[ad_1]
- Trevor Quirk has paid tribute to his “best friend” Robin Jackman.
- One of the great voices of South African cricket, Jackman died in Cape Town on Christmas Day.
- Quirk confirmed that Jackman’s death was not related to the cancer scare that ended his television career in 2012.
When Robin jackman He died at the age of 75 at his Cape Town home at 3:30 p.m. on Christmas Day, his wife Yvonne did not want people to immediately know the terrible news.
“I didn’t want it to get published … I didn’t want to spoil people’s Christmas and that’s typical of her,” said Trevor Quirk, one of Jackman’s best friends. Sport24 on Boxing Day.
That, of course, was not possible given Jackman’s stature and popularity, and ultimately Quirk was tasked with informing those close to the former bowler from England, Surrey, Rhodesia and Western Province that the news was true. and that one of the great commentators of the game was no more.
Quirk, himself one of the most recognizable television voices in South African cricket when the Proteas returned from isolation in the early 1990s, is devastated.
“We met when he was playing Currie Cup cricket for Rhodesia in the 1970s. He played for Surrey and in his winter he used to go out and play for Rhodesia. I was playing for Northern Transvaal at the time and that’s where our paths first crossed. “, remember.
It’s a friendship that Quirk says lasted for some time in the region for 45 years and, broken, calls Jackman his “best friend.”
When he was director of SABC’s sports television division in the late 1980s, it was Quirk who convinced Jackman to give television commentary a try.
“He had dabbled in the radio commentary for Test Match Special in England a bit, but the fact that he came to live permanently in South Africa and married a South African (Yvonne) after his coaching stint … that’s where I got there, he was involved, “Quirk recalls.
“It just took off as a broadcaster, so we ended up traveling the world broadcasting together in every country you can think of that plays cricket.
“That is where our friendship was strongly cemented.”
As recently as November of this year, Quirk was the master of ceremonies on Jackman’s 50-year wedding anniversary with his wife, Yvonne.
“He met her when he came to South Africa while playing for Surrey. He loved South Africa so he would come whenever he got the chance and then she would go to England and they were married there. Then she went with him to Rhodesia.” Quirk says.
In 2012, Jackman was diagnosed with throat cancer that brought down the curtain on his television career. At that stage, however, he had already established his reputation as one of the greats in the industry.
“He was a wonderful announcer and a crafty cricket mind. He was a fan of the game and had a laid back and personable style. Everyone loved him. Players trusted him and liked him and that’s why he was so good,” adds Capricho .
For the great cricket community, a servant of the game has been lost.
However, Quirk has lost a lifelong partner.
“We were just great friends. We played golf together and enjoyed long lunches together … a lot of them. We both belonged to the same club and we were both very social people, so we had a lot of fun together,” he said. He says.
“He was a very kind person. He loved to have beers with the boys and always had a lot of fun in company. He was crazy about sports, not just cricket. He and I were huge Tottenham Hotspur fans.
“He was an honest man and a lovely human being.”
Last year, Jackman suffered a serious heart attack while in a remote part of the Eastern Cape. It took him half a day to finally be admitted to an East London hospital, but he recovered and had a pacemaker placed.
His death, Quirk reveals, had nothing to do with the 2012 cancer diagnosis.
“I was prepared for it in so many ways,” says Quirk.
“I spoke to his wife, Yvonne, yesterday. I have been in contact with her every day and yesterday she called to tell me that she had had a very bad night. She called the doctor and he came in at 11:00 a.m. yesterday and He didn’t think Jackers was going to spend the night … and he didn’t.
“He’s had this pulmonary fibrosis and he’s been on oxygen for the past few weeks and it just got worse and worse.
“He just reached it in the end.”
Since the news broke Friday night, tributes have poured in from all corners of the cricket community.
The ICC called him “legendary”, and Jackman’s contribution to this great game will certainly not be forgotten by any South African who has followed him closely over the years.
For others, however, the loss runs much deeper than cricket.
“It’s devastating to lose your best friend,” says Quirk.
