Norman Gordon will be 102 years of age on Tuesday.
by BIPIN DANI
The former South African fast bowler is the only living player to have played Test cricket before World War II and participated in the famous Timeless Test (South Africa versus England at Durban in 1939), which lasted 10 days and was eventually declared a draw as agreed by both the teams because the English team had to leave by sea on the final day.
It proved to be Gordon’s final Test match as he had broken into the South African side and was too old by the time the war ended. He bolwed 92.2 eight-ball overs (taking 1-256), and the scheduled tour of England in 1940 would have found conditions more to his liking but the war intervened.
“There can’t be celebrations when he is not well enough - he is not keeping good health,” said his 70-year-old son Brian from Johannesburg. “There are plenty medical problems at this old age,”
If he lives two more years until 17 July 2015 he would becomes the oldest ever first-class cricketer, passing England’s Jim Hutchinson’s who died at the age of 103 years 344 days.
“He won’t survive that long”, the son added. And when asked whether he would be going to the Stadium to feel the match-atmosphere when Team India visits South Africa later this year, the son says, “definitely not. He can’t see anymore. Hardly can hear”.
After his retirement Norman Gordon ran a sports shop, but that is no longer in operation.
Bipin Dani is a Civil Engineer by profession. He is also a senior cricket journalist of India having toured UAE, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Malaysia etc. Contributing for various newspapers in Asia’s four Test playing nations. Contact : geetabipin@hotmail.com
Bipin Dani
He has toured UAE, Sri Lanka, Morocco and Malaysia, to name a few, and contributes to a large number of newspapers in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
His twitter bio reads: Eat cricket stories, drink cricket stories, sleep cricket stories.
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