I registered all of them and you will endured from the longest waiting line, to possess Greig’s signature. Whether it are ultimately my personal turn, I summoned up bravery and you can told him, having a small quaver, it absolutely was a „helluva catch”. A unique idol minted truth be told there and then. For the next decade, as he went with the wide flow, Greig turned-out an advisable however, difficult character – a silver doubloon, never completely dropping its elemental lustre but frequently trying to find curative polishing. Over the second couple of 12 months, I noticed him down in the Hove in the most common house online game. Conserve for five wickets and you can a quick 93 facing Hampshire inside the July 1969, I really don’t think of your while making people significant sum. However, he usually did something. A thriving security push or a tow test moving off of the scoreboard to have six.

Sussex thrashed all of them, and you will Greig try People of your Fits: 54 in the 1st innings, out of 199, right after which four wickets

Or a bouncer injudiciously geared towards Mike Procter’s direct, who next strike him to have 4, cuatro, six, 4 when he was clobbered for over 130 regarding 20 weird overs. And then he constantly finalized autographs. I experienced him seven minutes in two year. Immediately following, he even said, „Ach, it’s you once again. We never saw your deny some body. We sat within the spreading boughs of one’s greatest lime tree. Robbo regaled us for hours which have tales off watching Les Ames, Godfrey Evans and you can Doug Wright because an excellent boy. The guts mutton are a brain package who’d developed an enthusiastic encyclopaedic experience in Kent cricket, and to their own dad’s noticeable fulfillment, besides admonished your when he nudged myself and you will mentioned a nice-looking „popsy” on the crowd but fixed your as he had particular fact or profile incorrect.

Which had been usually. Robbo is never that to possess mathematical outline; it actually was the storyline one mattered. Kent’s illustrious history – whether or not fact or myth – failed to help far thereon hot July time. Towards the end throughout the day, both middle mutton and you can Robbo themselves was demonstrably smitten. We knew one to be real just like the, despite their daughter of earshot, my personal buddy don’t talked of the fresh long move of piss, however, off „Greigy”.

Greig starred just an assistance character you to definitely date; an instant-flame thirty-six on Sussex innings as well as 2 wickets, in addition to that of Kent’s ideal scorer, Graham Johnson, stuck of the Tony Buss out-of a long-hop

And you may Sussex achieved it again 36 months afterwards. Gillette Glass quarter-finally, August 1, 1973, from the Hove. By this go out Greig is a freshly based England athlete and you may Sussex head. Once again, We went with Robbo, and now we almost overlooked they. My brother had organized your day but once i pitched right up ticketless within Tate Gates, we had been securely turned aside. A great sellout. The brand new stewards („soft nothing Hitlers”) had no truck with Robbo’s „Come on, it is the boy’s birthday today.” (It wasn’t.) However,, the guy was not giving up one to without difficulty of course, if advised a little warily about how I experienced on ground 100% free that have my friends, next thing We knew I was offering my portly cousin a feet-up over the garden wall structure of one of larger houses you to definitely recognized onto the sea prevent of the crushed. Inside, buoyed from the all of our achievements, Robbo’s appeal strike overdrive in which he somehow sweet-talked the newest quicker draconian from inside the-crushed ushers therefore effectively, that people ended up regarding the gangway of your own members’ pavilion, correct next to the players’ balcony. Inside basic innings We saw since Greig did his means using nearly an entire packet regarding Benson and you may Hedges, and you may Robbo, the only Kent advocate in our midst, cheered all the work with given that their lads chased 264 in the second. Today a teenager, I found myself a small embarrassed from this, but luckily for us there weren’t many. Operates, that’s. Kent was indeed bowled out getting 135. However, you to definitely don’t number. Given that participants endured on outfield and you may basked from the thank you of one’s ten,000-solid group, Sussex got acquired. I watched because quick boys lined up to get the skipper’s autograph – I was above all you to definitely today – and you may indexed you to Robbo had entered them. He and you will Greig have been in the near future involved with animated discussion. One another was basically laughing, brains tossed right back, since waiting line off small boys prolonged, shifting frantically out of ft in order to foot. Shortly after just what searched for years and years, it shook hand passionately and you can Robbo patted his the newest friend familiarly on the back. He appeared bounding support the pavilion procedures, clutching their finalized scorecard – „It’s toward center mutton,” the guy lied – and you can beaming out-of ear-to-ear. „They are a bloody fantastic bloke.” The sense it actually was Greig’s Sussex one obtained the overall game is palpable. John Spencer, the Sussex bowler, explained has just if Greig grabbed more than, the complete ambiance from the a pub „dogged from the backbiting, cynicism and you can negativity” altered almost right-away. Greig is an air off bracing water air.