Graeme Pollock bats for Margate Bowling Club at Ex-Pro lunch
Some of the guests included the likes of former cricketers Henry Fotheringham, Rudi Steyn and current Dolphins coach Grant Morgan.
MARGATE Bowling Club was packed for the Ex-Pro businessmen’s lunch organised by Johnny Louch last week Friday.
And it was understandable, considering that former cricketing great Graeme Pollock was the guest of honour.
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He shared the stage with Errol Stewart (former Proteas and Dolphins cricketer and Sharks rugby player).
Errol asked the questions, fielding some from the audience, while Graeme gave his answers, many of them extremely humorous.
He probably wasn’t quite as funny as comedian Joe Parker later on, but cricketing aficionados soaked up every comment.
Some of the guests included the likes of former cricketers Henry Fotheringham, Rudi Steyn and current Dolphins coach Grant Morgan.
Another special guest was young Amandla Ntlangula.
He’s a pupil at Suid-Natal High and has played representative cricket for the region.
What makes him a little different is that he bats and bowls with a helmet on due to a brain condition he was born with.
He’s had numerous operations over the years, as the scars on his head bear testimony to, but he’s a gutsy boy and hasn’t let this stop him playing the game.
It hasn’t stopped him at all – and as a way of encouraging him further, Bevis Fairbrother (branch manager at the South Coast Herald) donated an auctioned item, a painting of Pollock which fetched R5000, to the youngster.
Here were some of RG Pollock’s comments (including a touch of journalistic licence).
On AB de Villiers: We need him for the World Cup next year absolutely. Have to have our best players possible.
On Margate: First time I have been here, can finally say I’m a world traveller.
On ball tampering: What I am going to tell you now is in strictest confidence …
On his bowling: I got four Test wickets, two in the test at Trent Bridge. One of them was the England captain out LBW for a duck. Now that was something.
On fitness: Our team was once dropped 10km out of town and told to run back. Waited till the boys were out of sight, and hitched a ride in. They still don’t know that to this day.
On past captains: Ricey (Clive Rice) didn’t say much, led by example. Ali Bacher was the opposite… ‘Graeme we need runs from you today!’
On running between wickets: When Mandy Yachad wanted to hare back for a third, I told him I was only going to run two and that’s what he would get, only two.
Fotheringham chipped in at this point and suggested that Pollock was really quick when there was a single for him to be taken off the last ball of the over!
On best bowler faced: Dennis Lillee. He was fast and mean and knew what he was doing. But for a match winner, Shane Warne was the best, no doubt about it.
On why he didn’t play county cricket: You must remember it was R1 to the pound back then!
On modern cricket: They need to make it a fair contest between bat and ball. I don’t want to sit and watch 85 sixes hit in one match.
There was a lot more said and shared that can be written but there was only so much time available.
What was not in doubt was that it was a wonderful event and organiser Johnny Louch and the members at the bowling club can certainly take a bow.
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