women’s Test match at Sydney may have ended as a draw but there were positives for both sides. After the first day, when England laboured to 235-7, home skipper Rachael Haynes must have fancied Australia’s chances of repeating their 2015 Ashes triumph in the four-day format.

Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight put on a century stand for the second wicket but thereafter nobody else could amass more than 29 runs. Once the floodlights came on, Megan Schutt and Ellyse Perry made life more difficult, and when Perry induced a caught-and-bowled from Sarah Taylor, they must have scented blood. The following morning, Shrubsole and Marsh did their best to advance the score past the psychologically important mark of 300 but their side could muster only 280.

In reply, England’s attack began well. Laura Marsh and teenage debutante spinner Sophia Ecclestone claimed the top three batters, before Shrubsole had Villiani brilliantly caught by Taylor. 95-4, after 56 overs, and things were looking up. However, Ellyse Perry was watchful at the other end. When joined by Haynes, the runs began to flow more easily. Alyssa Healy upped the scoring rate even more and put on 102 for the sixth wicket with Perry who was playing beautifully.

The third day saw the all-rounder reach three figures. Amazingly it was her first international century in any format after more than 170 attempts. But she didn’t stop there. By stumps, she had progressed to a superb 213 not out, the third highest individual Test score in history. More importantly, the Aussies declared on an unbeatable 448-9. Facing 17 awkward overs in the lights, Winfield and Beaumont successfully held on intact. However they faced a mountain on the final day to avoid a defeat which would cost them the Ashes before the Twenty20 games had even started.

So full credit to England for digging in throughout the day. It can’t have been much of a spectacle for the North Sydney Oval crowd but the top four displayed diligence that the men’s team would do well to repeat when the situation demands it. Newbies McGrath and Wellington nabbed an opener apiece, but Heather Knight, passing 70 for the second time in the match, led from the front. On 206-2, she shook hands with her opposite number and it was honours even.

With a four-point margin, the Ashes are still up for grabs. However, England must win all three of the T20 fixtures to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Anything’s possible in the biff-bang stuff but I can’t help feeling that Australia will manage at least one win and hold the women’s trophy for another two years. With Ellyse Perry in this form, who would bet against?

England Clinch Women’s World Cup

England and India served up a rollercoaster final at Lord’s to round off an excellent World Cup tournament, but it was Heather Knight’s side who held their nerve to win the trophy they last held aloft in 2009.

It was a cagey but solid start for England. Openers Lauren Winfield and Tammy Beaumont added 47 before Gayakwad bowled the former round her legs. Beaumont was the competition’s highest run scorer but she fell to Poonam Yadav for just 23 and when the same bowler trapped skipper Knight lbw for a single, the home team were looking shaky. Enter Nat Sciver to join forces with Sarah Taylor. Their stand of 83 in 16 overs steadied the ship but the veteran medium-pacer Jhulan Goswani produced excellent figures of 3-23 to turn things back in India’s favour. The late order couldn’t quite strike the boundaries they wanted but Brunt and Gunn managed to nudge the total to an acceptable 228-7.

Anya Shubsole struck an early blow in the second over, swinging in a beauty to send Mandhana’s middle stump flying. Raj and Raut played sensibly, but when Harmanpreet Kaur began to punish the bad ball with a couple of sixes, I reckon India fancied their chances. After all, they had dealt England a blow in their first group match and their confidence must have been high following the surprise thumping of Australia in the semis. Kaur had peppered the deep mid-wicket boundary in her incredible 171 not out but she fell just after reaching her third successive fifty.

Krishnamurthy joined Raut and found the gaps to maintain the required run rate. At 191-3 with more than 7 overs remaining, Hartley and Shrubsole were beginning to falter. However, in ten crazy minutes, the same pair turned the match on its head, capturing four wickets in 13 balls. And yet, on 201-7, there were still only 19 runs needed. There was the added issue of the weather. Rain clouds were hovering menacingly, with some light drizzle, and India were ahead on Duckworth-Lewis.

Pandey was athletically run out by the ever-brilliant ‘keeper Taylor, then Sharma, who had plundered 14 from twelve deliveries, mistimed a hoik and Nat Sciver completed a second skying catch. Eleven to win, eleven balls  and one wicket left, and Shrubsole already with five wickets. A few balls later, Gayakwad could only scoop Anya tamely to mid-off Gunn – who promptly dropped it! Had she dropped the World Cup? The Somerset legend ran in again and this time hit the stumps! England had won an enthralling final!

It had been an eye-opening tournament throughout. I’d never seen such high scores. Not only Kaur’s semi-final masterpiece but also Sarah Taylor’s 147 in 104 balls against Pakistan and Beaumont’s 148 in the same innings. Their stand of 275 was the second highest in women’s ODI history. Sri Lanka and Australia had produced another high-scoring group fixture at Bristol, where Chamara Atapattu’s 178 not out was eventually trumped by Meg Lanning’s superb 152 not out.

The whole tournament had been another great advert for women’s cricket. Compared with the men’s game, the boundaries may be shorter, the bowling slower and batting less muscular. However, there is just as much skill, commitment and excitement. And instead of the snarling, sniping aggression that has become a staple of men’s cricket, you have the winning smile and on-field exuberance of Sarah Taylor. What’s not to love?! Her twelve-month rest from the sport has been bad for England, and her return has been as important in their run to the World Cup triumph as any other factor. Let’s hope she maintains her enthusiasm for the game, and England will be looking to take title number five next time around.

England Lose both Edwards and Taylor

Imagine the following scenario. Andrew Strauss sits down with Alastair Cook for a chat about England’s strategy, after which Cook announces his immediate retirement from international cricket. A week later, Joe Root says he is taking an indefinite break from the game. It’ll never happen, right? Well, something very similar has just happened in women’s cricket.


Last week came the news that England’s long-serving captain and middle-order batter Charlotte Edwards had been forced to stand down. Today came the even more shocking revelation that her likely successor Sarah Taylor is “to take some personal time away from the game". With James Taylor having forced to quit the sport for health reasons at the same age, that’s two of my favourite cricketers off the scene at ridiculously young ages.


Edwards has given two decades’ service to England cricket, making her Test debut at the age of 16, scoring 34 and 31 against New Zealand. Test matches are rare in the women’s game, so since July 1996, the bulk of Edwards’ 309 appearances for her country have been in ODIs and T20s. With a Test average of 44, she remains one of the most successful run-makers in the modern game. But more than this, England Women have under his leadership moved into a new era, the professional era, in which players no longer have to wear skirts and caps, de rigeur when Charlotte started her career.

She has lifted the World T20 Cup and Ashes but the Aussies have in recent years become bigger stars. Edwards is not the best runners out in the middle and maybe that is why coach Mark Robinson, backed by his boss Clare Connor, gave her the elbow in the name of promoting youth and fitness. Last year at Cardiff, when signing autographs at the boundary fence, I must admit she did look like the proud elder sister amongst her younger siblings, a mother hen shepherding her clucking chickens. I don’t mean that disparagingly at all. Charlotte Edwards was, is, a genuine star and, as the likes of Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry will testify, she is one of the greats of the game, not just in 2016 but in its entire history.

I’ve written before about the way Sarah Taylor always plays with a smile on her face, be it batting or behind the stumps. That belies a steely determination that all top sports people must possess to succeed. And success is no stranger to Sarah.

Her debut came against India in 2006 at the grand old age of 17. Since then she has become one of the world’s best players, opening and keeping wicket. Admittedly last year’s Ashes series and the recent World T20 didn’t see Taylor at her best. Nevertheless the media aren’t revealing the reason for her immediate break, which will presumably scupper her chance of taking Edwards’ place as captain and participating in the summer fixtures against Pakistan.

Sarah is undoubtedly an emotional player who, while delighting spectators like me, can get under the skin of opponents, albeit not in a nasty Jimmy Anderson way. Maybe that explains why her form can be a rollercoaster ride. When she makes runs, England usually win. When she fails, so does her team. However, she has recently spread her wings in Australian Men’s Grade cricket and their women’s Big Bash, easily holding her own.

So what about her future? I am clinging to the hope dangled by history. At 21 she took a similar break before returning in even better form than ever. Please, Sarah, come back to grace the game once more. Women’s cricket can’t afford to lose two of its biggest names.

Women’s Cricket Deserves Centre Stage

There were many reasons why August Bank Holiday in Cardiff was so enjoyable. Firstly, it actually refrained from raining between 10am and 6pm. Secondly, the T20 double-header provided twice the entertainment value that I expected.

I rarely glean much satisfaction from watching a Twenty20 match. Too much biff-bang, little finesse and despite the paucity of balls bowled, there’s no guarantee of an exciting finish. However, if there’s an opportunity of watching two matches in succession, I can be persuaded!

Monday was just such an occasion. The headlines focussed on the men’s game. They enjoyed the full house, the patriotic, vociferous support (maybe not from the few Welsh locals, of whom I am an honourable member!) and the enthralling climax. There were Eoin Morgan’s seven sixes, a beautiful innings from Moeen Ali, Steve Smith’s excellently paced 90 and the thrilling catch by Ben Stokes which turned the game England’s way. There was also the unfortunate dismissal of Shane Watson which not only stirred the derision of the crowd but also hilarity of his own bench upon the repeat showing on the big screen later on. I know because I was sitting close to the Aussies. Even Darren Lehmann was laughing heartily!

However, to concentrate on the men’s one-off fixture would do the women’s game a gross injustice. I hadn’t bought my ticket just to see Hales, Watson, Buttler, Starc and co. I was intrigued by the prospect of watching first-hand the newly-professionalised Women’s teams doing battle for their version of the Ashes. While a batting collapse at Hove a few days earlier had rendered the Cardiff tie redundant as an Ashes decider, there was still much to play for.

I’d familiarised myself with the leading players with a few snippets of gams in the past year or two so I was keenly awaiting the chance to see global stars such as England’s skipper Charlotte Edwards, her Aussie counterpart Meg Lanning, star all-rounder Ellyse Perry and our own wicketkeeper-batsman Sarah Taylor, my new favourite cricketer!

It was interesting to compare the two games. Of course the men’s game provided more power, pace and sixes. However, the opener featured no less skill and was played in great spirit. One reason I like watching Sarah Taylor is her enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment of playing. Something the men should remember from time to time.

Two performances stood out. Anya Shrubsole ripped out the first four Aussie wickets, including the ever-dangerous Lanning and newcomer Jess Jonassen. Perry stuck around for 16 before becoming one of Natalie Scriver’s four victims. Grace Harris struck a few sixes but 111 didn’t look a formidable total. Nevertheless, England had failed to reach even 90 in the previous T20, so anything was possible, especially when Edwards, Wyatt and Taylor were all gone by the fourth over.

Enter Scriver once more. She steadied the ship, put on 55 with Katherine Brunt and was run out with only six needed. Lydia Greenway did the rest and victory came in the nineteenth over. A wonderful all-round display from Sciver but I was mightily impressed by all the bowlers and in particular the fielding, every bit as smart as the men’s.

The awards and celebrations were a bit muted. Maybe it was because the Aussies had done most of their champagne cork-popping at Hove. However, most of the players on both sides were happy to sign autographs and pose for selfies afterwards. These weren’t the big strapping selfish sports stars we have become familiar with. They were young ‘normal’ athletes keen to build a rapport with the fans, and they seemed genuinely pleased to do so.

I sincerely hope that women’s cricket continues to grow and attract not only TV audiences but also youngsters willing to pick up a ball and bat. From what I experienced at Cardiff on and off the field, they are going about it in the right way. Those who couldn’t be bothered to turn up in the morning at the SSE Swalec missed a real treat.