Spanish singer songwriter Julio Iglesias is much lauded around the world for his skills as a performer, his athletic prowess and immaculate presentation. It is fair to say that Julio is the epitome of class and if they handed out phd’s for style he would have graduated with first class honours.
His influence reaches much further than his swooning crowd of adoring fans around the world with Julio Iglesias having an impact on the culture of the highly successful Australian cricket team in the 1990’s.
On the 1993 Ashes tour as a form of off field bonding, the players were grouped into Julio’s who were the more gifted and stylish individuals, in honour of the great Julio Iglesias. The Nerds were represented by the harder working, less flashy or fashion conscious in the group. I personally loved this concept and often have the conversation with my friends discussing where we think various people would fit on the Nerd / Julio continuum.
Given that on September 23 Julio Iglesias will be celebrating his birthday, I thought it would be fitting to look back at some of my favourite Julio’s from Australian cricket during that time.
Prior to continuing, I should disclose that I am a self-confessed nerd (possibly the fact that I know the date of Julio Iglesias birthday has already given this away) who could only dream of walking in the shoes of a Julio.
Errol Alcott
According to SR Waugh in his autobiography, Errol Alcott was the leader of the Julios. The team physiotherapist had the likes of SK Warne, ME Waugh and BP Julian aspiring to follow in his footsteps. Without wanting to generalise, growing up, I certainly viewed physiotherapy as a pretty cool occupation, so if you were the physio of the Australian cricket team this would elevate your coolness to new levels which rings true in this instance with Errol making his mark as a Julio.
Brendan Julian
In an interview for the Cricket Library Podcast last year, 1993 Ashes tourist Wayne Holdsworth sighted Brendan Julian as the number one Julio from the playing group highlighting important indicators such as the amount of fan mail he received from the girls, never having a hair out of place, being dressed immaculately and having the best fragrances. The fact that he has ended up in front of the camera and is forging a career on our television screens should come as no surprise. In my opinion a real standout Julio from the 90s.
Dean Jones
As a youngster I distinctly remember Dean Jones wearing sunglasses whilst fielding with the late Max Walker in commentary exclaiming “He’s not taking a dim view of this game” as he took a catch to dismiss New Zealand’s Richard Reid. At age 12, I could not think of anything cooler than someone playing an ODI sporting a pair of shades and this Julio legacy is something that has become commonplace in the modern era.
Greg Blewett
If I thought fielding in sunglasses was cool, well those who bowled with their sunnies on were just next level. As a collector of cricket cards (a hobby probably more associated with nerds), one of my favourites is from the 1994/5 collection which depicts GS Blewett bowling for South Australia with his sunglasses on, which just screams Julio to more than just the keen observer.
Greg Blewett bowling with shades on
Mark Waugh
When Mark Waugh made his Test Debut at the Adelaide Oval against England he made Test cricket look like a very simple game. An elegant stroke maker with one of the safest pairs of hands in the business. Mark was also a bit of a poster boy with a head of hair that ensured he was never far away from endorsement opportunities. He too was known for keeping his shades on when rolling the arm over which is merely icing on the cake for such a stand out Julio.
Brett Lee
I was fortunate enough to celebrate my 21st birthday in Melbourne two days prior to Brett Lee making his Test debut at the MCG where he made an immediate statement to the cricketing world with an electrifying spell of bowling. To me Brett is the blue-print for anyone with aspirations to be a Julio. One of the fastest bowlers on the planet with incredible fashion sense, not to mention his musical exploits, acting career and presence in the media, everything points to B Lee being the Julio of Julio’s.
This list is by no means exhaustive with many others that you could easily add to the list.
Have a listen to my full chat with Wayne Holdsworth on the Cricket Library Podcast where we cover more territory than just Julios and Nerds.
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