Nelson's Column: Straight outta Compton

Monday, 26 September 2011

Straight outta Compton - Football v Cricket

Football and cricket have always been somewhat kindred spirits, despite the lack of similarities. They have dovetailed quite nicely, football in winter, cricket in summer (but perhaps these days not so much, with internationals and European qualifiers, it's fair to say that football is almost a year round event).

Some of the finest sportsmen in this country have played both to high levels, Arsenal legend Denis Compton would swap shinpads for Middlesex cricket pads in the summer, although one wonders how his Brylcreemed hair would deal with today's helmets. Ian Botham also turned out for Scunthorpe.

Compton was not just an all rounder in sport, but an all rounder in cricket, both a batsman and a bowler. So much for dead-ball specialist, the man was a master of all trades. Perhaps more the cricketer, but still, an equivalent of Alastair Cook being on the fringes of the Arsenal team.

But imagine if such things were common today? Football these days is such a lucrative field, that you can't imagine many sports club allowing their stars to turn out in a sport where a hard ball is bounced at the head at 90mph. But what if?

Wayne Rooney coming out to bat at the Old Trafford of Lancashire CCC, not Manchester United... David Seaman behind the stumps at Lords? Or John Terry berating the umpire for a no ball rather than the award of a throw in. Three Lions indeed.

Perhaps it's pining for the days when our heroes were so versatile, and we couldn't wait to see them. Maybe we should see some sort of alternative competition, with England's footballers lining up against their Australian counterparts in a number of games, football, cricket and rugby, it may be close!

Or we could just have a quick choice between these ads, and wonder if a Mad Men poster would beat the recent Brylcreem boy, the somewhat less classy Kevin Pietersen...