The biggest 'cricket tragic' among politicians?

It was the great Julia Gillard who introduced me to this fine Australian phrase '(We're all) cricket tragics', the much-missed lady said, or words to that effect.

Presumably people with a constant itch to get to a screen, or failing that, at least keep checking the score, when there's a match of any note on.


But who is the worst (best) case?

Britain had Sir Alec Douglas Home, the sometime Lord Dunsinane or whatever it was, who actually played the game to a decent level. (And another Scot - like Ian Peebles, Crusoe, also Denness ... there've been quite a few Macricketers.)

More recently, the Interminable Sir John Major, with his tendency to go misty-eyed over the honest beginnings and uplifting ethics of cricket. (Both nonsense.)

Which reminds me again how deeply Tory the running of the sport still is in this country, how nauseatingly entrenched as "establishment". (I'm not talking about Thatcherism - absolutely zero interest there, until Giles Clarke at least. An interest in cricket didn't make enough dosh.)


But Aus have to have the world champs in this area, surely?

LJH clearly - though I fear quite a lot of opportunism here, as in the rest of his activities. (Part of his career designs, and extreme interest only when Aus is triumphant - like himself.)

Bob Hawke was an all-round sports fiend, wasn't he? Along with his other huge appetites (beer, women, publicity, ...)

But with recent reading, I have been struck how often the other Bob - Menzies - crops up. And unlike many politicians, he seemed genuinely taken by the game for heartfelt, non-careerist reasons. He wrote an eloquent, generous-spirited preface to one of Peebles' books which betokens a deep understanding and love for the game, and considerable knowledge of cricket and cricketers to boot.

Leaving aside all the bandwagoners .... is Robert Menzies the all-time doyen of Cricket Tragics in politics?

Anyone have any better nominations?

Sen John Faulkner - NSW Senator, says he hasn't missed an SCG Test in 50 years, made a speech about the SCG in the Australian Senate in anticipation of the 100th test there - http://www.senatorjohnfaulkner.com.au/file.php?file=/news/ORUZDTPGHC/index.html

Rodney Cavalier - Minister in the NSW Government in the 80s - recently retired as Chairman of the SCG Trust which he held for nearly 20 years.

So would you put Faulkner above Johnny, Bob n Bob (in this respect)?

If we are talking full scale cricket tragics then probably yes (although couldn't really comment on Ming).

Menzies used to have a photo of Lindsay Hassett in his office.

He loved the game, but was completely enamoured of Lindsay. At a PM's XI match one day Hassett borrowed Arthur Morris' bat. When he got out he gave it to a kid in the crowd. Not knowing it was Morris' bat Menzies said "What a wonderful man that Lindsay Hassett is, giving his bat away to a young fan. How generous!"

I've been told Menzies liked cricket so much he planted a willow tree in his backyard so it could eventually be chopped down and turned into a bat.

'Call me Dave' Cameron? It's not like he was just being an opportunist prick when he met the England team last year, surely?

Still, it mattered not to the middle England jolly ra ra team either way, who fawned over him like he was the second ejaculating of Jesus.

We all had fun. OK, my cast iron stomach churned like the Buttermatron 3000 and, OK, I blew some hefty chunks, but we had fun.

I always had the impression that Major was a real supporter.

Ian McLachlan ...Best known as a one time Test twelfth man ...also Minister for Defence for LJH

There are photos of Hawkey in the Uni club rooms in some premiership teams

Stephen Smith ...also a former MoD watches his son play at Mt
Lawley

Ric Charlesworth ...Wozzie Shield cricketer ...Pinko pollie ....played a bit of hockey

taipan wrote:I always had the impression that Major was a real supporter.

Yep. Major's the real deal. How did John Major spend the day after his crushing defeat at the hands of the Tony Blair? At The Oval watching a County cricket match of course!

I've got his book on the early days of English cricket and he also wrote an article with the headline: Why Cricket Is More Important Than Being Prime Minister

It includes a recount of the time he opened the batting with Bob Hawke at a charity match in Harare.

Qunts.

Hass wrote:

taipan wrote:I always had the impression that Major was a real supporter.

Yep. Major's the real deal. How did John Major spend the day after his crushing defeat at the hands of the Tony Blair? At The Oval watching a County cricket match of course!

I've got his book on the early days of English cricket and he also wrote an article with the headline: Why Cricket Is More Important Than Being Prime Minister

It includes a recount of the time he opened the batting with Bob Hawke at a charity match in Harare.

I seem to recall reading a story where a South African touring team saved Hawke's life.

Menzies dedicated a chapter of his otherwise absolutely unremarkable autobiography 'Afternoon Light' to cricket, and the title came from cricket commentary. If anything he was even more 'tragic' about football.

Don Chipp, his brother Alan and Alan's sons were part of the furniture at one of the clubs I played at in Melbourne since about 10 minutes after Batman, including while Don was in the Cabinet.

btw: I didn't say Major was a fake. He's still very passionate, in his grey-peas way, about cricket and his beloved Browncaps.

Just a misty-eyed fantasist. He's like Cardus with all the style taken out.


"More Than a Game", indeed! He wishes. Precisely the sort of Tory mythological pedestal for cricket which Derek Birley dismantles in his cracking "Social History". Along with its matching opposite, the "virility cult", mentioned on another thread.

btw: Not surprised he drowned his sorrows at the Oval. Sport is a great comfort cushion.

PeterCS wrote:btw: I didn't say Major was a fake. He's still very passionate, in his grey-peas way, about cricket and his beloved Browncaps.

Just a misty-eyed fantasist. He's like Cardus with all the style taken out.


"More Than a Game", indeed! He wishes. Precisely the sort of Tory mythological pedestal for cricket which Derek Birley dismantles in his cracking "Social History". Along with its matching opposite, the "virility cult", mentioned on another thread.

btw: Not surprised he drowned his sorrows at the Oval. Sport is a great comfort cushion.

I take it you are not a Tory supporter then. For two days you have blathered on about Thatcher and Major. Take it to the Aussie political thread FFFS.

Furiously intolerant of opinions that don't tally with your convictions? You?!?!

Blind to anything I say about cricket in your Forum Troll rage to attack?!?!

Blimey! Knock me over with a feather, Nige!

At least you're consistent. And a case.

Fred...do you plead guilty to being Teddy Hopkins???

Mind you if you are you are the hero of Oz Fb'ers for rolling the pies in the famous Granny

Never been skiing in my life, and didn't set up Champion Data or watch it turn into the monster it has become....a significant part of the analisation and strangulation of what used to be a good game to watch. When the coroner's report into the slow death of the AFL comes out Ted will need every Brownie point he has from 1970 to avoid prosecution.

aah well ... there are worse than Teddy...while he may have made a monstro pile of lucre out of C Data, I strongly doubt money was the motivator...more like insatiable curiosity

Naa, I never said he did it for the money. Most likely he had no idea how massive it would become, or how insidious.

aye...as a player he was instinctive

must say i have an aversion to the minutia of both footy and cricket stats...stats provide the outline shape of a contest, season or individual career...stats do not provide the character and context ...the irony of statoidism is best expressed in the embarassment of Mr Skully when comparing the averages of Hodge and M Waugh

Stats still say 9 out of 10 people eat corn flakes, but you never hear what % can taste the diff between the CF and the packet they came in....as usual John Clarke has the last word: 'Statistics have proven that 96% of statistics are crap, Brian'.

rofl....Clarke and Dawe - legends

Fred Nerk wrote:Stats still say 9 out of 10 people eat corn flakes, but you never hear what % can taste the diff  between the CF and the packet they came in....as usual  John Clarke has the last word: 'Statistics have proven that 96% of statistics are crap, Brian'.

The other one I like, and I think it's been mentioned here before, is along the lines of 'the average Australian has one tit and one ball'.

Perhaps Red's not so unusual after all.

PeterCS wrote:Furiously intolerant of opinions that don't tally with your convictions? You?!?!

Blind to anything I say about cricket in your Forum Troll rage to attack?!?!

Blimey! Knock me over with a feather, Nige!

At least you're consistent. And a case.

Ah Petey still the escapee from pseud's corner.