Bond's shot, and dream protagonists

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What's the best thing about weekend amateur cricket?
Pulling into the cool of a stone-flagged country pub at noon on a hot day, knowing you have plenty of time before the game starts.

Who would you want at the other end if you were ten runs away from your first Test hundred?
Sachin Tendulkar or Ken Barrington. Someone who liked to stay there. But not Boycott, because he would run me out.

What would James Bond's favourite cricket shot be?
Undoubtedly the cover drive, played with a bat made to particular specifications from a willow cut by a beautiful young woman.

What's the best day of international cricket you've watched?
[Jos] Buttler's hundred in the one-day game against Sri Lanka this summer at Lord's was pretty good. Gower scoring a hundred against Australia at Trent Bridge [in 1985]. My first Test was England v Australia, captained by Richie Benaud, at The Oval in 1961. Peter Burge made a huge hundred. Exciting for an eight-year-old.

Which cricketer would make a good protagonist for a novel?
Colin Milburn, Keith Miller, Muralitharan, Hansie Cronje, Chandrasekhar, Ranji, CB Fry.

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