Cricket World loses A Star !

Tony Greig ! a name that was constantly reverberated in the world of cricket has come to an end. It is true that he will forever remain a constant reminder of excellence in cricket but his voice that we all became accustomed to during the years in the commentary box all around the world has come to an end.

Yes it is so sad that Tony Grieg has passed away at a considerably a young age of 66.

Born in South Africa to a Scottish parents he full filled his cricketing dreams in England. I came to England from Sri Lanka in 1975 . Since the time I have arrived in England to this date the name Tony Grieg has been associated with cricket in one form or the other. I have watched him playing for Sussex county with great admiration and saw him captaining England.

His flamboyant England career started with the infamous tour of West Indies in 1974 , and his controversial stumping of then hero Alvin Kallicharan under a extraordinary circumstances sparked a near enough riots at the Caribbean test grounds.

But in the same tour his talent with bat and ball excelled and he returned home with a high reputation as the best alrounder in the world.

The following year in 1975 when every English player was struggling against the mighty pace bowling of the Australian duo Thompson and Lillie Tony Grieg stood as a lone resilient figure gaining high reputation among the fans and the Australian players.

He prt took in the very best limited over world cup in 1975 during which England lost against Australia in the semifinals. The Ashes tour of 1975 demolished England and then Captain of the England team , Mike Dennis was replaced by young Tony Grieg.

A tall 6ft 6in cricketer set a batting average of 40.43 and a bowling average of 32.20 again embarked into controversy by getting himself involved in World Series Cricket which was organised by then so called cricket pirate Kerry Packer.

He then entered in the world of commentary and has been a constant voice in commentary boxes all around the world for the past 33 years. It is a treat to listen to him who brings the played match in front of our eyes by his brilliant commentary who most of the times partnered by the famous Geoffrey Boycott.

I am writing this with a heavy heart with the thought that I would never be able to listen to his experienced voice in the commentary boxes of the world.

It is a sad fact that few months ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer. But having had surgery to remedy that most of the ardent cricketing fans were hoping that he would overcome his illness with chemotherapy. But unfortunately in an unexpected twist he was succumbed to heart attack and left this world for good.

Let us all join his family and friends in preying for his soul to rest in peace.

Sakthi Sakthithasan