New Feature: CB Fry - One of a Kind

[chasingthedon]

“In cricket, triumph and disaster will come again; in this world, CB Fry will not” - so said RC Robertson-Glasgow; Dave looks into the immense cricketing deeds of this colossus of the domestic game and asks, why did he not dominate in Tests?

Cricket Web - Features: CB Fry - One of a Kind

 

[Hurricane]

Brilliant. Really enjoyed that.

Why has he never been profiled before now?

 

[chasingthedon]

Brilliant. Really enjoyed that.

Why has he never been profiled before now?

Probably I'm the only one sad enough to be that interested in him. Seriously, this is partly my point - his relative shortcomings at the Test level mean he's nowhere near as well known as his contemporaries such as Trumper or Ranji.

Interestingly Martin (fredfertang) has a copy of a biog on the indomitable Mrs Fry which might be interesting reading. I also just got hold of a copy of his book on Batsmanship - it's a great read, full of asides like "Imagine you were walking down a country lane and bumped into RH Spooner, and you put upon the good nature of this good-natured man and had him use his walking cane to demonstrate his stroke." Or "80% of cases of loss of form can be put down to either lack of practise or disorders of the liver"; certainly the latter might be true in the case of a Doug Walters or a Rodney Marsh!

 

[chasingthedon]

Footage of Fry

Found this - he was 48 by this time.

ENGLAND'S CRICKET CAPTAIN? aka MR CB FRY - British Path

 

[fredfertang]

Excellent stuff Dave, and I can confirm ownership of a biography of Mrs Fry, every bit as barking as her spouse, but don't worry, I shan't be doing a feature profiling her

 

[The Sean]

Another great piece Dave. I've always been fascinated by Fry - simply the most unfairly gifted all-round human being in the history of cricket IMO. He'd be a strong contender as a guest if I were hosting one of those fantasy dinner parties - though if Cardus is to be believed (and why wouldn't he be?), it might be difficult for anyone else to get a word in!

 

[chasingthedon]

Another great piece Dave. I've always been fascinated by Fry - simply the most unfairly gifted all-round human being in the history of cricket IMO. He'd be a strong contender as a guest if I were hosting one of those fantasy dinner parties - though if Cardus is to be believed (and why wouldn't he be?), it might be difficult for anyone else to get a word in!

Thanks Sean - you really get a feel for his conversational acumen from his book on batting. On his gifts, he reminds me a little of a lottery winner - such an abundance of talent that he seemed not to be able to cope with.

TV personality Stephen Fry is a direct descendant apparently.

 

[chasingthedon]

Excellent stuff Dave, and I can confirm ownership of a biography of Mrs Fry, every bit as barking as her spouse, but don't worry, I shan't be doing a feature profiling her

I'm reminded of the Vic Reeves comment - "I'm barking mad me - love the place."

 

[chris.hinton]

Enjoyed reading that, CB Fry was one hell of an athlete.

 

[zaremba]

On top of it all, a devilishly handsome bugger.

Interesting question, really: would you swap places for the man who has all that but also mental illness. Possibly not.

I think the real decline began when he left Sussex and joined Hampshire. What a dreadful step down that must have been.

I love the fact that his illegal bowling action led him to be occasionally referred to as "CB Shy".

 

[slowfinger]

Amazing read, gives us a good insight into the likes of WG Grace too which I found astonishing.