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 25 books. This year he has 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 and the centenary history of the NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association with David Jenkins titled No Dazzling Deeds with Bat or Ball. He is currently a Trustee of the New Zealand Cricketers Hardship Trust and a VicePresident of the Australian Cricket Society in Sydney, which he founded in 1972. He is married with four daughters.
RODNEY CAVALIER was born in Sydney, New South Wales and has always had an interest in cricket. Whilst never achieving great heights as a player he has contributed to the game in many ways. Following school at Putney and Fort Street Boys’ High School he graduated from Sydney University and moved into the world of politics. In 1978 he was elected as a Labor member of the NSW Parliament and served later as a minister in the portfolios of Energy, Finance and Education. Following 10 years in parliament he worked in a number of government-appointed positions befitting his capacities and interests. He is an avid book collector, especially of those on cricket. In 2010 he wrote a well-researched book Power Crisis: The Self Destruction of a State Labor Party. A further book, Bronzed: The Basil Sellers SCG Sports Sculptures Project, was penned by Cavalier in 2013. He is currently chairman of The Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust. He was appointed an officer of the Order of Australia in 2004.
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 (2oo8 with Michael Fahey) and A Century of Achievement- The Players and People of the StGeorge DCC (2010). His latest book, Champions (2013), showcases aspects of the interview archive from the International Cricket Hall of Fame.
BRUCE EDGAR was an opening bat from Wellington, New Zealand who played 39 Tests, 64 One-Day Internationals and 175 first-class matches between 1978 and 1986. An accountant by profession, who has been involved in commerce of recent times, Edgar lived in Australia for 10 years before returning to New Zealand. He is now involved with New Zealand Cricket as the country’s general manager, national selection with his primary role being aiding New Zealand’s head coach in selecting the national team. Whilst in Sydney, Edgar was certified as a national coach. He worked in the New South Wales high performance program and coached batsmen in Grade cricket at the St George and Gordon cricket clubs. He has co-written one book, the very readable An Opener’s Tale. He is married to Nicky with four children.
BILL FRANCIS has spent nearly so years in New Zealand broadcasting, initially as a sports editor, journalist and commentator before moving into management, where he led the hugely successful Newstalk ZB as well as Radio Sport. Recently retiring as a director of New Zealand Cricket, he is currently Chief Executive of the Radio Broadcasters Association of New Zealand. Francis is also the author of eight books, his last three having a cricket theme: Tom Lowry – Leader in a Thousand the story of the first New Zealand Test captain, Sir John Graham – Sportsman, Master, Mentor and The Team That Never Played – Wahine and the 1968 Otago University Cricket Team. His new book on SG Smith, the West Indian, English and New Zealand cricketer, is to be published in January 2014. He lives in Auckland and is married to Mary. They have three married children and five grandsons.
WARWICK FRANKS is a historian and academic who possesses an encyclopaedic knowledge of cricket. Now retired, he lectured in sports history and Australian literature at Charles Sturt University for some years. A co-editor of The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket (1996), he was editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack Australia between 2001-02 and 2003-04 and is currently a member of the team compiling a monumental three-volume work First-Class Cricketers in Australia, the first volume of which is scheduled for publication next year. He lives at Kelso, near Bathurst, with his wife Denise.
DAVID FRITH is one of the leading cricket historians and authors in the world. London-born but raised in Sydney from the age of 12, Frith has had a life-long enthusiasm for the game. He played cricket in Sydney for the St George and Paddington clubs before returning to England in 1964. There he worked as a freelance journalist before becoming deputy editor and then editor of The Cricketer. Frith founded Wisden Cricket Monthly and edited the magazine until February 1996. He has written or edited over 30 cricket books, his major works including My Dear Victorious Stod, which won the inaugural Cricket Society Literary Award in 1970, The Archie jackson Story, Body line Autopsy and Pageant of Cricket. Frith is also a major collector and authority on cricket film.
GIDEON HAIGH is an English-born Australian author and journalist, regarded by many in the world of cricket as the foremost writer on the game. He currently writes for The Australian and The Times as well as contributing to numerous journals on sport and business matters. Haigh has written 29 books, 19 on cricket, and has edited a further seven cricket books, many of which have received Australian and international awards. His books The Cricket War (1993) and The Summer Game (1997) are regarded as classics of cricket literature. His latest, On Warne, has received wide acclaim. Life away from writing sees Haigh spending time with his wife Charlotte and young daughter Cecilia, the South Yarra CC and his cat Trumper.
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 is a regular writer for the Roar. He penned a book on his boyhood hero Gavin Stevens and another on the Victorian batsman Ken Eastwood and is a co-author of a recent book on the history of the NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association titled No Dazzling Deeds with Bat or Ball.
MALCOLM KNOX grew up in Sydney interested in sport in general and cricket in particular, playing Grade cricket in Sydney. He graduated from the University of Sydney with a BA (Hons) in History and from the University of St Andrews in Scotland with an MPhil in comparative literature. Upon returning to Australia he was the chief cricket correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald, assistant sport editor and then literary editor. It was whilst he was literary editor that he investigated and detailed the story of the fake Jordanian memoirist, Norma Khouri, winning the first of two Walkley Awards. He has written 15 books, including four novels. As a cricket writer his books include Taylor and Beyond (2ooo), Bradman’s War (2012) and the highly-regarded Never a Gentlemen’s Game (2012).
GEOFFREY LAWSON was born in the New South Wales country town of Wagga Wagga. He played grade cricket for the University of NSW (1976-1992), graduating in 1983 with a Bachelor of Optometry. In the 1977-78 season he was selected for New South Wales as a right-arm fast bowler. He continued to serve New South Wales with distinction as a player untili991-1992, as captain (1988-1992) and then coach (1995-1997). In 1979 he was a replacement for the Australian tour oflndia and subsequently made seven tours with Australian teams. His 46-match Test career (1980-1989) yielded 180 wickets at 30.56. Since retirement he has written for The Sydney Morning Herald and cricket magazines and commentated for the ABC and – Sports. Lawson coached the Pakistan national side between 2007 and 2009 and is currently the New South Wales fast bowling coach. In 1993 he wrote a book titled Henry: The Geoff Lawson Story. He was awarded an Order of Australia in 1991.
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.
NEIL MANTHORP is the international voice of South African cricket. An outstanding journalist and radio broadcaster, he has also written South African skipper Graeme Smith’s captain’s diaries and the biographies of Gary Kirsten and Mark Boucher. South Africa’s international sporting exile contributed to Neil starting his sports journalism career in England in 1986, where he ‘{torked as a freelance commentator and writer. When South Africa’s return to international competition was imminent he returned to lay the foundations for an independent sports new agency, MWP. He has covered more than 40 tours with the Proteas and in addition to his radio commentary and agency work, is a widely-circulated columnist. An avid long-distance runner, he lives with his wife Ali and daughters Mia and Ella in Cape Town.
KERSI MEHER-HOMJI, born and educated in Bombay, India, is ofParsee descent. He graduated from Bombay University. Arriving in Australia in 1970, he worked at Sydney University and Red Cross Blood Service, Sydney, as a research virologist. His main love is watching and writing on cricket. His uncle, Khershed Meher-Homji, played Test cricket for India. Kersi has published 14 books. With Cricket’s Great Families (1980), The Waugh Twins (1998), Cricket’s Great All-Rounders (2oo8) and Cricket Conflicts and Controversies (2012) he has made a mark in Australian cricket writing. He also writes regularly for The Sydney Morning Herald, Inside Cricket, Inside Sport, The Roar website and Mid Day. He is married with two sons.
RICK SMITH is a retired high school teacher regarded as one of Australia’s foremost cricket historians. Born in Tasmania, he played A grade cricket in Launceston. He is an avid collector of cricket memorabilia, especially photographs and cricket books, and has written or co-written 18 books, notably the biographies of Sid Barnes, HV Hordern and Blighted Lives – The Story of Harry and Albert Trott, which won The Australian Cricket Society Literary Award in 2010-2011. He is married to Leanne and they have one son, David.
BERNARD WHIMPRESS, a noted and well-respected Australian sports historian and author, has been writing and publishing on sport, in particular cricket, since 1983. Whimpress lives in Adelaide and holds a doctorate in history from Flinders University. He is currently working as a freelance writer, consultant and editor, and lectures in sports journalism at the University of South Australia. He is the former curator of the Adelaide Oval Museum and edited and published the Australian cricket journal Baggy Green from 1998 to 2010. His 23 books include Adelaide Oval Test Cricket 1884-1984 (1984 with Nigel Hart), Passport to Nowhere (1999), Chuckers: A History of Throwing in Australian Cricket (2002 and 2004) and The Official MCC Ashes Treasurers (2009, 2010 and 2013).