Another RIP - Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud died within the past few days. Another of my boyhood heroes down. While I modelled Jim Laker, an offspinner, there was something about Benaud's style that, even though he was captain of the "enemy" - the Aussies - I really liked. He was enthusiastic and showed it at a time when the game was still dominated by "stiff upper lip" culture. Even though I wasn't yet ten and TV coverage was limited I still remember his famous match-winning spell at Old Trafford in 1961 bowling into the rough from the bowlers' follow-through. What was amazing was to see him become a legend - I don't use the word lightly - as a cricket commentator and journalist. He has achieved an extraordinary status, beloved by three generations of cricket fans. For those who don't follow cricket it's likely impossible to explain this. North American sports fans would be truly baffled. What all the quoted reactions say is, for once, entirely true: he followed the rule, "if you don't have anything to say to add to what you see, say nothing". The corollary; when he spoke, it was worth listening. This, of course, is very "old school", very pukka, very cricket, yet Benaud was modernizer; his love of the game was so deep that he wanted to see it advance and played a surprisingly influential role  in that process. There will not be another.

A Different Game but still Enjoyable
I'm watching the World Cup of cricket highlights. In many ways the game is unrecognizable from what I knew as a kid. In the most literal way, the rules are different. I don't understand the rules about fielding placements. (There weren't any when I was active.) Batsmen now get a free hit after a no-ball. Video replay has removed doubt about behind the wicket catches, lbws, stumpings and runouts. The massive 50-over scores are just not comparable to the early days of one-day cricket. Yet there's some lovely stroke play to go with the slogging and some excellent bowling.

RIP Dave Mackay
Another of my boyhood heroes has died. As a number of pundits correctly note, Mackay would be worth a fortune today. The nearest recent player would be Viera without the penchant for losing his temper. Mackay was the second-best tackler I've seen (to the incomparable Bobby Moore - see earlier posts) and better than Moore going forward. As a pair of wing-halfs Blanchflower and Mackay with the great Spurs team of the early 1960s takes some beating.
His passing reminds me of the fall of Scottish fitba. Mackay only played for Scotland 20 or so times. Partly that's because internationals were less frequent but it was also competition. Roughly of the same era the Scots had wing-halts of the caliber of Baxter, Crerand, and Bremner. As much as I loved them all (Crerand remains my all-time favourite player) Mackay was the best, all-round.
I've known a few people who knew him to some extent and they all say he was a lovely bloke, too.