Saturday, February 14, 2009

Lord Bonkers' Favourite XI: 1. Len Hutton

In the current Liberator, which is winging its way to subscribers even as we speak, Lord Bonkers picks his favourite XI of all time.

He explains this variation from his usual diary format:

When frost rimes the trees outside my Library window, I cheer myself by thinking of summers past and summers yet to come. Over the seasons many notable cricketers have turned out for me, and I shall devote a few pages of my diary to choosing the finest Lord Bonkers’ XI of all.

Modesty dictates that I should not include myself, of course, but in reality I should be captaining the team, batting at number four and turning my googlies.

Let me tarry no longer: here is my selection...

So let us begin at the beginning:

1. Len Hutton
The inadequacy of his report into the circumstances surrounding the death of David Kelly (it was forensically dissected by my old friend Norman Baker in his recent masterpiece) should not blind us to Hutton’s excellence as an opening bat.

I recall a match against the Independent Labour Party at Worksop when, aided by a fighting 15 from Ray Alan and Lord Charles, he saw us home on a ‘sticky dog’.

Seeing him stride to the wicket gave one much the same feeling of security that one feels nowadays when Vince “High Voltage” Cable gets up to speak in the House.

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