The Specs XI

[SJS]

It is not a fast bowler he's facing in that image.

No he isnt but I dont remember ever seeing him wearing a helmet.

 

[SJS]

Not sure if this has been done before, but how about a team of current and former international cricketers who play cricket wearing glasses.

So far I have thought of..

Zaheer Abbas
Dirk Wellham
Ray Phillips
Ashley Mallett
Daniel Vettori

Any others?

I dont remember Mallett wearing glasses while batting or fielding when he came to india in 1969.

 

[SJS]

Okay so whay do we have :-

1. Boycott
2.---------
3. Zaheer Abbas
4. Clive Lloyd
5. Eddie Barlow
6. Charles Palmer
7 ----------
8. Daniel Vettori
9. Bill Bowes
10. Dilip Doshi
11. Alf Valentine.

We need minimum one more opener, one wicket keeper to make the eleven. Ideally another pacer or a different type of bowler to reduce the number of left arm spinners in the side.

Volunteer selectors !!!!

I am yet to see evidence of Mallet playing in glasses though he was known to be short sighted.

 

[wpdavid]

MJK Smith for one of the batting spots.

Trouble is, now the subject has been raised, almost every old player I can think of I'm picturing with specs on. Not helpful.

We'll struggle for a keeper, I'd have thought.

EDIT
Didn't Devon Malcolm wear specs when he started out?
And another spinner for contention is John Inverarity.

 

[SJS]

MJK Smith for one of the batting spots.

Trouble is, now the subject has been raised, almost every old player I can think of I'm picturing with specs on. Not helpful.

We'll struggle for a keeper, I'd have thought.

EDIT
Didn't Devon Malcolm wear specs when he started out?
And another spinner for contention is John Inverarity.

How did I forget MJK Smith. The first international cricketer i actually saw playing in glasses. And yes Inverarity is a good one too.

 

[armchairumpire]

Okay so whay do we have :-

1. Boycott
2.---------
3. Zaheer Abbas
4. Clive Lloyd
5. Eddie Barlow
6. Charles Palmer
7 ----------
8. Daniel Vettori
9. Bill Bowes
10. Dilip Doshi
11. Alf Valentine.

We need minimum one more opener, one wicket keeper to make the eleven. Ideally another pacer or a different type of bowler to reduce the number of left arm spinners in the side.

Volunteer selectors !!!!

I am yet to see evidence of Mallet playing in glasses though he was known to be short sighted.

Ray Phillips was a wicketkeeper and he wore glasses. You can put Dirk Wellham in as an opener - he played nearly every other position.

 

[SJS]

Ray Phillips was a wicketkeeper and he wore glasses. You can put Dirk Wellham in as an opener - he played nearly every other position.

I want pictures of them wearing glasses on the field please.

MJK Smith
Right hand bat and captain of England.

 

[SJS]

1. Boycott
2 David Steele
3. Zaheer Abbas
4. Clive Lloyd
5. MJK Smith
6. Eddie Barlow
7. Charles Palmer
8. Daniel Vettori
9. Bill Bowes
10. Dilip Doshi
11. Alf Valentine.

Thats eleven (I had missed out Steele earlier) but we still dont have a keeper.

 

[SJS]

Ray Phillips was a wicketkeeper and he wore glasses. You can put Dirk Wellham in as an opener - he played nearly every other position.

Who is/was ray Phillips? I dont recall a test player by that name.

 

[SJS]

btw, Inverarity played for Australia more as a batsman than a bowler. In his six tests he bowled just 61 overs, 33 of them in one inning!!.

In the other 11 innings that he took the field for Australia he bowled :-

0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 9, 0, 4, 15 overs !!

On the other hand he opened the batting four times and scored his only test fifty at that position.

 

[armchairumpire]

Who is/was ray Phillips? I dont recall a test player by that name.

Raymond Berry Phillips
Born: 23 May 1954
Paddington, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Batting: Right-hand batsman
Bowling: unknown
Other: Wicket-keeper
Major teams: New South Wales, Queensland, Australians

Also, only picture with glasses of Dirk Wellham batting is from the front cover of his biography.

http://www.cricketbooks.com.au/imag...33C-F842A41F0E64}_Welham, Dirk book cover.jpg

 

[alternative]

Kumble used to wear them right?

Yes he did, now he actually had a laser surgery in Bangalore Laser Clinic.. i could even spell out the name if u wish...

 

[archie mac]

1. Boycott
2 David Steele
3. Zaheer Abbas
4. Clive Lloyd
5. MJK Smith
6. Eddie Barlow
7. Charles Palmer
8. Daniel Vettori
9. Bill Bowes
10. Dilip Doshi
11. Alf Valentine.

Thats eleven (I had missed out Steele earlier) but we still dont have a keeper.

I think Richard Young who toured aust before WWI wore glasses and kept wickets?

 

[SJS]

Raymond Berry Phillips
Born: 23 May 1954
Paddington, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Batting: Right-hand batsman
Bowling: unknown
Other: Wicket-keeper
Major teams: New South Wales, Queensland, Australians

Also, only picture with glasses of Dirk Wellham batting is from the front cover of his biography.

http://www.cricketbooks.com.au/imag...33C-F842A41F0E64}_Welham, Dirk book cover.jpg

Neither cricinfo nor howstatdotcom yield any name on this.
When did he play for Australia in tests or ODI's.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

He may not be an international, but Warwickshire's current keeper Tony Frost wears his windows to play in.

 

[SJS]

I think Richard Young who toured aust before WWI wore glasses and kept wickets?

Thank you my dear.

**** young is correct. Probably the first cricketer ever to play wearing spectacles in a test match. Made his debut in 1907.

 

[SJS]

And here is kumble in his earlier 'avataar'

 

[SJS]

So here is our final side

The Shortsighted team

1. Geoff Boycott
2 David Steele - (LAS)
3. Zaheer Abbas
4. Clive Lloyd
5. MJK Smith - Captain
6. Eddie Barlow (RAMP)
7. Daniel Vettori (LAS)
8. Anil Kumble (RALS)
9. **** Young (Keeper)
10. Bill Bowes - RAP)
11. Alf Valentine.- (LAS)

Standbyes :

1. Dilip Doshi (LAS) - 12th Man
2. Charles Palmer (RAOS) - Manager

Thanks guys for selectorial inputs.

 

[archie mac]

Thank you my dear.

**** young is correct. Probably the first cricketer ever to play wearing spectacles in a test match. Made his debut in 1907.

No worries

Now we need a team for them to play, what about a team of players who are/were hard of hearing? This may be a little too hard?

For Aust I know Tallon was known as 'Deafy' and we have Sammy Jones and one of the Mcleod brothers, though I can't remember which one

 

[Tomm NCCC]

Im guessing your not counting sunglasses? Because you always see Giles with a nice pair of sunglassess, even when its overcast, you can guarentee he has his "Specs"