Our Contributors – Volume 7
JEREMY BOURKE has been a journalist for 42 years, specialising in newspaper and magazine production and editing. He worked on the Sun (Sydney), Herald (Melbourne) and Leader (Victoria) newspapers, was a writer, columnist and editor on New Idea magazine, and since 1998 has been editor of RoyalAuto, the RACV member magazine in Victoria. He fell in love with cricket when, as a 12-year-old, he saw New South Wales bowl out Queensland twice in a day in 1967, and was sometimes able, during free periods, to slip out of Sydney High School to catch a session across the road at the SCG. He was an early member of the Australian Cricket Society in Sydney (taking a wicket via a stumping off a wide in the 1977 ACS tournament in Melbourne – his only scalp for the society) and has been a member of the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians since the 1970s.
RONALD CARDWELL is an insolvency practitioner with a lifelong interest in sport. When his playing days were finished he commenced writing and publishing books on cricket. His company, The Cricket Publishing Company, has published over 50 books. He has recently co-written, firstly with eminent NZ writer Bill Francis, the well-received The Team That Never Played – Wahine and the 1968 Otago University Cricket Team as well as the centenary history of the NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association, No Dazzling Deeds with Bat or Ball and It’s Not About Me The Brian Taber Story, both with David Jenkins. His most recent book, published this year, is Harry Graham – the little dasher. He is currently working on two cricket books to be published in the next 12 months. He is a Trustee of the New Zealand Cricketers’ Hardship Trust and a Vice-President of the Australian Cricket Society in Sydney, which he founded in 1972. He is married with four daughters and has two grandsons.
JAMES CATTLIN was a formidable cricketer at Sydney Grammar School and from the age of 13 played for the Gordon DCC in Sydney. Upon leaving school James joined Qantas and was posted to London, during which time he played for the Hampstead CC. Time was also spent in the USA with his employer where he found time to play cricket with the Martin CC in San Francisco. These days, James is the Secretary of the Gordon DCC. He has written and published a book on the History of Cricket Between Sydney Grammar and Melbourne Grammar, which dates back to 1876. He has also had published two monographs on Victor Trumper.
MIKE COWARD is one of Australia’s most experienced and travelled cricket writers and commentators. Formerly the chief cricket writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Advertiser Adelaide, and a long-time columnist for The Australian he has covered the game throughout the world since 1972. An accomplished public speaker and emcee, he has broadcast the game on radio and television, and written, ghosted or edited 12 cricket books. He was interviewer for each of the eight programs in ABC television’s renowned Cricket History Series and is overseeing the establishment of a unique archival interview presentation at the Bradman International Cricket Hall of Fame at Bowral. His books include Cricket Beyond the Bazaar (1990), Australia vs the new South Africa (1994), The Baggy Green – The pride, passion and history of Australia’s sporting icon (2008 with Michael Fahey) and A Century of Achievement – The Players and People of the St George DCC (2010). His latest book, Champions (2013), showcases aspects of the interview archive from the International Cricket Hall of Fame. In 2015, he put together The Bradman Museum’s World of Cricket, a stunning visual celebration of cricket from three of the world’s outstanding photographers together with slides taken by Sir Donald Bradman.
BILL FRANCIS ONZM was a club player in Wellington, New Zealand, who, on leaving school, moved into broadcasting where he spent over 50 years running networks in news, sport and current affairs. He has been involved in cricket administration as a Director of Auckland Cricket and New Zealand Cricket. Bill is the author of 11 books with five being on cricket. His two most recent books are In Pursuit of Excellence – The Barry Sinclair story and A Singular Man – Bevan Congdon. Bill lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with his wife Mary. They have three children and seven grandsons.
BRUCE FRANCIS was an opening batsman who played cricket for New South Wales, Essex and Australia, touring England in 1972 with Ian Chappell’s team. He also toured South Africa with the Derek Robins XI in 1973-74 and 1974-75. A graduate of Sydney University in political science, Bruce has written widely on the game, assisted in the setting up of World Series Cricket and helped organise the Australian ‘Rebel’ tours to South Africa in the mid-1980s. Francis also wrote and funded Guilty! Bob Hawke Or Kim Hughes? which was well received when published.
IAN GREY, whilst never having played cricket at a senior level, has a strong knowledge of the game in statistics and print. An accountant by profession, he began collecting cricket books during his early school years. He now has a significant collection of cricket books to which he constantly refers. He is currently a panel judge on the Jack Pollard Australian Cricket Society book of the year.
ALFRED JAMES OAM has long had an interest in minor cricket and has written several books on the subject. These include The ‘Don’ vs The Rest, the scorecards of 351 minor matches played by Sir Donald Bradman, the Centenary History of the NSW Districts Cricket Association and Sundry Extras, an account of over 200 supplementary or ‘fill up’ matches played by Australian teams overseas and by teams visiting Australia. His other books include Much Writing, Many Opinions the centenary history of The Royal Australian Historical Society. Alf has two postgraduate degrees in classics from The University of Sydney where he worked as a senior administrator. He has played senior cricket for over 50 years in the Hornsby- Ku-ring-gai and Hills District Cricket Association of which he was president for 23 years. His book, Substitute Players for England Cricket Teams in Australia since 1861-62, was published in January 2015 whilst a book of lifetime research titled Charles Bannerman – Australia’s Premier Batsman was published last year. Alfred is currently working on two books due out next year.
DAVID JENKINS was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and played cricket and Australian Rules for his schools, Brighton Primary and Brighton High. Upon leaving school, he moved into the computer industry, working for Chrysler/Mitsubishi Corporation, after which he transferred to Sydney where he worked for finance companies and banks. He recently returned to Adelaide after residing in Sydney for 27 years. His interests include collecting cricket books, following the Australian cricket scene and writing about the game. He penned a book on his boyhood hero Gavin Stevens and another on the Victorian batsman Ken Eastwood and co- authored books on Brian Taber, It’s Not about Me – The Brian Taber Story and on the history of the NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association titled No Dazzling Deeds with Bat or Ball. His most recent publication is Man For All Seasons – The Eric Freeman Story and he is currently working on a book about Paul Sheahan
RICHARD LAWRENCE is a lifelong cricket lover despite being a barely competent batsman and a worse bowler. To compensate, he reads avidly about the game and for some years has been reviews editor for the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, which means that books are delivered with a frequency that delights him and dismays his wife. He once lived in Lindfield, the Sussex village where AJ Gaston was born, not the Sydney suburb where Claude Tozer met his untimely death, but now lives in Northern Ireland with his wife and their seven children (this is not a misprint).
PETER LLOYD grew up in the Blue Mountains playing backyard cricket with his younger brothers and catching steam trains to Sydney to watch Sheffield Shield matches at the SCG. His heroes then were Norm O’Neill, Brian Booth and – even though he was a Queenslander – Peter Burge. Now retired after 20-plus years of international public health development in countries as disparate as Mongolia, India, Indonesia and East Timor, Peter has time to devote to his great passion – collecting and reading cricket books. (His current tally is around the 4000 mark.) His latest goal is to collect all books listed in Charles Britton’s 1929 publication 100 Best Cricket Books. He has a Masters degree in Health Management and a PhD in the social history of medicine. He has just published his first book A Sporting World: Australian Mid-20th Century Sports Magazines Examined Through The Prism Of Cricket
GREG MANNING has taught literature at the Townsville campus of James Cook University since 1989. He grew up in Newcastle, New South Wales, where he played his cricket and completed undergraduate study, before postgraduate study at The University of Sydney. After 24 years away, in matters cricket and football he continues to support New South Wales. His occasional writings on cricket have appeared in Wisden Australia Meanjin Quarterly and The Oxford Book of Australian Essays. He collects cricket books and reads widely on the game.
LYNN MCCONNELL is a journalist/author/historian born in rural Southland in Mataura but who has worked in newspapers in Invercargill, Blenheim and Wellington in both general and sports journalism. He was sports editor of The Southland Times and The Evening Post before taking on the role of New Zealand editor of Cricinfo.com for three delightful years before internet economics, or lack of them, resulted in the office closing down. For nine years he was senior editor of the New Zealand branch of Sportal.co.nz. In that time he studied at Massey University’s Albany campus in Auckland for a Graduate Diploma in History and is working towards achieving a Masters in History. Currently writing his 18th book, his previous publications include the autobiography of Ewen Chatfield, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand Cricket and the story of New Zealand’s first 50 Test victories, The First Fifty. He is now working as a freelance writer in Auckland.
JAMES RODGERS played cricket with The Sydney University Cricket Club for 39 seasons, a record that will perhaps never be broken in Sydney Grade cricket. He was a more than useful leg-spin bowler and astute captain. He has written extensively on the game, being the co-author on a book dealing with Sydney Grade cricket, Making The Grade, and two histories of The Sydney University Cricket Club. He has served in many capacities at his club and is currently the Alumni Ambassador – Teacher English, Languages at Saint Ignatius’ College, Riverview.