2021 domestic season

I take it you saw his 'ball of the century' last week?

What about Bill Athey? Played for England and Glos I think but can't confirm he did both at the same time as it was way before my time!

Yes, both Milton and Graveney were regulars in the 1950s team, in an era before the coming of one day cricket.
Graveney was a class, very stylish and calm batsman, who was the captain of Glos for two or three seasons, but the committee, in their infinite wisdom, decided to replace him as captain with Tom Pugh, an amateur, not really worthy of his place in the side.
Several counties in those days had decided that an amateur, preferably someone from a public school, Oxbridge, possessed better leaderships qualities than a professional.
Needless to say, the decision caused outrage, Graveney immediately demanded to leave, and spent a year playing second team cricket for Worcestershire before qualifying for them, such were the regulations in those days!
He was one of the most popular players in the country, the fans were denied years of his talent, and he eventually continued to score heavily in county cricket, won the Championship with Worcestershire, regaining his England place after several years in the wilderness, and was a mainstay in the test team for three or four years in his late thirties.
Pugh did actually play as a batsman with Graveney before becoming captain, the two of them making a record wicket partnership for the county, but barely made a run after that.
I think Pugh lasted about two seasons before being sacked, and was was very bitter about his dismissal.
Everyone played nearly 30 three day Championship fixtures, no play on a Sunday, it was more, or less constant from April to early September.
One of my memories of Graveney was going to watch a Sunday afternoon benefit match at Stroud in the early sixties.
We autograph hunters waited to get the signatures of the players after the match, the England captain of the time, Ted Dexter strode out of the pavilion, refusing to sign any autographs, whilst Graveney sat on a wall, lined up all the kids, signed every book, and said “Thank you” to everyone one of us, as he signed.
Graveney was my favourite player anyway, I was about 12, and never forgot it, or forgave the Glos Committee.
In many ways, he was the David Gower of the time, not fully trusted by some decision makers, but loved by the spectators, greatly admired by most of his peers
He was in and out of the England side in the 50s, which was dominated by the batting of May, and Cowdrey, but was a heavy scorer in county cricket.
That match I mentioned in 1957 against West Indies was the match in which he scored 250.
Graveney was the captain in the 1959:season when we finished second, the side featured Milton, Smith, Tony Brown, Mortimer, Allen, a very good left arm spinner, Sam Cook, and two players, Ron Nichols, an opening batsman, and Barrie Meyer, the wicket keeper, who had played for Rovers for years!
Bert Tann had eventually got fed up with Nicholls and Meyer missing pre season training to play cricket, and moved both of them on!
In those days, Gloucestershire often fielded three spinners, I can remember one match in that 1959 season, when we list a low scoring match with Surrey at the end of the season.
Glos played Allen, Mortimer and Cook, but unfortunately, Surrey had Jim Laker and Tony Lock!
Nicholls was a consistent batsman, scored 1.000 runs each season for years, and formed a reliable opening partnership with another fine batsman, Martin Young.
Graveney and Milton were both on that Australian tour in 1958, I can remember Mortimer being flown out to join the tour, and playing in one of the tests.
Laker and Lock were the two established England spinning stars for years, but were replaced after that tour,
David Allen got into the England side a years or so later, and played regularly for six or seven years, especially on away tours, he was preferred to Mortimer and Ray Illingworth, and was often a useful batsman.
I can remember coming home from school, passing an Evening Post newspaper stand, which had a headline saying that he had scored 74 not out in a test against Pakistan.
He also achieved nationwide fame when he calmly played out the last few balls to gain a draw against the famous West Indies side of 1963.
England were chasing a target on the last day, lost wickets near the end, and Colin Cowdrey had to bat at No 11 after having had his arm broken by Wes Hall earlier.
England were only a handful of runs short of victory, but Allen couldn’t take the risk of Cowdrey being put at risk of facing the fastest bowler in the world at that time.
The match was live on BBC, and I think they even delayed The News to see the match conclusion!
I agree that Allen is too much under the radar in terms of recognition, he was a better performer at test level than Mortimer, who made only a handful of matches, but Mortimer was often preferred at county level as they both got older, and only one spinner was usually chosen.
Funnily enough, I too remember David Allen doing a coaching session at school one afternoon, and telling me to cut out the sweep shot! Hi

I was only about 11 or 12 when the Graveney situation occurred, but the amateur v professional issue was obvious even to me, even at that age.
There was an annual Gentlemen v Players match up until 1961 or 1962, will all the top England players playing against each other.
The Gentlemen side contained the amateur Oxbridge/ Public school set, such as Cowdrey,May, Dexter, MJK Smith, even a young Mike Brearley!
Trueman, Statham, Lock,Close, Barrington would be the leading lights for the Players, and it was usually played at Lords.
The amateurs usually had their own dressing room on the county circuit, and even the England captain was always an amateur until Len Hutton in the early 1950s..
The distinction was abolished in the early 1960s, and amateurism was abolished.
In those days, if you came from the right background, and were talented, you were usually fast tracked into becoming captain at an early stage, despite a lack of experience.
I have read quite a few books by 50s and 60s cricketers covering the situation in most counties, where the experienced professionals were often overlooked for the captaincy, breeding resentment.
Freddie Trueman was always scathing about the system, and it seemed the Yorkshire side of the 50s and 60s were often at each other’s throats, even before Boycott got there, but that was not due to the amateur v professional situation.
I can remember him writing that many a time he can recall being on tour, complaining about a player not good enough to be playing for England to management, but being told that the individual was “ a jolly good chap, who had very good season with his county!”
There was a very famous Telegraph cricket writer, EW Swanton, a pompous man, very well in with MCC, who used to have a regular feature on Public Schools cricket in his newspaper.
Apparently, Peter Richardson, the Worcester and England opener, used to gave great fun sending Swanton fictitious Public school scores and achievements by letter, giving the letters to fellow cricketers to post in various towns around the circuit, when they crossed paths.
Swanton continued to publish the scores, oblivious to what was going on!
Your Lancashire friends might know about the story of Bob Barber, an ex Cambridge all rounder, talented batsman and leg break bowler, who was appointed captain, with very little experienced, and was dictated to by basket case committee men.
In one match, Barber set a total for a Kent side captained by Colin Cowdrey, then England captain to chase, they declined to chase hard, and one of the Lancashire players blasted Cowdrey in the papers, much to the anger of the Lancashire committee.
Barber, apparently was ordered to apologise to Cowdrey, not forcefully enough for the committee, who sacked him later on, whilst he was away on an England tour.
They replaced him with a character plucked from Chorley, Joe Blackledge, with no first class experience, but from a public school background, who lasted a year, as Lancashire plunged down the table!
Barber left Lancashire, moved to Warwickshire, and became a very successful fast scoring opener, partnering Boycott in the England team for a couple of years, or so.
County cricketers were badly paid in the 50s and 60s, and the opportunity to become captain, would no doubt have seen a useful salary hike, when the pro am system was abolished in the early 60s, which Committees no doubt took into consideration!
The spinner question is a very interesting one, many spinners did seem to have very long careers years ago, Mortimore playing on until the mid 70s, he was also captain for a while.
David Graveney was in the side for the best part of 20 years, was also a captain, guaranteed a place in the side.
John Childs was another left arm spinner, who was with Glo’shire for years, couldn’t get in the side, was released, went to Essex, and his career took off.
He played for England at the age of 36, but the dearth of spinners has been going on for many years, not just in Gloucestershire cricket.
Freddie Titmus, the old Middlesex spinner played for England until he was about 40, as did John Emburey. Ray Illingworth was in his late thirties still playing for England.
I suppose one day cricket brought the trend of having more all rounders in sides, to the exclusion of spinners, unless they could bat.
Probably the same situation as with wicketkeepers, sides always wanted somebody who can bat a bit for balance, so seamers seemed to get the nod, especially in English conditions.
When you think about it, and I may have forgotten one or two,the most successful England spinners in the last forty years or so have been , Miller, Edmunds, Emburey, Tufnell, Underwood, Giles, Swann and Panesar.
Only three of those were off spinners, and only Miller, Giles and Swann could you say could have their moments with the bat.
Glo’shire have certainly been short of off spinners for many years, looks like most counties have preferred the up and down seamer as the default bowler.
When overseas cricketers came into the county game in the mid sixties onwards, I think that if a county wanted a top class spinner, they would bring him in from India, Pakistan, West Indies in particular, there were always plenty of English seamers about.
Incidentally, I have just looked up the 1959 season in one of my old cricket annuals.
Glo’shire played 28 three day Championship fixtures, and if the bowlers, the wicket takers were,.....Allen 80 at 15.02, Mortimore 103 at 16.81, Cook 100 at 18.31, and the two seamers
Smith 110 at 22.90 and Brown 110 at 23.08.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Rovers were finishing sixth in the old Division 2(Modern day Championship).
I wasn’t to know, that was going to be as good, as it was ever to be!

I do get the impression this is very much a gloucester biased cricket section 😊Somerset won yesterday, but is already chip paper news 🏏😀

Yes, convincing, but expected win for Somerset!
Overton was impressive against Glo’shire, and seems to have made a very good start to the season.
Gloucestershire struggling today, will do well to save the game at Hampshire.
Really enjoy the streaming coverage, makes up for not being able to attend matches.
Some impressive batting performances around the country, big hundred from Bedingham at Durham, and nice to see that Hameed, the ex Lancashire opener, who was heralded as the coming star a few years ago, has made something of a comeback with Notts.
He has been a bit of a forgotten figure, is still young, but has had a nightmare couple of years.
As he doesn’t seem to be a white ball batsman, it must be very difficult to iron out faults, then get match practice, when you don’t play from June to September with our system.
I think we have opportunities at Test level this summer, if batsmen score consistently
Despite their big names, Surrey lost heavily again, they seem have a collapse in them, and are prone to flop with both bat and ball.

Cracking effort by Shaw and Goodman to bat out the last hour!