The Times Sport - UK (2020-08-01)

Patrick Kidd

THE TAILENDER

Buzzing Bees’

sights on elite

flying corps

Atherton will have

no beef with Root

three winged teams get promoted

from the Championship. Leeds are

known as the Peacocks after the pub

that faces Elland Road, while West

Bromwich Albion, though more

commonly the Baggies, are also

called the Throstles, a Black Country

word for the song thrush.

With the Magpies, the Eagles and

the Seagulls of Brighton & Hove

Albion staying up, the Premier League

really could become the top flight.

With two sweeps to deep square leg

before declaring last Sunday evening,

Joe Root moved up two places into

seventh on the list of England’s most

prolific run-scorers in Test matches.

He now has 7,729 runs, with Mike

Atherton on 7,728 and Ian Bell

on 7,727.

While it would be going some to

catch the next man (Geoff Boycott

on 8,114) this summer, Root is not yet

30 and has every chance of moving

Gatting-Shakoor Cup

might be pushing it

No sooner has one Test series ended

than another begins. On Wednesday,

England start a three-Test series

against Pakistan, who deserve our

thanks for coming at this time. It

would be an appropriate gesture of

It has been 73 years since the cry of

“Buck up, Bees” was last heard in the

highest league. Brentford’s 12-year

stay in the old first division ended in

1947 when they were relegated with

Leeds United. On Tuesday, they will

join the same side in promotion to

the Premier League if they beat

Fulham in the Championship play-

off final.

Entomologists will be cheering on

Brentford. The football writer Nick

Miller has noted that with Watford,

aka the Hornets, being relegated, this

would be the first time that one

insect has replaced another in the

Premier League, which certainly

creates a buzz around the match.

It is not the first time, though, that

winged creatures have swapped

leagues. Last season, the Canaries of

Norwich City replaced the Bluebirds

of Cardiff City, a year after the

Bluebirds had themselves taken the

place of the Swans of Swansea City.

Before that you have to go back to

1994, when the Eagles of Crystal

Palace replaced the Robins of

Swindon Town, while in 1993 the

Eagles and Robins went the other

way, with the Magpies of Newcastle

United also going up.

This could be the first season when

past all but perhaps Sir Alastair Cook

before he is finished.

I am sure that our chief cricket

correspondent will have greeted the

paddle that nudged him down the

list with rather more charm than he

received when he displaced Ian

Botham as, at the time, England’s

tenth top run-scorer in 1997.

When Atherton went past

Botham’s 5,200 runs at Trent Bridge

that summer, the camera picked up

the future Lord Beefy giving the

England captain a middle-fingered

salute. Quick as a flash, the

admirable Richie Benaud informed

viewers that “Ian Botham is just

showing us that Mike Atherton has

passed him by one run”.

friendship to create a new trophy for

this series, like the Richards-Botham

one that will be awarded when

England next play West Indies, to

cement a cricketing relationship that

has not always been free from

controversy.

Pakistan first toured England in

1954, drawing a series blighted by

rain with victory by 24 runs in the

final Test at the Oval, and after 24

more series England lead 9-8. Those

who might merit their name on a

shared trophy include Ted Dexter,

who averaged 94 in eight Tests

between the sides, or Abdul Qadir,

who took eight five-wicket hauls.

Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Tom

Graveney or Ken Barrington would

all be worth honouring.

The Mike Gatting-Shakoor Rana

Cup should probably be avoided.

My pick, though, would be an

England batsman who never played

against Pakistan and a Pakistan

bowler whose Test record against

England was nothing special, yet

both went on to become successful

and popular coaches in the other

country. Why not play this series

for the Bob Woolmer-Mushtaq

Ahmed Trophy?

1994 Cup
Winners’ Cup
medal (having
beaten Parma
1-0 in the final)
I lost the medal
when moving
home about 14
years ago. I kept
my medals in a safe
and for some reason
this one was separated
before my belongings
went into storage. About

20 1GS Saturday August 1 2020 | the times

ME AND MY MEDALS

Paul Davis, 58, played for Arsenal from 1980

to 1995, winning two league titles with the

club. He is a FA national coach developer

Paul Davis

celebrates

the 1989 title

with his

team-mates having watched the

Anfield game with Arsenal fans, right

1989

League title

winner’s medal

This was the

medal I won

after the

historic win at

Anfield but it

was a

bittersweet

night for me as

I missed the

game with a

thigh injury and

even now it is

hard to watch

replays.

I was involved

in the meetings

but I hurt inside

especially when

I saw the

players start to

change. Brian

Marwood and

Niall Quinn

were also not

playing and we

assumed we

would sit in the

directors’ box

or behind the

dugout. We

were handed

tickets for the

stand behind

the goal. We

had to leave the

stadium and

walk around

and enter with

the fans, who

were

astonished. We

sat eight rows

from the front

among Arsenal

fans. Ten

minutes from

time we

thought we

should get back

to the dugout.

We started to

make our way

out when fans

suggested we

should instead

ask the

stewards if we

could walk

pitchside. The

stewards did

not believe we

were players,

even though

the fans were

insistent that

we were

wearing a club

blazer and tie.

The chief

steward was

called and

accepted who

we were. We

were walking

behind the goal

and that’s when

Michael

Thomas scored.

1987 League Cup 2

(having beaten Liverpool

2-1 in the final)

I came through the club’s

ranks, so having this as

my first medal feels extra

special. We assembled for

a team photo, right, but

instead of looking at the

camera, I was kneeling,

staring at the medal,

which is a miniature of

the trophy.

David Rocastle typified

the type of exciting

player that came through

the club. He and Michael

Thomas were stylish,

wanted to show their skill

and loved playing for

Arsenal.

I was slightly older and

they probably aspired to

follow me into the team.

We always had a close

connection.

My late mum Ruby Jones

was extremely proud.

Du’aine and Jordan, my

sons who were born in

1994 and 1996

respectively, started to

have a real interest in

football and my medals

about the time that

Arsène Wenger produced

majestic Arsenal sides.

My medals have been

tucked away but I took

them out during

lockdown. It feels good to

have them on display.

2

ngad

Interview Gary Jacob

Photograph Ian Tuttle

tchedthe

six years

later I took

out my

medals and

realised one

was missing

and it must

have been left

in the safe. The

house had been

knocked down. I

was so

disappointed.

It will seem weird but a

year later I received a

phone call from someone

saying they had my medal

and asking how much I

would pay for it to be

returned. I said, “No, it is

OK.” I didn’t feel it was right

to pay. I struggled to get

my head around it at the

time. I have put it to the

back of my mind and

accepted I might never get

it back. I have the

memories.

Gianfranco Zola’s shirt

This is one of my favourite

shirts, collected from the

1994 Cup Winners’ Cup

final when we beat

Parma.

I was pretty pleased to

swap shirts with Zola, then

Parma striker, left, though

of course he went on to

play for Chelsea.

It looks so small, like a

child’s jersey. I have never

washed it and it is dirty. I

take it out every now and

then and reminisce.

I also have my shirt from

when we lifted the League

Cup and FA Cup in the

1992-93 season, each time

beating Sheffield

Wednesday.

I also take pride in my

testimonial programme

against Celtic in 1991 and

re-reading and

remembering everyone

that pulled that together.

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