THE polymath that was Bob Crampsey as soon as revealed how he had managed to sneak cricket right into a Lanarkshire faculty.
‘I needed to overcome an inbred disdain for the sport amongst these boys,’ he mentioned of his time as a trainer.
‘I did this by chalking a wicket on the wall and throwing them a ball. As soon as they realised what injury a quickly transferring cricket ball might inflict, then the battle was not less than half-won.’
The peerless commentator, historian, broadcaster and Mind of Britain had thus efficiently sown the seed of cricket on what could be thought-about unlikely floor.
My introduction to the sport was not due to its propensity to instil concern however, slightly, its wondrous capability to supply alcohol outwith regular licensing hours.
Within the early Seventies, I might be dispatched by my editor on the native paper to go to the cricket floor on a Sunday and examine the scorecards from the groups taking part in that weekend.
Reverend James Aitchison scored seven centuries for Scotland and three,699 runs
Greenock and Scotland legend John Kerr (left) with England’s Sir Jack B Hobbs
Leslie Balfour-Melville excelled at cricket in addition to golf and a number of other different sports activities
I then needed to assemble match reviews with the added help of chat within the clubroom.
This process was made all of the extra congenial by the consumption of a number of pints. I even managed to look out on the match happening exterior. I used to be hooked. My relationship with alcohol resulted in a tempestuous divorce a decade or extra later. However my love for cricket has deepened from lately half a century in the past.
The aim of this preamble is to supply my credentials for nominating Scotland’s finest ever male cricketer.
A cursory look reveals they’re threadbare. So I’ve enlisted among the most educated sources on cricket, significantly the Caledonian selection.
They’ve all watched Scottish cricket for many years and a few of them have immersed themselves within the historical past of the game on this nation.
Their chat ranged far and vast however there was a consistency in choice that narrowed the sector right down to 4 names.
The primary process was to resolve the parameters of this explicit discipline. Douglas Jardine and Tony Greig weren’t thought-about as a result of their connection to Scotland was by means of their mother and father.
‘They didn’t over-value their relationship with Scotland,’ mentioned Colin Mair, chairman of West of Scotland Cricket Membership, with a mild dismissal.
Equally, Rahul Dravid could be discounted, though he performed for Scotland in 2003. His 164 Take a look at matches for India are a extra dependable information to his provenance.
There are additionally these Scottish cricketers who have been identified for his or her involvement in soccer — Scot Symon, Andy Goram and Donald Ford — however their ample abilities don’t fairly drive them into the argument.
This nonetheless leaves the sector extraordinarily crowded. It may be break up into two sides. There may be the historical past part of the older period.
This accommodates James Aitchison, Jimmy Allan, Douglas Barr, Leslie Balfour-Melville, Jimmy Brown, John Kerr, Gregor McGregor, Ian Peebles and Robert Sievewright. All are in Cricket Scotland’s corridor of fame.
The extra fashionable period has its contenders in Iain Philip, George Salmond, Gavin Hamilton, Brian Hardie and Mike Denness.
These names dominated a lot of the dialogue and the checklist was distilled to 4. Neil Leitch, the cricket historian, was discovered on the excessive seas on a cruise so his response needed to be temporary.
‘My nomination for Scotland’s best ever cricketer — certainly, Scotland’s best ever sportsman — is Leslie Balfour-Melville. In saying so, I admire I’m biased, in that he was primarily a Grange participant.’
Leitch is a cricket and rugby administrator on the membership.
Balfour-Melville was additionally nominated as best ever sportsman by Fraser Sim of the Cricket Society of Scotland.
Nonetheless, Sim, creator of the great Saltire and the Flannels, wouldn’t but be drawn on who was the nation’s best cricketer, reserving the best to replicate additional.
Balfour-Melville (1854-1937) is an intriguing selection. Other than his cricket exploits (he scored 46 centuries and performed for the nationwide aspect on 18 events), he gained the British Novice Championship as a golfer in 1895, performed for Scotland at rugby and gained the Scottish Garden Tennis Championship in 1879. He was additionally an elite skater, billiards participant and long-jumper.
Mair, who additionally has proficiency in one other sport, being not too long ago awarded a rugby cap because the SRU belatedly recognised a match in opposition to Japan in 1977, isn’t satisfied by claims for Balfour-Melville.
‘To be so good at so many sports activities would possibly recommend that cricket was solely an element — nevertheless important — of his sporting life,’ he mentioned. He put ahead three different names for the highest slot: Denness, Kerr and the Reverend Aitchison.
Mike Denness starred for Scotland and likewise captained the England Take a look at crew
Mike Denness had 4 Take a look at centuries in 28 matches and 25,886 first-class runs
‘I met John Kerr each time I used to be taking part in rugby at Fort Matilda,’ he mentioned of the Greenock stalwart. ‘He was a beautiful outdated man. His file, although, is exceptional.’
Kerr (1885-1972) represented Scotland for an astonishing spell of 26 years. His corridor of fame quotation notes his scores of 147, 15 and 60 not out in opposition to the all-conquering 1921 Australians, including that ‘it has maybe by no means been surpassed by a participant representing Scotland in a aggressive cricket match’.
Within the innings of 147, he batted all day at Raeburn Place. Of their earlier match, the Aussies had simply rolled over Lancashire in two days. In 1924, he additionally scored an unbeaten 80 in opposition to the South Africans.
Between 1901 and 1940, he revamped 40,000 runs for Greenock and was famend as a wily gradual bowler and dependable slip fielder.
In second place comes Denness. The Scottish Cricket Previous and Current spokesman rated the batsman extremely, and Mair added: ‘He needs to be up there. He had his ups and downs in his profession however his achievements are substantial and he captained England. He additionally made his mark in county cricket with Kent and Essex.’
Denness (1940-2013) was born in Bellshill however was introduced up in Ayr. Marvellously, he performed in the identical faculty rugby aspect as Ian Ure, the Dundee and Manchester United centre-half, and Ian McLauchlan, the Mighty Mouse who later led the Scottish rugby aspect.
He had 4 Take a look at centuries in 28 matches, and 25,886 first-class runs in a first-class cricket profession from 1959 to 1980. He had the misfortune to captain England in opposition to Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson within the 1974-75 Ashes collection Down Underneath when the bowlers have been at their aggressive finest. Denness dropped himself for the fourth Take a look at after a poor run of kind.
‘He did redeem himself within the sixth Take a look at in Melbourne when he scored 188,’ mentioned Mair. Denness was additionally Wisden Cricketer of the 12 months in 1975.
He additionally performed alongside the person we nominate as Scotland’s finest. Step to the crease, the Reverend James Aitchison. Aitchison (1920-1994) made seven centuries in his 69 capped internationals, and 30,318 runs in all matches.
Legend Richie Benaud was impressed by Aitchison’s imperious innings in opposition to Australia
He was very a lot a person of his instances. Sim factors out in Saltire and Flannels that Aitchison ‘inherited his love of cricket from his father, who was a daily Kilmarnock participant till he misplaced an arm and a leg within the 1914-18 struggle: his mom bowled to him in an area behind their home’.
Battle had an influence on his profession, delaying his appearances on the greater degree of the sport, earlier than he debuted for Scotland in 1946.
In his highest worldwide innings, 190 in opposition to Eire in 1959, he added 144 with the schoolboy Denness.
In 1947, he made 106 in entrance of a crowd of 10,000 at Paisley. In 1956, he was up in opposition to an Australian assault of Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Alan Davidson and Richie Benaud, and made precisely 100 (with two sixes and 9 fours) out of 196. Lindwall and Miller later counted this as the perfect innings they’d encountered on the entire tour. In 1989, Miller despatched a letter to Aitchison out of the blue. Miller wrote that he had been daydreaming about among the nice innings he had witnessed.
‘I’ve seen a whole lot of advantageous innings however yours that day charges most extremely.’ He added later within the missive which was addressed to the Rev J Aitchison, c/o Scottish Cricket: ‘That century was a really nice one.’
Benaud remembered it thus: ‘Our sport in opposition to Scotland in Glasgow produced a beautiful contest between Keith Miller and the Rev Jimmy Aitchison, who was the main batsman within the Scottish crew. Keith got here on first change and, for enjoyable, bowled a bumper to the Reverend, who ducked after which fell over. This produced hilarity across the packed floor, so Keith, once more for enjoyable, gave him one other.
‘It whistled into the shrubbery at deep square-leg. This introduced a roar from the group and shouts to provide him one other.
‘This one hit the seats at deep square-leg and bounced again on to the sector.
‘Nugget had had sufficient of this little sport, so he fired just a few extra in and the “Rev J” hooked them, both effectively or off the highest edge as he raced to his century out of 196. It was a pleasant innings which was tremendously appreciated by the group’.
This was all reported in Saltire and Flannels with the additional statement that John Kerr, who had taken a century off the Australians in 1921, was current to see his file being equalled.
Aitchison was a minister at Repton, Derbyshire, St Stephen’s Comely Financial institution in Edinburgh, and Broomhill in Glasgow.
The Reverend was a famend native hero in his time, though his fame didn’t traverse the world due to Scotland’s lack of alternatives to play Take a look at cricket and the insular nature of a lot of the media of the time. However he was able to producing delusion and legend. And never simply on the crease.
There was a staple anecdote of his reluctance to carry out weddings on a summer time Saturday. It drew laughter in his time however there simply may need been a grain of fact in it.
He was, in any case, a person of God however a participant of demonic dedication.
SCOTLAND’S GREATEST CRICKETERS: THE TOP 14
Reverend James Aitchison earned 69 worldwide caps for Scotland
1. James Aitchison (1920-1994)
Aitchison earned 69 worldwide caps for Scotland — with seven centuries and three,699 runs. He made two centuries in opposition to the touring groups, with Richie Benaud and Keith Miller impressed by his century in opposition to Australia.
Scotland’s Mike Denness bats for England at Worcester in 1974
2. Mike Denness (1940-2013)
4 centuries in 28 Take a look at matches, and 25,886 first-class runs in a profession from 1959 to 1980. Additionally captained England, with a advantageous 188 in Melbourne as a spotlight. Born in Bellshill, raised in Ayr, and a advantageous ambassador for the sport in his travels the world over.
3. John Kerr (1885-1972)
John Kerr’s achievement in scoring 147, 15 and 60 not out in opposition to the all-conquering 1921 Australians is his zenith. He was additionally a prodigious runmaker for Greenock. A pointy slip fielder and a good gradual bowler.
4. Leslie Balfour-Melville (1854-1937)
Balfour first took the sector for Scotland in 1874, on the age of 20. However when solely 17 and nonetheless in school, he prime scored in a match between a Scotland XI and the All-England XI. On the age of 55, he top-scored along with his worldwide better of 91. He was a part of the well-known one-day victory over the 1882 Australians.
AND THE BEST OF THE REST…
Gregor MacGregor (1869-1919)
Fame got here to him earlier than he was 20. He stored wicket for England in opposition to Australia at Lord’s and the Oval in 1890, and at Lord’s, the Oval, and Manchester in 1893.
Jimmy Allan (1932-2005)
A superb gradual bowler, Allan earned 60 caps between 1953 and 1972, attaining a creditable common of twenty-two with each bat and ball for Scotland and posting related figures for Kent.
George Goddard (b.1938)
One in every of Scotland’s most influential gamers from the mid-Nineteen Sixties, Goddard made 78 appearances for Scotland till his retirement from worldwide cricket in 1983. His most notable match was in opposition to MCC in 1973 when he took all of the wickets to fall, ending with 8/134.
Brian Hardie (b.1950)
Discovered his cricket with Stenhousemuir and performed 14 instances for Scotland earlier than occurring to Essex and making the grade there. He can look again on a mean of 54 for Scotland and on 18,103 first-class runs in his time with Essex at a mean of 34.
Scotland’s Iain Philip hits Shane Warne for 4 in the course of the 1999 World Cup
Iain Philip (b.1958)
Introduced up in Stenhousemuir, his household emigrated to Australia the place his cricket training developed effectively, turning him right into a advantageous back-foot batsmen.
Dougie Brown (b.1969)
An all-rounder who represented each England and Scotland at one-day worldwide degree. Brown performed for Scotland within the 2005 ICC Trophy, taking 11 wickets within the event, and scoring 59 runs within the ultimate, to assist Scotland win the competitors.
Hamilton captained the Scotland one-day crew and likewise performed for Kent
Gavin Hamilton (b.1974)
From a Linlithgow household, he was educated in Kent. He returned to win Scotland Underneath-16 and Underneath-19 caps as a batsman. In 2008, whereas taking part in in opposition to Eire, Hamilton scored his maiden one-day worldwide century. Hamilton was appointed captain of the Scottish One Day Worldwide crew in April 2009.
Craig Wright (b.1974)
A giant hitting right-handed center order batsman and right-arm medium tempo bowler who performed 194 instances for Scotland, together with the 2007 Cricket World Cup and Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 & 2009.
Richie Berrington (b.1987)
A prodigious runmaker and present Scotland captain.
Scotland bowler SafyaAn Sharif prepares for motion on the 2024 T20 World Cup
SafyaAn Sharif (b.1991)
The fast-medium bowler has taken a record-breaking 259 wickets.
