Basil Butcher, the Guyanese and West Indian cricketer, died at the age of eighty-six on the 16th December, 2019. His career as a cricketer was recapitulated in the tributes to him. Born in Berbice, his father was a Barbadian and his mother of mixed ancestry. His wife Pam, like his mother, was also an important factor in his life as were his sons. His career commenced in 1958 on the tour to India and Pakistan and ended in 1969 with a test average of over forty (40:00), the gold standard for any test batsman.
Butcher was voted Cricketer of the Year in 1970. Yet these facts of his cricket career should not be allowed to obscure his membership of the teaching profession and his knowledge of business. Maybe, it is the teaching profession which endowed him with the capacity to write and speak well. I am still in possession of the programme he drew up in the nineties for the reform of cricket in Guyana. It is well written and persuasively argued. Continue reading
Cricket: Time to Put the Paying Spectator First at Test Matches – By Mike Atherton,
About 10,000 England supporters saw the win in Cape Town but more could be done to improve the live experience
After the fourth day of the recent Cape Town Test, I found myself among a group of England supporters. The talking point of the day was the dismissal of Dean Elgar, given out caught behind towards the end of play, as a result of a review to technology. Whether for reasons of eyesight, or seating position in the ground, not many of those to whom I spoke had seen the replays on the one big screen which was situated above the brewery stand.
Understandably, they were keen to know a little more. Had Elgar hit the ball? How does the “ultra-edge” technology work? Why did the third umpire uphold the on-field decision? It reminded me again that for all the thousands of pounds spent on going to watch live cricket, the viewer at home, enjoying the sport in the comfort of his living room, often gets more information than those in the ground. Continue reading →
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