KNOTT A BAD CRICKETER!

The eccentricities of the man who is generally regarded as England's greatest wicketkeeper.

Alan Knott, England’s finest-ever wicketkeeper-batsman, is 79 today. There may be some dispute about that ‘finest-ever’ tag as some will argue that either Bob Taylor or Jack Russell (a Knott disciple) were better keepers. Undoubtedly both were inferior batsman. And in terms of statistics, Knott has the most Test match dismissals of any England keeper – 269, 13 more than Matt Prior, and eighth on the world all-time list. “Not bad!” would have been his modest estimation of himself. It was his highest form of praise.

Knott was an early hero of mine hence the picture above (and the one of Knotty’s great sidekick Derek Underwood) which were taken by a professional photographer who had been working on my actor father’s Kellogg’s Cornflakes advertising shoot in Kent. Knowing we loved cricket he gave them to us as a present. Knott caught or stumped 198 of Underwood’s 297 Test victims. Lord knows how many for Kent. Close to 1000 (Underwood took 2465 first class wickets.)

Stemming from the gift of those two pictures I was a Kent fan as a kid. I became completely rivetted by the skills and panache of that team, featuring the lively opening pair of Brian Luckhurst and Graham Johnson, the great Colin Cowdrey at three, Mike Denness at four and the dashing Asif Iqbal (that rare species a Pakistani player actually born in India) at five. Then came the likes of Alan Ealham, Knott, the West Indians Bernard Julien and John Shepherd, with ‘Deadly’ Derek bringing up the rear. They were brilliant entertainers who left a lasting legacy.

Lawrence Rowe st Knott by Underwood, 1976

And just as Knott was the finest keeper-batter in England, he was also the maddest. I was already familiar with his strange mannerisms like superstitiously touching the bails at the beginning of every over when he was batting, or his manic exercises between balls when keeping, or his weighing down his floppy hat with pieces of sticking plaster so it didn’t blow off. I’d heard about his eccentricities of placing a brick near the accelerator pedal of his car to rest his foot on so he didn’t strain his achilles.

I didn’t expect to actually participate in one of the more unusual training drills one damp morning in Canterbury. Play between Kent and my Middlesex team was suspended and the dressing rooms at the ground were cramped especially for the hyperactive type like Knotty. At one point he stuck his head into our room and enquired if anyone would be willing to act as his ball feeder. I was equally restless (and rubbish at cards) so volunteered.

To my surprise and initial concern he led me into the showers brandishing a ball and one keeping glove. I was suddenly worried that this was some strange initiation, although we were at least fully clothed. “Right matey,” he said (he called everyone ‘matey,’ as did most of the Kent team.) “I’ll go into the shower cubicle and you underarm me catches.” He proceeded to stand out of sight behind the shower curtain. I am not making this up.

I had to call out “now” as I was about to let go of the ball (a bit like when someone shouts “pull” at a clay pigeon shoot) and he would stick out an arm and catch it one handed. After catching ten with his right hand, he directed me to the other side of the shower area so he could do the same with his left. This went on for about 15 minutes until I under-armed one a bit too high and it dented the ceiling. “Not bad matey!!” he said, afterwards enthusiastically. “Not bad!”

Knott watches on as Mike Brearley takes a brilliant catch off Underwood in the 1978 Ashes

It was a bizarre illustration of his dedication, and that applied to his batting too. I once saw him practising in the nets against spinners. He was trying to sweep every ball – hard sweeps, soft sweeps, paddle sweeps, slog sweeps. In the match on a late-summer spinning pitch he did the same, even when we had three men posted for the shot. Don’t I know it, I was fielding at short-leg. I spent most of the time ducking.

Against the high-class Middlesex and England spin pair of John Emburey and Phil Edmonds (who took five wickets apiece) Knott made an undefeated 85, enabling the last three Kent wickets to add 140. When asked recently who is or was the best sweeper in the game, Graham Gooch answered without hesitation “Knotty. He taught me to get low and get my front foot in different positions for the various types of sweeps. He was a genius.”

He now lives in Cyprus, and gave a touching interview to Ivo Tennant in the Times before Christmas. He looks great for his age. He probably still practises his catching in the showers.

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