Cricket writer and broadcaster
Whilst sympathy for Australian cricketers hardly runs deep within the DNA of English cricket followers, a love of the underdog generally does. Thus, an analysis of this night’s subject matter might have elicited something of a conflict of interest for the audience …
Adelaide born, ex teacher Barry, a former Grade A cricketer, based his talk on his book, ‘The Establishment Boys’ which focuses on the fallout of Kerry Packer’s World Series, but from an unusual angle; that of some of the Aussie Test players who wouldn’t have made the Test Match arena if Packer’s brainchild had not got off the ground.
Much of his vision brought long lasting, beneficial change to the game, not least to its top performers. But it initially pitched traditionalists squarely against such a radical, multi faceted facelift. And it plunged Australian Test cricket into a hitherto unknown run of poor results until ‘normality’ returned. Why?
Because the best players had signed up for Packer, meaning the pool of players available for subsequent Test selection was – in number and star quality – inevitably reduced. The net had to be stretched wider and deeper but ‘the catch’ lacked the ability required.
Nicholls entertainingly painted a picture – not of the glamorous, well paid Packer disciples – but of those lesser mortals who stepped up to keep Australia’s Test commitments going, with far less reward and much less profile. Sympathy? Well that would be a bit of a stretch …!
Some of the books Barry has written …
