Queen Elizabeth II: 12 cricket connections

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-serving British monarch. She went past the ‘record’ of Queen Victoria.

Queen Elizabeth II, born April 21, 1926, is the longest-serving British monarch. Abhishek Mukherjee narrates a dozen of her cricket connections.

When Elizabeth II was named Queen of England, India were yet to win a Test, and Pakistan were yet to play one. The world of cricket has come a long way since then: three nations — Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh — have subsequently been granted Test status; World Cup cricket has gone underway; and cricket has moved on to coloured clothing, and cheerleaders; by the time 2015 ends, they will have day-night Tests involving pink balls as well.

Elizabeth II has been there, through all this. A lot of the anecdotes have involved the customary meeting with the touring side during the Lord’s Tests, but there is more. Let us look at 11 incidents when cricket passed the way of the Queen.

1.  A day’s rest  

George VI, Elizabeth’s father and predecessor at the throne, passed away on February 6, 1952. This was also the first day of Elizabeth’s reign, which coincided with Day One of the Madras Test between India and England. The next day was hastily rescheduled as the rest day.

The players took field in black armbands, and three days later Vinoo Mankad spun India to what was their first Test victory.

2.  Gimblett celebrates

After a 16-month preparation, Queen Elizabeth was crowned on June 2, 1953. Harold Gimblett, whose showmanship has been matched by few on the field, celebrated the occasion with a six.

3.  A Lady at Lord’s

Till 1999 no woman was allowed entry to the Lord’s pavilion when a match was going on. In fact, when Diana Edulji was refused entry in 1986, she famously suggested MCC changed their name to MCP.

Elizabeth II was the sole exception to this. As Queen of England, she is, of course, Patron of MCC.

4.  Gooch’s Old Man

Graham Gooch does not have a Royal Family anecdote, but his father Alf certainly had. Alf was the son of a Plaistow merchant sailor, and was a carpenter himself. More importantly, his encouragement and advice were instrumental in forming the career of his illustrious son.

Alf had the opportunity to meet The Queen. He regretted the absence of his wife (the wonderful Rose); The Queen immediately packed a slice of cake for her.

5.  The Phantom Misson

The incident took place during the 1961 Ashes, when Frank Misson and Bill Lawry had established themselves as the pranksters of the team. Manager Syd Webbe had a tough time, murmuring “Bloody Lawry” and “Bloody Misson” to one prank after another. The Australians were invited by Queen Mother Elizabeth to Clarence House, her residence. The dinner was attended by The Queen, Prince Philip, and Princess Margaret.

What followed has been described best by Bobby Simpson in Simmo: Cricket Then and Now: “Near the end of the night, Frankie Misson decided that the royal spoons would be safer in the manager’s pocket. Soon after, just before the function was due to end, Frank took it upon himself to explain to the Queen Mother that our manager had a habit of souveniring things to which he wasn’t entitled … Soon it was Syd’s turn, and quite beautifully he added to his farewell, ‘I only wish, Ma’am, we had something more tangible to remember the night.’

“With a smile, the Queen Mother replied, ‘Well, I believe you may well have that something in your pocket.’

“Sydney George Webb QC put his hand in the pocket of his suit, sheepishly pulled out the cutlery, and I swear you could see him mouth the words ‘Lawry’ and ‘Misson’ through gritted teeth.”

6.  The Jubilee Test

Ashes 1977 is usually remembered for Geoff Boycott’s 100th First-Class hundred in the Headingley Test, but the Lord’s Test is memorable as well. For the first time was a Test been ‘assigned’ to a monarch: the Test was called the Jubilee Test to commemorate 25 years of Elizabeth II’s reign.

7.  Dennis Lillee, as always

Dennis Lillee was, of course, one of his kind. Queen Elizabeth II had paid a visit during the 1977 Centenary Test in MCG. As she met the players (including Rick McCosker with a broken jaw), Lillee showed the cheek to ask for her autograph.

Elizabeth II declined on the spot, but later sent a signed photograph back.

When Australia toured England in 1981 for what is popularly known as Ian Botham’s Ashes, Lillee was invited to Buckingham Palace, where he would receive his MBE. Lillee blurted out the most non-trivial of greetings: “G’day Queen.”

8.  And then, there was Rodney Hogg…

Rodney Hogg was a member of the Australian side in World Cup 1979 in England. When the team was invited to Buckingham Palace, David Richards, sensing something, insisted nobody swore once they were there. Hogg’s response was spontaneous: “Does that mean we can’t say ‘f*ck’ in front of the Queen?”

Two years later Hogg was there at Lord’s. Elizabeth shook her hand and moved on to the next player, and so on. While she was still within earshot, Hogg blurted that immortal pass: “Nice legs for an old Sheila!”

In an interview to WAToday.com.au in 2011, Hogg admitted that “Her Majesty is a ‘looker’… You’ve got to remember, she is a very attractive lady.”

9.  The Phillipe-Henri story

Everyone who knows him is aware of the fact that Phil Edmonds is not your everyday guy. When the Queen came out at Lord’s in 1986 to meet the English side and their Indian counterparts, Zambia-born Edmonds was overwhelmed — more so because of the red cape on her shoulders.

To quote Derek Pringle from The Telegraph, the above conversation followed:

Edmonds: If I may say so, Your Majesty, red is also my favourite colour.
Elizabeth II (confused or unimpressed or both): How very nice for you.

10.  Royal racism? Maybe.

This anecdote does not exactly involve Elizabeth, but her husband Prince Philip. During the 1991 Test against West Indies, the teams were lined up; Philip asked poor Devon Malcolm “Shouldn’t you be over there, playing for them?”

The Kingston-born speedster then had to explain that he was playing County Championship since 1984 and had qualified to play for England in 1987…

11.  Royal hold-up

The Queen was supposed to meet the cricketers before the Lord’s Test of Ashes 2013. Unfortunately, she turned up late, which also meant that — to the dismay of cricket-lovers across the world — the Test got underway 15 minutes late as well.

12.  A grounded saga

Like many a British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II has several cricket grounds named after her. The most prominent of these is, surprisingly, Queen Elizabeth II Oval at Bendigo. The ground hosted a Woman’s Test in 1984-85.

(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor of CricketCountry and CricLife. He tweets at @ovshake42.)

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