Halls of Fame

In general, I suppose I don’t have too much against the idea of a cricket Hall of Fame though given that we’ve managed to get along fine without one for centuries there doesn’t seem any pressing need for one. But if you are going to have such a Hall, then for god’s sake include the right people. Via Patrick Kidd, I see that the ICC’s new venture has found room for an initial class of 55 inductees that, bewilderingly, fails to include Victor Trumper.

While it’s fine to ignore players who only retired in the last ten or so years the lack of recognition of chaps from the Golden Age (no Jessop, Fry or Ranji) to say nothing of the 19th century makes the whole enterprise look rather silly. The names on the list are all fine cricketers, but if you were to compile a list of the 55 greatest players you wouldn’t find room for Colin Cowdrey while ignoring Trumper would you?

Bonus witlessness: the ICC site is running a “poll” asking for the “Greatest Test Captain of All Time”.