Lives in Cricket No 45 - Brief Candles 2

6 been struck with how all of them have proved to be such fundamentally decent and, if I may be allowed the word, such nice people. Is there something about cricket that attracts such people to the game, or that moulds such characteristics into its players? Or is it that being a ‘one- match wonder’ helps a cricketer to develop a more approachable, a more philosophical, character? Perhaps; but perhaps not. I can’t vouch for the off-field characters of all those covered in these pages, and indeed, I was discouraged by his descendants from researching one of my early candidates for inclusion because his reputation within the family was, shall we say, not good. (To avoid unnecessary speculation, I should say that the player in question does not fall within the terms of reference of any of the chapters of this book as it now appears.) This player proved to be one of a number researched for this volume who in the end had to be excluded, above all for reasons of space. So as well as expressing my gratitude to the many people who have contributed to the content of this book as it now appears - they are detailed in the Acknowledgements near the end - I must here record my thanks to those who helped me in my efforts to find out more about the players who have regrettably had to be excluded, along with my apologies to them for having to leave out the players concerned. Maybe we’ll find them in Brief Candles 3 , if that ever happens? Reading, Berkshire August 2016 Preface