Henry Blofeld
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Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1958–1959 | Cambridge University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1956–1965 | Norfolk | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First-class debut | 7 May 1958 Cambridge University v Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last First-class | 11 June 1960 Free Foresters v Cambridge University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Only List A | 1 May 1965 Norfolk v Hampshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 14 May 2008 |
Henry Calthorpe Blofeld
Early life
Blofeld's family were landowners at Hoveton in Norfolk and he was the youngest of three siblings. His elder brother, Sir John Blofeld, became a High Court judge.[3] Henry's father (Thomas Robert Calthorpe Blofeld, 1903–1986) was at Eton with Ian Fleming and his name is believed to have been the inspiration for the name of James Bond supervillain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.[4][5]
Blofeld is a distant relative of the Honourable Freddie Calthorpe, a former England Test captain, but, contrary to common belief, he is not Calthorpe's nephew.[6]
Education
Blofeld was educated at Sunningdale School and at Eton College, followed by King's College, Cambridge, but failed both his final exams "by an innings".[7]
School cricket
Blofeld played cricket at both Sunningdale and Eton. He was
First-class cricket at Cambridge
Although his injuries curtailed his subsequent cricketing career,[8] Blofeld did go on to play 16 first-class matches for Cambridge University during 1958 and 1959.[9] The 1958 side was skippered by future England captain Ted Dexter and his first victim behind the stumps, on his debut for Cambridge against Kent, was also another future England captain, Colin Cowdrey, whom he caught off Dexter's bowling. He was unable to obtain a regular place in the side as a wicket keeper and only played in that position when first choice Chris Howland was unavailable. Of the 16 games that Blofeld played for Cambridge (five in 1958 and 11 in 1959), he kept wicket in only four of them.
In 1959, Blofeld played in half of the university fixtures, including the
In his only match for
Life and career
Sports journalism
Blofeld took a job at the
Test Match Special
Blofeld was a regular commentator for
In 1995, Blofeld was censured for an allegedly antisemitic comment made live on-air on Test Match Special, when broadcasting from Headingley. He referred to onlookers watching a match from the balcony of a tall building outside the ground at Headingley as being at "the Jewish end". Blofeld and the BBC apologised for a comment that was "not spawned by malice".[20]
From 2006 he commentated less frequently, missing the 2007 World Cup, despite having covered the opening ceremonies of the two preceding World Cups in 2003 and 1999 for TMS. Speaking to Michael Parkinson about this on BBC Radio 2 on 26 August 2007, he responded to the question of why he was commentating less these days, by remarking that "they obviously want to bring in new faces" adding that during the Ashes series during 2006–7 "I felt in a funny way that I wasn't part of it any more". During the summer 2008 season, he resumed a full commentating quota on Tests and ODIs.
Blofeld missed the 2009 home test series against South Africa but returned for the 2010 home series against Pakistan. He did not cover the Ashes series in Australia during 2010–11 but returned for the Indian tour of England in Summer 2011. In January 2012, he rejoined the TMS team covering England's tour of the
On 23 June 2017, Blofeld announced his retirement as a BBC Test Match Special commentator. His last test commentary was when England played West Indies at Lord's on 9 September 2017.[21] He was given a standing ovation on a lap of the ground following the match.
Outside sport
Blofeld was awarded an
In November 2003, Blofeld was the castaway on Desert Island Discs with his favourite selection being the classic Brian Johnston and Jonathan Agnew TMS exchange "Getting your leg over".[24]
Outside cricket, Blofeld's favourite hobby is "drinking wine", followed by "eating food" and "going out." He has his own Côtes du Rhône label which he markets as Blowers' Rhône and unashamedly promotes this during his one-man theatrical chat shows An Evening With Blowers, that he mainly performs during the cricket close season.[25] The show has been recorded on DVD[26][25] and CD.[27] He often wears vividly coloured outfits, which he ascribes to partial colour blindness.[28]
Blofeld celebrated his 70th birthday by hosting an evening show in front of 2000 paying "guests" at the Royal Albert Hall, with appearances on stage by friends such as TMS commentator Jonathan Agnew, who narrated the event live, West Indian commentator Tony Cozier, TV personality Stephen Fry, cricket journalist John Woodcock, TV celebrity Christine Hamilton and his elder brother, former High Court Judge Sir John Blofeld.[29]
In January 2015 Blofeld was a guest, and the winner, on the
Personal life
Blofeld has been married three times and divorced twice. He has a daughter, Suki (born 1964), with his first wife. He separated from his Swedish second wife, Bitten, in 2007. He had a
In a Boxing Day 2013 interview on the Radio New Zealand Summer Noelle programme, Blofeld said he had recently married an Italian woman, Valeria.[16][35][33] As of 2013[update] his main occupation was on stage at the theatre.[16]
Blofeld published an
References
- ^ Blofeld (2013), p.3
- ^ "Shop". Henry Blofeld. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ^ "Birthdays". The Independent. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ Ben Macintyre (5 April 2008). "Was Ian Fleming the real 007?". The Times. London. Retrieved 8 April 2008.(subscription required)
- ^ "Why cricket's Henry Blofeld believes in 'squeezing the orange' to the very last drop". The World (radio program). Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ "Henry Blofeld: Nephew of an England captain?". CricketCountry. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ a b Pettie, Andrew (23 October 2008). "Henry Blofeld: 'I'll never retire. I'd drink myself to death'". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Williamson, Martin (15 December 2012). "Desperate times... send for Blowers". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Henry Blofeld (Cricinfo profile)". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ^ Blofeld (2001), pp. 37–39
- ^ "The Cricket Society – Awards". Cricketsociety.com. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ "World of Henry Blofeld, cricket broadcaster". Telegraph.co.uk. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ "Cambridge University v Oxford University". Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 29 December 2014. (subscription required)
- ^ Wisden 1966, p. 644.
- ^ Blofeld (2001), p. 50
- ^ Radio New Zealand National. 26 December 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ^ Blofeld (2013), p.231
- ^ Martin Williamson (17 May 2007). "Good morning and welcome". Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 1 November 2008.
- ^ Marks, Vic (23 June 2017). "Pigeons, buses and mixing up fielders: TMS will miss Henry Blofeld". The Guardian.
- ^ "TLS – Times Literary Supplement". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ "Henry Blofeld: Test Match Special commentator calls time on career". BBC. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Blofeld and Baxter: Memories of Test Match Special, Episode 1". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ^ a b Henry Blofeld. Squeezing the Orange. ASIN 0007506392.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Desert Island Discs, Henry Blofeld". BBC. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ a b "An Evening with Blowers". Amazon UK. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- IMDb
- ^ An Evening With Blowers (Original Staging Nonfiction) on iTunes
- ^ Johnson, Richard (23 May 2004). "A life in the day: Henry Blofeld". The Times.
- ^ Blofeld (2013), pp. 293–4
- ^ "Episode 4, Series 4, Room 101 – BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ^ "Would I Lie to You? – Series 11: At Christmas". BBC. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ^ "BBC: The Real Marigold Hotel". Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ a b Grice, Elizabeth (28 November 2013). "Henry Blofeld: at last, love has bowled me over". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ^ Moore, Matthew (31 August 2018). "'Violent' London loses its charm for Henry Blofeld". The Times. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-00-750640-8.
- ^ "Why cricket's Henry Blofeld believes in 'squeezing the orange' to the very last drop". Public Radio International. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
Published books
- Cricket in Three Moods: Eighteen Months of Test Cricket and the Ways of Life Behind it, The Sportsmans Book Club, 1971
- The Packer Affair, Collins, 1978 (ISBN 978-0002166546)
- One Test After Another: Life in International Cricket, Stanly Paul, 1985 (ISBN 0-09-162290-5)
- My Dear Old Thing: Talking Cricket, Stanley Paul, 1988 (ISBN 0-09-173704-4)
- A Thirst for Life, Hodder & Stoughton, 2001 (ISBN 0-340-77050-3)
- Cricket and All That, Coronet, 2001 (ISBN 978-0340819746)
- Squeezing the Orange, Harper Collins, 2013 (ISBN 978-0-00-750640-8)
- Over and Out: My Innings of a Lifetime with Test Match Special, Hodder & Stoughton, 2017 (ISBN 978-1473670914)
External links
- Henry Blofeld at ESPNcricinfo
- Henry Blofeld at IMDb