any warrington fans made it down early and fancy a night
out tomorrow lancashire ccc playing at lords tomorrow afternoon
3.40 start i,ll be there with my wire top on and sinkin a few pints
warm up for saturday

Good on you, spreading the wire cheer all around the country.

Even though cricket is boring.

It's not aimed at people like you

I know its not, but who is it aimed at?

should have taken 1 of nal als'flags

That time of the year already? thought the usual Lords pilgrimage was in early September, mind you its been a while.

Time to dust down the old NYNEX jersey and join the rest of the boys....Ian Austin, Ian Ian Austin

Awesome.

I modelled my whole action (languid run up) on him.

I thought I was a young Peter Martin, I wasn't.

I loved Peter Martin as a kid. Nick Speak used to run winter coaching sessions in Stockport, which I went to every year as a teenager. He used to bring along other Lancs players, one year it was Martin and Dexter Fitton. Then a couple of years later Speak passed the coaching clinic onto Steve Titchard who did it with Richard Green, both of them were big Wire fans. Titchard was a great bloke, really good with the kids, always hung around at lunchtimes where we used to badger him about what it was like to face various opening bowlers in country cricket (those were the days when there were loads of great fast bowlers around)

Titchard used to tell us that every batsman in the game would give the same answer to the question "whos the hardest bowler in the league to face"....its something I've seen correlated in a few players' autobiographies as well.

Who do you reckon it was.....?

wasim

Wayne Daniel?

Oh Lanky Lanky!!!!!!!

not been the same since Neil Fairbrother & Wasim Akram

Wayne Daniel was before Titchards time. Also he didn't have to face Wasim (other than I suppose in the nets) although Wasim is a good guess, when Shane Warne did his 50 best cricketers in the Times, he reckoned Waqar picked up half his wickets because of how good Wasim was at the other end.

But it wasn't either of those...

Give us a clue

Sylvester Clarke was generally reckoned to be the bowler most batsmen feared in the County Championship during the late 80's, but I'm guessing that's not the answer you're looking for ?

The type of people who enjoy watching grass grow.

ok.

Dont bother mate; I'm a few miles from Lords and it is bucketing down here at present.

he was respected rather than revered by fans, but rated by pros as the hardest of the lot to face (Atherton, Hussain etc have said the same as Titchard)

It's not Sylvester Clarke, again he was of the 80s rather than the 90s when Titchard was talking about.

Gus Fraser?

devon malcolm ?

Gladstone Small?

Whenever I batted, I always said I was John Crawley.

Tough one this, given Titchard didn't get International honours, you're looking at who was around the county scene at the time. Obviously clubs were limited to one overseas as well.

Caddick with that bounce off a length ? Malcolm for pure speed ?

Non English, I'd have gone Walsh or McGrath, nagging line, quick enough, on the spot and all that.

Mark Alleyne - Gloucestershire?

I'm pretty sure Steve played for Lancs against one of Steve Waugh's ashes sides which would bring Shane Warne, Merv Hughes (and a few that I've forgotten) into the equation. If i remember rightly, it was the only match Australia lost on the whole tour.