AuthorBrian Penn

The redoubtable commentator Henry Blofeld once observed one day cricket is an exhibition; a test match is an examination. If so its keenest students are the opening batsmen. The single minded, tactic driven obsessives who commence the innings. They face the new ball and a bowling attack designed to unsettle and probe for weakness. If the toss is lost there could also be the small matter of a turning wicket favouring the bowlers. An opener may have the full repertoire of shots in their locker;...

Compton, Botham, Neville and Moore … New writer Brian Penn celebrates the elite sportsmen that excelled at both cricket and football. When the world was younger and less troubled, the sporting calendar had an air of glorious simplicity. We played cricket in the summer and football in the winter. The tranquil hum of leather on willow would ultimately give way to the mud and spit of football; it was English sport’s equivalent to the changing of the guard. This neat demarcation in seasons...