I registered them and you will endured on longest queue, to possess Greig’s trademark. Whether it was ultimately my change, We summoned upwards courage and you will told your, with a little quaver, that it was an excellent “helluva catch”. A unique idol minted truth be told there and then. For another decade, when he ran with the wide circulation, Greig proved an advisable however, problematic hero – a gold doubloon, never totally losing their essential lustre however, seem to trying to find therapeutic polishing. Along the next couple of seasons, We watched him down from the Hove for the majority home game. Rescue for five wickets and a quick 93 up against Hampshire when you look at the July 1969, I do not think about him to make people significant sum. However, he constantly did something. A flourishing shelter drive otherwise a pull test moving off the scoreboard for half dozen.

Sussex thrashed them, and you will Greig are Man of Meets: 54 in the first innings, regarding 199, following five wickets

Or a great bouncer injudiciously geared towards Mike Procter’s lead, whom after that struck him for cuatro, 4, 6, 4 when he try clobbered for over 130 out-of 20 odd overs. And he usually closed autographs. I got your 7 minutes in 2 12 months. Once, the guy also told you, “Ach, it’s you again. We never saw him refuse someone. I seated under the distributed boughs of one’s famous lime forest. Robbo regaled all of us all round the day having stories off viewing Les Ames, Godfrey Evans and you will Doug Wright since an excellent boy. The middle lamb is actually a mind container who’d set-up a keen encyclopaedic experience in Kent cricket, in order to her dad’s visible pleasure, besides admonished your when he nudged myself and discussed an appealing “popsy” from the group however, fixed your as he got some reality otherwise figure wrong.

Which had been have a tendency to. Robbo was never one to have statistical outline; it actually was the story you to definitely mattered. Kent’s illustrious records – whether or not fact otherwise myth – failed to assist far thereon scorching July go out. By the end during the day, both center lamb and you can Robbo themselves was certainly smitten. We realized you to to be true because, even with their daughter out-of earshot, my personal buddy no longer talked of the fresh long move of piss, but off “Greigy”.

Greig played just a support part one day; a fast-fire thirty six in the Sussex innings as well as 2 wickets, also regarding Kent’s finest scorer, Graham Johnson, caught because of the Tony Buss of a long-leap

And you will Sussex did it again 3 years later on. Gillette Glass quarter-final, August 1, 1973, in the Hove. From this big date Greig was a newly founded England user and you will Sussex master. Once again, We went with Robbo, and we also virtually missed it. My personal cousin got organized the day nevertheless when i pitched upwards ticketless from the Tate Doorways, we had been firmly became aside. A great sellout. Brand new stewards (“bloody https://worldbrides.org/australsk-brude/ little Hitlers”) didn’t come with truck with Robbo’s “Come on, it will be the boy’s birthday now.” (It was not.) However,, the guy wasn’t quitting you to definitely easily of course, if told a tiny warily exactly how I experienced on the ground at no cost which have my personal friends, the next thing I knew I was providing my portly brother a toes-up-over a garden wall surface of just one of one’s larger house one to supported on the water stop of ground. To the, buoyed by the our profits, Robbo’s appeal hit overdrive and he in some way sweet-talked the brand new quicker draconian when you look at the-surface ushers so effortlessly, we ended up in the gangway of the members’ pavilion, correct next to the players’ balcony. In the very first innings We saw because the Greig worked his ways through nearly a whole package out of Benson and you can Bushes, and you will Robbo, the actual only real Kent supporter in our midst, cheered all the work with once the his lads chased 264 regarding next. Today an adolescent, I was a tiny embarrassed by this, however, the good news is here weren’t many. Runs, that’s. Kent had been bowled away having 135. But you to definitely don’t matter. Since the participants endured towards the outfield and you will basked regarding the thank you of ten,000-solid crowd, Sussex had acquired. I saw because small boys lined up to obtain the skipper’s autograph – I was above all that today – and you can listed you to definitely Robbo got registered them. He and you can Greig was in fact soon involved with mobile discussion. One another were chuckling, brains thrown right back, because queue out-of quick boys offered, moving on seriously out-of legs so you’re able to legs. Once just what searched for years and years, they shook give warmly and you may Robbo patted their the latest pal familiarly on the rear. He came bounding support the fresh new pavilion measures, clutching his closed scorecard – “It’s to your middle lamb,” the guy lied – and you will beaming out of ear-to-ear. “He’s a bloody fantastic bloke.” The sense it absolutely was Greig’s Sussex you to definitely obtained the online game was palpable. John Spencer, the brand new Sussex bowler, explained has just that when Greig got over, the entire conditions during the a bar “dogged by backbiting, cynicism and you will negativity” altered almost right-away. Greig are a breath out-of bracing sea sky.