What’s cricket and what’s not: the secret sporting history of Tony Blair

I used to play for the same cricket club as Tony Blair, though not at the same time. It was called the Cricket Pistols, named after the punk rock band which is still indelibly associated in the public mind with the names Johnny Rotten and the late Sid Vicious. My own association with the Pistols was comparatively brief. They were affable, faintly druggie types, many of whom had attended Cambridge university, and in some cases completed their degrees. At least one had spent time in borstal. The Pistols were fairly down at heel then, but have since made good and tend to live in large houses in Notting Hill Gate.

Tony Blair used to turn out occasionally about 25 years ago, when he was establishing himself as a barrister but before he became an MP. I can’t remember exactly why he played for the side. Perhaps he had represented one of the Pistols in court. I have a memory, however, that Charles Howard, the captain, shared chambers with Cherie Booth and that may have been the connection. Howard told me that Tony Blair consistently bought his round of drinks in the pub after (and indeed before) the game, a thoroughly commendable trait that can by no means be relied upon among occasional members of itinerant cricket clubs. The future prime minister, added Howard, was an enthusiastic fielder who did not bowl and was a sketchy lower middle order bat.

The curious thing is that neither Tony Blair nor his media handlers have ever made anything of this fragmentary but nevertheless genuine connection with cricket. This is uncharacteristic. Their usual procedure is to make the most of the most meagre materials in order to construct any account of events which might induce a sense of connection with the electorate. For instance, Tony Blair once informed readers of Country Life that he was ‘brought up, really’ in the country.