Graeme Hick

[jaybro]

Really enjoying the insight into Hick

Have never seen him play but from the sounds of things he could be compared to BT in the fact he was more at home in ODI cricket where he could impose himself on the bowlers; whilst in Tests he struggled against genuine pace?

[ZIMDOGGY]

Turning into an interesting thread.

His case highlights a criticism I have had of English cricket for a while.
There are way too many First Class teams, it dilutes the talent on show and as Hick pointed out, leads to a comfort zone that makes it hard to step up to the next level. Especially in lean years. In a couple of years there will be no Broad, onion and Anderson and that will suck up two players to the national team and one from club. Just an example.

In my opinion, given the population, there should be 10 teams.
There are too many county journeymen that just sit comfortably in the system without doing much and not aiming high. And the fact so many play into their mid forties is evidence further of it.

I used to think the Australian Sheffield Shield. With 6 teams, was too small. However I have chances my mind since as every time there's been a 7th team (ACT, rising stars) they have been duds.
My first class umpire friend also tells me there is no superstar that hasn't been identified and playing Shield. So it's at a good number and has a very health first grade system below it.

[rusty17]

Bring back the Canberra Comets !

[Googly]

Well County is divided into 2 divisions of 9 and 9 and there’s relegation so I think their system is reasonably healthy and is more or less the right size.
I just wonder how this Corvid will affect cricket in the medium and long term. England I suspect will be one of the hardest hit countries and if public interest and the backing of ECB wanes there will be a few counties that are hanging on by a thread now that just won’t make it.

There’s the world before Corvid and there will be the world after, and they’re going to be two very different places, especially in the First World who seem more susceptible to us, I think those thieves at WHO need guidance, they are sounding more and more like the bought and paid for ICC.

[Googly]

I played against Hick once and he was opening with a chap called Grant Sullivan, who was also a very good cricketer. Actually his father was the first African to break the sub 4 minute mile. I digress- Hick was caught on 118 and Grant was only on 4!! I’d have run the guy out, I don’t care who he was
He used to pinch strike at the end of the over every time, and I’ve seen him break a couple of bats when he got back to the pavilion.
I see Jackie Du Preez has just passed. Maybe John could write a few nice things...

[ZIMDOGGY]

Well County is divided into 2 divisions of 9 and 9 and there’s relegation so I think their system is reasonably healthy and is more or less the right size.
I just wonder how this Corvid will affect cricket in the medium and long term. England I suspect will be one of the hardest hit countries and if public interest and the backing of ECB wanes there will be a few counties that are hanging on by a thread now that just won’t make it.

There’s the world before Corvid and there will be the world after, and they’re going to be two very different places, especially in the First World who seem more susceptible to us, I think those thieves at WHO need guidance, they are sounding more and more like the bought and paid for ICC.

There is way too much filler in County and I never can get my head around promotion and relegation. Why wouldn't the best player of a relegated team jump ship to an established or promoted team?
Seems a very English thing in general.

I would have a first class league of ten.
The Remembrance Nyathi's of the county world can play in the second class league of ten. All it does is reallocate the second division county talent to the first division and adds structure.
With corona, it might need to be 8 and 8.

It'll help English cricket. Especially with the discarded kolpaks moving on.

[sloandog]

Fantastic insight into Hick, and even more amazing than you played against him googly. What was he like as a bloke? Was he arrogant or was he a decent enough fella’?
I’ll try and get a link to the documentary because he actually spoke about his 1985 tour with Zimbabwe and how it opened his eyes to the difference in facilities.

[Googly]

He was/is a top bloke. Very very quiet and understated, he was big friends with both Penny’s at school.
At school he always played up, so had to mind his P’s and Q’s and then played against men before his time when there was some serious seniority and that probably laid the base for him being just a quiet, nice guy. Obviously he was supremely driven and hated to fail and was known to burst the odd bat in rage.
He’s a giant of a man as well. At least 6ft 3 or 4 and strong as an ox. When you shook his hand it was always an eye opener, he is a beast. He would make Hamilton look very small if they stood next to each other.
I remember his abilities very well at school and we were often on the receiving end of his batting, not all the time though, he’s only human, and made mistakes, the good guys just make less I am in a good position to make comparisons of players at schoolboy level and as youngsters Curran, Muyeye, and Welch were absolutely thereabouts and probably more intimidating because they have more flair and they made the hundreds to prove that. Latterly Byrom has definitely caught and passed them all. I know a few guys who’d defend Hick’s abilities at school but they’re the same guys who think Bradman was the best ever
We have the batsmen that are on the radar in a massive cricket country like England and yet these absolute cockroaches here can’t see it. They are closer to splitting the atom than understanding what it takes to make a good batter and to hang onto him, and it’s not really relevant because they don’t actually care. I used to love watching these boys bat. There used to be so many WTF moments when these boys were in full flow. In my view they were a level up from Schardendorf, Myers, Madhevere and Bawa, also decent players but the difference is in the number of hundreds. I’d hazard a guess that when the first three left school they had close on 80 hundreds between them, the last 4, as good as they are, I don’t think have a dozen.
I can’t comment just yet on how Muyeye’s and Welch’s careers will unfold, it’s early days for them, but I can tell you with absolute certainty about Eddie, he’s going to play for England and he’s going to become a global superstar.
I had a beer with Nick Welch over Xmas and was asking him who was the best batter he’d played with/against in Two’s. Bear in mind most of the international guys play Two’s at some point and he’s seen nearly all of them. He said emphatically and without hesitation that Ed Byrom was head and shoulders better ability-wise than anyone he’d seen, he said you couldn’t rush him, he just seemed to know what was coming before the bowler did, he said he’s just mesmerizingly good.

[foreignfield]

He’s a giant of a man as well. At least 6ft 3 or 4 and strong as an ox. When you shook his hand it was always an eye opener, he is a beast.

Early in my cricket education I got myself a book which explained the technical niceties and jargon of cricket (by Channel 4's analyst Simon Hughes) and in the chapter on fielding they had a photo of Simon Hughes's hand next to Hick's which was almost twice the size!

[Googly]

A good story from the PE lads- it was interhouse rugby and Hick had decided to play fly half, he ordinarily played hockey, and there were a few guys who wanted to cut him in half. He absolutely weaved some really good players and had an extraordinary boot, in fact the only guy ever to kick a ball further was Eddo Brandes. PE were an extraordinary school. There was an era from the mid 60’s to the early 80’s where they produced some extraordinary sportsmen. How’s this for a record- the first team didn’t lose a water polo match in 15 years!!!
They never lost a home game of rugby on the hallowed Jubilee ground in 7 years!!!