Simon Hughes meets John Paul Getty

It is reassuring to know that not every multi-multi-millionaire wants to pump money into football. "The fact that football's in your face all the time irritates me desperately," said John Paul Getty - the man who has pledged more than £10 million to cricket - reclining in his St James's apartment this week. "I just can't watch football, unless England are playing in the World Cup, of course."

He peered at the shuttered window offering a stupendous view of Green Park. "D'you know, I've lived here for 10 years," he added wistfully, "and I've never seen anyone playing cricket down there. Football yes, even baseball, never cricket. It saddens me deeply that cricket isn't played in parks and schools like it used to be."

Sir John Paul Getty, to use his proper title, is an intensely private man who doesn't normally like talking about himself, but he was in a particularly happy mood last Tuesday. "A lovely thing happened to me the other day. I got an invitation to the England dressing-room at Lord's. I sat on the balcony during the one-day match against Sri Lanka, what a privilege, and then afterwards David Lloyd made a little speech and presented me with an England blazer and cap. I could hardly speak I was so thrilled."

He sounded more like an excited little boy than Britain's greatest philanthropist, a man who gives away the interest he accumulates on his assets (about £8,000 an hour) almost as fast as he earns it.

He paused to phone the butler. "Michael, would you bring up my cap and blazer." There they were, on a Sketchley hanger. He put the cap on. "I had to get it enlarged actually, but the blazer fits perfectly." Will he ever wear them? "Oh no, not in public. They're for people who've played for England. I might put them on at home when I'm watching England on TV."

It is fairly common knowledge that Mick Jagger introduced Getty to cricket. They had been friends since the Sixties and both lived in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea in 1976 when Getty was a virtual recluse, recovering from heroin and alcohol addiction. "Mick used to come by the house every day and if the cricket was on he'd want to watch it. I was curious as to how it differed from baseball and I was intrigued by its 360-degree possibilities and its endless variety."

He was soon hooked. He remembers Jagger phoning Tony Greig, then captaining England in India, from his house and passing him the phone. To commemorate finding a new passion, he bought his first Wisden in 1977. Now he owns a complete set - neatly arranged in his drawing room - and the company to boot. He attends Test matches in England and the Caribbean whenever possible, bequeaths huge sums to the major venues (including £3 million for the construction of the Mound Stand at Lord's) and now entertains club, county and international sides at his idyllic ground in the Chilterns.

He is indebted to cricket for his re-emergence into society. "I came upon cricket at a time when I was deeply depressed and it had a lot to do with bringing me out of that state," he said quietly. "If I can do anything to repay that debt, I will. Cricketers are wonderful people, a breed apart."

His drawing room is festooned with classical cricket paintings and other memorabilia in keeping with his Corinthian image of the game. If he were born again, he said, he would like to have been either one of his great friends Denis Compton or Keith Miller, both of whom he has watched endlessly on video. "They seemed to have such joy playing, they were happy to get out if they weren't enjoying themselves or helping the team. I'm an immense admirer of the way the Sri Lankans play, too."

He is due to satisfy a lingering cricketing ambition this winter. "I've never been to Australia and I'm hoping to go to the Adelaide Test and meet Don Bradman -provided Victoria [his wife] agrees. Now that would be the greatest thrill of all."

Whether at Getty's Wormsley country seat or on a bumpy wicket at Hinkley Bottom food plays an integral part in the English game and there is now a recipe book celebrating cricket teas. Cream Cakes and Boundaries, compiled by Charmaine Hutton, wife of Richard, contains all manner of succulent morsels, including Richard Benaud's Outback Pie -"a close relative of Shepherd's Pie", says Richie - and Weetabix Loaf, which "keeps well if the cricket match is cancelled".

Perhaps the most intriguing dish is Brill Bread Pudding, a compacted mixture of stale bread, dried fruit and suet. "This recipe has the advantage of slowing down visiting fast bowlers and reducing the number of quick singles their opening batsmen can take." D Lloyd take note.