‘Should England cricketers be banned from using Twitter?’ and other readers’ questions for David Lloyd

Extracted from the full interview in the November issue of SPIN magazine

Should England players be banned from tweeting? Stuart Lewin

David Lloyd: No. Definitely not. I’d be quite the other way. Engage with the fans. Graeme Swann and Jimmy Anderson are very clever with it. They tell you if they’ve had a bad day – but don’t go into any details – but there’s also little nice snippets… Swanny’s a card, he’ll have some fun, but they don’t go into anything in-depth that they shouldn’t do. It’s vital. In any sport, players are so isolated from the public  – particularly soccer – you just never see them about now.

When you retired as a player, did you think you would be an umpire for the rest of your career? Daniel Mitchell

David Lloyd: No. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a good time in my life. But I probably knew I would go into coaching because I’d done lots of coaching badges. But when I was an umpire my ambition was to be an international umpire – and if I’d got that far, I would maybe still have been doing that, I don’t know.

Do you think you should you have played more times for England? Catherine Watson

David Lloyd: [Emphatically] No! I came back [into the one-day side] in 1980 and I should never have been picked. Botham was captain and you know how bad a captain he was – he chose me to play in that game. He must have been mad. I couldn’t see for a start. I mean, I could see alright for county cricket but he brought me back against the West Indies. And there was no chance of seeing them.

Has anyone been as frightening to watch or play against as Jeff Thomson was on that 1974/75 Ashes tour? Gordon Foulds
David Lloyd: One I played with who was ferocious was Colin Croft – and against, Sylvester Clarke [of Surrey]. He was frightening. Both nasty on the field. They didn’t like cricket, I think basically. They thought the faster we can get this bloke out or kill him, the quicker I can get off. [SPIN: Did Croft go out to hurt people?] Well, I hope all fast bowlers go out to hurt people. That’s part of the make-up: ‘I’m gonna hurt you, you’re not going to bat’. Having a ruthless streak is part of it. We had Malcolm Marshall come to Lancashire as a specialist bowling coach once and he said to the fast bowlers: ‘The first thing you do is break the spin bowlers’ hands.’

Is it true that being given a Fall CD changed your musical taste for good? Who gave you the CD and what were you listening to before? Simon Waite

David Lloyd: Paul King, who is executive producer of Sky cricket, gave me the Fall CD. And he said you’ll either get this or you won’t – and I got it immediately. But I’m still into the Rolling Stones. You’re either the Stones or the Beatles… and I’m the Stones. I mean I like the Sinatra, I think he’s terrific, but I’m a bit more punk rock.

Was the ’74/’75 Ashes tour England’s nadir during your whole time following of being involved with or following the England team? Alex Everitt

David Lloyd: The result was terrible, but as a tour it was enjoyable… I’d never been out of England before. I come from a rough area. We didn’t go abroad. I didn’t come from Weybridge or Maidenhead, I came from Accrington! And there were plenty more on the trip who’d never been out of England. I know Ken Shuttleworth who went in 1971 had never been out of England…

Who is the funniest man in cricket? Alex Kemp

David Lloyd: The man who I think is fantastic – in fact, he’s on my ringtone – is Bill Lawry. “Got him!” I think he’s fabulous. Just the enthusiasm… he’s well into his 70s and his patriotism, his love of the game and his enthusiasm is fantastic. He was a dour player, a very dour player. But as a commentator he brings it all alive. But my all-time broadcasting hero is Fred Trueman. He was the first northern voice on commentary, as far as I can remember. The first one who didn’t speak like Mr Cholmondeley-Warner.

Who is the best player you’ve seen who never made it at the highest level? Kevin Shortley
David Lloyd: Don Shepherd of Glamorgan. Spin bowler. Just check his record: 2000-plus wickets! [2200 wickets at 21 each, between 1950 and 1972]. I played against him, he was playing into the 1970s and he’s still totally involved in the game now, at 80-odd. He overlapped Jim Laker a little bit and Fred Titmus and Ray Illingworth so he never got a chance with England. But he was a wonderful bowler. The lad who’s missed out right now is Glen Chapple. It’s just never quite happened for him: wrong place, wrong time… he’s been in that many squads and missed out.

Do you find it odd that we don’t have a 50-over domestic competition in England, when international cricket is still 50 overs? Russell Hanson

Yeah. I think you’ve got to try and mirror international cricket. The 18 counties rule the roost because they are the ECB. But my mild criticism is that I’m not sure they put the England team on the pedastal I think it should be. Everything should be geared towards the England team and I’m not sure all the counties take that onboard. I’d like the distribution of wealth to be a bit more thought out. Not to give 18 counties £1.5m every year and let them spend it on what they want.
It’s unbelievable that so many of them are struggling, on those terms.
I like the Australian model. Take the WACA: the money goes to the Western Australia Cricket Association and the state teams gets money from the WACA but there’s a lot of money goes on grass roots. And – just in my opinion – the English game is awash with money, awash with it, and I’m not sure the money gets to grass roots the way it should do.

David Lloyd’s Start The Car tour takes in Buxton, Norwich, Derby, Malvern and Salford, between October 29 and November 17. See local theatre websites for full ticket details

Extracted from the full interview in the November issue of SPIN magazine

MOTM Swann inspires England to win inside three days

England beat West Indies by ten wickets at Lord’s, chasing down a target of 32 to win the first Test, shortly before the scheduled close of Day 3.

Graeme Swann, who took six wickets in the match as well as hitting an unbeaten 63, was named man of the match.

England bowled out West Indies for 256 this afternoon. After a delayed start due to rain, West Indies resumed on 39/2 this morning. By lunch they were 80/5 and, still 145 behind after following on, appeared heading for defeat sooner rather than later

Swann had dismissed the Windies rock Chanderpaul (4) cheaply for the second time in the match, emphasising the apparent hold he has over the West Indies’ six left-handers.

But with Brendan Nash (81) and Denesh Ramdin putting on 143 for the sixth wicket, England were made to work in the afternoon session. Stuart Broad broke the partnership, dismissing Ramdin on the verge of tea. Soon Nash, getting over-adventurous as he ran out of partners, fell to Broad too, caught in the deep by Cook.

West Indies had lost 2o wickets in less than 105 overs’ batting time in the match, a shabby performance in the light of their recent series win over England in warmer and more bat-friendly conditions

So Strauss and Flower’s new-look England start the season on a high. They were gifted momentum, first, by West Indies’ dropping six catches on the first day and then by a hapless batting performance.

Seeing England’s delight at beating one of the few teams ranked below their own No 6 place in the ICC table will not necessarily have the Aussies quaking. If England can’t beat West Indies in a home Test shortly after Easter, then they really should pack up and go home.

But at least, in the performances of Swann, Onions and Bopara, this England team have made a definite stride forwards; the grim aura of underachievement that surrounded the Vaughan-Harmison-Panesar-Moores axis over the last 12 months has, for the moment at least, been dispelled.