An almost mythical nightmare

August 13, 2017 10:22 AM

The 1986 England cricket tour of the West Indies
posted by fearfulsymmetry (20 comments total)

Bookmarked for later. Thanks for sharing.
posted by Fizz at 11:22 AM on August 13, 2017

Ah, the year of Gatting's nose-job.

Sad about Patrick Patterson: from feared opponent to lost soul. I wonder what happened?
posted by scruss at 11:49 AM on August 13, 2017

Then Patterson replaced Marshall at the Dodgy Sightscreen End, and there was instant mayhem. Robinson was caught at slip, fending off a homing missile that cut sharply off the pitch towards his face, and Gower was given the hurry up by Patterson to such an extent that he slashed his second and third deliveries for four and six over third man. He soon went to Michael Holding for an eccentric 10-ball 16.

There's no way that is a real description of a real thing that really happened. None. Cricket cannot possibly be a real sport, this has to be the world's longest running practical joke.
posted by mhoye at 12:10 PM on August 13, 2017 [9 favorites]

“Patrick,” wrote the author Frances Edmonds, wife of the England spinner Phil, “has muscles in places where other man simply do not have places.”

Heh.

The documentary linked from the article looks to be pretty interesting, too.
posted by clawsoon at 12:32 PM on August 13, 2017

I can just about remember this happening at the time... it was like hearing reports from a distant war
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:40 PM on August 13, 2017

I love this. Sadly I don't get to listen to as much cricket as I used to - but reading this brings back long summer holidays painting the fence while listening to a 5 day test and the wonderfully descriptive language used to paint the scene.

Joel Garner bowls a bouncer to Phil Edmonds, while the slip cordon looks on from a different postcode.

This. It would be said as dryly as you can ever imagine, without any acknowledgment from anyone - but would have had me in giggles for hours.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 12:56 PM on August 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

And two links away, there's an article about tracking down Patrick Patterson twenty years after he disappeared from the scene: Patrick Patterson: An Unquiet Mind.
posted by clawsoon at 1:11 PM on August 13, 2017

I lived for years within walking distance of Lords cricket ground and couldn't care less about the sport, however I spotted someone watching Fire In Babylon on the Tube (didn't know what it was, had to ask a sporty friend what documentary could possibly have bad-ass old rastas being interviewed alongside stuffy old Englishmen in white sweaters) and honestly cannot recommend it enough.
posted by Molesome at 1:13 PM on August 13, 2017

Does the radio's ball-by-ball commentary survive?
posted by Paul Slade at 3:17 PM on August 13, 2017

Read the title and assumed that it was referring to 46 all out in 1994. One way or another, it would involve the West Indies, wouldn't it?
posted by dmt at 4:18 PM on August 13, 2017

Is there a site that will translate this story into English?
posted by runcibleshaw at 5:52 PM on August 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

This couple of minutes from Fire In Babylon is just utterly compelling.
posted by markr at 5:53 PM on August 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

runcibleshaw: Is there a site that will translate this story into English?

The story is already in English. I believe that you want it translated into American. Unfortunately, this is not currently possible.
posted by clawsoon at 5:59 PM on August 13, 2017 [8 favorites]

The rough summary for the non-cricket-watchers is that England toured the West Indies at a time when the the West Indies (an amalgam team of players from Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana and other smaller islands) had the best fast bowlers (pitchers) in the world, batsmen didn't wear padding except on their lower legs, and it was completely legal to bowl (pitch) at the head and body. Hilarity ensued.
posted by markr at 6:00 PM on August 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

Well, it might not have been that hilarious for the guys getting hit by cricket balls at 90mph.
posted by markr at 6:01 PM on August 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

From the closing moments of Fire in Babylon:

"Babylon is not a place. It is a practice that is unrighteous. Me not rating you because of your colour. Not rating you as a human being. Live for yourself, you live in vain. Live for others, you live again."

Out of exile...
posted by Devonian at 6:15 PM on August 13, 2017

When Marshall prepared to bowl the next delivery, he found a piece of Gatting’s nose in the ball and threw it down in disgust.

0_o
posted by the duck by the oboe at 11:34 PM on August 13, 2017

This thread isn't complete without Booker T. and the M.G.'s - Soul Limbo playing in the background.
posted by kersplunk at 3:36 AM on August 14, 2017 [3 favorites]

Here's an explanation for Americans
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:46 AM on August 15, 2017

bowlers (pitchers)

*Eye starts twitching* ... no chuckers here, old boy
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:47 AM on August 15, 2017 [1 favorite]