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Post by hhsussex on Oct 12, 2016 12:19:12 GMT
For those who were brought up listening to and reading the cricket writings of John Arlott the name, character and doings of Leo Harrison, who has died aged 94, will always bring a smile to the face. He was the focus and exemplar of stories about the shrewd, averagely talented but philospohical county pro, and at the turn of the 60s the fame of Arlott and of the Hampshire team of Ingleby-Mackenzie, Shackleton, Roy Marshall and above all Leo Harrison burned brightly as they won their first County Championship in 1961. Harrison was the wicketkeeper in that team, as he had been for much of the 50s, having failed to make his name as a batsman pure and simple in the days just before and after the Second world war. There is an excellent tribute to, and obituary of Leo Harrison on the Hampshire Cricket History blog of David Allen, pompeypop on this and other notice-boards and I thoroughly recommend following it through this link hampshirecrickethistory.wordpress.com/What drew Arlott's interest in particular was the delicately shifting social patterns of the time, as reflected in the Hampshire team and in Harrison's character. He was not the most skilful of batsmen or keepers, though he performed very serviceably, but he was infinitely adaptable. As the model of the 50s pro he featured in an excellent short story by Arlott called "It ain't half a bloody game", the saying itself a classic remark of Harrison's to meet all the usual vicissitudes of fate and fortune on the cricket field, in which he appears as the Hampshire wicket-keeper in a game against a fictional county whose over-the-hill old professional batsman is facing the inevitability of the sack and retirement, averaging 16 in his last season. And yet Arlott records that Harrison, along with Marshall, were the first that the playboy Ingleby-Mackenzie would turn to after play had ended to put on their DJs and drink play cards with him and his well-heeled chums at whatever country house was in the offing where Hampshire played.
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Post by flashblade on Oct 12, 2016 12:39:23 GMT
For those who were brought up listening to and reading the cricket writings of John Arlott the name, character and doings of Leo Harrison, who has died aged 94, will always bring a smile to the face. He was the focus and exemplar of stories about the shrewd, averagely talented but philospohical county pro, and at the turn of the 60s the fame of Arlott and of the Hampshire team of Ingleby-Mackenzie, Shackleton, Roy Marshall and above all Leo Harrison burned brightly as they won their first County Championship in 1961. Harrison was the wicketkeeper in that team, as he had been for much of the 50s, having failed to make his name as a batsman pure and simple in the days just before and after the Second world war. There is an excellent tribute to, and obituary of Leo Harrison on the Hampshire Cricket History blog of David Allen, pompeypop on this and other notice-boards and I thoroughly recommend following it through this link hampshirecrickethistory.wordpress.com/What drew Arlott's interest in particular was the delicately shifting social patterns of the time, as reflected in the Hampshire team and in Harrison's character. He was not the most skilful of batsmen or keepers, though he performed very serviceably, but he was infinitely adaptable. As the model of the 50s pro he featured in an excellent short story by Arlott called "It ain't half a bloody game", the saying itself a classic remark of Harrison's to meet all the usual vicissitudes of fate and fortune on the cricket field, in which he appears as the Hampshire wicket-keeper in a game against a fictional county whose over-the-hill old professional batsman is facing the inevitability of the sack and retirement, averaging 16 in his last season. And yet Arlott records that Harrison, along with Marshall, were the first that the playboy Ingleby-Mackenzie would turn to after play had ended to put on their DJs and drink play cards with him and his well-heeled chums at whatever country house was in the offing where Hampshire played. Those were the days . . . www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3KEhWTnWvE
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Post by hhsussex on Oct 12, 2016 12:44:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2016 12:49:05 GMT
Remember him not from Arlott so much but from the wonderfully colourful A&BC bubblegum card series of 48 county cricketers, which I collected in the early 1960s.
There is a great interview with Harrison in Chris Westcott's book about the 48 in which he talks about his friendship witb Arlott, whom he visisted regularly in Alderney until his death, and reveals that after his retirement he had very little to do with cricket and spent all his time fishing from the 20 foot boat he moored in the harbour at Mudeford.
Chris Westcott is a Sussex supporter by the way. He lives in the county and wrote the book about the history of cricket at the Saffrons. I bought some surplus cards from him a few years back when I was rebuilding my collection of the A&BC cards. I now have a complete set and around half of the set in spares, too, if anyone wants to make an offer!
When I first met the other Sussex cricket writer named Chris - better known on here as s&f - I got confused and thought he was Chris Westcott (a confusion I have never admitted to him until now!)
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Post by hhsussex on Oct 12, 2016 12:53:29 GMT
Remember him not from Arlott so much but from the wonderfully colourful A&BC bubblegum card series of 48 county cricketers, which I collected in the early 1960s. There is a great interview with Harrison in Chris Westcott's book about the 48 in which he talks about his friendship witb Arlott, whom he visisted regularly in Alderney until his death, and reveals that after his retirement he had very little to do with cricket and spent all his time fishing from the 20 foot boat he moored in the harbour at Mudeford. Chris Westcott is a Sussex supporter by the way. He lives in the county and wrote the book about the history of cricket at the Saffrons. I bought some surplus cards from him a few years back when I was rebuilding my collection of the A&BC cards. I now have a complete set and around half of the set in spares, too, if anyone wants to make an offer! When I first met the other Sussex cricket writer named Chris - better known on here as s&f - I got confused and thought he was Chris Westcott (a confusion I have never admitted to him until now!) The short story I quoted is apparently known also as "A cup of cold tea" and is listed in an anthology of sporting shorts stories in the Lord's library. I read it many years ago, possibly in the same anthology,in a book borrowed from the public library. Is it in your collection borderman, under either title?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2016 13:08:16 GMT
I have the Arlott stoy in an anthology titled LBW: Laughter Before Wicket.
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Post by hhsussex on Oct 12, 2016 13:17:49 GMT
I have the Arlott stoy in an anthology titled LBW: Laughter Before Wicket. I thought if anybody did, it would be you! Can I borrow it to re-read some time? Brings back memories of voraciously borrowing everything to do with cricket from Blackfen public library hundreds of years ago.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2016 13:23:32 GMT
I've also found a six page aricle about him written in 1957 in the book The Essential Arlott.
Apparently his nickname was 'The Lion' - not merely because he was Leo but from 'the Lion of the Forest', as he lived on the edge of the New Forest at Mudeford.
Arlott reckons in the first match played on Alderney after the Germans were expelled in 1945, Harrison stumped a batsman and put the bails back on before his victim even had time to turn around.
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