Names

Something that has always struck me about cricket players is how many of them have surnames that are just ordinary verbs, nouns, adjectives or job descriptions. In the past we've had Old, Young, Boycott, Lever, Lamb, Knott, Fletcher, Smith, for example, although that looks as if I'm being selective.

But look at the current England squad of thirty players - it includes Cook, Bell, Key, Trot(t), Foster, Prior, Flint-off, (W)right, Broad, Onions, Side-bottom, Batty and Swan(n). Even 'Strauss' is a noun - it's German for a bouquet (of flowers), meaning nearly half of them fall into this category.