Gary Strachan – "Write" Said Fred
Whimsical observations from deep within an erratic mind
I see the Aussie cricket team have admitted to ball tampering during the last Test Match against South Africa at the weekend. An incident that led to the Australian Prime Minister appeared in the press condemning team captain Steve Smith and others who sanctioned or carried out the act of cheating. The Aussies were copped... Continue Reading →
In yesterday's narrative Neil Fraser’s Cricket Boots I wrote whimsically of northern England summers past. In particular my mother's futile obsession with her son's maintaining sartorial elegance on the cricket field. They were balmy summers in the mid to late 1970's. Times when the meteorological gods bequeathed us Brits three to four warm months a year.... Continue Reading →
I wrote yesterday of childhood haircuts in the narrative You’ll Thank Me One Day! In particular brother Ian and I having to sport short hair, a consequence of our mother (Maggie) strongly disapproving of styles longer than collar length. Appropriate male grooming wasn't mater's only obsession at the time. Her appearance fixation also extended to the... Continue Reading →
As a terrible hoarder, I have a regular requirement to create space in the ever-burgeoning drawers, cupboards and wardrobes of my humble West Yorkshire abode. Ordinarily, it's a token gesture by yours truly; paying lip service to a task I neither enjoy or desire to undertake. A chore riddled with difficult 'life-changing' decisions, such as... Continue Reading →
In the late 1970's, a Duncan Fearnley clubman willow had the dubious honour of being the first adult-sized cricket bat to reside in my junior kit bag. It was a piece of equipment that served me well over the years. The handle regularly used to secure stumps into the ground, a friendly foe during netting... Continue Reading →
As a fledgling cricketer learning the game at Gateshead Fell cricket club (GFCC), it soon became apparent that certain knowledge voids about the game had to be filled sooner rather than later. Possibly the most key being awareness that two spherical objects who'd taken recent residence in my M&S undies needed protecting from the hard... Continue Reading →
Last year I wrote a trilogy of unreliable junior cricket memories while playing for Gateshead Fell Cricket Club (GFCC) in the late 1970's, early 1980's. This trinity of yarns were based on fact supplemented by several fictional elements, as is my literary want. GFCC Juniors – Class of ’80 Tales from ‘The Fell’ Scorebox –... Continue Reading →
It's nearly 10 years since I hung up my cricket boots. A decision born from my bowling being hampered from a bicep tear the previous season, which along with a nagging knee problem was diminishing my matchday fulfilment. Consequently, ceasing playing the game ex-Yorkshire batsman Geoff Boycott calls 'crickit' wasn't a difficult decision to reach. Over the previous 30 years I'd participated with as... Continue Reading →
I had an enlightening drive over to my sister's in Cheshire this morning. This the result of my old lady (who I'll call Maggie; mainly because that's her name) embellishing me with her forthright views on life, as we headed west along the M62 from Leeds. These pearls of wisdom included her opinions on the England cricket team, my beard... Continue Reading →