The Gregory Era - Introduction

OK, long time between drinks. I have, however, not been completely idle. I decided a while ago to stop writing the shorter profile pieces and instead sink my teeth into something a bit longer. The Gregory family and their contribution to the development of cricket in Australia is the focus of my current cricketing obsession. What follows is the introduction, and I'll also post up chapter one. I am currently around 80,000 words into the project (around 2/3 s finished) - if people enjoy it, I'll keep posting it up.

Cheers,

Stuart

In March 1877, a combined team of cricketers from New South Wales and Victoria took the field against a side of touring Englishmen. Whilst the historical significance of this game was not evident at the time, it is now universally recognised as the first ever Test cricket match. The man elected by his team-mates to lead this united Australian team was David Gregory.

Cricket chronicles many famous families from which multiple members have been chosen to represent their country. In recent years, Australia has produced the Waugh, Lee and Chappell brothers, but the past has also included other famous families such as the Benauds, Harveys, Archers and Bannermans. Possibly Australia’s most famous clan, however, is the Gregorys, whose role in Australian cricket dates back to the start of the game in Sydney. The Gregory family and the development of cricket in the colony of Australia grew hand in hand. Throughout the formative years of first-class and Test cricket, many members of the family played an integral role in assisting Australia to start competing at an international level.

It is indicative of the hold that Sir Donald Bradman has cast over the public in Australia that there are so many biographies of his life, while there remain only limited works dedicated to other highly accomplished cricketers. Three generations of the Gregory family provided four Test representatives, including two captains and Australia’s inaugural Test leader. The contribution of this one family is even more remarkable as there were also another four cricketers who were selected for their state and three representatives in the NSW Women’s team.

It is perhaps symbolic that the final Test match by a member of the Gregory family in 1928 was the also the first by Bradman. The rise of Bradman coincided with the end of the Gregory era, and his feats overshadowed more than one or two other great and worthwhile performers. As an example of this, Charles MacCartney, Australia’s leading batsman in the years between Victor Trumper’s final Test and the emergence of Donald Bradman, had to wait until 2004 until a biography of his life was published. It is important today to recognise that without the pioneering efforts of Gregory family, the development of cricket in Australia would not have progressed as rapidly as it did during its early years, and their contribution has for a long time been underestimated.

Cultural Differences Part II

I commented a while back about the cultural differences between our countries (Cultural Differences in Cricket) , and how this could possibly lead to the problems we are sadly seeing now. At the time I was thinking mostly of on-field behaviour (i.e. sledging versus team appealing), however, I have been thinking recently about off-field cultural differences as well.

I am probably being overly simplistic in this viewpoint, but in the past few decades the three teams that most often threaten legal action are Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan. In contrast, I don't remember the West Indies making similar legal threats to try and win a point. Is this a cultural difference? Is legal action very commonplace as a threat in India etc? Legal action in sport in Australia is fairly rare - I don't know about other countries.

Is this another example of the cultural differences between our respective countries? I am not trying to start an argument about who is right or wrong, and this isn't particularly to do with the recent sagas. It is more an opportunity for us to explore whether this is another one of the issues that sees both sides misunderstanding the motives of the other.

Project Snow

Apologies for the delay in updating the blog - real life and laziness gets in the way :).

Many people may not be familiar with Project Snow, or how close world cricket came to a serious split. This summary of Project Snow is written based upon the information provided in Graham Halbish’s book, Run Out. As such, the information must be considered in light of any potential biases as there is no ‘other side’ to the story.

In 1996, there was potentially a major schism in the world of cricket. The ICC was starting to show major cracks in its supposed united front, with the entire structure under review. The sub-continent teams had been making a significant, and to be fair, overdue, claim for the England/Australia dominated council to be more equitable. However, as with any process of change, there were egos and powerplays on both sides that were preventing a suitable compromise to be reached. The running of the World Cups and the lucrative sponsorship and television rights made for some very interesting politics.

In 1996, the ICC chairman was Sir Clyde Walcott. He expressed his frustration with the role, feeling that it had become non-cricket related and focused primarily upon legal arguments from the various individual countries who were all more interested in feathering their own nest than the good of the game. Walcott’s term was up, and the voting process to replace him became a farce. It was this election, and the associated political games, that prompted Australia, West Indies, England and New Zealand to devise a plan that was eventually called ‘Project Snow’.

Interestingly, Australia did not see the sub-continent as having caused the problem, but rather South Africa. India put forward Jagmohan Dalmiya their nomination for chairman, whilst Australia nominated Malcolm Gray. As expected, the sub-continent supported the nomination of Dalmiya, whilst England, West Indies and New Zealand support Gray. South Africa initially indicated they supported Australia’s nomination. However, Ali Bacher, who was the managing director of the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA), then started playing both sides off against each other. After many years in the wilderness, South Africa were starting to try and flex their political muscles. The Australian camp were not upset with the Indian nomination of Dalmiya, or the support from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. That was expected. However, South Africa’s games had thrown the whole process into turmoil. The Indians didn’t know if they could rely on South Africa, and neither did Australia. In the end, South Africa abstained and the vote was tied at 4-4. This failure to arrive at a clear decision was a disaster, with legal challenges and complaints being thrown by both sides.

Australia, England, West Indies and New Zealand now realized that South Africa could easily jump into bed completely with the sub-continent. The cricketing boards of the four countries were particularly dismayed at the way South Africa were acting, and they agreed to examine their options. The job was given to Australian Cricket Board CEO Graham Halbish to draw up a plan of series involving Australia, West Indies, England and New Zealand. It was recognized that there was significant money in India, however, without the big drawcards of Australia, England and West Indies (who were not yet on the slippery slope to oblivion they are now), it was felt unlikely that the sub-continent could survive on their own for long. At that time, the biggest tours for Australia were England and West Indies, and the proposed program saw them each touring Australia once every three years.

This plan, code named Project Snow, was presented to the CEOs of the England, West Indies and New Zealand boards. Incidentally, the name Project Snow came from ICC CEO David Richards, even though he knew nothing about it. Information was sought from Richards about an issue, and he advised them that he was snowed into his house, and nothing was as important as his ‘Project Snow’ of shoveling tons of the white stuff off his driveway. They then decided to use this innocent comment as the code-name for their plan. Thankfully, common sense eventually prevailed and Sir John Anderson, the New Zealand representative, was able to come up with a solution to the issue of chairmanship of the ICC that prevented the plan going any further.

It is a bit scary to consider how close the cricketing world came to a disastrous split, and we hope that the ICC can start showing some leadership and less partisanship in order to ensure that all countries and people are equally represented.

The Sub-Continent is the hardest place the bat (or why Hussey is the greatest)

The Sub-Continent is clearly the hardest place in the world to bat. Of the batsmen with the top six averages of all time (for players with over twenty tests), only Hussey has managed to conquer the sub-continent. Bradman, Pollock, Sutcliffe and Paynter all failed to score a single run away from home against India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or even the lowly Bangladesh. Headley did managed to atleast get off the mark in the sub-continent, but ended up with a combined away average of a dismal 2 against all four of the sub-continental teams. This is in sharp contrast to Hussey, who averages over 80 in the sub-continent. It is clear from these statistics that the sub-continent is easily the hardest place to get a great batting record, and as such, Hussey’s record just underlines the fact he is the greatest batsman of all time.

Happy new year everyone!

Book Review - Silence of the Heart by David Frith

Many commentators have said that cricket is, when you break it down to its purest essences, just a game. This definition is certainly simplistic, and perhaps even a little sacrilegious for many, but ultimately it is true. Nonetheless, cricket is a subject that arouses great passions in people all around the world, and the results of either their team or their own performances can have a decided impact upon an individual’s state of mind. Cricket has also been called a team game played between individuals. Sadly, cricket has attracted many participants who have battled themselves and their own inner daemons as much as any opposition players. David Frith’s book, Silence of the Heart (originally published as ‘By His Own Hand’), is a look at the tragedy of those cricketing heroes who were unable to cope with the demands of an existence post-cricket, and who sadly chose to end their own life.

Suicide would appear to be a very strange topic for a cricketing book, and without reading Frith’s work, it certainly appears quite macabre on face value. However, Frith has managed to look at many cricketers who have killed themselves, and produced one of the most fascinating books on the sport. Cricket has a suicide rate that exceeds the national averages for the respective cricketing nations, and it is estimated that more than one hundred and fifty professional cricketers have chosen to end their own lives. The hallmark of all Frith’s books is impeccable research, however, in Silence of the Heart he also manages to write with great poignancy and respect for the individuals concerned.

It is possible to read the book from start to finish, but the subject matter almost encourages the reader to instead take a more measured approach and dip into it over a period of time. Frith has written the book as a mini-biography of selected players, which allows the reader to take the time to examine and evaluate each individual situation without becoming overwhelmed by underlying sadness that each case invokes.

Frith’s research records the famous to the almost unknown, from legends of the past such as Shrewsbury and Stoddart through to more recent cases such as David Bairstow. However, it does not, and could not, provide the answers to why. Whilst some of the suicides described could be understood in the light of financial pressure, marital breakup or depression, others remain a complete mystery. One of the most striking aspects of the book for me personally were the pictures; you can see the face each cricketer presented to the outside world, but their inner turmoil remains hidden. Looking at the many photos of smiling and seemingly happy cricketers affected me more than I would have thought. I look back now and I know what fate is to befall the person in the photo, but they appear ignorant of their future despair. I can’t help but wonder what more could have been done to help them.

This is ultimately a very sad and moving book, but one of great value to both cricket lovers and the wider community. 4 stars.

Book Review - Rain Men by Marcus Berkmann

Marcus Berkmann is well known to many cricket lovers as both a writer for Cricinfo and Wisden, and as the author of Rain Men and the sequel Zimmer Men. His first book, Rain Men, has been acclaimed by many readers and journalists as a masterpiece of cricketing literature. I had not read it until recently, so it was with interest that I finally opened it up.

Simply put, Rain Men is a recounting of the events of a cricket team and the characters that haunted it. Berkmann tells the stories and describes the personalities in a wonderful manner, and his laid back style of writing is perfectly suited to this format of book. The anecdotes and events will be familiar to all cricketers who never quite reached the heights of international play, and have had the enjoyment of playing cricket simply for enjoyment. The staples of lower grade cricket such as umpiring, the selection process for the team, trying to even find enough players to make up numbers, and the often bizarre and psychologically twisted individuals that play are obvious fodder for Bermann, and he makes the most of them. Discussions of afternoon teas, the rocky road of captaincy and the often futile attempts to organise everyone to turn up on time are also covered in a very amusing manner that will bring back fond memories for many of us.

Rain Men is a funny book, and cleverly covers the incompetence that plagues cricket at the levels most of us dwell in. He does also manage to weave into the book some amusing references to professional players, and the peculiar devotion to statistics that many cricket lovers have. I must admit that whilst I certainly enjoyed Rain Men, however, it did not deliver the life changing experience that other people seem to have had with it. Prior to reading it, I had read Jim Young’s ‘Any Old Eleven’, which recounts the exploits and characters of a suburban Melbourne side through the 70s and 80s. I had also read Gideon Haigh’s ‘The Vincibles’, which was similarly a recount of the trials and tribulations of a weekend social cricketing team. I had also read Harry Thompson's "When Penguins Stopped Play", which is again a story about cricket at less than serious levels. Rain Men is a very funny book, and is a great read. However, for me, the novelty that other readers may experience with it had been significantly dulled by the similarly themed books I had already come across. Recommended reading for all cricket lovers, and particularly if you haven’t yet read the other titles I mentioned. 3.5 stars.

Book Review - The Summer Game by Neville Cardus

Neville Cardus was born in Manchester in 1888, the illegitimate son of a woman described as a ‘genteel prostitute’; hardly the auspicious birth for a man who became renown around the world for his wonderful skill with words. Cardus wrote a number of books and anthologies, primarily on his two loves of cricket and music. The first book of his that I read was ‘The Summer Game’, and probably cause it was my first experience with Cardus, it remains my favourite.

Cardus only went to school until the age of 13, then leaving to take up employment as a clerk. He read widely and was attracted to writing about both cricket and music from an early age. Cardus was first able to write for a living when he started work with the newspaper the Daily Citizen, however, his skills with the pen meant he moved onto bigger and better things with the Manchester Guardian.

The Summer Game was written in 1929, and like all of Cardus’ work, features wonderful prose. He obviously knew the game well, and had great knowledge of the actual players. However, it was his skill to bring the game to life that separated him from so many other writers. Cardus was a great analyst, and could dissect a day’s play, but he could also highlight the frivolous parts of the match to counterbalance too much seriousness. ‘The Summer Game’ contains a wonderful variety of stories. It touches upon the great players of Cardus’s past such as W.G. Grace and Victor Trumper, as well as more contemporary cricketers including Wilfred Rhodes, Ted McDonald and Jack Hobbes. One of my favourite parts of the book is semi-autobiographical, with Cardus examining his time working as the Assistant Cricket Coach at Shrewsbury School in Shropshire around 1912.

The great commentator, John Arlott, summed up his views on both Cardus and ‘The Summer Game’ with this quote;

"I owe almost everything to Neville," he said. "I remember reading 'The Summer Game' when I was in my teens. Suddenly, my eyes were opened to this semi-mythology of cricketers and always said to Neville that any success I had was due to the imaginative stimulus he gave me.”

Cardus wrote a number of other cricket books (such as Days in the Sun) that are justifiably remembered as classics of the genre. However, ‘The Summer Game’ remains my favourite, and is one that I re-read every now and again just to sample Cardus’ magical way with words. Perhaps one of the greatest tributes comes from Gideon Haigh, probably the best current writer on the game, who used Cardus's title for one of his own books. Highly recommended – it can be found in second hand bookshops if you search hard enough.