England cricket, what now ?

[Slaphead in Qatar]

In 1981 I had the honour of being at Lords for the Benson and Hedges Cup Final between Surrey and Somerset, Somerset that day had Botham, Garner and Richards in their side and unsurprisingly thrashed Surrey with about 10 overs to spare,
When Richards came out to bat he literally sauntered out with a swagger , a man of supreme confidence, he went on to make 132 !
Surrey batted first and Big Bird Joel Garner had figures of 11 overs 5 wickets for 14 runs ! Stunning figures,
I love my cricket of today but boy do I miss those glorious cricketing days of the 1980's when the West Indies dominated the game, and pitch invasions were an accepted part of the day.

A pleasure and a privilege to have witnessed these great players in their prime.
In the match you mention, Surrey had a bowler who, on his day, was quicker than anyone I ever saw. Sylvester Clarke, cited by so many of his contemporaries as the most dangerous man they ever faced, didn't get so many calls by the West Indies not only because of the depth of competition but because of a lack of discipline both in his bowling and in his personal life. Botham knew how to deal with him. Clarke was a great fan of hard liquor and Both made sure he was lavishly entertained the night before any match in which he had to face him. Sadly alcohol was probably a contributory factor in his early death.

I think sylvester also joined the rebel South Africa tours - that's why his appearances for windies were restricted.