Neil Harvey speaks, I fill in the blanks

Neil Harvey spoke to Nagraj Gollapudi, about love and lust for Cricinfo and Wisden.

I talk shit in italics.

I was seven years younger than anybody else in the 1948 Invincibles side. After each day's play I just sat in the corner, said nothing, and listened to all these experienced guys who had played a lot. That's how I learned to play the game.

I refuse to believe you were ever quiet.

The qualities of a great batsman? Dedication, footwork, picking the line and length quickly, being able to play back as well as forward.

I’ve always though a good hair do helps as well, thoughts?

I was born and bred in the industrial suburb of Fitzroy in Melbourne - very inner-city, unlike the trendy outlook of today.

I don’t know Neil, I could see you having a few glasses of strawberry Vodka’s at Bimbo Deluxe as Sly & the Family groove away in the back ground.

Most batsmen today are front-foot players. Bradman was a back-foot player.
He was also a prick, should more batsman become pricks?
Baseball was a great asset for my fielding. It is good for the reflexes to field at second base because you are always in the game. A lot of ground balls are hit at you and a lot of them come very quickly and you've got to anticipate. And when you get to throw from first base, you need to have an accurate throw.

Also they have cute uniforms.

The reason Shane Warne was so successful was because not many people attacked him.

Stupid me, I thought it was cause he bowled real good.

Lord's remains my favourite cricket ground.

I can’t believe a northern suburbs boy would pick Lords over the G, no wonder they let you go to NSWales.

The three things that haven't changed in the game are the length of the pitch, the stumps and the ball. Everything else has changed.

Another thing that hasn’t changed is the amount of old cricketers who say, cricket was better in my day.

(Kerry) Packer did change cricket. It was sad, the Packer affair. I was the chairman of selectors then and never thought it would work and said so in the press. The next thing I know, I get a knock on the front door with a couple of blokes standing there, 9 o'clock in the morning. "Mr Harvey, there's a writ for you: shut up or else." I never met Packer in my life, never spoke a word to him.

Didn’t seem to shut you up though.

People blamed me for Bradman not ending with an average of 100, because if he had hit that winning boundary at Leeds instead of me, he would have got that average of 100. I accept the blame.

I don’t blame you, I salute you. www.cricketwithballs.com

Now with new proper english lady blogger.