Posted by “When you go, your footprints will fill with grass. Moss shall cover your tombstone, and as the sun rises, green shall spread over all, in all its shades and hues. This verdigris will overtake your swords and your coins and your battlements and, try as you might, all you hold dear will succumb to it. Your skin, your bones. Your virtue.”
Basically, in the grand scheme of things, it’s hard for any of us to make a truly lasting impact – but to be fair to him, Fergus O’Neill did only play four games.
An apology then. A few days ago, we billed the Aussie seamer a long-term rental but he was in fact no such thing. He’s heading home already, 21 first-class wickets to his name and with his temporary employers Nottinghamshire top of the table. (Apparently he was only eligible for a short-term visa.)
O’Neill was actually a bit peripheral in his fourth and final match, the win over Sussex. Josh Tongue took five wickets in the first innings and Farhan Ahmed took four in the second, despite being even younger than his famously young brother, Rehan Ahmed (who is, admittedly, three years older than when we wrote that article. Watch out for moss and verdigris, Rehan!)
That said, 17’s quite the age these days, innit. He’s positively a veteran.
Surrey have moved up to second off the back of their first win of the season. Jordan Clark took eight wickets. It’s funny to see him now, a stalwart of the best team in the County Championship these last few years, when he was seemingly pigeonholed as a somewhat peripheral white ball specialist when he was at Lancashire.
These things happen. Players move and find opportunities elsewhere. Who was the last player who truly thrived at Lancashire though? Keaton Jennings has recovered from a career low since moving there, but it’s hard to think of anyone else. Saqib Mahmood’s tip-toeing a narrow path between injuries, but it feels like Liam Livingstone could have achieved more. Of the players who showed promise, Nottinghamshire’s captain has done well out of leaving the club, while Matt Parkinson is these days turning out for Kent’s Second XI.
All eyes on Rocky Flintoff’s battlements then.
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