The Appeal Of The Championship - Sussex In The Summer Of 1981

Author:

By John Barclay

Format:

Hardback

Availability:

In print, usually dispatched within 5-7 days.

Price:

£14.00 £13.00 (Save 7%)

Tagged with:

Cricket, Team History, Sussex CCC

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Further Details

• Published: 1st Jan 2002
• ISBN: 0953119661
• Pages: 159

From Word of Sport:

The story of JRT Barclay's first season as captain of Sussex, when the perennial under-achievers ran Nottinghamshire mighty close in the County Championship. Barclay looks back at that famous summer, dominated by Botham and Princess Diana and offers his wry and hilarious recollections of his career's golden year.

From the Publisher:

Has cricket’s county championship ever been so close?

Yet, in mid-August 1981, Sussex found themselves neck-and neck with Nottinghamshire and playing them at Trent Bridge in the most crucial match of their 140-year history.
Certainly not for Sussex, who – alone of the eight counties who played in the embryonic championships of the Victorian era – had never carried off the prize.
In the dying light of the final evening, the last Notts batsman was struck on the pads and all Sussex exploded in appeal.
It was a summer to remember. Ian Botham was defying all the odds in humbling the visiting Australians, and the country was in the grip of Lady Di fever.
In this delightful book John Barclay tells the story of that year, his first as captain of Sussex. It starts in Sydney, where he sat on the rocks and planned his campaign, and it ends in those thrilling last weeks of summer.
With the imperious Imran Khan and the earthy Ian Gould, the ageing Geoff Arnold and the bespectacled Tim Booth-Jones, he inherited a team of disparate characters – but they fused into so happy a whole that by August they stood on the verge of a unique place in the history of Sussex cricket.
For all those who have played cricket at this level or who only wish they had, John Barclay’s humour-studded recollections will provide a joyful read.

From the Critics:

“The immortal Botham's staggering exploits of that year have inspired several hefty volumes, but none comes near the charm, wit and entertainment of John Barclay's recollections.”

Tim Rice, The Daily Telegraph

“John Barclay's book reflects a most engaging personality. A gentle passion shines from every description of incident and every glimpse of character. Beautifully produced, with delightful drawings by Susanna Kendall, the book is dedicated to Mary-Lou, his wife, who died tragically young. A finer tribute is hard to imagine.”

Robin Marlar, The Cricketer

From the Book:

“Sussex had three days free after the Gloucester game, but not Mendis, Parker and I. We had been selected to play for a TCCB representative side against Sri Lanka at Nottingham. It was an important game for the three of us – as it was our first glimpse of recognition by the England selectors, who were all due to be present at the match – and also for Sri Lanka, who were hoping and expecting to be granted full Test match status in the near future.

I had been asked to captain the team and was rather nervous at the prospect. It was one thing to captain a group of people you knew well – the Sussex team were just about getting used to me by now – but quite another to lead a bunch of relative strangers in a ‘one-off’ match. What on earth would they make of me? Gatting, Emburey, Downton and a young Simon Hughes from Durham University were the Middlesex contingent; Paul Allott and Paul Newman were young fast bowlers from Lancashire and Derbyshire, and Wayne Larkins and Jim Love batsmen from Northamptonshire and Yorkshire. There was lots of talent there both from within the England team and on the fringe.

I travelled up with Parker and Mendis and gave the match a lot of thought on the journey, bouncing ideas off them as we went. It was late when we left our favourite bistro off the Old Brompton Road so it was unlikely that I would bump into any of my new team-mates until the next day. I still wasn’t quite clear how I would handle things and went to bed unsettled and hoping for overnight inspiration.

It is a curious thing about captains that they mostly wish to make their mark and stamp their personality on proceedings at an early stage. But some try too hard, and I came into that category at Nottingham. With Sussex I always said a few words before each session, and I decided to give the TCCB XI a talk about teamwork and togetherness.

“Let’s all get together in the dressing room at 10.30 for a chat,” I said to the players as we were changing for practice. I thought I detected one or two smiles. Perhaps they knew what was coming.

I was nervous before I spoke and still unsure of what I was going to say. The players sat about in various stages of undress and were probably agitated themselves, as I had not tossed up. The chairman of the selectors, Alec Bedser, sat in a corner with fellow selector, Charlie Elliott. It was a daunting prospect.

“I know it’s an unusual game and that we’re all out to impress and show what we can do,” I began. “But to be successful we will need to support each other, form partnerships and share experiences. That way we’ll do even better for ourselves.”

What a load of rot, I thought, as I spoke these words. We weren’t ‘in it’ together at all; we were in it entirely for ourselves. It was quite simply an opportunity to impress the selectors, not to show what a great team we were.

Fortunately I wasn’t put off by the fact that I was talking gibberish. Far from it. I persevered.

“So, although we’ve only just assembled today, let’s approach this match as a unit working together and helping each other to perform even better. Let’s have some fun in the process and enjoy the occasion. That’s the way to succeed.”

The longer I went on the less convincing I sounded, and this was supposed to be a great speech to rally the troops and impress the selectors.

That it was complete drivel could not be questioned, but I knew that it was not the content of the talk that mattered so much as the manner of its delivery. I was giving it plenty of enthusiasm, energy and passion to mask and camouflage the lack of substance.

“Right then, let’s go for it, let’s give ’em all we’ve got, and show ’em what we can do.”

I was reaching a crescendo.

“There’s heaps of talent here, let’s not hold back, we’ll give the opposition a hard time. Nothing to fear from them, medium pace and spinners and a lot of shot makers.”

By this point, I was running out of steam and beginning to pace about.

“Good luck everyone, all the best, have fun and we’ll see where we’ve got to by this evening. Time to toss up, I think.”

And on that dynamic note I opened the door to my left, through which I planned to make my departure, and I walked straight into the airing cupboard. This brought the house down and turned a lamentable performance into a memorable one.

Bedser and Elliott remained in their corner, looking startled. Who had they selected?”