|
Chris Old was one of the unsung heroes of the Headingley Test of 1981,
the match they call 'Botham's match.' Many will recall Mike Brearley's
frantic gesturing to Old to stay in as Botham continued his assault on
the Australian bowlers. Old contributed 29 runs himself, then took the
vital wicket of Allan Border as Australia were swept away for next to
nothing. Ironically it was Old's only Test of the series and the end of
his international career. By then he had become a dangerous fast-medium
bowler, usually vying for an England place with Mike Hendrick. "Chilly"
Old had begun life as a pure fast bowler. Yorkshire hoped he would be
the natural successor to Fred Trueman. He first got England colours in
the unofficial series against the Rest of the World in 1970, when he
took 2-70 in the fourth Test and scored 37.
He did not get a place again
until Tony Lewis' tour of India in 1972-73. He played occasional Tests
against New Zealand and West Indies and took 5-21 at Lord's in 1974 when
India were bowled out for 42. In 1974-75 he scored 43 in Perth, mainly
by hitting out at off spinner Ashley Mallett when Lillee and Thomson
were rested. In India in 1976-77 he scored 52 and took five wickets in
Calcutta, then went on to take seven wickets in the Centenary Test in
Melbourne. Old was at his best under Mike Brearley's captaincy, taking
7-50 against Pakistan at Edgbaston in 1978. In a 1978-79 Ashes tour he
took four wickets in his only Test. In the 1975 World Cup he took 3-29
against Australia in the semi-final at Headingley and in 1979 he took
4-8 against Canada then dismissed Haynes and Clive Lloyd in England's
early but ultimately unsuccessful breakthrough in the final. (Bob Harragan)
After retiring Chris Old acquired and managed in 2002 the 'Clipper Fish Restaurant' in Praa Sands, Cornwall, with his second wife Letitia. Subsequently, he sold the restaurant amid the economic recession in 2009 and it was revealed in the press, during 2012, that he was working at Sainsbury's. He coached a local cricket club in Falmouth and tutored cricket coaching courses.
|