19.4.08

Still Doing It

Something else made a bigger impression on me than the IPL, though.

I started this blog because I felt I had something to write after I saw Graeme Hick make his 129th first-class hundred for Worcestershire against Somerset at Taunton two years ago.

Two years on he's still doing it. Yesterday's 101 at Edgbaston was hundred number 135, and you wouldn't bet against there being more to come as the season goes on, 42nd birthday or no 42nd birthday.
Posted by at 12:51 PM
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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah yes Brian...Mr Hick is a master indeed. I wasn't there for the 405 at Taunton though for a neutral, it must have been an innings and a half. He seems to have liked the Somerset attack over the years. He's missing for the game on Sunday which is a great shame but I hope to watch him in action in 2008. A great advert for the game in times of quick bucks, kolpak and ever-shorter stints for overseas players.

5:31 PM
Brian Carpenter said...

Thanks, John. As I said on 'Scrumpy...' I hope you have a better day than I did last year (as described at 'Not in England' in the 'Selected Writings' section of this blog).

3:22 PM
Anonymous said...

pls link my blog as I've daone regarding yours...tks a ton..TC

8:46 AM
Jaunty Quicksand said...

Born and brought up in India, Graeme Hick was one of my favourite players, along with Azhar, VVS, and Junior Waugh. I guess I am fatalistically attracted to players who could have been much more had they been nurtured by "godfathers" like some other folks did.

I was anxious that he would quietly retire after last season and was extremely pleased that he came back for (at least) one more. I followed his 135th century ball-by-ball on CricInfo and have followed him for years and years. I had the previlege of watching live (in India) his 178 in the early '90's - a series in which he was England's leading run-scorer, wicket-taker, and catcher!

I'll never forgive Agtherton for declaring when Hick was a boundary short of an Ashes century. A century that could have changed people's perception of Hick and redefined his career. Oh well, que sera sera.

The word "great" is overused these days, but Hick is great in a truest sense of the word. I hope he gets better soon and is back to plundering more runs for Worcestershire.

6:30 AM
Brian Carpenter said...

Thanks for a great comment, Jaunty.
I don't know whether you've read the longer piece about Hick under 'Selected Writings', but if you do you'll see that I go back a long way with him too.

Interesting that you should mention the Atherton declaration at Sydney. I was there and at the time I agreed with it as it seemed a priority to get Australia in and I thought Hick would have plenty more chances to make hundreds against Australia. That he didn't ultimately had a lot to do with that decision, which Atherton later conceded was a mistake.

Still, as you say, it's great that he's still doing his stuff for Worcs when he's the oldest player in county cricket now by miles. I'm going up to Worcester at the end of May and hope to see him play then. I'll probably post something here about it, so watch this space.

2:09 PM

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