Fair dinkum Cobbler Jon Brady was once reeled in as an extra at net practice when England's cricketers were playing a Ashes tour match in his home town.
In truth, Mike Gatting's visiting attaches of bat and ball had made a strong impression. Venerable scribe Martin Johnson had famously concluded: “There are only three things wrong with this England team: They can't bat, they can't bowl and they can't field.”
And when 11-year-old Brady, playing football with his mates on a neighbouring sports ground, peered over the fence to judge for himself, our gallant cricketers lived down to the hype magnificently. Bowled out for 82 and thrashed by eight wickets against New South Wales, they had reverted to type after winning the first Test the previous week.
