Player Profiles
Kevin Bishop (Webmaster)
Full Name: Kevin Edward Bishop
Nickname: Silver Fox, Shawry
Born: 16 April 1957, Norwich, England
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: It probably wouldn’t make a lot of difference which arm I used.
Location: Lamma Island
Occupation: Jack of all trades, but master of none. During my working life I have at various times been a sales manager, restaurant manager, taxi driver, English teacher, photographer, author, editor, swimming instructor... and now Lamma CC webmaster!
Interests (outside cricket): Keeping fit, yoga, cycling, cooking, reading, listening to music/radio, gardening, playing around on my computer, travelling, watching sport — especially rugby and cricket.
Previous Cricketing Experience:
At school. But I wasn't much good and didn’t make any team. In fact, my main sport was swimming and I spent most of my time doing that. However, I was an avid cricket fan from an early age and was glued to the telly whenever the Test matches were on. One of my primary school teachers, Miss Edrich, was the niece of the great English batsman, John Edrich. But I went off her a bit when she gave me a smack for making a cock-up in maths. And Henry Blofeld, that unmistakable voice of cricket on Test Match Special, is another Norfolk man. He was born and grew up, and still lives in fact, in a small country village a few miles from where I used to live.
Reason(s) for joining Lamma CC: Ian roped me in to make up the numbers in a social game a couple of years ago, and I haven’t looked back since. Or forward, for that matter.
Best and/or worst cricketing memories: Best: attending the First Test between New Zealand and England in Christchurch in March 2002. After England’s first innings in which Hussain made a century and no one else did much at all, Matthew Hoggard ran through the Kiwis with figures of 7 for 63. England piled on the runs in their second innings, which included Freddie Flintoff’s maiden Test century and a magnificent double century from Graham Thorpe — the third fastest in Test history at the time. When Hussain declared with a lead of 549 the game looked as good as over. What followed is the stuff of legend.
Late on the fourth afternoon New Zealand were on 333 and had just lost their ninth wicket. They still needed another 217 to win. Chris Cairns, batting down the order because of injury, came in to join Nathan Astle, who was on 134. Surely it was just a matter of time. But Astle had other ideas and began to demolish the English attack. I don’t think I will ever see a cricket ball hit as hard again. The ball disappeared to every corner of the ground, one six even landing a few seats away from me. That afternoon Astle scored the fastest Test double century ever, breaking the record that had been set by Adam Gilchrist in Jo’burg just three weeks earlier by 59 deliveries. His second hundred was bludgeoned off an astonishing 39 balls! The deficit had been reduced to 98 and the Barmy Army had been silenced — people began to think the impossible might really be possible — when Astle was caught behind off Hoggard for 222. Ironically it had been Astle who had dropped Thorpe at slip during England’s second innings when he was only on four.
An incredible Test match with runs and wickets a plenty, it was like watching four back-to-back one-day games. Who said Test cricket is boring? Another wonderful memory was following the England cricket team on their tour of India in December 2001 — a long-held ambition.
Favourite current international player: Matthew Hoggard — a quiet, unassuming, but dogged Yorkshireman who’ll never give up. “Hoggy runs through a brick wall for anyone” — Michael Vaughan.
To prove that I wasn’t dreaming — the final scoreboard, Christchurch, March 2002
First Test, India v England, Chandigar, December 2001. With my shaven head I was frequently mistaken for one of the England cricketers!
