“God no doubt could create a better batsman than Victor Trumper if He wished, but so far He hasn’t . . . even Ranji was not so great a match-winner on all wickets.” So ran the emotional words of Neville Cardus, who went further: “Since he accomplished some of his greatest innings in this land, English cricket owes much to his ghost.”
A century on, Sydney schoolteacher Renato Carini adds scientific substance to these views by means of an intensive assessment, the outcome of a very different approach. This chunky volume houses an amazing analysis not only of Trumper’s style and technique but of conditions, match situations, strength of opposition. It is a bulky forensic treatise, a mesmerising book just right for this computerised age. [Read More…]
Australia’s finest early captain – and certainly the most militant – Billy Murdoch was a cultured technician, quick on his feet and at his best, impossible to contain when set. Scorer of the first two double-centuries in Australian-first-class cricket, in 1881-82, he also notched the first treble: 321 for NSW against Victoria in Sydney for which he received a collection of 200 pounds, a gold watch and jewellery.
[Read More…]
