Obscure And Oblique

Peter Roebuck, the former Somerset (and Devon) Captain, died today, reportedly committing suicide in South Africa, at the age of 55. While being questioned about an alleged sexual assault, he jumped from the sixth floor of his hotel.

He was an 'odd' character, or as his own father put it:

...{Peter} is seen as "odd" in orthodox spheres, "whereas he is merely obscure and oblique".

It wasn't the first time he'd had problems with the law:

In 1999, while working as a commentator in South Africa Roebuck met three cricketers, all aged 19, and offered to coach them, inviting them to live at his home in England. He warned them beforehand that he would use corporal punishment if they failed to obey his "house rules". He caned all three men on their buttocks at different times for misbehaviour and in 2001 was given a suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to three charges of common assault. ''Obviously I misjudged the mood and that was my mistake and my responsibility, and I accept that,'' he'd said at the time.

Obscure and oblique indeed. While cricket might not be the most macho of sports, there was another, (more serious since it involved at least nine young boys), sexual scandal this week, at Penn State University, which resulted in the end of legendary American football coach Joe Paterno's 46 year reign there at the age of 84.