Jonathan Agnew - Cricket - A Modern Anthology

“It would be a great shame if cricket writing became exclusively the domain of former first-class cricketers. While we bring insight, knowledge and experience of the game that can only be gained from actually having been out there and done it, there is much more to cricket writing than that.”

Indeed there is, and who better to present a new collection of the best cricket writing of the modern era than today’s ‘voice of cricket’. As a young boy watching his newly-discovered cricketing heroes on a grainy black-and-white television, Jonathan Agnew quickly fell in love with the game and went on to pursue a career as a professional player who represented his country before becoming one of the outstanding broadcasters of his generation.

Taking the infamous 1932/33 Ashes ‘Bodyline’ series as his starting point, Agnew or, as he is better known, “Aggers”, selects the most entertaining, crafted and varied cricket writing to illuminate his personal reflections on a series of topics that dissect and explore the modern game from the era of Bradman and Larwood up to the present day.

Cricket: A Modern Anthology features a wide range of contributors including John Arlott, Neville Cardus, Mike Brearley, Simon Hughes, Michael Atherton, Jim Maxwell, Marcus Berkmann, Richie Benaud and Geoffrey Moorhouse.

This is a book brimming with personality and depth that sheds considerable light on the enduring fascination with, arguably, the greatest game ever played.

Jonathan Agnew was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire and brought up on a farm in Stamford, Lincolnshire. He went to Uppingham School before becoming a professional cricketer with Leicestershire. He went on to play 218 matches for his county, taking 666 first-class wickets, including five in an innings on 37 occasions. He played three Tests and three one-day internationals for England and was named one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year in 1988.

He retired in 1990 to become cricket correspondent of the Today newspaper and the following year succeeded Christopher Martin-Jenkins as the BBC’s cricket correspondent. He won the Sony Radio award for Best Reporter in 1992 and in 1994, following the death of Brian Johnston, became the presenter of Test Match Special , commentating and reporting on the England cricket team around the world. In 2010, the Association of Sports Journalists named Agnew Best Radio Broadcaster of the Year, the same year that Test Match Special also won Best Radio Programme.

Jonathan has toured the world for 22 years as a cricket correspondent. He lives in the Vale of Belvoir with his wife Emma, four dogs and a cat.

This book is dedicated to the memory of

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, who, through

his skilful broadcasting, prolific writing

and boundless love of the game, was

cricket’s greatest friend.

Contents

About the Book

About the Author

Title Page

Dedication

The Illustrations

Foreword by Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH

Preface

Chapter 1: The Great Controversies

Sir Donald Bradman: Farewell to Cricket

Duncan Hamilton: Harold Larwood

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1934: The Bowling Controversy – Text of the Cables

Sydney J. Southerton’s Analysis

Christopher Douglas : Jardine, A Spartan Cricketer

Basil D’Oliveira: The Basil D’Oliveira Affair

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2012: The Obituary of Basil D’Oliveira

Sir Derek Birley: A Social History of English Cricket

David Tossell: Grovel! The Story and Legacy of the Summer of 1976

Paul Nixon: Keeping Quiet: The Autobiography

Martin Johnson: Can’t Bat , Can’t Bowl, Can’t Field

Ed Hawkins: Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy: A Journey to the Heart of Cricket’s Underworld

Vaibhav Purandare: Sachin Tendulkar: The Definitive Biography

Gideon Haigh: Sphere of Influence: Writings on Cricket and its Discontents

Steve James: The Plan: How Fletcher and Flower Transformed English Cricket

Chapter 2: The Greatest Test Matches

Richie Benaud: A Tale of Two Tests: With Some Thoughts on Captaincy

Ray Robinson: The Wildest Tests

Denzil Batchelor: Games of a Lifetime

Rob Steen: 500–1: The Miracle of Headingley ’81

Mike Brearley: The Art of Captaincy

Chapter 3: The Professional

Leo McKinstry: Jack Hobbs: England’s Greatest Cricketer

Max Davidson: We’ll Get ’Em in Sequins: Manliness, Yorkshire Cricket and the Century That Changed Everything

John Arlott: Fred: Portrait of a Fast Bowler

Chris Waters: Fred Trueman: The Authorised Biography

Amol Rajan: Twirlymen: The History of Cricket’s Greatest Spin Bowlers

Geoffrey Boycott: Boycott On Cricket

Mike Brearley: The Art of Captaincy

Simon Wilde: Ian Botham: The Power and the Glory

Phil Tufnell: The Autobiography: What Now?

Simon Hughes: A Lot of Hard Yakka

Matthew Hayden: Standing My Ground

Chapter 4: Gentlemen and Players

Geoffrey Moorhouse: The Best Loved Game

Harry Pearson: Slipless in Settle: A Slow Turn Around Northern Cricket

Harry Thompson: Penguins Stopped Play

Marcus Berkmann: Rain Men: The Madness of Cricket

Marcus Berkmann: Zimmer Men: The Trials and Tribulations of the Ageing Cricketer

Michael Simkins: Fatty Batter: How Cricket Saved My Life (Then Ruined It)

R. Chandrasekar: The Goat, the Sofa and Mr Swami

Chapter 5: The Pen is Mightier Than the Bat

Sir John Major: More Than A Game: The Story of Cricket’s Early Years

R. C. Robertson-Glasgow : 46 Not Out

Sir Neville Cardus: Days in the Sun

Richie Benaud: Willow Patterns

John Arlott: Indian Summer

Timeri N. Murari: The Taliban Cricket Club

Gideon Haigh: Sphere of Influence: Writings on Cricket and its Discontents

Christopher Martin-Jenkins: CMJ: A Cricketing Life

Picture Section

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

Also by Jonathan Agnew

Read on for an extract from Thanks, Johnners. Out now

Copyright

About the Publisher

The scoreboard at the end of England’s first innings of the opening Test, Sydney, December 1932

Harold Larwood bowling to Bill Woodfull during the Fourth Test, Brisbane, February 1933

Basil D’Oliveira batting for England against Australia in the Fifth Test at the Oval, August 1968

Henry Olonga bowling for Zimbabwe against India in the World Cup in England, May 1999

Australia’s Jeff Thomson bowling to Tony Greig during the Fourth Test, Sydney, January 1975

Michael Holding of West Indies bowling to Brian Close during the Second Test at Lord’s, June 1976

Kerry Packer and Tony Greig outside the High Court in London, September 1977

Cricket under lights at the World Series Grand Final, Sydney, February 1979