Tuesday 12 September 2017

A heartfelt tribute to Jan Brittin

England cricket great Jan Brittin sadly died today at the age of just 58.

I never saw her play, but she was obviously a classy bat and an inspiration both to those who played with her, and those who watched her play. One of those was friend and photographer Don Miles. "JB" is one of the reasons why Don has spent the last 25 years following and recording on film, and digitally, the women's game. Here is what he had to say on the great JB.

"I admired her in every way both as a cricketer and a person. She was head and shoulders above every one of her era, as BB (Barbara Daniels) will be happy to tell you, and she'd be the second in line with the talent. 

She was also very supportive of me, showing none of the early suspicion of a guy on his own that many did at first. 

She encouraged me to keep carrying the camera even though early results were not much good - they look terrible in retrospect - and always gave the impression that she genuinely didn't know how good she was. I sensed no false modesty in her at all - a very rare attribute.

Don't look at the stats - they tell at most 10% of the story - you just had to see her play, and listen to that quiet voice that always managed to say just the right thing. She was truly amazing".

She will be sadly missed.

MD
12/IX/17

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