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There's no way of telling what difference it made to England's batting potential when Colin Milburn lost his left eye in a car accident and abruptly ended his brief Test career. England were well-stocked with opening batsmen at the end of the 1960s and, wonderful natural player as he was, Milburn would have had to score consistently heavily for Northants to become an automatic choice. What can be said with total certainty, however, is that that fateful car smash cost cricket one of its ripest characters of any generation - an 18-stone Durham lad with a smile for everyone and a drink with not a few - and spectators hours of joyous entertainment. "Ollie" - after the rotund American comedian Oliver Hardy - was far from just a hitter. In defence his head was still and his bat straight; and his off-side strokes, from either foot, were sweetly timed. But from long leg to long-on, whether hooking or pull-driving, he gave the ball such a mighty wallop that many times it was never seen again. A brief comeback with Northants found him sadly diminished. He drifted a little, and died of a heart attack in 1990, when only 48.

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