Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Graham Roope

Graham Roope, the former England batsman and notable slip fielder, has died at the age of 60.

When I was young, he was one those batsman (Peter Parfitt, John Hampshire, Frank Hayes) who would regularly be picked for a couple of tests and then be dropped, only to reappear again a couple of series later.

A few years after that, Matthew Engel suggested that there were three rules for new selectors:
  • Never interrupt the Chairman of Selectors;
  • Don't have more than two glasses of port after dinner;
  • If in doubt, drop Randall.
Roope suffered from a similar attitude on the part of the selectors.

Cricinfo, as ever, has the best obituary. It records that he was batting at the other end when Geoff Boycott completed his 100th century during the Headlingley test in 1977. What it doesn't say (and the story in confirmed by the Craven Herald) is that he was also batting with John Edrich when the Surrey opener reached the same landmark that season.

Uncanny, wasn't it?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I was sorry to hear about this but you are right to highlight Roope's ability and his dismal treatment at the hands of the selectors. It was something that always rather puzzled me as a young cricket-watcher too. Roope rarely let England down, and figured in several major partnerships down the years.