Cerberus

One of his predecessors at Derby, Brian Jackson, used to bowl what John Arlott called a 'grudging length' - which I take to mean one that hit high up the pad, and meant that the batsman was likely to get the benefit of the doubt on an lbw shout. I imagine that's what Benaud meant, and he may well have been right.

After Woolmer, Dilley and Willis, fourth of the Class of '81 to go, though he didn't play in any of that season's classic games, being involved only in the less memorable first and last Tests - his last for England, as it turned out. As mentioned above all of the Aussies are still going - and with no health issues that I know of.

Well what constitutes a 'hit' is largely a matter of opinion I suppose. COWS was played a lot in the summer of '78 though, I'm surprised it didn't go higher. Young Willz could have said 'their only UK chart entry.' A couple of months earlier it wouldn't even have been that because the official chart was increased from 50 to 75 then.

Cases are not soaring here quite as much as the doom-mongers said, though - 36,000 today, compared to 54,000 a week ago. Deaths higher than they were but comfortably under 100 a day, notwithstanding the Tuesday spike. The worst-case scenario I heard - from a Government source - suggested 200,000 new cases and up to 200 deaths a day. Still might come to that of course, the football won't have helped, but could it be that we've already peaked?

If you read the piece it's clear that bowler Mike Hendrick will be the next to go. He's not expected to see out the year, apparently. As he put it "I'm in the departure lounge but the plane hasn't quite left yet" Not sure he's sufficiently well-known enough for the Fifty but a name many of the committee would recognise, I'm sure. Cricket star's cancer message after the most important catch of his life - Derbyshire Live (derbytelegraph.co.uk)

'Tactical, yet somehow pointless, edit.'

You're right it was originally published under that title, then updated with additional entries a few years later - still before Roebuck's demise though, I think.

Unless there's another book I'm unaware of, I think you may be thinking of David Frith there - Silence of the Heart is a tremendous and very moving work. Foot often wrote on troubled individuals though - some of whom, such as Harold Gimblett, did go on to take their own lives.

I mentioned him yesterday in the cricket thread, but for the sake of completeness, David Foot's Guardian obit here: David Foot obituary | Cricket | The Guardian

I was sorry to learn today, by way of his Times obituary, of the death of writer David Foot late last month. I have two of his books, Wally Hammond: The Reasons Why and Beyond Bat and Ball. The first, in particular, is a masterpiece. He wrote mainly on cricketers from Somerset and Gloucestershire and his writing has a rather elegaic feel to it, which no doubt increased as he grew into old age (he was 92). After suffering a long respiratory illness, perhaps he wasn't too sorry to shuffle off to the pavilion before the appearance of The Hundred.

So ... I go away for a couple of days and Peru goes ... WTF? 184,000 dead now? What the hell happened there? Makes our government look almost competent.

Just over 4000 cases today - as opposed to about 1900 a few days ago. Let's keep an eye on hospital cases though, they are the key.

Serious third wave in South America now it seems. Probably goes under the radar for most UK Covid-watchers due to the time difference, but Argentina and Colombia, the two most populous countries after Brazil, are both reporting about 500 deaths a day at present and the latter recently saw a total of 692. I imagine Venezuela's declared total of just over 2,500 should be taken with a big pinch of salt.

Anyone been watching 'Gods of Snooker' on BBC2? Just got around to catching it this evening - the third, and I think last, instalment. If that's John Virgo in the red T-shirt he looks pretty rough, even for 75. Can see him going before Reardon frankly.

A 'week's worth of booze' being 14 units nowadays, of course. For me that's a half bottle of rum. I can easily shift that in an afternoon, especially if the sun's out. Drugs are another matter of course but it sounds like he was a pretty lightweight alcoholic.