Greig "a giant of a man", says Amiss

By Paul Bolton, County News Correspondent

Dennis Amiss has paid an affectionate tribute to his close friend and former England captain Tony Greig who has died suddenly aged 66.

The pair formed a close friendship in 1967 when Greig was on his way to England for trials with Sussex and Amiss was returning home from a coaching assignment in Port Elizabeth. Amiss and Greig were team-mates for England and then in Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket and they kept in close contact until Greig’s death in Sydney yesterday.

“Tony was a giant of a man in every way. He was a charismatic character and a brilliant captain,” said Amiss, the outgoing deputy chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board. “I have always said that if he had been an officer in the Somme in the First World War you would have gone over the top for him without any thought.

“We’ve been good friends since 1967 when I had a spell coaching at Selborne College in Port Elizabeth and he had just finished at Queen’s College in Queenstown. Mike Buss had been coaching there and he had recommended Tony to Sussex and Greigy came back with us on the boat to England at the start of his trial with Sussex.

“We spent a lot of time with his family when we were on tour and we got to know his parents well as well as his sister Sally who is married to Phillip Hodson, the MCC Past President. We also used to stay with Greigy and his second wife Vivian whenever we went out to Australia, so our friendship was a close one.

“We had an e-mail from Vivian only a couple of weeks ago saying that he was up for the fight against his lung cancer, and knowing Greigy as I did, he would have not have gone quietly. He was a magnificent cricketer. I would include him among the all-time greats.

“He showed tremendous courage against Thomson and Lillee when they were in their prime. He used to like winding up the opposition fast bowlers which Keith Fletcher and I didn’t think was such a good idea, but that was typical of Greigy. He was always up for the fight.

“His decision to move into World Series Cricket was difficult, not just for him but for all of us. He was England captain at the time so he had to take a lot of stick but Greigy took all of that in his stride and moved on.

“I got approached to join WSC after I had scored a century in a one day international against Australia. I think Greigy was instrumental in recommending me to Kerry Packer, with whom he was very good friends. When you went with Greigy you felt that you could take on the world.”

 

Date: 30/12/2012 17:03:00 by Paul Bolton
In: Warwickshire | Today | Sussex | England |