Forty Years On is the famous anthem of a famous English public school, Harrow. And the last 40 years have seen such radical changes in sport. Not least in cricket in which India has strongly maintained its challenge at the top level. But I have in my mind a vivid image of a player I worshipped both in the cricket and the football field — Denis Compton. In these days of heavy helmets shielding batsmen from harm, it is extraordinary to look back on an era when helmets were quite unknown.
I still have in my mind a vivid image of Denis dancing bare-headed down the wicket to attack the bowling. That same head scored many a fine goal for Arsenal and during World War II for England. The great irony being that none of his 11 appearances on the England left wing could count as a full cap, while big brother Leslie, the tall centre-half for Arsenal, won two caps at 38 in less than a week, as a defender, much to the ire of the then England manager Walter Winterbottom, who absurdly was not allowed to pick his teams.
How remote seem those days when professional and amateur players actually came out to bat through different gates. In which the grand panjandrum of cricket Lord Hawke declared that he never wanted to see a professional captain England. And for well after World War II, the English season begin with a match at Lord’s between Gentlemen and Players. In due course, Len Hutton, the player who scored an amazing 364 for England against Australia at the Oval, would become the first professional to skipper England. Now, of course, there is no such distinction between so-called gentlemen and so-called players. Professionals all.
Not only male but also female tennis players have capitalised on their abilities. Wimbledon, where for long years professionalism was regarded with scorn, has now agreed to pay its women competitors as much as the men, although they play best out of three and thus fewer sets per match. You might say that the past 40 years has seen the death of the amateur in sports all over the world.
The so-called shamateur, once so prevalent, has now no need to exist.
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