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Ambrose demolishes England
By Will 7 months ago, Comments
14 years ago to this day, any lingering doubts or reservations I had that cricket had taken me under its spell were emphatically removed. England needed 194 to beat West Indies in the third Test at Port-of-Spain, and in came Curtly Ambrose, bounding up to the crease, arms pumping, gold chains swinging - with a menacing, almost demonic look in his eyes. 19.1 overs later, England were bowled out for 46 and my passion for the game was confirmed, signed, sealed and dated. Even now, if I catch a glimpse of that spell in Trinidad, I am fairly awestruck.
Bizarrely, I’ve just remembered it’s my grandmother’s birthday too. She’d have been 108!
CommentsBodyline: 75th anniversary
By Will last year, at the end of October, Comments
This winter marks the 75th anniversary of Bodyline and my boss, Martin Williamson, has single handedly documented the entire thing. It is a task which ought to take about a month, or more, but somehow (and at a b**** of a time for him) he has squeezed it into seven days. It’s worthy of your immediate attention and really we ought to run a press release about it, but…there you go.
So, go and delve. There’s a history, a dummy’s guide; a timeline and diary and a whole load of photos.
There’s enough there to keep you occupied for hours. It goes without saying that no site or newspaper has covered the history of Bodyline this deeply or broadly, so it should be instantly bookmarked.
Congratulations Martin.
CommentsNotes from the pavilion for October 22nd
By Will last year, at the end of October, Comments
Links of note from the past 24 hours:
- Gatting’s MCC beat Cyprus…just - Mike’s actually getting <i>rounder</i>
- ‘We will have to play well to come out on top’ - So <i>that’s</i> how you win, John
- Why cricket? - New Zealand cricket | NZHistory - Some interesting notes on the history of New Zealand cricket, while doing a “brief history” of England and NZ for Cricinfo. ‘I tell the boys in summertime to play at cricket and play well, that those who are the best cricketers most likely will be the bes
Norman ‘Mandy’ Mitchell-Innes, 1914-2006
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of December, Comments
Cricket has such a long history, with deep offshoots at every turn, that it is next to impossible to know it all. Inevitably some people know more than others, and this is especially true at Cricinfo as I’m sure it is with other media organisations. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.
Ancient history is not mine, but even my ears pricked up this morning when I heard of the death of Norman Mandy Mitchell-Innes who died on December 28. His is a fascinating story, as those from that era often are. He played his sole Test against South Africa in 1935 while still at Oxford University and it was for his uni that he most excelled in the game. As I found out today:
In all, he played 132 first-class matches, scoring 6944 runs - with 13 centuries - at an average of 31.42. He also took 82 wickets at 34.79 apiece. A precocious talent, he once scored 302 not out in a house match for Sedburgh during a single afternoon, causing The Sedberghian to report: “Such cricketers rarely come this way.”
I knew little of him before 8.30am this morning but, in getting the report up for Cricinfo, I’m now far less ignorant and can now bore my mates beyond rigid. Still not sure why he earned the nickname Mandy though…
CommentsThe first day of Test cricket in England
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of September, Comments
Patrick reminds me that today marks the 126th anniversary of the first Test in England, against Australia. What a thing. 126 years! Better still, you can have a look at the scorecard at Cricinfo, a modern-day summary and a brief report from the 1881 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack which, brilliantly, begins as follows:
The compiler much regrets that the limited space allotted to the Australians’ matches in this book precludes the possibility of giving a lengthened account of this famous contest.
What a bloody great game cricket is.
CommentsScrapbook to Wisden to cartoons to Denmark to Toksvig
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of March, Comments
The very venerable Norm, of normblog fame, is an utter cricket nut - more, perhaps, than me. But not more than some of my colleages at Cricinfo (hello Gnasher!). Please now go and read his post, because it’s really very interesting. Norm has kept scrapbooks of his thoughts on the game stretching back some 50 years (double my age, which is a frightening thought - although it does confirm and reassure me that I’m actually still rather young). In one of them was this (Norm - please shout if you’re not happy with me copying this):
A pleasantly informal ceremony was performed in Bulawayo last night when Percy Mansell, who celebrated his 21st year of representative cricket for Rhodesia by scoring 50 runs against the Australians earlier this month, was presented with a gramophone record recalling the performance. A disc had been cut by the FBS in Salisbury from the broadcast commentary, and in the Bulawayo FBS studios, Mansell is seen receiving the record from studio manager Tom Pile. Looking on are (left) Rhodesia Cricket Union president Barrie Day, and broadcaster Claus Toksvig, one of the commentators on the disc.
Now then, Toksvig rang a bell with Mr Norm (as it did with me) and of course we were reminded of Sandi, a witty comedienne whose family originate from Denmark (boring aside: she’s a fairly regular panelist of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue and Just a Minute, two fabtastic radio shows). Lo and behold, Claus Toksvig is her Father!
(Non-cricketing aside, which is related to this post). She actually stated on TV that Denmark’s newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, never published cartoons depicting Mohammed (you’ll remember the storm which brewed earlier this month). Oddly, she backtracked on her comments the following day and wrote a very fine and balanced piece about the whole affair, at The Telegraph, which is well worth a read.
No further comment. The point of Norm’s post, and this one, albeit tenuously, is that cricket connects people in the most bizarre of ways.
CommentsWhat drew you to cricket and why?
By Will 2 years ago, mid-January, Comments
What drew you to cricket and why? Was there a particular moment which highlighted the game to you, or which made you see the game in a new light? I was asked this by a friend today, so am replying via the blog…
I first “noticed” it in the 1993 Ashes, watching Paul Reiffel trundle in and bowl deceptively well. Then, the following winter, addiction set in while listening to the West Indies practically kill England in the Caribbean. Seeing brief highlights on the news in the evening; watching Mike Atherton do his utmost to rally his young side; Alec Stewart’s two hundreds; most of all, it was the West Indies and their passion, energy, natural grace and ferver which spoke, to me, more than any other sport. Almost overnight, maidens, point, silly midwicket, overs and everything else made sense.
I’d listened to my Dad curse me and my brother in the car for fighting. Not that he was particularly against us trying to kill eachother, more that it was drowning out TMS’ valiant attempt to relay the score to him, some several hundred miles away in France. And I thought, time and again: “What the hell are you listening to, or trying to listen to?”
Little did I realise that, a few years later, I too would be scaling mountains (ok, raised bits of land, but you try lugging a bloody backpack round Greece in 40c heat) to find reception. It’s these strange things cricket fans do - which include crowding around Dixons or a TV shop in high streets - which almost make me like the game more.
Your turn.
CommentsTo whom do The Ashes belong?
By Will 3 years ago, mid-July, Comments
I know that, for Australians, the debate over whether they should physically own and have the urn has caused much upset and confusion. So I thought this was an interesting conclusion to the matter (for those not in the know, the urn is the “trophy” awarded to the winner of The Ashes - a sporting contest with few fiercer rivalries between England and Australia. See here for more).
Despite the teams playing for the Ashes, the Ashes urn itself is never physically awarded to Australia, but is kept permanently in the MCC Cricket Museum at Lord’s Cricket Ground. It has been back to Australia only once, in 1988 for a museum tour as part of Australia’s Bicentennial celebrations. In the 1990s, given Australia’s long dominance of the series the idea was mooted of the victorious team being awarded the trophy. Instead the MCC commissioned a Waterford crystal replica, which is now awarded to the winning team.
In 2002, Bligh’s great-great-grandson (the heir-apparent Earl of Darnley) argued that the Ashes should not be returned to Australia as they were essentially the property of his family and only given to the MCC for safe-keeping.
After England had lost “The Ashes” (its very name was yet to be called as such, which I’ll come to), Ivo Bligh sought to regain them in the much publicised tour in 1883/4:
After the third game of the 1883/4 tour, when the English team were guests of Sir William Clarke over Christmas, a group of Victorian ladies headed by Lady Clarke burned what has variously been called a ball, bail or veil, and presented them to Bligh in an urn together with a velvet bag, which was made by Mrs Ann Fletcher, the daughter of Joseph Hines Clarke and Marion Wright, both of Dublin. She said, “What better way than to actually present the English captain with the very ‘object’ – albeit mythical – he had come to Australia to retrieve?”
So, the urn was actually presented to Bligh and it is the property of his family (not any more, as he bequeathed it to MCC). So that’s an interesting summary of the whole debate about the urn not being allowed to leave these shores, despite Australia’s winning The Ashes for the past [x] years
More info here - which, even if you’ve just stumbled here looking for something completely unrelated to cricket, is well worth a read. It’s one of the very oldest sporting contests, and everyone should KNOW its history!
CommentsPhoto of W.G. Grace’s bat
By Will 3 years ago, mid-June, Comments
Photos of The Ashes
Photo taken by mailliw @ Flickr.com.
This is W.G. Grace’s bat, in the Lord’s museum. If you look carefully, you can see his writing on it. It was great to be so close to something so special
CommentsBroadhalfpenny Down - home of cricket?
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of May, Comments
Thanks to Flickr, I found a great photo of a pavillion in Broadhalfpenny Down (shown on the right) which has thrown up some fascinating info on the history of the game, which I didn’t know about.
While cricket was almost certainly born of various medieval games, it is believed by many to have been nurtured into the art it is today by the good people of Hambledon village in Hampshire.
Hambledon Cricket Club was founded in 1750 and played its games on the Broadhalfpenny Down pitch that can still be seen in use today. The Hambledon team, emerging from the Bat and Ball Inn, were a match for any side in the country including the All-England team they destroyed by a whole innings in June 1777.
More on the village and the ground here
CommentsW.G.Grace’s Wisdens up for grabs
By Will 3 years ago, at the start of May, Comments
William Gilbert Grace’s Wisden almanacks are going on sale - for £150,000 - from the first edition, 1864, to the year of his death in 1915
CommentsCricket etymology: cricce, creckett, cricke, crique!
By Will 3 years ago, at the start of May, Comments
I hold quite an interest in the English language, and in language itself - so I was pleased to find the Online Etymology Dictionary where I could look up “cricket.” Fascinating reading:
“game,” 1598, apparently from O.Fr. criquet “goal post, stick,” perhaps from M.Du./M.Flem. cricke “stick, staff.” Sense of “fair play” is first recorded 1851, on notion of “cricket as it should be played.”
I suppose the “It’s not cricket” phrase came in after 1851 - but, more interesting is just how old our game is. 1598. Around the time when William Shakespeare was writing the 16th century equivalent of Harry Potter (Othello!?).
This has made me, very briefly, look up cricket history - and I’ve unearthed two gems, one at Wikipedia and the other here. Brief summaries…
The origins of cricket are obscure, and there are several theories on how it started. One is that shepherds used to play it - one would stand in front of the wicket gate to the sheep fold, and another would bowl a stone or something at him, and he would have to hit it with his crook, which was known as a cricce.
So already there are some curious reasons behind “cricket,” but the general consensus is that a crook, cricce, creck, crique etc is a stick. In Old English, cricc is a staff (guessing that’s a shepherd’s “leaning” stick) - in Flemish, krick(e) means a stick.
And…
In 1598 there was a dispute over a school’s ownership of a plot of land in which a 59-year old coroner, John Derrick, testified that he and his school friend had played “creckett” at the site fifty years earlier.
One of the most interesting bits is the start of Test Cricket. Can you beleive this?
The first ever cricket game played between teams representing their nations was between the USA and Canada in 1844. The match was played at Elysian Field in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Maybe if the Americans and Canadians knew this, it could spark some interest again. In fact, Jagadish wrote about USA cricket today - as did I, here.
Back to the etymology, and Hat Tricks. As you’ll know, although hat-tricks occur in most sports these days, it is in cricket where they first started…and here’s how:
c.1877, originally from cricket, “taking three wickets on three bowls;” extended to other sports (esp. ice hockey) c.1909. Allegedly because it entitled the bowler to receive a hat from his club commemorating the feat (or entitled him to pass the hat for a cash collection), but also infl. by the image of a conjurer pulling things from his hat (though hat trick in this sense is not attested until 1886).
Brilliant! I could go on and on, but I’ll leave the rest for you to read. Here and here and here. If you know any other historical gems, please leave a comment.
CommentsWhen England last won the Ashes…
By Will 3 years ago, mid-March, Comments
Thought it was time I mentioned The Ashes. It’s been a while! My favourite colour is no longer red, it’s blue. But 8 still has to be the greatest of all numbers.
CommentsNice and easy does it - Cricket - www.smh.com.au
By Will 3 years ago, mid-January, Comments
Nice and easy does it - Cricket
An interesting and revealing article written last November about cricket’s enduring appeal. Have been meaning to post it here, but not had the time in the past week to blog much. It’s also my inspiration for my next post I’m about to write. Worth a read (the link above, that is)
CommentsUbersportingpundit: A very fine Triple Century
By Will 3 years ago, at the start of January, Comments
Ubersportingpundit: A very fine Triple Century
Scott’s top 10 favourite Tests, following the achievement of Australia’s 300th Test win. Much gloating, but an enjoyable read! Begs the question…do Australia love to beat SA as much as England do?
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