This Is Your Life: Tony Greig

Tony GREIG (1946-2012)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE – Tony Greig, cricketer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews as he arrived at Victoria Train Station in London.

Tony, who was born in South Africa, was a keen sports player as a youth and played junior cricket while studying at Queens College in Queenstown. His skills were spotted by Sussex County Cricket Club Coach Mike Buss, and following a trial, he joined the club in 1966.

After four seasons as an all-rounder, he made his international debut for England in 1970. In 1973, he became captain of Sussex CCC and, two years later, captain of England. He achieved his first winning series on a tour of India in 1977.

"You're joking! I knew there was something wrong there!"

programme details...

Edition No: 463
Subject No: 460
Broadcast live: Wed 30 Mar 1977
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Venue: Euston Road Studios
Series: 17
Edition: 23
Code name: Reg

on the guest list...

members of the England Cricket team
members of the Sussex County Cricket team
Donna - wife
Sandy - father
Joyce - mother
Teki Manzi
Sally - sister
Phil Hodson – brother-in-law
Ian - brother
Colin Cowdrey
Mike Buss
Ken - uncle
Johnny Smith
Helen Hume
Tom McCade
Janet Hildedge
George Carlaw - uncle
Isabel Carlaw - aunt
Garfield Sobers
John Conteh
Ken Barrington
Alan Knott
Audrey Walden-Smith
Samantha - daughter
Marky - son
Molly - sister
Dennis Lillee

production team...

Researcher: Debbie Gaunt
Writer: John Sandilands
Directors: Terry Yarwood, Anthony Parker
Producer: Jack Crawshaw

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Life Before Wicket

bowling up the cricketers

John Conteh

Garfield Sobers

Screenshots of Tony Greig This Is Your Life

Tony Greig recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in his autobiography, My Story...

One very serious comment from Derek Underwood, as he finally signed the contract which made him a World Series player, summed up the whole thing for me. 'Be it on your own head,' he said.

I have no regrets, none whatsoever, about my part in WSC. I went into it with my eyes wide open, and tried to ensure that others did the same. Despite that fact, there were many hours of pain, many hours of soul-searching worry and uneasiness.

The uneasiness began soon after my return from the Centenary Test. Flushed with the excitement of the tour, and now the quite bewildering new thrills offered by Packer, I was keen to have a long discussion with my father. The opportunity was granted in the most unexpected manner, as I found myself guest of honour of the television programme This Is Your Life.

Everyone was there - my parents, Tackies, our African gardener, my kindergarten teacher, all the England team - and I had known nothing whatever about it. It was a moving honour, but, as the accolades flowed through the half-hour show, I kept thinking to myself: 'Oh dear, if only they knew what was to come.' It was a rather sickening feeling, but one I could do absolutely nothing about.

Andrew Murtagh recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, If Not Me, Who?: The Story of Tony Greig, the Reluctant Rebel...

The point is that Tony grew up with Africans in close proximity. If not exactly speaking their language, he knew and understood them and made sure he remained on the friendliest of terms. In any case, he was a youngster and the maids were adults and he was brought up to respect their position and authority. Tackies became a sort of mate. There is a lovely story of his being flown to England to appear on This Is Your Life when Tony was the guest. The surprise and pleasure on Tony's face when Tackies strode on stage was genuine and touching.

The look on Tackies' face when Tony showed him the sights of London was equally memorable. The fact that the show, aired in March 1977, was excruciatingly embarrassing for England's captain who was at the time engaged in secret recruiting for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket will concern us in a later chapter but here it goes to show that Tony Greig never forgot where he came from. Old friends were greeted as enthusiastically when he became famous as they were when he was a lad. Tackies was no different.

Janus was the Roman god of beginnings, gates, doorways, passages and endings. He was traditionally depicted as having two faces in one head, since he looked to the future and back to the past, hence the month January. There can have been no more apt metaphor for the Centenary Test, looking back as it did over one hundred years of cricket and forward to the revolution that was about to convulse the game.

While most of the MCC team returned to England immediately after the match, Tony remained in Australia, intending to spend a few days in Sydney, to look up friends and to explore a business opportunity that had presented itself. More of that anon. He made a return to these shores at the end of March to prepare for the 1977 season and was immediately surprised outside Victoria Station by Eamonn Andrews brandishing his famous red book. 'Tony Greig', he intoned in front of the TV camera, 'This is your life.'

The stupefaction of any guest so confronted can only be imagined. For Tony, much as he loved the limelight, the honour could not have come at a worse moment. For he was harbouring a secret, one that he was sworn to keep, even from family and close friends, one that he knew would tarnish the eulogies that assuredly lay in that red book, one that would rip to shreds his gilded reputation in the eyes of the adoring cricket public and one that would more than likely tear asunder the game he had come to represent in this country. How he managed to maintain his sang-froid as family, friends, colleagues and cricketers from far and wide paid homage to him that night was a marvel as he smiled, shook hands and shared reminiscences in front of a television audience numbering millions. Ever the showman, he knew that the show must go on. It was an effort of will and concentration to match his innings in Calcutta. Nobody knew. Nobody suspected.

Series 17 subjects