Always keen to buff up its romantic aura, Lord’s this summer inaugurated a ‘tradition’ by nominating a different cricketing notable to toll the umpires’ bell before each day’s play.
Always keen to buff up its romantic aura, Lord’s this summer inaugurated a ‘tradition’ by nominating a different cricketing notable to toll the umpires’ bell before each day’s play. At last week’s Test an old friend did the honours, fittingly because ace snapper Patrick Eagar was covering his 300th Test, an astonishing mark: OK, commentator Richie Benaud has covered (or played in) more than 500 Tests, and Times eminence Johnny Woodcock over 400, but for a freelance photographer paying his own way, lugging cumbrous clobber across continents, and intensely concentrating on every single ball bowled of all five days of 300 Test matches is a far more taxing order of diligence and professional sedulity.
Not that Patrick actually snaps every ball delivered. ‘You concentrate as fiercely, say, as first slip,’ he says. ‘If the batsman plays and misses, there is an instant split-second alert, like a sniper’s initial pressure on a rifle trigger. First clue to “fire” can be flying bails in the sunlight — and the shutter is released in an instinctive blink, too, for a catch behind the wicket or in the slips. Usual tendency is to shoot too soon, rather in the way an inexperienced fieldsman will snatch at a catch. Like the coaches say, “Let the ball come to you.” Same for the photographer — let the action happen.’
When the ever courteous and good-humoured perfectionist–artist tolled the bell on the umpires’ balcony last week, I looked to see if the now greying 63-year-old had glanced for a moment across and high above him to the top tier of the Warner stand.
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