Musings: Boris Johnson and Napoleon III

 There has been loose talk on social media depicting Boris Johnson as a potential "fascist" (whatever that word might be taken to mean), but I do not agree. I think the most interesting parallel is with the Emperor Napoleon III in mid-19th century France. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the nephew of the great man, displayed impressive cunnning and ingenuity, plus a huge helping of luck, in being elected President of the French Republic after the revolution of 1848, and then a few years later staging a coup and proclaiming himself Emperor. But, having achieved supreme power, he appeared to have no clear idea of what he wanted to do with it! He has always been a puzzle to historians, one of whom dubbed him, "The sphinx without a secret". I think this mirrors Boris Johnson's situation today.

   Eventually, the Emperor Napoleon III blundered into a quite unnecessary war with Bismarck's Germany. He had left France without allies, was crushingly defeated, and ended his days in exile in England. Opponents of Boris Johnson might be asking themselves: where is today's equivalent of Bismarck?  

Danni Wyatt

 

I am a great fan of Danielle ("Danni") Wyatt, who has been for more than a decade a leading member of the England Women's cricket team in both the ODI and T20 formats 

She was born in April 1991 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and learnt her cricket at the nearby Whitmore club, where her father also played, and she began playing for Staffordshire Ladies in her early teens. Since then she has played for a variety of clubs in England, Australia and India. Her current English club is Southern Vipers, and for this summer's "100" tournament, Southern Brave.

She was selected for her England debut in March 2010, and has since been a regular member of both the ODI and T20 teams. For T20 internationals, she opens the batting with Tammy Beaumont, but for ODIs usually bats down at 6 or 7. She can occasionally bowl off-breaks. She is fast between the wickets, and her speed is also evident when fielding on the boundary, together with a very safe pair of hands and a strong throw.

 At only 5 feet 3 inches in height, Danni is small for a top-flight cricketer, but is exceptionally strong for her size. Excellent timing of the ball means that she has no problem in smashing sixes, particularly with off-side drives or pulls round to leg. When she is in good touch, she can score very fast and demolish any bowling. The "Times" cricket commentator once dubbed her "the diminutive dasher"!

Among her best scores for England are 124 against India and 110 against Pakistan. She was awarded her 200th England cap this summer.

Her nickname in the dressing room is "Waggy".

Update, April 2022: Danni scored a century to set up a win against South Africa in the semifinal of the Women's World Cup in New Zealand, but didn't make runs in the final against Australia, which England lost. She had an excellent season against Australia in 2023, scoring a half-century in her first full Test Match, and was the highest run-scorer in the Women's Hundred. She has now played in more T20 matches, and scored more runs therein, than any other English woman cricketer.