Tym Glaser

SOMETIMES YOU end up in hog heaven without doing anything to deserve it.

Like, get a load of what happened to this stooge on Monday. Now, here I am in the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, waiting to be seated for the Stanford 20/20 presentation ceremony to hail the victorious Trinidad and Tobago side.

No problem, I'm cool, kicking back and looking dapper in my black suit when a pretty Trini usherette says I'm at table seven.

I casually meander over to said table only to find I am seated next to none other than Sir Garfield Sobers; yeah, that guy - the greatest all-round cricketer the game has ever seen.

All of a sudden, I turned even pinker than usual and reverted back to the age of 12. Hey, tired, old journalists are allowed to have heroes too; and Sir Garry just happens to be one of mine.

many knights

To cap off the surreal nature of the whole situation, just over my right shoulder was Sir Vivian Richards and at the table to my left was Sir Everton Weekes ... Camelot should see so many knights!

Anyway, Sir Garry, who turns 72 tomorrow, has done, seen and heard it all about cricket, but he was still willing to field this clown's inane questions about days gone by.

Like when he graced Adelaide Oval for my South Australian side (just around the time I was born), the fastest bowler he ever faced (Frank Tyson) and his battles against a young Dennis Lillee ("he got me and I got him") and so on.

I didn't ask him about the Tied Test, his world-record knock of 365 not out against Pakistan at 'Bina in 1958 or his six sixes in an over off Malcolm Nash while playing for Nottinghamshire, I figured that ground had been well covered by people a lot smarter than I.

the great man took lead

Like a none-too-nimble dancer, I just let the great man take the lead and talk about Australian characters he met while playing in the Lancashire League, his love of Barossa Valley wines and Sir Everton's world-class skill as a bridge player (he played with Omar Sharif, you know).

He also dropped a little nugget I didn't know - he's an Australian citizen and we all know what that means: he can't run for Parliament here.

Anyway, all good things must come to an end (that's Tym's Law) and Sir Garry had to amble off to the podium for the business side of the night.

The hair's grey now, his feline grace has been replaced by a pronounced limp and his once eagle-sharp eyes have a rheumy look about them, but as Sir Garry rose and bid me adieu, all I saw was the famous gap-toothed smile of a hero of mine.

Later.

Feedback: tym.glaser@gleanerjm.com