THE GOOGLY: One-day debate survives test of time

HUW TURBERVILL: In the days when sports-compilation shows had snippets of investigative journalism, an edition of BBC1’s Sportsnight from the winter of 1987/88 had a wonderful 12-minute vignette called ‘Looking at One-day Cricket’

^{Ian Botham in John Player League action, left, and Jos Buttler celebrates an ODI hundred}

Is too much limited-overs cricket killing the longer game? OK, OK, that’s hardly an original topic of debate, but I have been sent a copy of an old TV programme that shows incredibly little has changed in 30 years.

In the days when sports-compilation shows had snippets of investigative journalism, an edition of BBC1’s Sportsnight from the winter of 1987/88 had a wonderful 12-minute vignette called ‘Looking at One-day Cricket’.

It was hosted by our dear own former editor, Christopher Martin-Jenkins, and recorded by my father’s cousin, Roger. There was so little cricket on TV in those days that one used to capture what one could on VHS. He even copied it on to compact disc – that is how big a cricket fan he is.

First expert witness was MCC president JJ (John) Warr, who served on the advisory committee in 1961 that authorised the creation of the Gillette Cup in 1963 … their findings also saw the abolition of amateurs and the beginning of two countries touring England at the same time.

“I see one-day cricket as a pop version of the game – it’s all good music, classical and pop, and one [pop] finances the other [longer form],” he said. “You need good skills to be a pop and a classical musician.”

^{Christopher Martin-Jenkins}

That statement could stand up perfectly well nowadays when you apply it to the NatWest T20 Blast funding the County Championship…

CMJ then narrates a potted history of the limited-overs game. 

Ted Dexter’s Sussex beating Worcestershire by 14 runs in the first 65-over final (a distinctly low-scoring affair, 168 plays 154, in front of a crowd of 25,000 at Lord’s); then the creation of the John Player Special Sunday League in 1969, the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1972 and the Packer Revolution in 1977.

The famous Gillette Cup semi-final of 1971 at Old Trafford is recalled as well, the one that went on until 9pm, when umpire Arthur Jepson told Lancashire’s David Hughes, who had complained about the light: “You can see the Moon. How far do you want to see?” 

Jepson must have had a point as Hughes smashed 24 (4, 6, 2, 2, 4, 6) in one over off Gloucestershire off-spinner John Mortimore to book Lancashire’s place in the final.

"There’s too much cricket … [but the one-day game] is marvellous entertainment"

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, 1988

But CMJ then says: “The pudding was being over-egged, and the effect on Test and other domestic cricket was in many ways bad, encouraging reckless batting and discouraging subtle spin bowling.”

Legendary MCC coach Don Wilson then chimed in: “I think they play far too much now and it’s completely taken over the game. You tell me who is going to be the spin bowler for England this year (1988, v West Indies and Sri Lanka)… or the next five years…” In 1988 it was John Childs of Essex (who took 3 for 183 in three Tests) and John Emburey of Middlesex (3 for 253 in three)…

The proliferation of one-day cricket was also being blamed for the fact that England had not won a home Test since September 1985 (against Australia, at The Oval), and had only one series win in seven (the Ashes of 1986/87). Emburey also played in eight of England’s nine ODIs in 1988, taking eight wickets.

In the programme, the findings of a survey asking the 17 county chief executives if the Sunday League should be scrapped was reported. Unsurprisingly, 17 said no.

CMJ concluded by saying: “There’s too much cricket … [but the one-day game] is marvellous entertainment.”

Plus ça change…

P.S… Talking of the John Player Special League, John Lever told me a funny story. JPS and Benson and Hedges used to have representatives at the games who would dish out boxes of fags to the players (and journalists), before tobacco sponsorship in sport went up in smoke (ahem).

Apparently this riled the non-smoking cricketers, so they suggested the ciggies should be sold and the money put into a central pool. An illustration of how little county cricketers were paid back then… before buying a pack of cigs didn’t necessitate a call to the bank manager. As a supermarket chain likes to remind us, ‘every little helps’.

^{Sportsnight featured a segment on one-day cricket in 1987-88}