 "South Africa’s Barry Richards holds up the bat he used to play with in the 1970s next to the one used by Australia’s David Warner currently")
Apart from being multi-faceted, Denis Compton was also notoriously forgetful. A perennially distracted Compton had an infamous reputation for running his partners out. But his absent-mindedness is best encapsulated in a story that goes back to 1955. With England slated to play South Africa at Old Trafford, Compton arrived at the ground without his kit bag. Unflustered, he entered the stadium museum and pulled off a bat from one of the shelves.
Such was Compton’s incalculable genius that he managed to score 158 and 71 even with an antique bat. Despite his efforts, England lost the game by three wickets.
Compton was
