Sweet Home Ally Bamma

Another vignette from the Oval visit referenced below was the sight of Alex Tudor opening the bowling for the Brown Stuff.

Tudor is just one of a long line of ‘might have beens’ in English test history, and is now having one final go-around. At least you like to think it’s a final go around, though with Surrey’s record it’s likely he’ll be forming a seam attack with Robin Jackman and Peter Loader in 2018.

The lovely flowing action is still there, but that’s about it. No threat, no bite, no aggression – an empty shell.

Although whilst he was bowling, there was plenty of noise. Not some Sharapova-esque grunting from Tudor, but incessant rabbit from his team mates. Every ball – regardless of whether it beat the bat (one did) or get thrashed through the covers by Ricky Wessells (plenty did) there was an continual babble of vocal support from the Surrey fielders – almost to the point of self-parody.

What may have contributed to Tudor’s disorientation, and ultimate figures of something like ten overs for seventy four, was the series of nicknames bestowed on him by his mates… and the non-stop parroting.

I counted eight different nom-de-bowlers in the space of four overs -

Tudes
Big Fella
Big Man
Ally
Bambi
Bamma (Ally Bamma?)
A.T.
Ally Boy

As a bowler, I find this sort of thing can be utterly self defeating. ‘Come on’ ‘at the stump’s, ‘get us an early one’ ‘put it up there’… – if your mind isn’t right you end up thinking ‘damn, why didn’t I think of that.’, or ‘just f***** shut up and let me get on with it, ok?’