Posted on | January 10, 2013 | 3 Comments
Tony Greig was a fearless, combative cricketer but also someone who played the game with good humour and loved a challenge.
He was a competitor in every respect. I spoke to him recently about cancer because I know how difficult it is to get your head around being diagnosed with the disease. I talked about how he had to keep his chin up and stay positive. He was upbeat and ready to do the best he could.
Over Christmas he sent a message to friends that had been filmed in his garden. He was playing table tennis with his son and looking well.
Tony was mentally ready to tackle the disease and prepared for his chemotherapy in the new year. His death has come as a huge shock.
I remember him as an excellent cricketer. I don’t say nice things about people just because they have passed away. I tell the truth and Tony was a far better player than many people realise.
He was also a far better player than some people want to give him credit for because even after all these years they have not forgiven him for leading the Kerry Packer revolution.
He was an imposing figure at the crease and would never shirk away from a challenge. He was not a player who would say nasty things to opponents. He did not need to snarl to motivate himself.He was competitive with a smile on his face. You don’t laugh when you are playing fast bowling but he approached it with humour and sometimes that would really wind up opponents.There would be moments batting with him when he would infuriate fast bowlers.
If he played one of his expansive drives, and he was a very good off driver, and got an inside edge that luckily flew past the stumps for four or over the slips, he would express amusement. I might think ‘Oh my, I nearly nicked that,’ but he laughed it off and that really got up the noses of fast bowlers.
At the end of the over the bowler would be looking at him snorting fire saying ‘you lucky so and so’ but Tony would walk down the pitch and talk to me with a chuckle. It was clever.
If you lose your cool then you lose your discipline and Tony would win the battle. He also loved bouncing tail-enders, particularly fast bowlers because they bounced him. The difference was Tony knew he could play the short ball and they couldn’t so he would give them a bit back. He didn’t care.
As a captain he was a leader of men. I would not say he was tactically adroit. That was not his strength but he was an excellent man-manager.
He was clever enough to realise his strengths and slight weaknesses. He would turn to senior players like Keith Fletcher and Alan Knott and ask their opinion and views. He tapped into their tactical nous. That is clever. It shows a man who does not let his ego get in the way of doing the job properly.
He could also lift his players. He would encourage them and coax the best out of the them.
He was also a bit of an innovator. Down the years many batsmen have copied his stance. He was the first to stand at the crease with his bat raised in the air. Now it is commonplace but it came from Tony Greig.
To average 40.43 with the bat and 32.20 with the ball shows how good he was as a player. Only Ian Botham can better his all-round record for England. He was also the best tall slip catcher I have seen.
He had a long way to get down but he had huge hands and took some brilliant catches which if they happened today would be repeated on television endlessly. But some people forget all of that because they are still angry with him over the Packer revolution.
You have to put that in the context of the era. There is money galore in cricket these days. Ordinary, average players can now earn a lot of money playing in different Twenty20 leagues around the world. They can pull in sums we could only have dreamed about in the 1970s.
Tony played in an era, like me, when we earned tuppence ha’penny playing for England. In the summer of 1977, when he signed for Packer, we played five Test matches in England against Australia for £400 per Test.
That was not exactly riches so when Mr Packer came along and offered £25,000 guaranteed each year for three winters’ work you can understand why people snatched his hands off.
Tony was also looking for a job after cricket. All those people who slapped you on the back when you were playing were not there to give you a job when you finished. And Packer gave Tony a job commentating that lasted for 33 years and one he performed very well.
He was a valued friend and family man and he was a gentle giant.
Greig factfile
- Born: Oct 6, 1946 Queenstown, South Africa
- Tests: 58
- Runs: 3,599 at 40.43
- Highest score: 148
- Centuries: 8 Fifties 20
- Wickets: 141 at 32.20
- Best bowling figures: 8-86
- Debut: v Aus, Old Trafford 1972
- Last Test: v Aus, The Oval, 1977
- Captain P14 W3 L5 D6
- ODIs: 22
- Runs: 269 at 16.81
- Wickets: 19 at 32.57
- First-class games: 350
- Career span: 1965-78
- Runs: 16,660 at 31.19
- Wickets: 856 at 28.85
Comments
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January 25th, 2013 @ 10:40 am
Tony Greig was one of my favourite cricketers of ALL time. He was also one of my ALL time favourite cricket commentators. Condolences of sympathy to his family.
Much respected and dearly missed, he will never be forgotten.
RIP Greigy.
January 26th, 2013 @ 12:53 pm
I remember Tony Greig as the captain of the WSC side dropping himself because of poor batting form. That’s a very fair, honest and
intelligent team player/manager in my opinion.
I was also at the Waverley Park WSC night
match where six runs were needed off the last ball to win. (Daniels hitting Malone for a massive six from memory?) I stand to be
corrected.
I met Tony Greig, along with Imran Khan. (It could well have been that same afternoon prior to the above mentioned match?)
I can’t quite remember, as it was a very long time ago. I do remember I was at cricket practise after school and having a bat in the nets. The coach shouted out…. “Measor! Get the pads off, you’re going to the “night” cricket at VFL Park!”
So I’m not 100% sure if it was that actual day or not when I met Tony Greig, but it was certainly that period of time and certainly at VFL (Waverley) Park.
Well, as a little 12 year old boy, the great Tony Greig looked about 18 feet tall!! It was like Jack And The Bean Stalk! What a striking figure of a man! I remember shaking his massive hand and thinking I was the luckiest kid in the world. I was such a tiny little boy for my age and it felt like I came up to his knee caps, infact it felt like he could have picked me up in his hands and put me in his pocket!
He looked down at me with a massive grin and a genuine greeting. “Well, hello there! What’s your name then young man?” I remember him sweating (it was very hot that afternoon) and that famous handkerchief around his neck.
In between talking to Imran Khan he politely asked me if I played cricket, if so, who for, did I bat or bowl, or both….or was I going to be the next Alan Knott? He signed his name on a cricket ball I had had for years and years. I still have it. He gave me sincere, quality time and I remember him telling me to always enjoy myself and have fun playing cricket.
Because WSC was brand new and such a revelation, Tony Greig made personal appearances in my then home town. I couldn’t believe the England and Sussex captain was going to be at the local supermarket of all places. (As an adult and as Geoff Boycott has spoken about the wages a then top professional cricketer earned playing for his country…….I now understand why he was prepared to stand in a supermarket and talk to strangers)
To my shock Tony Greig remembered me and said something like…..”Yes, I spoke to you at the cricket, you’re the lad from England? (big grin) Brighton, Sussex?”
What a smashing memory and what a smashing man he was.
My personal memories of him are simple yet magical.
*The imposing figure of the man.
*The famous handkerchief around his neck. *The up turned shirt collar.
*The blond hair.
*The conversations in slip with the never ending, stretching, scruffy, yet brilliant Alan Knott.
*I would watch those two next to each other for pure entertainment. (Knotty must have been brilliant – as Tony Greig and Geoff Boycott say he was the very best)
Back to Greigy.
*His chewing gum and swinging his arms to and throw in slip.
*The gangling, yet elegant run up and bowling action…(Both spin and medium pace) *His confidence.
*His SP “mitten” batting gloves.
*That massive off side drive.
*The SP “motor cycle” helmet.
(There was one WSC game where Tony Greig was batting in his SP motor cycle hemet – he looked like a monster astronaut…..Little Alan Knott came in to bat with Greigy, also wearing the same SP motor cycle helmet as Tony Greig. Just seeing the huge Tony Greig along side the tiny Alan Knott with these huge helmets on was so entertaining. Cutting edge stuff back then!)
One small problem the helmets may have said SP but they were motor cycle helmets with the full visa and strap……..
*They could never hear each other calling for runs……Deadly serious stuff back then and now it’s very funny and very entertaining modern cricket history.
*The confusion between the wicket AND watching the two trying to talk to each other in between overs in their crash helmets. *Thomson’s “sand shoe crusher”
*Lillee whacking him on the helmet with a bouncer and Tony Greig’s legendary shrug of the shoulders as if to say…”was that a fly?” and then just looking at Lillee with a grin and patting his helmet. I swear Lillee did NOT know how to react to such a brilliant bit of by play. Lillee ended up just mimicking Tony Greig’s tap on the helmet.
*He (Greig) never showed fear.
*He dished up loads to the Australians (and received loads back)
ie:That over to David Hookes in the Centenary Test.
*He was a brilliant slips fielder.
*His classic batting stance.
*His television commercial….”No way chum, SIX!”
*His grin and constant positive approach to the game.
*And last but certainly not least- His brilliant commentary of cricket.
Thank you Tony Greig and God bless you.
Dean Measor.
March 4th, 2013 @ 1:39 pm
Dear Mr. Boycott,
I have come from Calcutta, India to Manchester. I come from a place where you have one of your favourite cricket player staying, Sourav Ganguly, your Prince of Calcutta. Honestly speaking, I did not know about you till the time you started calling my ‘Idol’ as the Prince of Calcutta. Since that day I always wanted to meet you in person. Now, finally I was able to visit UK due to my professional commitment. I did not know how to contact you so, so thought of writing here. I apologise if this was not the right place. But, please…please let me know if I can meet you in person anyday…anywhere
Please let me know over an email @ avishekchatterjee84@gmail.com
Will wait for your reply…
Thanks and regards,
Avishek