Category: Strine Sports

Tony Greig

Greig died in a Sydney hospital on Dec. 29 of a heart attack that may have been brought on as a result of undergoing treatment for lung cancer. The apartheid-era South African-born former England captain was a better-than-average cricketer who was among those who brought about a revolution in the game in the 1970s before becoming a TV commentator in Australia and subsequently becoming an Australian citizen.
選手現役時代がちょうどオーストラリアの黄金期に伴った。オーストラリアが次からどんな相手でも素早く完全に潰した時代だったグレッグ氏が違った。チームメイトが相次いでアウトになったら、グルツグ氏だけが豪の有力選手に立ち向かって健闘した。多くの人を苛立たせながら、多数人数の尊敬も得た。
Greg’s playing days coincided with an Australian glory era. At a time when Australian teams were ripping through their opponents, Greig pluckily stood up to them even as his teammates often collapsed in a heap around him. Greig annoyed the hell out of many Australians, but his persist fight against overwhelming odds also brought him bucketloads of Aussie respect.
　また、グレッグ氏嫌なところがあった。特に1960年代後半以降英国連邦では南アフリカのアパルトヘイト制度について厳しくなった。同制度下で「名誉白人」として扱われた日本人にとってそれほど悪影響がなかったかもしれないが、大半が有色人種である同連邦とオーストラリア、南アフリカやローデシア（現ジンバブエ）（後の二か国が連邦から脱会だが、、、）など人種によって政策を実施した白人中心とした国で破裂しそうだった。その中南アフリカ出身白人グレッグ氏が（全員アフリカ系）カリブ海諸国で構成されているウエスト・インディーズに対して「ひれ伏させるぞ」と36年後の今でも怒りが収まらない発言をして、大勢にも憎まれていた。
Greig could also be hated. In 1976, the white South African (whose veldt-influenced accent remained with him for life) threatened to make the (all African heritage) West Indian team “grovel.” The effects of that statement may be hard to understand for many Japanese, who were affored “honorary white” status under South Africa’s hated apartheid system, which threatened to rip apart the British Commonwealth, which was composed of predominantly non-white nations but also included many countries where racially-based legislation had been the norm, including Australia, South Africa and what was then known as Rhodesia (today’s Zimbabwe). Even now, 36 years after the event, many still abhor Greig’s remark.

　だが、それに対して偉さも見せたともいえる。同氏がその発言に対して誤り、ウエスト・インディーズに完敗された時に自分自身がそのチーム前でひれ伏してお詫びした。また、ご自身が転換病だったし、まだ公表することが珍しい時期でそれを発表し、多くの患者の手伝いを行なった。
To his credit, Greig could also admit to being wrong. When the West Indies team responded to his statement with anger, he apologized, and when the England team he was leading, the captain got down on his knees and grovelled before his opponents, begging for their forgiveness. He also announced publicly in 1977 that he was suffering from epilepsy, a disease then still carrying considerable social stigma, and helped others cope with the condition throughout the remainder of his life.
そして、解説者として有名な仕草が多数あり、その一つがオーストラリア在住であり、豪国籍を持ってもどうも同国対抗するを応援しているようにほのめかす。相手国が出身の南アフリカか自分が代表キャプテンだったイングランドならなおその気持ちが強い。
Greig became a legendary cricket commentator renowned for many idiosyncracies (especially checking the hardness of the pitch by inserting a key into it), including his somewhat anti-Australian stance, even after he naturalized, and this seemed to become more prominent when the Aussies played either his native South Africa or England, the team he had represented.
が、オーストラリア唯一全国的に行っているメジャー・スポーツとしてのクリケット中継解説者として30年以上に及んだらグレッグ氏がなんだかんだ言っても、そしてオーストラリアを小馬鹿にしても、大勢のオーストラリア人にとって愛される存在となった。

Yet, even as he niggled Australia, he came to be widely loved across the land in more than 30 years as a commentator on the country’s only major sport to claim undisputed national dominance.
享年66歳だった。同氏の人間性に疑問を持ちながら、永眠となったことが考えRoo自身に衝撃的だったことを否定できない（恐らく、死の必然性を改めて教えていただいたから、、、）。
Greig died age 66. While doubts linger about his character, it’s impossible for Kangaeroo to deny his passing hasn’t caused some shock (probably because it reaffirms Kangaeroo’s own mortality…)
グレッグ氏のご冥福をお祈り致します。
May Tony Grieg rest in peace.