about Us
Brief History
The Corridor of Uncertainty fanzine first appeared on
the India tour of 2001. Despite lots of mickey taking
from fellow supporters, the editor, Andy Clark managed
to sell plenty of copies and get the Corridor etched
into the minds of the travelling fans. Because they
liked it, you see. The best bit in it was probably the
article by Mark Gretton. Or the one by Adrian
Hoggarth. Or it could possibly have been the cartoon,
Baron Doff, or maybe the free sheet of Hansie Cronje
toilet paper. Who knows? It was all good to be honest.
Issue two was brought out for the New Zealand tour and
despite (or possibly because of) all the rain, a
record number of copies were sold. This issue featured
articles by Jonathan Dyson, Mark Gretton, Steve
Weatherill, Adrian Hoggarth, Dan Hough and also
contained the Hansie Cronje Mind and Body Exercise
Programme.
Issue three was intended to be on sale during Sri
Lanka’s tour of England (2002), but due to unforseen
circumstances, namely the refusal of the majority of
the Test grounds to have it on sale duirng Tests,
things didn’t go too well. To be fair, Edgbaston had a
few in the shop and so did Old Trafford, but there’s
no substitute for getting round the grounds and
selling direct to the fans.
The Corridor then took some time off and settled down for a while.
Before too long it realised that settling
down wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, so produced
issue four and headed off for England’s inaugural tour of Bangladesh
(Oct/Nov 2003). And what a tour it was. The Corridor
of Uncertainty leapt straight back to the top of the
fanzine charts!
Things began to go from strength to strength and issue
five in Sri Lanka was the best (and biggest) issue
yet. 56 pages of pure quality which sold like hotcakes
around the beautiful grounds of that beautiful island. The regular writers were still on board, a continuous thread that
has significantly contributed to the Corridor’s
success, but by now they were really cooking on gas
and producing such classics as the International Test
Match Cricketers’ Cadbury’s Creme Egg Challenge
(Adrain Hoggarth) and Woodward to Coach England (Mark
Gretton). This issue also featured some excellent cartoons by
the extremely talented Christian Marshall.
Also in issue five (yes there’s more) was the
opportunity to join the Official (yes, officially
sanctioned by the man himself) Matthew Hoggard Fan
Club. Which cost only 100 rupees. Bargainsville,
Idaho!
Issue six was on sale in the West Indies on the spring
2004 “we smashed ‘em 3-0″ tour. This issue was
primarily involved in highlighting the fact that the
West Indies Cricket Board had shamelessly attempted to
rip off English fans (but not West Indian fans) in a
big way, which smacked of racism. A phenomenal piece
by Big Harvey formed the backbone of the fanzine and
many other articles and cartoons followed suit. Many
locals bought issue six and were shocked to hear about
what had been going on. Prior to this, they had been
in the dark, as their tickets cost similar prices to
what locals usually paid in the Caribbean. But don’t worry, it wasn’t
all campaigning stuff, there was also lots of the
usual irreverent cricket related malarkey.
Issue seven was brought out for England’s five Test
tour of South Africa (2004/5). It contained all the
usual great stuff, including yet another superb
article from Big Harvey, who by this time was
beginning to hog all the limelight. On the back cover
was a Steve Weatherill cartoon - Blokes you Meet at
the Cricket, which by now was becomming a regular
feature, having been an ever present since issue two. Issue eight was produced for the India tour of early
2006. It again featured lots of superb articles,
including a monumental piece on Graham Thorpe by
Jonathan Dyson, England Players Warned “It’s the Snip
or the Chop” says Gravy by our special correspondent,
a rock hard quiz set by Steve Weatherill and a cricket
wordsearch. No sodoku though. The Corridor draws the
line at sodoku.Issue nine was available on Englands “We appointed the wrong captain, didn’t play our best players in the first two Tests and surprise surprise got hammered five-nil” tour to Australia.Issue 10 was on sale during England’s “We really don’t want to be here as it’s hot and the food is spicy so instead of playing our hearts out for the fans that have spent loads of money coming out to support us we’re gonna put not much effort in and then totally give up in the last Test” tour of Sri Lanka.Issue 11 complimented a great tour of New Zealand. Back to reality - loving it on the grass banks of Hamilton, Welly and Napier. Highlights in issue 11 included Matthew Hayden’s Facebook page and “Ask Stephen (Hawking)”, as well as other vaguely amusing (and some serious) stuff form the usual contributors.
Corridor of Uncertainty issue 12 was on sale in India and despite there being only a few hardy souls who rose above terrorism and venue changes the Corridor sold very well indeed.
Issue 13 was on sale in the West Indies and gave a little bit of happiness to those who had been saddened by the ludicrously flat pitches, boring cricket and ultimately England’s series defeat.
Issue 14: South Africa 2009-10: grrrrreat!
Issue 15: Bangladesh: the bondhus loved this one. Especially the Fielding with KP (Nut) cartoon. Marvellous.
All these issues have also featured articles,
cartoons, photos and other features by Andy Clark, who
also edits each issue, organises printing (which can be nightmare in some countries) and has been known to wake up room mates in the early hours of the morning
while he’s stapling copies together with his trusty long-arm stapler. None of the above has been mentioned up until now, as the editor doesn’t
like to blow his own trumpet. He’s more of a trombone
man really.
All back issues are available by mail order for £2.50 each (includes postage and packing), although the more you buy the cheaper they get! Contact the editor for details: clarky@corridorofuncertainty.com