Men with (enhanced) vision
Never mind Twenty20, what about 20:20 vision? Not for these fellows
Will Finch
30-Apr-2009
Making Harry Potter sound cool, Daniel Vettori • Getty Images
Daniel Vettori
"Skinny white men with glasses shouldn't do hakas," Vettori said recently. Christened "Harry Potter" by a jealous Australian media, the New Zealand captain is used to the name-calling - he's been wearing glasses since the age of three. After a brief and uncomfortable experiment with contacts, he is now a poster boy for spectacle-wearing Kiwis, appearing in an advert earlier this year encouraging five-year-olds to wear sunglasses. He has also used his bookish image to help a government-sponsored campaign extolling the virtues of reading and using libraries.
"Skinny white men with glasses shouldn't do hakas," Vettori said recently. Christened "Harry Potter" by a jealous Australian media, the New Zealand captain is used to the name-calling - he's been wearing glasses since the age of three. After a brief and uncomfortable experiment with contacts, he is now a poster boy for spectacle-wearing Kiwis, appearing in an advert earlier this year encouraging five-year-olds to wear sunglasses. He has also used his bookish image to help a government-sponsored campaign extolling the virtues of reading and using libraries.
Geoffrey Boycott
Boycott suffered a ruptured spleen as a child, but he was shattered by the news, at 14, that he would have to wear glasses. "His world had fallen apart," recalled his Uncle Algie in Don Mosey's 1985 biography. But specs certainly didn't hamper Boycs. He wore them with conspicuous success until 1969 when he decided to switch to contact lenses. The initial transition was problematic - he averaged only 38 in 1969, compared to 64 the previous season.
Boycott suffered a ruptured spleen as a child, but he was shattered by the news, at 14, that he would have to wear glasses. "His world had fallen apart," recalled his Uncle Algie in Don Mosey's 1985 biography. But specs certainly didn't hamper Boycs. He wore them with conspicuous success until 1969 when he decided to switch to contact lenses. The initial transition was problematic - he averaged only 38 in 1969, compared to 64 the previous season.
Clive Lloyd
Nicknamed "Supercat" for his prowess in the field, Lloyd damaged his eyesight when breaking up a fight as a schoolboy. "In some ways it worked for me," he said in his autobiography. "Other players used to say 'who's this fellow coming in who can't see?' They thought they were funny until I exploded with a few cuts and drives." Those cuts and drives helped Lloyd make a century in the inaugural World Cup final of 1975, plus many more besides.
Nicknamed "Supercat" for his prowess in the field, Lloyd damaged his eyesight when breaking up a fight as a schoolboy. "In some ways it worked for me," he said in his autobiography. "Other players used to say 'who's this fellow coming in who can't see?' They thought they were funny until I exploded with a few cuts and drives." Those cuts and drives helped Lloyd make a century in the inaugural World Cup final of 1975, plus many more besides.
Bill Bowes
Appearances can be deceptive. The round John Lennon specs and thinning hair were hardly calculated to strike fear in opposing batsmen, Bill Bowes was not a man to be messed with. He repeatedly bounced a 50-year-old Jack Hobbs for Yorkshire at The Oval in August 1932, a pre-cursor to the winter when Bowes would be one of Douglas Jardine's executors of his momentous leg- theory tactics.
Appearances can be deceptive. The round John Lennon specs and thinning hair were hardly calculated to strike fear in opposing batsmen, Bill Bowes was not a man to be messed with. He repeatedly bounced a 50-year-old Jack Hobbs for Yorkshire at The Oval in August 1932, a pre-cursor to the winter when Bowes would be one of Douglas Jardine's executors of his momentous leg- theory tactics.
Tommy Mitchell
A former coal miner, Mitchell had the misfortune of being England's main spinner on the Bodyline tour in 1932-33. The dark-rimmed spectacles he acquired some years into his cricketing career transformed him into a brilliant cover fielder and a hard-hitting batsman who loved to advance down the pitch to hit fast bowlers for sixes. The bowling was a given: Neville Cardus wrote that "the ball had only to see those spectacles in order to start spinning madly".
A former coal miner, Mitchell had the misfortune of being England's main spinner on the Bodyline tour in 1932-33. The dark-rimmed spectacles he acquired some years into his cricketing career transformed him into a brilliant cover fielder and a hard-hitting batsman who loved to advance down the pitch to hit fast bowlers for sixes. The bowling was a given: Neville Cardus wrote that "the ball had only to see those spectacles in order to start spinning madly".
Eddie Barlow
Known as "Bunter" for his glasses and his build, South African legend Barlow was a victim of his short-sightedness while playing for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in the New South Wales town of Wagga Wagga. Barlow woke up with a start one night to find a "human body lying beside me. At least I thought it was a body. I can never see a thing at night". It turned out the body was a prostitute posing as a spy, and all part of an elaborate prank by team-mate Mike Procter.
Known as "Bunter" for his glasses and his build, South African legend Barlow was a victim of his short-sightedness while playing for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket in the New South Wales town of Wagga Wagga. Barlow woke up with a start one night to find a "human body lying beside me. At least I thought it was a body. I can never see a thing at night". It turned out the body was a prostitute posing as a spy, and all part of an elaborate prank by team-mate Mike Procter.
Murray Bennett
Like his contemporary Dirk Wellham, Australian left-arm spinner Bennett wasn't afraid to stand up to glasses-related discrimination. During his Test debut for Australia against West Indies in Melbourne in 1984-85, he became the first cricketer to play in photochromic prescription sunglasses, and it is still why most people remember him. This is perhaps fortunate as he only played three Tests, taking six wickets at an average of 54.
Like his contemporary Dirk Wellham, Australian left-arm spinner Bennett wasn't afraid to stand up to glasses-related discrimination. During his Test debut for Australia against West Indies in Melbourne in 1984-85, he became the first cricketer to play in photochromic prescription sunglasses, and it is still why most people remember him. This is perhaps fortunate as he only played three Tests, taking six wickets at an average of 54.
Alf Valentine
When Valentine arrived in England in 1950 he was a little-known left-arm spinner, with just two first-class appearances behind him. He returned to Jamaica with 33 wickets from four Test matches, and a pair of NHS specs that he secured when bowling using sticking-plaster. His team-mates had known something was wrong when he was unable to read the scoreboard during a tour match. His glasses didn't help him when batting - in three tours of England, he never once reached double figures.
When Valentine arrived in England in 1950 he was a little-known left-arm spinner, with just two first-class appearances behind him. He returned to Jamaica with 33 wickets from four Test matches, and a pair of NHS specs that he secured when bowling using sticking-plaster. His team-mates had known something was wrong when he was unable to read the scoreboard during a tour match. His glasses didn't help him when batting - in three tours of England, he never once reached double figures.
Geoff Lawson
Although Lawson preferred contact lenses to glasses on the pitch, he deserves a special mention for qualifying as an optometrist while still playing for New South Wales. He took a year off to tour India and Pakistan with Australia in 1979-80, and eventually completed the four-year course at the University of New South Wales seven years after it began. Spurred on by his recent experiences in Pakistan, Lawson now acts as an ambassador for World Sight Day, in which optometrists donate their fees for a day to the vision charity Optometry Giving Sight.
Although Lawson preferred contact lenses to glasses on the pitch, he deserves a special mention for qualifying as an optometrist while still playing for New South Wales. He took a year off to tour India and Pakistan with Australia in 1979-80, and eventually completed the four-year course at the University of New South Wales seven years after it began. Spurred on by his recent experiences in Pakistan, Lawson now acts as an ambassador for World Sight Day, in which optometrists donate their fees for a day to the vision charity Optometry Giving Sight.
Devon Malcolm
Devon Malcolm was wearing contact lenses when he took 9 for 57 against South Africa at The Oval in 1994, the eighth-best Test figures of all time, but he began his England career in bottle-top glasses, kept on his head by an elastic band and before that, archetypal big 1980s specs. Malcolm's visual impairment and his spectacle-wearing all contributed to the great affection in which he is still held by England followers. But it might have been better had someone other than Devon shaved Chris Lewis' head on England's tour to the West Indies in 1993-94. "There were so many cuts that Lewis came down the next morning with toilet paper stuck all over his head," remembers Keith Fletcher, then the England coach.
Devon Malcolm was wearing contact lenses when he took 9 for 57 against South Africa at The Oval in 1994, the eighth-best Test figures of all time, but he began his England career in bottle-top glasses, kept on his head by an elastic band and before that, archetypal big 1980s specs. Malcolm's visual impairment and his spectacle-wearing all contributed to the great affection in which he is still held by England followers. But it might have been better had someone other than Devon shaved Chris Lewis' head on England's tour to the West Indies in 1993-94. "There were so many cuts that Lewis came down the next morning with toilet paper stuck all over his head," remembers Keith Fletcher, then the England coach.
Bob Hawke
Cricket-mad former Aussie PM Hawke was once 12th man for Oxford University and had played first-grade cricket in Sydney so he was no mug. But playing for Parliamentarians against a Press team in 1984, Hawke, 53, was struck in the face by the Herald's Gary O'Neill. His glasses smashed, and he had to have fragments removed from around his eye. Although he retired hurt on 28, he gamely returned later to help his side to victory. Labor party secretary Bob McMullen was later carried off with concussion after missing the ball while going for a catch in the deep.
Cricket-mad former Aussie PM Hawke was once 12th man for Oxford University and had played first-grade cricket in Sydney so he was no mug. But playing for Parliamentarians against a Press team in 1984, Hawke, 53, was struck in the face by the Herald's Gary O'Neill. His glasses smashed, and he had to have fragments removed from around his eye. Although he retired hurt on 28, he gamely returned later to help his side to victory. Labor party secretary Bob McMullen was later carried off with concussion after missing the ball while going for a catch in the deep.
This article was first published in the May 2009 issue of the Wisden Cricketer