RIP Tony Greig

[Red Astaire]

Sad news indeed - A great cricketer and a wonderful commentator.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/20863828

 

[Red_Water]

Yep, loved listening to him.

 

[Jürgen4PM]

RIP.

Never saw him play but really enjoyed listening to him commentate.

I know he got panned for it at the time, but he played a big part in changing cricket for the better with the Packer world series. Also i loved the way he handled the fall out from his "we'll make them grovel" comments which were aimed at the Windies.

 

[Jürgen4PM]

Just thought of another of my favourite TG momments.

It think it was against Thommo and Lillee and TG kept on doing the sign for 4 every time he hit a boundary off of one of them (He went on to score a ton).

 

[Mersey86]

First cricket I remember was England v West Indies 1976. England were thrashed - I think this was the "make them grovel" series, but I remember Knott and Greig standing up in one of the tests and scoring 116 each. I liked seeing his wicket assessments prior to test matches from Australia, sticking his car keys in the pitch to show the cracks. A strong character who does leave a big legacy.

 

[dmishra]

A sad loss. I grew up listening to his commentary.

RIP.

 

[Judge Jules]

A skilful and courageous cricketer (one who seems to have retained the respect of his deadliest on-field opponents) and a fine commentator.

Tony Greig RIP

 

[Red_Water]

He also helped to piss off the West Indians which made for some brilliant cricket.

From Wiki

When he returned to England, Greig caused more controversy in the lead-up to the 1976 series against the West Indies. Appearing on television to discuss the coming summer, Greig's ebullient oratory created controversy when he expounded the West Indies players' reputation for wilting under pressure:

I like to think that people are building these West Indians up, because I'm not really sure they're as good as everyone thinks they are. I think people tend to forget it wasn't that long ago they were beaten 5-1 by the Australians and only just managed to keep their heads above water against the Indians just a short time ago as well. Sure, they've got a couple of fast bowlers, but really I don't think we're going to run into anything more sensational than Thomson and Lillee and so really I'm not all that worried about them. You must remember that the West Indians, these guys, if they get on top are magnificent cricketers. But if they're down, they grovel, and I intend, with the help of Closey and a few others, to make them grovel.[20]

 

[Jürgen4PM]

After the Windies had smashed England, he crawled off the pitch in a piss take out of himself.

 

[Red_Water]

After the Windies had smashed England, he crawled off the pitch in a piss take out of himself.

I watched a DVD of that series. That Windies pace attack was just fekin scary, 4-5 quicks in the same team, just relentless stuff.

Cricket is just not cricket without a great Windies balling attack battering people all over the place.

 

[Jürgen4PM]

They had 4-5 of the best quicks to ever play the game in the same side! Back in those days when protective equipment was shockingly poor, i have no idea how any batsman (however good) managed to hang around for more than a few overs.

Yeah i have to agree with you mate, i enjoy seeing us do well on the cricket field, but i do miss the likes of the Windies and Pakistan not being near the top of the game.

 

[Red Astaire]

Agreed - Michael Holding was a beast but not forgetting Andy Roberts and Joel Garner - Those guys looked immence. I never saw them but I watched them a few times on ESPN classics.

As for TG - I loved the fact he signalled his boundaries and his 'grovelling' gesture as he left the field was not lost on WI fans. A real loss to cricket. 🙁