I Spy

Joe Bennett

Sledging is obvious to all men of decency
It has become clear that the International Cricket Council pays close attention to this column. Alert readers will recall that a couple of years ago I…
30 Apr 2015
Joe Bennett

Every delivery was bait
I must have played a thousand games of cricket but I remember few of them. What I do remember is the people I played with. At my first village club…
30 Apr 2014
Joe Bennett

I’m just watching the test match
‘You’re an addict,’ said the voice. I ignored it. ‘A hopeless, feeble addict, a dupe, barren of purpose, barren of willpower, a life-form in…
30 Apr 2013
Joe Bennett

Never trust a chucker
Cricketers today are expected to abuse each other. Commentators call it ‘a bit of chat’, or ‘passing the time of day’ or some similar euphemism. I…
30 Apr 2012
Joe Bennett

Test cricket is more than greatest hits
Test cricket is like Mozart. Twenty20 is the Bee Gees. I once had a neighbour whose idea of a fun Sunday was to play the Bee Gees’ Greatest Hits on…
30 Apr 2010
Joe Bennett

You just have to watch him play
I spy Jesse Ryder. I could hardly fail to. He’s a big boy. When Ryder was picked for New Zealand, Adam Parore scoffed. ‘You’ve only got to look at…
30 Apr 2009
Joe Bennett

Here’s why sledging is wrong
Once upon a time when the world was young, it was a point of debate whether keepers should ‘talk’. Talk meant just that. Should keepers talk to the…
30 Apr 2008
Joe Bennett

What’s in it for the bowler?
As I write the World Cup’s going on. No one’s sure whether Bob Woolmer died or was killed, whether the Pakistanis lost their game against Ireland or…
30 Apr 2007
Joe Bennett

An Esperanto without words
L.L. Zamenhof, a Polish doctor, bemoaned the lack of a global language, so he made one up. He called it Esperanto and he published it in 1887. It…
30 Apr 2005
Joe Bennett

A vision of the future
First slip was called Matt. He was young, keen and attentive. That was the problem. I have played 50 games at The Willows and I have kept wicket after…
30 Apr 2004
Joe Bennett

Funny thing, memory
February 23rd and the Forty Club of London came to Loburn. They turned out to be the Fifty-five-and-over Club. Their throwing was even more feeble…
30 Apr 2003
Joe Bennett

Cricket’s beautiful
"Sorry but no,” I said into the receiver. “It’s kind of you and I’d really like to go. I just love Bulgarian films, especially from the fifties, those…
30 Apr 2002
Joe Bennett

A universal language
Cricketers share a universal language. It is a language that speaks of character. I used to play cricket with Jon. He was a stylist. He loped. When…
30 Apr 2001
Joe Bennett

Blinded by greed
Fat people are good people. No one ever saw a fat terrorist. Most sport discriminates against fat people. One of the virtues of cricket, however, is…
30 Apr 2000
Joe Bennett

Minimum physical exertion
I used to play cricket with Keith. He was intelligent, idle and fat. I loved him. When Keith left university with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and…
30 Apr 1999

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