Lamb gets a roasting
Mess with Bunter and you'll get it in the neck
11-Feb-2010
Eddie Barlow: for some reason, didn't take kindly to having flour dumped on his head • Bob Thomas/Getty Images
This happened in Harare sometime in the mid-70s during a game between Western Province and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), who were taking part in the South African first-class competition, the Currie Cup.
Eddie "Bunter" Barlow was our (Westerns) captain. He didn't get along all that well with Allan Lamb, who was playing for us in those days.
One evening, the teams were invited to a social gathering and it so happened that Lambie played a bit of a prank on Banter by pouring flour all over his head. Banter's spectacles were messed up with the flour and he didn't take calmly to the incident.
The next morning, when Banter made Lambie field from fine leg to fine leg for about 15 overs, the rest of the side knew exactly what was happening.
Then, at one stage, Lambie spotted a bicycle parked at the edge of the ground, and after one particular over he rode it full length to his fielding position. Everybody burst out laughing and it relieved the tension between the two of them.
As told to Nagraj Gollapudi. This article was first published in the print version of Cricinfo Magazine