My name is Andrew Hughes and I am freelance sports writer. How did I get into betting?
Well, inevitably, it was the Grand National, in particular the fifty pence each way I had on Maori Venture in 1987. My best ever bet was probably You’re Special in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir at Cheltenham in 2006, at 80.0 on Betfair. I won’t tell you how much I had on, but it wasn’t enough! Though I enjoy watching football at all levels and have developed an affection for the lower class all weather racing, my first love is cricket.
Ever since witnessing Ian Botham’s comeback against New Zealand in 1986, I have been watching it, playing it (badly) and reading about it. Those I admire most are those who played the game with style, such as David Gower and the great Tom Graveney, whose philosophy of batting was pure and simple. I am lucky that writing is also my hobby but for physical exercise I sometimes climb the stairs to the middle tier of the Banks’s Stadium, Walsall on a Saturday afternoon.
And obviously I watch an inordinate amount of sport, usually whilst shouting helpful instructions at the television.
