Cricketing Autographs/Memorabilia Thread

[Collyisamackem]

I just looked at my signed 4/6 card from the Bangladesh test at Durham last year and thought I'd aks you guys about what memorabilia you have from cricket personalities and places. This can be autographs, any items or just any chance meetings with the players themselves. In the case of Andy, he can, for example, say he has interviewed Mark Davies of Durham by phone. You may list cricketing merchandise if it's funny.

Anyway, I haven't been to very many cricket games despite watching hundreds on the telly over the years, and all my memorabilia comes from the Bangladesh test at Durham. Starting with events unfolding no sooner after I had entered the ground, Michael Vaughan (taller than I thought!) walked past me after netting, but I didn't get a chance to speak to him. Anyway, that helped me locate the nets and I got the following autographs/comments as players were leaving:

- Andrew Strauss: Autograph, comment of "I dunno, maybe we'll bowl?" when someone asked him what we would do if we won the toss. Nice guy (all Durham UCCE boys are nice guys), stood and chatted with us for a little while, said "thanks for coming, guys".
- Marcus Trescothick: Autograph, quieter than Strauss but still grinned when I asked him to give the Aussies a pasting later in the summer! Very tall.
- Graham Thorpe (Hundredth test, and final test for England): Autograph from a not-so-happy looking Thorpey, who dropped my pen (typical England, always dropping things!) and said "Umm...sorry mate, I dropped your pen". He did say "Thanks a lot" when I congratulated him on his hundredth test.
- Gareth Batty: Quizzical looks when we went after his autograph, shuffled off looking embarrassed!

I also bought an England mug there, should have got a sunhat, and bought an Ashley Giles: King of Spain mug from Warks CCC online shop.

There you go, English left hand batsmen's autographs and comedy mugs, that's all I have.

[Andy Mellon]

I think I've explained before how Dominic Cork stole my pen lid when he was giving me an autograph. Along with the long forgotten Paul Aldred. Apart from having met Graham Gooch several times, I haven't really gone in for the autographs thing. I think I'm too old to start now, except if i ever do any face-to-face interviews, in which case the autograph would serve as a memento of having done the interview.

In terms of merchandise, I have a few Essex tops and a Beige Brigade top, but not much else. I haven't been to the County Ground for a while, otherwise I'd probably have invested in an Essex mug or something similar.

[Quagmire]

I have a giant framed Darren Berry Victorian shirt that is signed, we got it for free due to a cricket victoria meeting that my father was the only one to attend so they gave him that piece of memorabilia. I Also have a framed A4 picture of Jeff Thompson which we got Thomo to sign, and i have a ball with Thomo, Lenny Pascoe and Doug Walters signatures, when i asked Doug to sign it he looked at me funny because of the names that where on it already he asked me "why do you want my signature it will devalue it" and he laughed and "I said that he was a better bowler than both Thomo and Pascoe combined" and he just laughed at me. I also have a series of Donald Bradman photos that my grandfather got the Don to sign which are framed. We had a Adam Gilchrist signed bat and odi pad that he used that where both signed but we gave it away for a charity raffle.

[Teatime FatCat]

Sadly unrelated - but my only marginal claim to fame - My next door neighbours dad was a very fine rock drummer in the 70's & 80's, playing for (amongst others) - Tom Jones, Jimmy Page, Manfred Man, ACDC, Uriah Heep etc.

When he moved away, he left his son a picture of himself, with one arm around Tom Jones, and the other arm around Elvis, signed by both of them in Vegas in '76 - I bet it's worth a fortune!

[adamberry]

I can't remember why, but i've James Kirtley's autograph. He'd been bowling all morning without success and looked, well, a bit cheesed off with everyone asking for autographs.
That's about it.

[Spinner]

Not the most distinguised "catch", but I did manage to get Peter Willey's autograph in my club's fixture list while he was talking to some guy near our pavilion, after having umpired there that afternoon.

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

I've a microscopic scar on my leg where ian blackwell threw a dart at it

[Paoli]

Cricket Memorabilia...don't know if you can call it memorabilia as such, but I distinctly recall having the pants nearly belted off me by Darren Berry and Matt Elliott following a state one day game in early 2004.

As they were walking to their cars, me and my mates (who just so happened to be in the area) brandished them a disgrace after failing in a not so hard run chase. "Berry you fat bastard, how about you make some ****ing runs you deadbeat". "Elliott you ****ing reject, try holding on to a ****ing catch and learn how to run between wickets before you get back into the Aussie test team."

Little did I realise that Darren Berry had retired from One Dayer's and wasn't playing! Matt Elliott was though. Elliott replied to me, "How about you try get out there and make some runs you ********, before I smash your head in". Berry gave me the old "I wasn't even ****ing playing and I'd suggest you get the hell out of here before I smash your head in". That said- the performance was disgraceful and me and my mates had a close call.

Other than that I've met several Zimbabwean cricketers and was in close contact with Brendan Taylor until a few years ago, who I went to school with. Though he was a few years ahead of me.

[south beds mikey]

I played a couple of times against Clive LLoyd. Absolutely top man, he bowled a few overs and batted like a god. This was about 15 years ago; our quick bowler had terrorised the entire league all year and we had been used to seeing him rough up pretty much everyone. The first bouncer he bowled to Mr. Lloyd went into the crowd for 6.Our quickie then had the brilliant idea of bowling another. That went out of the ground. (quick bowlers are never that bright!) I bowled at him and he smashed a half volley straight to cover who took it one handed. It was a bump ball but my wife in the crowd went nuts amid everyone elses silence.(she was probably drunk by then). Clive asked if I knew her. I denied it of course!! He got about 150 out of their 200 total and gave the prizes out at the end. In the bar after there was not a hint of pretention from him. One of the great occasions you meet one of your heroes and aren't dissappointed. I can't speak highly enough of him.