Old Blue County cricketers

Anything that doesn't fit anywhere else, but that's still CH related.

Moderator: Moderators

Kit Bartlett
Deputy Grecian
Posts: 333
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2011 11:58 am
Real Name: Christopher Bartlett

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by Kit Bartlett »

Yes, S.G.Whittingham is the first Old Blue to appear in first class cricket since J.A. Snow in 1977. He made his first class debut in 2015 for Loughborough University v Hampshire at Southampton scoring a duck and taking one wicket in his only appearance.
rockfreak
Grecian
Posts: 972
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 8:31 pm
Real Name: David Redshaw
Location: Saltdean, East Sussex

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by rockfreak »

I wonder how far cricket (and indeed the whole cult of games playing which mostly developed in the public schools) was used as a means to further our empire in the 19th century? Henry Newbolt's famous poem Vitae Lampada is a case in point. It starts off as a cricket match (at Clifton College, Bristol apparently where Newbolt was a pupil) and begins:
There's a breathless hush in the close tonight,
Ten to make and the match to win
A bumping pitch and a blinding light
An hour to play and the last man in.
And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat
Or the selfish hope of a season's fame,
But his captain's hand on his shoulder smote:
"Play up! Play up! and play the game!"

But then it mysteriously transfers to the Sudan in a rather more serious mood:

The sand of the desert is sodden red,
Red with the wreck of a square that broke.
The Gatling's jammed and the Colonel dead
And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
The river of death has brimmed its banks,
And England's far and honour a name,
But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks -
"Play up! Play up! and play the game!"

Isn't it splendid! And what a strange idea. Was our empire all a game? Did youngsters get taught esprit de corps and how to deal with bouncers so that they could go out to these flyblown parts of empire and succeed because they saw it all as a giant cricket game? Was this our cover for what was essentially a grab for land and raw materials? I'm of an age to remember when there was still something of this sentiment at CH. The white man's burden. Queen, country, church and empire. And of course the class system. I believe that something of this still survives in the Brexit vote. A misunderstood island nation still looking backwards to past glories. The trouble is that others have since learned to play these public school games better than us.
sejintenej
Button Grecian
Posts: 4092
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2005 12:19 pm
Real Name: David Brown ColA '52-'61
Location: Essex

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by sejintenej »

rockfreak wrote: I'm of an age to remember when there was still something of this sentiment at CH. The white man's burden. Queen, country, church and empire. And of course the class system. I believe that something of this still survives in the Brexit vote. A misunderstood island nation still looking backwards to past glories. The trouble is that others have since learned to play these public school games better than us.
Oh, you poor thing. You missed out understanding the foundation of the entire experience.

It was and is about being part of a team with a goal. Together the team can succeed but it needs the determination of every member to do their part as well as any person could possibly do so, if necessary to suffer, to look out for and protect your teammembers, if necessary giving your life that your colleague, the next person on the firing line, can survive and with him or her, the team.

Two things have happened - teachers teaching avarice and laziness ¤¤, so-called information systems desperately trying to pull down the fabric of society. EU forcing laws into our system which downgrade and prevent Britain being great; of course efforts may be attempted to reverse those laws but can you imagine the hoi polloi, accustomed to "me first, it's my right" allowing Britain to pull itself up by it's shoelaces?

Let us look back in history and for my example I will take the wool workers of the North West. Men who had a few quid took a risk and built factories to make woolen garments. They employed people who otherwise would have been starving, trying to eke out an existance were it not for those who created jobs for them. You yourself benefit from this - your pension comes from money used to give employment. Were that not the case your pension would be a miserly fraction of what you receive.

Let us go back to the late 1920's when the economy fell into decline. My example is a firm called Pember and Boyle, stockbrokers in the City.Their numerous staff received fairly low wages but bonuses dependent upon the partnership's profits - good year and they were rich, bad years and they still did well. With the great depression P & B was making losses but didn't lay off a single person. Of course nobody knew the exact situation but the partners investigated every one of their staff and the individual members of staff were told that profits were made and it was calculated that the bonus each person received out of the partners' pockets was enough for him or her to pay the bills, eat reasonably and clothe their families. Can one imagine Labour's complaints if that were done today? I wonder it would be legal!

How many people have heard of the Secondary Banking Crisis of the late 1970's? About 25 UK banks collapsed in a month but nobody heard about it, nobody was inconvenienced and no member of the public lost a farthing. Later on we had a situation where an organisation, Northern Rock, was doing silly things and the market took preventative action to prevent contagion. NR was outed by Labour who refused to allow the Bank of England to act quietly; the resultant publicity damaged the banking sector when the damage could have been controlled and individuals funds. The greedy hoi polloi again.

Next, our founder. It is well known that his father was a portly gentleman and obesity had for centuries been a serious problem. In 1336 Edward III passed the Sumptury Act which made it illegal to have more than two courses at a meal (he even stopped the soup being called a sauce!) 1363 Edward III pased a further law about food as did Edward IV and, surprisingly Henry VIII. Edward VI repealed all the then existing law and passed a very simple law - no meat on Fridays, Saturdays and Holy Days - all this to help the fishing industry. Tell that to the RCs who have taken it as a holy law (passed by Protestants !)- it was simply to help an industry.

¤¤ I mentioned laziness. From my detailed experience 50% of kids with a C grade Maths GCSE certificate cannot do simply adding and subtraction. They couldn't even work out the date 90 days after the 3rd May. For 8 out of the first 17 to be tested they couldn't get a single question out of five right despite no time limit (apart from the addition and subtraction question a colleague did the entire paper in his head in 50 seconds, it was that easy) , plenty of scrap paper and even a calendar on the wall. (They didn't have calculators and we even got threatened with legal action after one applicant was turned down!) Gross incompetence fueled by the education system. This is stuff we learned in primary school before we had the test for CH at 9 (in my case 8 years of age). I could even rebuild that test if anyone is interested.
Teachers complain about long hours and being overworked; my neighbout worked in the City, went back and got the teaching certificate and is now ensconsed in a state school teaching job which he reckons is simple, without long hours and a doddle. The union leaders are crying out loud saying thet the work is hard but do they know? I wonder if it is not bovine effluent.
What happens if a politician drowns in a river? That is pollution.
What happens if all of them drown? That is solution!!!
michael scuffil
Button Grecian
Posts: 1612
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:53 pm
Real Name: michael scuffil
Location: germany

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by michael scuffil »

Rockfreak -- I agree with you I think 100%. I was also at CH for part of that strange period between 1952 and 1956, when much of the English middle class seemed to think that a golden age had returned: the Conservatives were back in office, there was a young queen on the throne (an Elizabeth, to boot, so we could talk of a 'new Elizabethan age' -- not that the old one was much to write home about, but Liz I was a superb propagandist), rationing had been abolished, the British aeronautical industry (pre-Comet) really was no. 1 in the world -- and then along came Suez, based on an even bigger lie than Blair perpretrated. Blair possibly believed his delusions, but Eden and Selwyn Lloyd knew they had colluded with Israel, then told parliament explicitly that they hadn't. The Americans put a stop to it, because they had 'control'. The British government, I'm afraid, is going to discover that the US still has control of a country not protected behind the EU fence (actually they must know that already, but don't mind). Why did Harold Wilson resume Macmillan's failed negotiations on EEC entry? Because with great difficulty he resisted pressure from the US to join the Vietnam War (though he couldn't actually condemn it, because, as he said 'we're in hock to them up to our eyebrows'), and decided this exposure was dangerous.

Oh, and Sir Henry Newbolt: I have long thought that to be the most revolting poem in the English language. I once heard a recording of the ex-Kaiser talking in about 1925 (in faultless English) about the Great War. He talked about it as though it were a game, treating the American entry into the war as unsporting.
Th.B. 27 1955-63
User avatar
J.R.
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15835
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:53 pm
Real Name: John Rutley
Location: Dorking, Surrey

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by J.R. »

My Father in Law was recalled into the army after National Service and shipped out to Suez.

He remembers vividly being told, 'Try not to shoot any Arabs. It wouldn't look too good !'

His view of the campaign was that it was a joke from start to finish.

However, I digress......
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
rockfreak
Grecian
Posts: 972
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 8:31 pm
Real Name: David Redshaw
Location: Saltdean, East Sussex

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by rockfreak »

Talking of Newbolt, Michael, I've researched him a bit further and he was apparently at Clifton College with Douglas Haig, who went on to Oxford and joined the Bullingdon, and was subsequently General "Butcher" Haig who consigned God knows how many young men to their deaths in World War One, sending them over the top at walking pace into unremitting German machine gun fire. This stuff has been covered a lot on TV recently including an excellent documentary last night, by Michael Palin, on the last hours in 1918 before they decided to pull stumps and retire to the pavilion.
Last edited by rockfreak on Wed Jul 20, 2016 9:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
sejintenej
Button Grecian
Posts: 4092
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2005 12:19 pm
Real Name: David Brown ColA '52-'61
Location: Essex

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by sejintenej »

J.R. wrote:My Father in Law was recalled into the army after National Service and shipped out to Suez.

He remembers vividly being told, 'Try not to shoot any Arabs. It wouldn't look too good !'

His view of the campaign was that it was a joke from start to finish.

However, I digress......
I also remember that campaign. It reallly looked as if the whole intention was to fail. At gthat time wa had a competent army which appeared capable of taking and maintaining control but was not allowed to.

That had to be the government, just like Iraq and Afghanistan preventing our troops from completing the job
What happens if a politician drowns in a river? That is pollution.
What happens if all of them drown? That is solution!!!
Avon
Deputy Grecian
Posts: 381
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 10:39 pm
Real Name: Ed Bell

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by Avon »

rockfreak wrote:Talking of Newbolt, Michael, I've researched him a bit further and he was apparently at Clifton College with Douglas Haig, who went on to Oxford and joined the Bullingdon, and was subsequently General "Butcher" Haig who consigned God knows how many young men to their deaths in World War One, sending them over the top at walking pace into unremitting German machine gun fire. This stuff has been covered a lot on TV recently including an excellent documentary last night, by Michael Palin, on the last hours in 1918 before they decided to pull stumps and retire to the pavilion.
Nothing like a tenuous link to use as a springboard to air one's own prejudices, eh?
rockfreak
Grecian
Posts: 972
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 8:31 pm
Real Name: David Redshaw
Location: Saltdean, East Sussex

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by rockfreak »

How do you know they're just my prejudices? You might find they're quite widely shared, although maybe not on public school websites peopled by establishment automatons.
Avon
Deputy Grecian
Posts: 381
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 10:39 pm
Real Name: Ed Bell

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by Avon »

rockfreak wrote:How do you know they're just my prejudices? You might find they're quite widely shared, although maybe not on public school websites peopled by establishment automatons.
And where did I imply they were 'just' your prejudices?
HowardH
GE (Great Erasmus)
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2005 12:38 pm
Real Name: Howard Holdsworth
Location: Horsham

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by HowardH »

Mid A 15 wrote:A SG Whittingham came on as first change for Sussex against Kent at Tunbridge Wells today.

Howard H will hopefully be able to confirm whether or not it is the same chap but I seem to recall reading in The Blue of a highly rated CH 1st X1 player called Whittingham progressing through the Sussex CCC age group system a few years back.

If they are one and the same Whittingham then he must be the first Old Blue to play first class cricket since John Snow packed up c1976/7 unless anyone else knows differently.
Getting back to the topic, Andy, Stuart Whittingham is 22 years old and is the son of the Bandmaster and Housemaster of Grecians East, Terry Whittingham. I have been fortunate enough to see him bowl in three of his county appearances thus far. He has taken 18 wickets in 6 matches and has been by far and away the quickest bowler on view in each match. I am absolutely thrilled that he has finally been given his chance by Sussex. The only thing that they have to realise now is that he is also a highly capable batsman - far too good to be batting at no.11. He has worked hard over many years to achieve his ambition of becoming a professional cricketer. Everyone associated with CH cricket is very proud of him.
User avatar
Mid A 15
Button Grecian
Posts: 3171
Joined: Thu May 19, 2005 1:38 pm
Real Name: Claude Rains
Location: The Patio Of England (Kent)

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by Mid A 15 »

Thanks for that Howard.

Let's hope that, having made the breakthrough into the county side, he continues to progress.
Ma A, Mid A 65 -72
User avatar
Mid A 15
Button Grecian
Posts: 3171
Joined: Thu May 19, 2005 1:38 pm
Real Name: Claude Rains
Location: The Patio Of England (Kent)

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by Mid A 15 »

One of our Old Blue county cricketers, Geoff Smith of Kent, sadly passed away towards the end of 2016.

This is from the Kent CCC website.

http://www.kentcricket.co.uk/news/forme ... es-aged-90
Ma A, Mid A 65 -72
User avatar
Mid A 15
Button Grecian
Posts: 3171
Joined: Thu May 19, 2005 1:38 pm
Real Name: Claude Rains
Location: The Patio Of England (Kent)

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by Mid A 15 »

I see Stuart Whittingham has left Sussex and joined Gloucestershire.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/46441429
Ma A, Mid A 65 -72
harryh
GE (Great Erasmus)
Posts: 114
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2018 11:27 pm
Real Name: Howard Holdsworth

Re: Old Blue County cricketers

Post by harryh »

He just was not given sufficient opportunities by Sussex, Andy, so his decision is a wise one, I feel.
Post Reply