Passing of a player of grace is a reminder of Scottish cricket’s progress in recent decades

In my years of playing cricket, genuine characters were never far from sight — or out of earshot. No doubt this is true of many sports, but the nature of cricket and the length of time that participants are together, perhaps attracts people of a certain disposition. Last week, I learned of the death of a character with whom I was privileged to play in the later years of his career.

Hamish More, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, played 42 times for his country between 1966 and 1976, scoring more runs than any other Scottish player of that era. In Hamish’s view, the number should have been higher, although, by his own admission, it was partly his fault. Hamish was not known for being either tactful or taciturn. He was not shy in pointing out to selectors that he had scored 13 centuries in club and representative cricket before he was eventually selected. On that occasion he scored 50 against Cambridge University and, apart from becoming a regular in the national team, was invited to play in a number of select teams that included eminent international players of the time.

Another reason for not being selected more often was that Hamish took a break from representing his country in 1976 to care for his wife, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and a young family. Hamish’s softer side was always apparent when speaking of the effects of that stage of his life.

In 1979-80, he was selected for a Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) party to tour Bangladesh, in which he was the only amateur player. Following this, he returned to his country’s colours in 1980, when he played in Scotland’s first foray into English domestic limited-overs cricket. One of our first conversations centred on this when he became aware that I was from