Robin Jackman, former England seamer and broadcaster, dies aged 75

[Kool_SRG]

Bowler played four Tests for England in 1981-82, before moving into TV commentary

Robin Jackman, the former Surrey and England seamer who went on to become one of the leading broadcasters in South African cricket, has died at the age of 75.

Jackman, who made his Test debut in 1981 at the age of 35, claimed 14 wickets at 31.78 in his four England appearances, and also featured in 15 ODIs between 1974 and 1983.

However, he was arguably most famous for the match that he did not play, at Guyana on England's tour of the West Indies in 1980-81, when his connections to Apartheid South Africa - through his wife Yvonne, and through his longstanding cricketing association with the country - led to the cancellation of the second Test of the series.

Jackman had earned his place on that winter's Caribbean tour on the back of a stellar county season for Surrey, who finished second in the County Championship behind their London rivals Middlesex, thanks in no small part to his haul of 121 wickets at 15.40.

In the course of a domestic career that began in 1966, Jackman took more than 1400 first-class wickets at 22.80, and scored 5681 runs at 17.69, with 17 half-centuries. His career-best of 8 for 40 came for Rhodesia against Natal in 1972-73.

Jackman was born in India in 1945 and grew up in England, but coached and played for Rhodesia and Western Province over 11 seasons, a relationship that led the Guyana government to deny him a visa on that 1980-81 England tour.

When the English management chose not to yield to political pressure, the match was abandoned, and the series moved on to Barbados. Jackman was recalled in place of the injured Bob Willis and claimed five wickets in the match, including Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and Clive Lloyd. However, he was unable to prevent West Indies claiming a 298-run win for an unassailable 2-0 lead.

After retirement, Jackman moved into the media, and became a regular commentator for the South African broadcaster Supersport. In 2012, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, having already undergone two operations to remove malignant tumours from his vocal chords.

He passed away at 3.30pm South Africa time on Christmas Day, and is survived by his wife Yvonne and two daughters. His death comes just 48 hours after that of his former Surrey team-mate John Edrich, who died aged 83 on December 23.

The ICC reacted to the news in a statement: 'We are saddened to learn about the death of legendary commentator and former England bowler Robin Jackman, who has passed away aged 75. The thoughts of the cricketing world go out to his family and friends during this difficult time.'

[Kool_SRG]

John Edrich, the former England opener, dies aged 83

Edrich played 77 Tests between 1963 and 1976, most often as a fearless left-handed opener

John Edrich, the former England batsman who was renowned as one of the world's doughtiest players of fast bowling, has died at the age of 83. He died of natural causes on December 23, at his house in north Scotland.

Edrich played 77 Tests between 1963 and 1976, most often as a fearless left-handed opener, scoring 5138 runs at 43.54, and just shy of 40,000 in a first-class career for Surrey that spanned 23 seasons.

His finest hour arguably came during Ray Illingworth's triumphant Ashes tour of 1970-71, when his haul of 648 runs at 72.00, including two hundreds, were instrumental in England's 2-0 series win. All told, he made 12 Test hundreds and 24 fifties, including a career-best 310 not out against New Zealand at Headingley in 1965.

"With John's passing, we've lost a prolific and fearless batsman - one of the select few who have scored more than 5,000 runs for England," ECB CEO Tom Harrison said in a statement. "His duels with some of the world's best fast bowlers were legendary, and it's a testament to his ability that his 310 not out against New Zealand in 1965 remains the fifth highest Test score by an English batsman. He will be sadly missed, and our thoughts are with his family and friends."

At Sydney in 1974-75, Edrich captained England in a one-off capacity, standing in for Mike Denness, who dropped himself in the midst of a torrid run of form.

Edrich also played a starring role in the first-ever one-day international, at Melbourne in 1970-71, scoring the first boundary in the format, as well as the first half-century, and even claimed the first Player-of-the-Match award for his innings of 82 from 119 balls. However, he could not prevent Australia from taking the first victory, by five wickets.

Edrich's Test career ended where it began, against West Indies at Old Trafford in 1976, when at the age of 39, he and Brian Close stood firm on the third evening as Michael Holding delivered one of the most ferocious spells of fast bowling of all time.

Thirteen years earlier, it had been Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith testing Edrich's mettle at the same venue, while in between whiles he came up against a litany of greats, including South Africa's Peter Pollock, who knocked him cold with a bouncer at Lord's in 1965, and Dennis Lillee, who left him with two broken ribs after pinning him with a bouncer on the 1974-75 tour.

Edrich hailed from a famous Norfolk cricketing family - his cousin Bill played 39 Tests between 1938 and 1955, while three other cousins also played at county level. In 1958, he made his county debut at the age of 21 in a champion Surrey side that was heading for its seventh consecutive title. It was an inauspicious first match - Surrey were bowled out for 57 in the fourth innings as Edrich arrived at the crease at 7 for 3, but he proved his stomach for the fight with an unbeaten 24.

In retirement, Edrich moved to Aberdeenshire but remained a grandee of the game, serving as president of Surrey in 2006. In 2000, at the age of 63, he was diagnosed with leukaemia and given seven years to live but overcame the disease to endure for another two decades.

[Kool_SRG]

[migilindhi151]

Nice voice he had... Enjoyed his commentary.. May his soul rip

[Patient31Covid19]

robin jackman god South africa la commentary gurthun unadhi eendhi baaga sestadu

[Spartan]

RIP

[Kool_SRG]

5 minutes ago, migilindhi151 said:

Nice voice he had... Enjoyed his commentary.. May his soul rip

Yes Fantastic commentator...

[migilindhi151]

26 minutes ago, Kool_SRG said:

Yes Fantastic commentator...

True tht... A peculiar voice.... 

Current commentators lo Mike Haysman,Michael slator,Mark Nicholas are good... 

[Kool_SRG]

11 minutes ago, migilindhi151 said:

True tht... A peculiar voice.... 

Current commentators lo Mike Haysman,Michael slator,Mark Nicholas are good... 

Haysman naaku antha fetch anipinchadu but he is good...

Harsha, Slater, Mark Nicholas & Simon Duoll current gen commentators are very good....

[Patient31Covid19]

Harsha very good antey niko dhandam ra ayya aa budabukkalodni na sinnapat nundi susthuna dhed commentary topic ki sambandam lekunda sollu 10ging @Salim Feku aadu no cricket knowledge a tad bit also mumbaikar god malla telgu hyd ani coloring okati chal

[migilindhi151]

25 minutes ago, Kool_SRG said:

Haysman naaku antha fetch anipinchadu but he is good...

Harsha, Slater, Mark Nicholas & Simon Duoll current gen commentators are very good....

Haysman has a peculiar voice and he only does for South Africa matches... 

[pahelwan]

Maku appatla one n only desi commentator was CHARU SHARMA.

[Kool_SRG]

23 hours ago, migilindhi151 said:

Haysman has a peculiar voice and he only does for South Africa matches... 

yeah I am aware of that SA matches ki sure untaadu was in LPL also recently..

[Kool_SRG]

3 hours ago, pahelwan said:

Maku appatla one n only desi commentator was CHARU SHARMA.

Bhogle ki mundhu till 1996-97 STAR lo undevaadu slowly faded out..