I am writing this memory piece on 4 December 2019, having just learnt that the great fast bowler and latterly cricket pundit, Bob Willis, has died today.
I first met Bob Willis when I was but a boy, in 1977, at The Oval:
For those who cannot be bothered to click through, Graham and I really did meet Bob that day in 1977, down in the tube station, an hour or so after stumps, as we were all heading to different households in Streatham, in his case to visit friends on the test match rest day.
I doubt very much whether Bob recognised me 20 years later on our second encounter; on this occasion in the Albertine Wine Bar in Shepherd’s Bush.
Teresa Bestard was working with me on several projects with Broadcasting Support Services, who at that time were based in Shepherd’s Bush. I had arranged to meet Teresa and David Highton to go through stuff late afternoon/early evening and we agreed we’d have a drink after work together. Teresa chose Albertine because she wanted to celebrity spot.
The bar was not so crowded when we got there and Teresa was a little disappointed not to recognise any celebrities in the bar.
The only person I recognised, on the far side of the bar, was Bob Willis. He was with two other people; one turned out to be the cricket journalist Michael Henderson, the other a mustachioed Aussie, who looked like a superannuated version of Merv Hughes but who was in fact a wine producer.
I told Teresa that a former great England cricketer was in the bar, which was celebrity enough for me. It was celebrity enough for David Highton too, who is/was a keen follower of cricket and indeed was a decent player in his own right when he turned out for the charity matches.
Teresa let it be known that former cricketers did not meet her stringent criteria for celebrity.
David didn’t hang around for very long.
Teresa asked me a bit more about Bob Willis. In the absence of any celebrities who met her stringent criteria, she suddenly promoted Bob to the “worth asking about” level.
I told her a little and suggested that she approach Bob and chat with him.
Teresa was not at all keen on that idea…
…until she progressed to a second glass of wine…
…when she asked again about this cricket business and that cricketer and I suggested that she approach Bob Willis with a greeting along the lines of…
…aren’t you Bob Willis, the great fast bowler and former England cricket captain…
…and take it from there.
So imagine the scene. Teresa Bestard, a pint-sized young woman with a big smile and a heavy Catalan accent, wanders to the other side of the bar, looks up to the relative giant, Bob Willis, presumably saying the above short speech.
I couldn’t hear from my distance, but I did see the astonished expression on Bob Willis’s face and gales of laughter from the group.
Teresa was then chatting with them for a short while, before Michael Henderson came over to me.
You set that up, didn’t you?…
..said Henderson…
…that was really funny. Is she your girlfriend?
No, I said, Teresa’s a work colleague.
Well, anyway, she’s perfectly safe with those two.
Henderson and I chatted a while, which is how I found out, amongst other things, that “Merv Senior” was a wine producer.
Soon enough, Bob, “Merv Senior” and Teresa came over to our table – I think the Bob Willis party had been on the verge of leaving when Teresa intervened with them, so all three of them made to leave.
Is this your girlfriend?…
…Bob Willis asked me, pointing to Teresa.
Oh no, blushed Teresa, you should meet his girlfriend Janie, she’s lovely!
Bob Willis turned to me, saluted me and said…
…mon capitaine…
…before all three of Bob’s party left us, with warm farewells.
Bob Willis.
