A bouncer from Jeff Thomson on my (non-helmeted) head in the 1970s would not have knocked me down as painfully as a phone call from The Roar’s Bayman yesterday morning.
It was then I was given me the tragic news of Peter Roebuck, my favourite cricket writer and a friend.
I have three heroes among authors; PG Wodehouse the English humorist, Ray Robinson the Australian cricket writer and Peter Roebuck.
Peter and I exchanged many pleasantries and banters when we met at the Sydney Cricket Ground press box. He would only smile when I would mention that he was my numero-uno cricket writer now alive, as Wodehouse and Robinson are in a better world.
Now all my top three authors are gone but their classics are for all to savour for years to come.
Early this morning I was contemplating writing a post for The Roar stressing that Australian selectors should not panic as the Aussie batsmen did at Cape Town on Thursday on the dark day of Australian cricket.
But soon after I read Peter’s erudite and incisive column in The Sun-Herald saying the same thing and I dropped the idea. Soon after I received Bayman’s phone call on Peter’s passing.
The last paragraph of Peter’s final article in The Sun-Herald appears eerie in view of the tragedy that happened a few hours later in the Southern Sun Hotel Newlands in Cape Town. To quote the last para of his story, “Mind you, a lot can happen in a week. It just did.”
Yes, in retrospect it just did.
Enough has been written on Peter Roebuck, the Somerset batsman who hit 33 centuries and 93 fifties besides taking 72 wickets and 162 catches in his first-class career spanning from 1974 to 1991, the classy writer of many analytical columns and books and an enigmatic person.
Spiro Zavos paid him a glowing tribute in The Roar yesterday. What more can I add as Peter’s sudden death is being investigated.
Rather I would like to share with you some of the humorous and personal encounters we shared in the SCG Press Box and elsewhere.
He teased me about my love of eating samosas during tea breaks in a Test.
In the foreword to my book ‘Heroes of 100 Tests‘, he wrote, “Kersi never forgets that cricket is a story about the humanity of the players, their mighty achievements and their numerous flaws. He tells their stories with kindliness and sensitivity which he forgets only when news breaks in the Sydney press box that the samosas are on the way!”
When I sent him a picture of him holding a plate full of samosas, he e-mailed me back saying, “Kersi, you are a naughty genius/mad man! Peter”.
We had that sort of relation, joking and counter-joking.
What a pity that I lost two friends who were radiant cricket writers within nine months; Vinay Verma in March and Peter Roebuck yesterday. By an eerie coincidence, Peter was born on 6 March and Vinay died on 6 March!
Here are my two favourite quotes from the word artist Peter Roebuck in The Sydney Morning Herald:
“[Steve] Waugh’s first hundred drained the life from his opponents. His second buried them. Mark Waugh is a rose to his brother’s thorn” — after an injured Steve Waugh’s gallant centuries in both innings in the 1997 Manchester Ashes Test.
And now to the best of Peter Roebuck:
“In [Wasim] Akram’s hands a ball does not so much talk as sing. With a flick of the wrist and an arm that flashes past his ears like a thought through a child’s brain he pushes the ball across the batsmen and makes it dip back wickedly late.
“Akram’s career has been not so much a career as a merry-go-round … A compelling figure, he has the grin of a playboy, the face of a gangster and the powers of a cricketing genius.”
Peter Roebuck was himself a compelling figure – forceful and balanced. He spiced his columns and commentaries with humorous metaphors. The press boxes around the cricketing world will not be the same. I’ll miss you, Peter.
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November 14th 2011 @ 8:16am
Rabbitz said | November 14th 2011 @ 8:16am | Report comment
Thank you Kersi.
November 14th 2011 @ 8:44am
Brett McKay said | November 14th 2011 @ 8:44am | Report comment
Brilliant Kersi, thank you..
My one and only conversation with Peter Roebuck lasted not thirty seconds, in Perth last year on my way out of the press box, where after overhearing him I mentioned to him that I was surprised that he of all people, of all writers, would worry about such trivialities as to whether he should cut a paragraph off after the fifth or sixth sentence. He merely said, “I’ve never been able to work it out.”
And yet, you’d never know it from his writing..
November 14th 2011 @ 8:52am
AdamS said | November 14th 2011 @ 8:52am | Report comment
I’m going to quitely suggest that some of this unbrideled admiration be tempered for the next few days.
November 14th 2011 @ 9:09am
Football Fan said | November 14th 2011 @ 9:09am | Report comment
I’m going to quietly agree with AdamS.
November 14th 2011 @ 9:58am
Brett McKay said | November 14th 2011 @ 9:58am | Report comment
Adam, I fail to see why any details of Roebuck’s life or even death should temper any admiration being expressed. However he lived or died, the fact remains he was an outstanding writing and broadcaster, and surely that’s the way he should be remembered, isn’t it?
November 14th 2011 @ 10:31am
ilikedahoodoogurusingha said | November 14th 2011 @ 10:31am | Report comment
Well said Brett
November 14th 2011 @ 10:34am
stabpass said | November 14th 2011 @ 10:34am | Report comment
Sorry Brett, i disagree, whilst he was nice to listen to, and read, its the sum of everything that makes a great person.
November 14th 2011 @ 10:40am
Brett McKay said | November 14th 2011 @ 10:40am | Report comment
Stabby, if knew him as anything other than a writer and broadcaster, I might be inclined to agree. But I (and most others, I suspect) don’t know him as anything other than a writer and broadcaster, and that’s what he’ll always be to me. That’s all I mean..
November 14th 2011 @ 10:47am
Punter said | November 14th 2011 @ 10:47am | Report comment
I can see it both ways, while some will only judge him as a writer & Broadcaster, there will be others who see him as what may or may not transpired that caused his death.
Some see Tiger Woods as purley the golfer (as shown by the crowds over the last few days) while others see him as a golfer with flaws as a human being, though those only knew him as a golfer.
But back to Peter Roebuck, I always enjoyed (though not always agreed) with his articles. He certainly had a gift in his writing to entertain that only a few do.
November 14th 2011 @ 10:51am
stabpass said | November 14th 2011 @ 10:51am | Report comment
Fair enough, i agree to an extent, but i think you will find that the general populace will not distinguish between the two, and that means that you can stand by the jokes flying around on mobiles very shortly, it’s pretty sad.
November 14th 2011 @ 10:54am
Brett McKay said | November 14th 2011 @ 10:54am | Report comment
I have no doubt that will occur, but it won’t change how I remember him..
November 16th 2011 @ 6:44am
Osama bin Lockie said | November 16th 2011 @ 6:44am | Report comment
Ohh that we should be so perfect Stabpass. No doubt you are a completely moral person.
November 14th 2011 @ 11:11am
AdamS said | November 14th 2011 @ 11:11am | Report comment
The details could very conceivably range from unfortunate, misunderstood or sad to something more extreme.
A bit of circumspection may be in order until they are know, I’m just saying (quietly).
November 14th 2011 @ 4:05pm
Mango Jack said | November 14th 2011 @ 4:05pm | Report comment
Like all of us, I’m sure he had his flaws, some of which may be highlighted over the coming weeks. Whilst they may inform us of his general character, none will detract from the his genius as a cricket writer and commentator.
November 14th 2011 @ 4:58pm
AdamS said | November 14th 2011 @ 4:58pm | Report comment
Genius? Let’s get some perspective here. He wasn’t Oscar Wilde.
Oh, hang on..
November 15th 2011 @ 12:46pm
Mango Jack said | November 15th 2011 @ 12:46pm | Report comment
OK, will “greatness” satisfy?
November 14th 2011 @ 6:47pm
dasilva said | November 14th 2011 @ 6:47pm | Report comment
Yeah I agree
I hate it when people are talking about the merits of a player/ muscian/ writer etc then someone just brings up some sordid detail of personal life to undermine the artist
As far as i care, when it’s come to judging the work of a writer/musician etc. Then I’m judging their work not the person. Even if it turns out the person commits genocide wouldn’t change my opinion on their work
When it comes to judging the person, I don’t believe in doing that, well at least not unless you actually know the person in real life
November 14th 2011 @ 9:09am
sheek said | November 14th 2011 @ 9:09am | Report comment
Yes Kersi,
A wonderful tribute to Peter Roebuck. A nice, human touch that he would have liked.
November 14th 2011 @ 9:10am
mds1970 said | November 14th 2011 @ 9:10am | Report comment
Great article Kersi. What is important is not so much to mourn his death but to celebrate his life.
I never met Peter Roebuck. I didn’t know him. But I’ll remember him for his cricket broadcasts on the radio and his columns in the newspaper. He had a great knowledge of the game, and communicated well his thoughts on cricket and the link between sport and society.
November 14th 2011 @ 4:04pm
smithha said | November 14th 2011 @ 4:04pm | Report comment
Agreed. A moving testament Kersi. I will personally remember Roebuck for his excellent work on ABC radio. There will undoubtedly be the feeling of something missing throughout the broadcasting this Summer
November 14th 2011 @ 10:06am
Kersi Meher-Homji said | November 14th 2011 @ 10:06am | Report comment
We tend to be so judgemental. An author should be judged on his literary output and Peter Roebuck was an outstanding writer. He was an inspiration to me with his balanced writings and always helpful to me.
He did a lot of charity work for the unprivileged ones through the LBW Trust.
In 2009 I had requested him to write a few words on his favourite match for our cricket society magazine “Hill Chatter” and he responded without expecting any money. Here is his piece very few have read:
“My favourite match occurred recently [in 2009]. Always I have been a multi-racialist. As a boy I thought the important thing was to become famous, get on the Michael Parkinson Show and rid the world of apartheid! In my youthful mind things seemed to flow in that order.
Of course I remembered many matches and admired many cricketers, including Ken Barrington for his impersonation of a rock and Garry Sobers for his sportsmanship and brilliance. As the years pass I continue to appreciate many wonderful players, none more than Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar, and to reflect happily upon the great Test series I have been privileged to cover, not least the epics in West Indies (1990′s), India (2001) and England (2005).
Meanwhile the world changed and the Berlin Wall fell and Mr Mandela was released and suddenly was not a terrorist but an idealist. And so my favourite match took place this very summer of 2008/9. It’s a close run I think between AB De Villiers and JP Duminy hugging at the end of their epic partnership in Perth, Hashim Amla and his English captain embracing after the extraordinary win in Melbourne, and Smith and Makhaya Ntini laughing together after their heroics in Sydney.
But it was a great series and a wonderful win for a spirited, united and mixed South African team.
In the end I’ll plumb for the match they lost and yet in so many ways won, the 2009 SCG Test, a glorious spectacle from first to last and a contest that showed all concerned in the best possible light. It’s easily forgotten that the Australians did not deliver one single bumper to the incapacitated visiting captain.
Peter R”
November 14th 2011 @ 10:36am
Chris said | November 14th 2011 @ 10:36am | Report comment
I’d say he was an artist, not a mere writer. TO my eyes he never needed a byline – his style was enough to identify him.
Sadly missed already, and I hope he has found some peace at last.
November 14th 2011 @ 11:06am
jameswm said | November 14th 2011 @ 11:06am | Report comment
I knew Roebuck very well, but many years ago.
He coached me in the U10s for a season when he was only about 23, and then in the school 1sts for 3 years, including the last as captain.
He taught me a lot about cricket, but he could have taught me a lot more. Unfortunately my final year with him (as captain, when I should have had more contact) coincided with the tumultuous time of dropping Viv and Joel from Somerset.
I still remember a lot of what he taught me and he certainly shaped my understanding of cricket. The only person who has taught me more about cricket than him was me, from experience.
I loved his metaphors, even if they were occasionally a bit forced. My favourite, when Watson and Kat kept getting out in the 90s a couple of summers back, was something like “The Aussie batsmen look as likely to survive the 90s as the Spice Girls”. He had a lot as amusing yet descriptive as that.
He was a very clever man, Master of Law at Cambridge I think, but very complex and not easy to like.
Whatever his actions, he contributed a lot to cricket and to the underprivileged.
November 14th 2011 @ 1:32pm
Will said | November 14th 2011 @ 1:32pm | Report comment
The circumstances around his death are extremely sad.
I’m not comfortable elevating his work to the heights some are putting forward.
November 14th 2011 @ 1:55pm
Jason said | November 14th 2011 @ 1:55pm | Report comment
Kersi
I am sorry for the loss of your friend and colleague. You may recall that Peter was a guest at an LBW Trust/ Seriously Cricket Chronicles dinner that Vinay organised early in 2010 at Nilgiri’s in St Leonards (which you were at as well!). I did spend quite a bit of time talking to Peter that night and while he initially was very guarded, he did open up when we got to the subject of education and Zimbabwe in particular. I even got him talking about Viv Richards a little.
It was an excellent night all round and he was undoubtedly a very interesting man.
November 14th 2011 @ 4:20pm
Kersi Meher-Homji said | November 14th 2011 @ 4:20pm | Report comment
Yes Jason, I remember that day at Nilgiri’s Restaurant in Sydney.
Roebuck was known as a loner but he always had time for me and anyone who approached him.
What a sad day for cricket literature!