What a shock to hear of Graham Dilley’s untimely death at 52.
A fine bowler but always remembered for his batting exploits at “the other end” during the Botham Test of 1981.
I was watching Hampshire the day the drama at Headingley unfolded. Long before the days of mobiles and mini TV-screens, spectators had to make do with transistor radios.
The further England’s ninth-wicket stand went on, the louder the volume became. Our own match became incidental; even the players were more concerned with the goings-on in Leeds.
By the time the partnership had topped three figures, John Arlott’s dulcet burr was booming across the County Ground like a PA system.
That historic victory was rightly attributed to the sensational performance of Ian Botham. But let’s not forget that you need two batsmen at the crease. Without Dilley’s dogged resistance, Botham could never have launched his pyrotechnics.
Dilley’s 56 played just as big a part in bringing the Australians to their knees, launching the Botham legend and ultimately turning the tide of the Ashes.
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