A very familiar voice of cricket has now chosen the eternal silence. Famous analyst and former captain of English cricket team, Tony Greig died after a brief illness. He was diagnosed with lung cancer two months ago that proved to be lethal and he passed away in St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney at the age of 66.
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Tony Greig played a pivotal role in modernising cricket (Photo: Getty Images)[/caption]Greig first felt the pain in his lungs during the one-day series between Australia and Pakistan held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in August-September this year.
He kept on commentating in the series and later in the World Twenty20 while undergoing several checkups that revealed he was suffering from lung cancer. In this way, a great man and a great player fell prey to the lethal disease in a matter of just two months.
The 6-foot-6-inch tall player started his career from England in 1972 and played 58 Tests, making a total of 3599 runs including eight centuries and 20 half-centuries. As a bowler, he had 141 wickets under his belt.
Besides this short career, the biggest reason for his fame was his exceptional commentary. The appropriate and timely use of words, fluent talking and more than that, the best and accurate analysis of the circumstances were the qualities he was best known for. The importance of his cricket analyses can be understood by the fact that this year he had also given the ‘MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture’.
The first Test of the ongoing series between Australia and Sri Lanka in The Gabba, Perth was the first time in 33 years in which Greig was not a part of Channel 9 commentary team. He was confident of taking part in Sydney Test on January 3, but Death took him away before that.
The pair of Greig and Bill Lawry was famous around the world for the Test commentary every year in Australia in this season. Cricket fans will also remember forever the commentary given in the historic ODIs of Sharjah and in various international tournaments.
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Cricket fans will forever remember Greig’s commentary given in the historic ODIs of Sharjah and in various international tournaments (Photo: AP)[/caption]One-day cricket has gone through many changes in the past four decades, and Greig also did his share.
He was an essential figure in Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket, and so played a major role in the revolutionary changes like coloured clothing, white ball, day-night cricket, etc.
Cricketers and personalities related to the game from around the world mourned his death. In a special message, International Cricket Council’s Chief Executive Officer David Richardson admired Greig’s services to cricket and mentioned his efforts for revolutionising the game in the ‘70s.
He was also the captain of England during 1975-76 but he didn’t prove successful in this regard. In fact, the 3-0 defeat of England in their home ground against West Indies remained a regrettable moment for Greig as he had vowed to “crush West Indies” before the series.
Enjoy one of the most interesting and memorable moments of the legend’s commentary in the video given below. I hope you wouldn’t help smiling. So watch it and bid adieu to the great analyst with the same smiling face.
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