Sussex v Durham, June 15-18, 2015
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A big welcome to the Arundel Castle Ground for the Sussex Cricket in the Community Arundel Festival. Zac Toumazi, Chief Executive
Having started the Festival with a NatWest T20 Blast fixture against Surrey, we welcome Durham to the Castle Ground for the second time in the LV County Championship. It’s a special occasion because this year is also the 25th anniversary of the Arundel Festival, first staged in 1990 when Sussex played Hampshire. The annual Arundel Festival is a stand out fixture of any season. It highlights the importance of history and community within our club. Every year the festival engages with the local community of Sussex and uses cricket to bring people together. Our partner for this year’s festival is Sussex Cricket in the Community, a programme that has achieved so much in so little time. The scheme forms part of the vision that unites both professional and recreational games in Sussex, namely ‘inspiring a lifelong passion for cricket’. Within this, we want to see more people from more diverse communities playing and following cricket, and we want to use the values that are central to cricket as a way of increasing educational performance and promoting healthy lifestyles. I hope everyone feels the community atmosphere at this week’s festival, gets behind the team and has a fantastic four days in what we hope will be some beautiful weather.
Good Old Sussex By The Sea
CONTENTS 05: Welcome to Arundel by John Barclay 07: Great games at Arundel 08: Behind the mic with BBC Radio Sussex’s Adrian Harms 10: Will Beer feature 15: Focus on Durham 19: Arundel records 20: Ted Dexter, an 80th birthday celebration 24: Robin Marlar collection goes under the hammer
Publishing and Print: www.mcrmedia.co.uk Design: Pleece&Co, www.alisoncooper.com Editorial: MBP Sports Media. EDITOR: Bruce Talbot Photography: Getty Images, Sussex CCC archive
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Welcome to Arundel
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09/06/2015 13:05
JOHN BARCLAY Director of Cricket and Coaching at Friends of Arundel Castle Cricket Club
Few grounds in the world have the magnetic appeal of Arundel’s. Placed amidst the Sussex Downs 120 years ago by Henry, Duke of Norfolk and created in an era when cricket was already well established in the South of England, it would, nonetheless, surely have come as some surprise to the Duke to learn that for the last 26 years county cricket had been played on the ground. That surely wouldn’t have been the original intention – more a matter of Estate games and private matches arranged for the Duke’s friends. But after the Second World War things changed somewhat. Bernard, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, and a man bestowed with a great love for the game, invited the touring Australians to play the opening match of their 1956 visit at Arundel. It turned out to be a great success. Thousands of enthusiasts surrounded the ground and watched their heroes playing at close quarters. This tradition continued virtually uninterrupted until 2006. Indeed, I came with my parents and grandparents to watch the West Indies in 1963 and 1966; Worrell, Sobers, Hall, Griffiths and all and the Australians in 1964 captained by Bobby Simpson. They were great days – enormous crowds and a fine way for any touring team to warm up. Drawn by the spectacular
setting, the Castle and the Sussex Downs, cricket lovers have had the chance to immerse themselves amidst trees, long grasses, picnics, ice creams and sometimes blue sky. This year cricket is also celebrating the 125th anniversary of the County Championship in which Sussex have played such a prominent part since the turn of this century, recording several notable successes on the ground and steering the county towards the Championship on three occasions. This year we welcome to Arundel all our friends, from our neighbours in Surrey and further afield in Durham. I know the ground will be filled with supporters from all sides and that, of course, will enrich the atmosphere. A warm welcome to both teams. It is a great honour to have such high-class cricket played on the ground, both embracing some of the traditions of the past as well as pointing the way forward. We wish all the players every success as they pursue their ambitions and play their part in the rich history of the County Championship.
John Barclay, DL
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A look back at some of the memorable matches in the 25 years since Sussex started playing Championship cricket here at the Castle Ground. By Bruce Talbot 1995 New Zealander Chris Cairns produced some of the finest bowling seen at Arundel as Nottinghamshire beat Sussex in two days. Cairns took 8 for 47 in Sussex’s first innings, with eight batsmen dismissed for single-figure scores, and 7 for 36 in the second as Notts completed a ten-wicket win. Sussex opener Neil Lenham had his finger broken by Cairns in the first over of the match. Nottinghamshire’s Tim Robinson umpired in a club game at Arundel CC on his unscheduled day off.
2003 The diminutive pairing of Tony Cottey and Tim Ambrose led Sussex to a six-wicket win in Dream debut: Jason Lewry took his first Sussex wickets at Arundel 21 years ago the final hour against Essex as the charge towards the county’s 4 for 40 with former England 1994 first Championship continued. captain Mike Gatting among Jason Lewry completed his Sussex had been coming to his victims as Middlesex were second five-for of the match Arundel for four years to play dismissed for 87. Half-centuries on the final morning to leave a Championship game but by Martin Speight and Bill Athey Sussex with a target of 254. this win over Middlesex was helped Sussex establish a first Cottey fell just two short of his their first. The fixture marked innings lead of 141 and, set 380 second hundred in the match a memorable debut for Jason to win, Ian Salisbury took 6 for but Ambrose’s unbeaten 93 saw Lewry, who went on to take 55 as Middlesex were bowled out Sussex to victory. more than 600 wickets for Sussex. The left-armer took for 231. (continued on page 13)
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BBC Sussex cricket reporter Adrian Harms on the pleasures and occasional pitfalls of following the county from the commentary box (left) Adrian shares commentary duties with BBC Radio Leeds’ Dave Callaghan at Arundel last year.
Commentating on Sussex cricket matches is a wonderful way to earn a living, bringing with it the opportunity to interview some of the world’s great cricketers and work at some of the most famous cricket grounds in the world.
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Lords, The Oval, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge all offer state of the art media facilities with Wi-Fi and sometimes action replays, while exceptional food is usually on offer too which is often the hot topic of conversation between the presenters and myself on BBC Sussex. From Roast dinners to Knickerbocker Glory the press pack need to keep as close an eye on their waistlines during the cricket season as they do on the action on the field of play. However technically out grounds are a challenge, sometimes even getting on air can be a major achievement
and locating a Wi-Fi signal that works for more than a couple of minutes is often virtually impossible. The commentary positions are often interesting, I particularly remember Aigburth three years ago, it was April, bitterly cold and overcast when I arrived in Liverpool to find the commentary position was in a tent. Fortunately I had the foresight to pack long johns, several jumpers and a bobble hat the combined total of which just about averted frost bite as the icy wind whistled around
the ground. Lunch consisted of a tray of chips, but these arrived at 12.30pm enabling the written press to scoff virtually the lot before commentary finished 30 minutes later! The redeeming factor was that Sussex won inside three days as a Mike Yardy century and 9-55 on his Sussex debut for a relatively unknown Australian Steve Magoffin did the trick. The commentary position at Arundel is unique, a wooden table perched on the grass bank in front of the scoreboard, with long reels of electric cabling needed to try and plug into the nearest electricity and broadcasting sockets. I’ve learnt that taking a tarpaulin is an essential part of the commentator’s equipment. During the match against Durham three years ago I was frantically scrambling to store the equipment under the table, in an increasingly futile and desperate attempt to keep everything dry, when a sudden deluge hit the ground. When play is underway the
view of the ground from the bank is magnificent, but not great for determining an lbw as you are looking directly over the head of third man or fine leg as the bowler runs in from the Castle End. However the view of an lbw is superb compared to Horsham where the commentary position is in a corridor in the pavilion looking directly at square leg - great for run outs and stumpings but not for describing where the ball has pitched. Unique to Horsham though is not just the sound of leather on willow but the commentary being accompanied by the flushing of the toilet at the end of the corridor. It made a great back drop to the commentary during the recent 10 wicket victory over Surrey, the two day win over Somerset and completing the double over Warwickshire last season. One other advantage of Horsham is being located next to the kitchen, ensuring a steady procession of cups of coffee, sandwiches and cakes throughout the day. To be honest, who needs a roast dinner and knickerbocker glory! There are other great advantages to being based at out grounds most notably that
the players and coaching staff are often located just a few yards from the commentary table. Last year at Arundel, Jason Gillespie, Mark Robinson, Adam Lyth, and Chris Nash all wandered over for a chat. It was all very informal, all very relaxed and makes the commentary all the more interesting. John Lees has the privilege of commentating for BBC Sussex at Arundel this year, whilst I must wait a few weeks to enjoy the terrific hospitality at Horsham, it can’t come soon enough!
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Time for a Beer? Could Sussex’s leg spinner Will Beer be the county’s next England player? Professional Cricket Manager, Mark Robinson, thinks they should take a look. By Bruce Talbot Sussex can proudly boast to have three Twenty20 World Cup winners in their ranks. Luke Wright and Mike Yardy were key members of the England team which Paul Collingwood led to glory in the global tournament in the Caribbean in 2010.
to be on his radar if he can shine and late-order hitting were one in the NatWest T20 Blast for of the highlights of an otherwise disappointing campaign. Sussex this summer. Wright will also not have given up hope of forcing his way back into contention despite being out of the picture since winning his 51st cap in the West Indies in March 2014. Shahzad has yet to feature for Sussex in the NatWest T20 Blast this season due to injury but is another who would appear to have the right skills to thrive on the international stage in the shortest format of the game.
England have only two Twenty20 internationals this summer – against New Zealand and Australia – but if the 26-year-old continues to make match-winning contributions this season then Robinson says he is worth a look.
Robinson said: “He definitely should be considered. It depends on what England want in the make-up of the team but if they want somebody to bowl those middle overs then Will has But it is one of Sussex’s more got a good record. He is a handy Matt Prior and Chris Jordan unsung heroes that Professional batsman too. He comes in at have also represented England Cricket Manager Mark No.7 for us but for England he in the shortest format of the Robinson believes the selectors would be useful coming in for game, Prior winning ten caps should be keeping a close eye on the last two or three overs. while Jordan has seven and over the next few months. “Will is a good fielder too so why counting. Leg-spinner Will Beer has made not have a look at him? In the With another World T20 on the a superb start to the NatWest shortest format of the game the horizon in 2016 new England T20 Blast this season, winning ability to spin the ball both ways coach Trevor Bayliss will already man-of-the-match awards is a big asset.” be identifying the players who against Gloucestershire and Beer has been a mainstay in he thinks can challenge for Somerset. Sussex’s Twenty20 team for silverware in India. Beer must be getting a taste seven years now, having made Jordan is sure to be part of the for the fizzy stuff having also his debut as a 19-year-old Australian’s plans while fast starred in a number of games against Essex at Hove in July bowler Tymal Mills is also likely last season when his bowling 2008. Ajmal Shahzad – who was with Yorkshire at the time –was also part of the squad but none of his three T20 international caps came during the competition.
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Will Beer celebrates a wicket in Sussex’s T20 win over Gloucestershire last month
He was part of the Sharks side which won the trophy in 2009 and has played more games in the shortest format than in first class cricket and List A combined. Robinson says he has grown up a lot over the last few years and believes the foundations are there for the leg-spinner to take his game to the next level. Robinson added: “Will has matured. Mike Yardy being injured last season helped as he had to take more responsibility. He is in the best place he has been both on and off the field. It is exciting to see and long may it last because Will is an outstanding individual and deserves the rewards.” Beer has yet to force his way into Sussex’s Championship side but he is getting close. He was in the squad for last week’s game against Hampshire and opportunities could come his way soon, perhaps even here at Arundel this week – a ground which has traditionally given slow bowlers some assistance.
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Great games at Arundel (continued from page 7) Sublime: Darren Lehmann’s 216 ten years ago was one of the finest Championship innings seen at Arundel
2005
2007
In one of his final Championship appearances for Sussex, Mark Robinson defied his old county Yorkshire for 11 balls and 18 minutes as the hosts clung on for a draw with nine wickets down. Sussex had a first-innings lead of 137 but the game was transformed by a brilliant 216 from Yorkshire’s Australian Darren Lehmann before they declared on the final morning and set Sussex 320 in 79 overs. Matt Prior made an unbeaten 70 after Sussex slumped to 102 for 6 to nurse his side to a draw.
In the battle between two world-class leg-spinners, Mushtaq Ahmed outbowled Shane Warne as Sussex continued their march towards back-to-back Championship titles. Warne took 5 for 91 but Mushy responded with 7 for 72 before Chris Adams’ hundred and subsequent declaration left Hampshire needing 440 to win. Mushtaq took two more wickets but it was Sussex’s seamers who did the damage as their side won by 166 runs.
2012 Having apparently bowled Sussex to the brink of victory with match figures of 9 for 50, Steve Magoffin was then needed to finish the job with the bat. Even on a pitch which, by Arundel standards, offered pronounced seam movement and some low bounce, a victory target of 94 should not have tested Sussex but they slumped to 73 for 8 before Magoffin and Jimmy Anyon saw their side to a two-wicket win. Both sides scored 231 in their first innings with Mike Yardy’s 66 the top score before Magoffin took 6 for 22 as Durham were shot out for 93 in their second innings, despite 29 from Paul Collingwood who had just taken over as Durham captain.
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The Durham Squad
Paul Collingwood
RHB
Took over as Durham captain in his fixture three years ago
Mark Stoneman
LHB
Scored a century against Sussex at Chester-le-Street last season
Keaton Jennings
RHB
South African born opener with three fifties so far this season
Scott Borthwick
LHB LB
Has made four England appearances including one Test match
Mark Richardson
RHB WK
Son of former South Africa wicketkeeper Dave Richardson
Gordon Muchall
RHB
Returned to the side for the recent win over Worcestershire
Callum MacLeod
RHB RMF
Has represented Scotland nearly 50 times since debut in 2007
Paul Coughlin
RHB RM
His 85 on Championship debut v. Lancashire was the highest score by a Durham No.10
John Hastings
RHB RFM
6ft 6in Australian who signed for Sussex in 2013 only to pull out because of injury
Chris Rushworth
RHB RMF
Had match figures of 7-87 on his last appearance here in 2012
Graham Onions
RHB RMF
This year’s Durham beneficiary is closing in on 500 first-class wickets
Mark Wood
RHB RFM
Made his England Test debut against New Zealand last month
Usman Arshad
RHB RMF
Scored 83 from 88 balls against Sussex in 2013
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Dependable: Mark Stoneman has become one of the most reliable openers in the County Championship with 12 hundreds since his debut against Sussex at Horsham in 2007
Durham on a roll
Paul Collingwood’s team are setting the Championship pace
Durham arrive at Arundel this week for only their second visit to the Castle Ground very much in the mix for a fourth title in the last seven years. They went into last week’s home game against Somerset six points clear of Middlesex, having already won four matches including a six-wicket victory over Sussex at the Emirates ICG back in April. Captain Paul Collingwood is determined that his side play positive cricket this season and there has been plenty of evidence that their risk and reward strategy has paid off. Take their win at New Road for instance. Replying to Worcestershire’s 323 they slumped to 73 for 6 before a lastwicket stand of 95 between Scott Borthwick, who made 103, and Graham Onions at least averted the follow-on. Australian fast bowler John Hastings then took a career-best 7 for 60 before Collingwood, on his 39th birthday, reeled off 127, the 41st hundred of his career (which includes ten Test centuries) and his highest scorer in the Championship since 2005 to set up a six-wicket win. There have been some bad days. Against Middlesex at
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Lord’s last month they were shot out for 71 in their second innings and they were also beaten by Warwickshire at Edgbaston. All four of their wins have come thanks to successful run chases in the last innings. In their opener they chased 150 to beat Somerset by seven wickets, overcame Ollie Robinson’s stunning debut century against Sussex and pursued 261 to beat Nottinghamshire by six wickets. No wonder Collingwood, who is being strongly tipped to join the new-look England coaching team in some
Leading from the front: Paul Collingwood celebrated his 39th birthday last month with a matchwinning hundred against Worcestershire
capacity when he finally retires, has been delighted with their form as they reach the halfway mark of the Championship campaign here at the Castle Ground this week. “We’ve had a great start to the season and shown character, none more so than the game against Worcestershire. “We had to show a lot of spirit. We were right behind the eightball because they pushed us really hard and showed some amazing skills. We looked as though we were down and out, 200 runs behind first innings. It was real doom and gloom. “But a magnificent partnership between Scotty Borthwick and Graham Onions got us back into the game, then it was ‘The John Hastings Show’. I told the boys it would take some big performances like that and that we needed people to stand up and, thankfully, they did. “Victory was vitally important, we want to win every game. We’re a developing side. I think people expect too much from us at times, but to get four wins out of six is a great start to the season. “It was important to bounce back after that first innings against Worcestershire, whether
we lost the game or not. We really showed some character and it was an incredible turnaround. In terms of Durham’s history I would say this is one of the best wins that I’ve been involved in. “I wish we could do it right from the start of games, but we’re delighted with the position we’re in and we just need to keep improving. So far this season every game has yoyoed up and down, and if you’re a spectator you must really be enjoying the entertainment. “I still wouldn’t say we are playing our best cricket, but we’re managing to get over the line and hopefully that can continue.” Sussex have only lost three times to this week’s opponents at home in the 23 years since Durham became the 18th first-class county in 1992.
Their last victory came in 2011 at Hove when Mark Stoneman and Will Smith scored centuries while Scott Borthwick and Ian Blackwell shared ten wickets. Sussex have beaten Durham eight times at home, the last in 2013 at Hove when Durham had already been crowned county champions.
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Exquisite Engagement Rings & Wedding Jewellery
Arundel Records County Championship matches only HIGHEST TEAM TOTALS
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Leicestershire v Sussex 1999
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LOWEST TEAM TOTALS
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Middlesex v Sussex 1994
161*
Durham v Sussex 2012
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CJ Adams Sussex v Derbyshire 2001
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Sussex v Yorkshire 2006
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Murray Goodwin & Chris Adams, Sussex v Yorkshire 2006
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Chris Adams & Matt Prior, Sussex v Derbyshire 2001
126(2nd)
A Habib Leicestershire v Sussex 1999
Paul Prichard & Darren Robinson, Essex v Sussex 2000
MG Bevan, Sussex v Essex 2000
116(9th)
151*
There have been a total of 28 Championship hundreds at Arundel
Graham Napier & Ryan ten Doeschate, Essex v Sussex 2003 BEST BOWLING PERFORMANCE
15-83
Chris Cairns, Nottinghamshire v Sussex 1995
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Happy Birthday Ted Paul Weaver, of the Guardian, salutes the former Sussex captain as he celebrates his 80th year Ted Dexter was 80 last month. For his friends and family, who knew full well that he was born on May 15, 1935, this hardly came as a surprise, but for many who revelled in the glory of his batting in the 1960s it was something of a shock.
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Eighty. It was the sort of score he might have knocked off in an hour in his pomp, for this was the most forceful English batsman of his generation, a throwback to the Golden Age, who was an excellent all-round sportsman and an outstanding golfer. Eighty. The news propelled one into a reverie of rich memories. What great deeds. What great innings, the most memorable, probably, that 70 at almost a run a ball against the West Indies at Lord’s in 1963. That does not sound exceptional in these days of rapid scoring but 52 years ago, playing against Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, it was a breathtakingly audacious knock; our hero had gone over the top, into a hail of bullets, with a fistful of Rupert Brooke clutched close to his attacking heart. In the celebrity culture of the modern world he would have been an even greater star, for he was something of a Renaissance Man. He piloted his wife – Sue, a former model – and children to Australia in a light aircraft. He rode powerful motorbikes. He stood for Parliament, as a
Conservative, in Cardiff, taking on Labour’s future Prime Minister James Callaghan. He lost. He owned a racehourse, collaborated with a journalist to write two very readable thrillers and also wrote about cricket for The Sunday Mirror and The Observer. He remains to this day – through his blog, written in his retirement home in France – one of the most original thinkers about the game and its techniques. Earlier this year, when England were playing in the West Indies, he phoned the former England captain Mike Atherton in Barbados. “It’s Edward Dexter here,” said the former chairman of selectors, who had been watching Jonathan Trott struggling. “Please tell Jonathan that you do not get behind the ball, you get alongside it,” he said, explaining that was the way to bring the bat down straight. As captain of Sussex, in 1963, the launch year of the Gillette Cup, he had been the first man to fully understand the requirements of one-day cricket. (continued overleaf)
Ted Dexter lifts the Gillette Cup. He was the first captain to understand the nuances of oneday cricket
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SUSSEX CRICKET IN THE COMMUNITY
As a club, we aim to inspire a lifelong passion for cricket. Within this, we want to see more people from more diverse communities playing and following cricket, and we want to use the values that are central to cricket as a way of increasing educational performance and promoting healthy lifestyles. Ultimately, we want cricket to make a real and sustained difference to the communities of Sussex. Some of the current programmes are pioneering in cricket and it is a wonderful opportunity to be able to introduce some of these schemes to the Arundel Festival attendees and followers.
www.sussexcricket.co.uk/scitc
Inspiring a lifelong passion for cricket
Two wheels: By the time Ted was chairman of selectors he preferred a bicycle to the powerful motorbikes he rode earlier in his life
He first caught the eye as a bowler, taking five for eight and three for 47 for the Gentlemen in 1957. He remained a dangerous change bowler, one with a reputation as a breaker of partnerships at the highest level, but it was the majesty of his batting that lifted him to greatness. There were two centuries in the West Indies in 195960. Garry Sobers, not for the last time, was deeply impressed. “Ted was a great player because he always looked to dominate the bowlers and never appeared in trouble,” he said a few years ago. England’s greatest batsman, Sir Jack Hobbs, who lived close to the ground at Hove in his retirement, used to walk down to Eaton Road to watch an innings by Dexter.
By an irony, some of Dexter’s greatest innings for England were defensive. His 180 against Australia in 1961 saved the Test and three years later, in another Ashes match, he batted eight hours for 174 to save the day in Manchester. He retired, at the peak of his powers, in 1965, when he ran himself over. He was pushing his Jaguar on the Chiswick flyover in West London, which had run out of petrol, when he lost control and the car ran backwards over him, breaking his leg. When he made a comeback in the damp summer of 1968, to play against Australia in the Ashes, he had a “net” against Kent (Derek Underwood included), scoring 203 out of 313, the second hundred coming in 103 minutes. There were three sixes and 23 fours in his highest score for Sussex. In his other first-class innings for the county that year he scored 80 not out. I first met him that year. As a 16-year-old, shy and shifty, I used to mooch about the press box at Hove, dreaming of a career writing about cricket, gawping in wonderment at Arlott and Swanton and Woodcock. Arlott used to give me a £1 note to read his reports to The Guardian’s copy-takers – he hated doing it himself. The local doyen of the press box was Jack Arlidge. On the occasion of Lord Ted’s comeback he sent me off to get a few quotes from the great man, who I approached, nervously, with pencil and
notebook. “Not today, sonny,” he said, gently pushing me away. He later explained that he thought I was an autograph hunter. It was a chastening experience. Much later, by which time he was running a PR company, I would interview him at his London home in Ealing. He was well past his best, he explained, when I last saw him play, in a few John Player League matches in 1972, though I recall the unbeaten 70 with which he won a match against Derbyshire (Alan Ward, Mike Hendrick and Ian Buxton). I remembered the power of his driving most of all, I told him. “That may well be so, but I was a strong back-foot player too,” he told me. “That’s why bowlers pitched it up to me, to get me off the back foot.” There was always a certain hauteur about Lord Ted, which many interpreted as arrogance. Those who know him best explain this as an essential shyness, which he has to this day. But visit his website, where he informs that he is “drinking the best affordable wine, plus one large whisky per day.” He has posted a biography of himself there, alongside a shorter version, which reads: “International sportsman and jolly good egg.” Eighty. Blimey. Time flies, even when you’re not having fun.
Congratulations, Ted.
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Under the hammer When former Sussex captain Robin Marlar put his vast collection of cricket memorabilia up for auction no one could have predicted how successful it would be. Sussex Museum trustees Jon Filby and Nicholas Sharp report The last few months have been very busy for the trustees and volunteers of the Sussex Cricket Museum which is rapidly becoming an important feature of any visit to the BrightonandHoveJobs. com County Ground.
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In July last year, at the Horsham Festival, former Sussex captain Robin Marlar asked us to help him manage the sale of his extensive collection of cricket memorabilia. When we agreed to run an auction we didn’t quite know what we had let ourselves in for but what a memorable time we had. During the winter we paid many visits to Robin’s home in Chilworth, near Guildford, where we sorted, collated and catalogued his vast collection ably assisted by Sarah Bealey, Robin’s eldest daughter who was our brilliant Project Manager. After considerable discussion, it was agreed that we would prepare a catalogue for an auction to take place in the Focus Group Boundary Rooms in April. We recruited Charlie Ross, a celebrity auctioneer, MCC member and Lord’s Taverner, to take the gavel at our sale. On his recommendation we cut down the number of lots to 434 and Phil Barnes and Tammy Marlar set about the task of taking
photographs of each lot as the auction could also be viewed online at www.thesaleroom. com. The items for auction were displayed two days before the sale with viewing on the following day and morning of the auction. Three generations of the Marlar and Filby families were there to help set up, assist with the viewing and operate the phones. Help was also provided by fellow trustees, club stewards and the Supporters Club – a wholehearted team effort by ‘the Family Club.’ By the time the sale began at 11am we had over 80 bidders registered with a further 120 ready to bid online. In addition, 20 telephone bids were listed including one eminent dealer who was on the phone from Mallorca to Tom Filby, bidding on his behalf in the room, throughout the entire sale. There were winning bidders from Australia, India, Germany, Portugal, United States and all across the UK. (continued) This Corbet Anderson lithograph of the four Lilywhites was bought by the Sussex Museum Trust for £4,200
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Robin and auctioneer Charlie Ross. On hammer the sale raised £166,000, £38,000 of which was donated to the Sussex Museum Trust Charlie Ross, wearing his MCC tie, took the rostrum with around 75 in the room already waiting to bid. The first half of the sale consisted of Robin’s book collection which included many highly collectable gems. Lot 21, Ashley-Cooper’s Indian Cricket Chronology 24 of a limited edition of 30, was sold for £1,680. Lot 38, Beeston St. Ivo and The Ashes sold on the phone to a Sydney collector for £3,360, despite the spine being taped. Lot 68, a run of 30 Cricket Weekly magazines sold for £4,360. Another scarce book was Lot 88, Curiosities of Cricket by A.L. Ford, number 25 of 25, £1,450. Some Recollections of Cricket by Lord Russell fetched £1,900 and Chevalier Tayler made £1,200. The 1864 Wisden, a nice copy but without wrappers, fetched £8,000. The book section finished with over 40 boxes of books each containing 30 to 40 books. These sold for between £20 and £200 each. Original paintings attracted some fierce bidding and were sold way beyond our
expectations. The star of the auction was a painting purchased by Robin at the Sussex sale in 1980 for £1,650, Kent v Sussex near Malling circa 1770s. It carried the caveat that we believed the cricketers and names had been added at a later date. We anticipated buying it back for the museum at under £3,000. However, after third bidder dropped out at £8,000 a telephone bidder and an internet bidder fought each other until the lot was knocked down for £38,000 including buyers premium, which resulted in much applause from the room. Two paintings by Laurence Toynbee, who was a regular cricketing colleague of Robin’s at Arundel, made £4,480 and £4,880, a modern painting of Maidstone fetched £2,480 while the Bat and Ball Inn, Hambledon raised £4,700. We had been told that the market for Corbet Anderson Lithographs had dropped considerably from their peak. The lots in the sale were mostly in excellent condition and beautifully framed. The prices
realised were excellent – the stars being Royston, £3,600, four Lillywhites, purchased for the museum, £4,200 and United All England XI, £5,620. By the end of the sale only five items remained unsold, just over 1% of the total, and no fewer than 80 different buyers had been successful in securing a cherished item. These figures reflect both the broad appeal of the Marlar Collection and the hard work that went in to presenting it. Charlie Ross was amazing. There was a break for five minutes as a result of a computer glitch but Charlie stood on the rostrum for just over six hours without a drink or pause. He cajoled and enticed the bidders from the room, the internet and on the phone. What stamina, what skill! The sale raised on hammer in excess of £166,000 and thanks to the generosity of Robin the Sussex Cricket Museum will benefit substantially. Indeed, at the time of writing, two new interactive exhibits are already in use in the Museum as a direct result of this sale.
Robin and his wife Gill with other members of the Marlar family, who helped to organise the sale of Robin’s cricket collection
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