Consistently named one of the most beautiful sport venues in the world, the Sydney Cricket Ground is a beloved gem of Australia's habour city. Yet how many of us know its full history, stretching back to the mid-nineteenth century? How did the Ground transform from a piece of recreational military land to one of the splendours of Australian sport?

DONATE: You can buy Tom Ford a coffee! Every donation helps with production and inspires Tom to keep the podcast going. You can donate from a little as $5. Visit: buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket [http://buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket]

ABOUT GEOFF ARMSTRONG: Geoff is one of Australia’s leading sport writers and historians. His first book was A Century of Summers, the centenary history of the Sheffield Shield, released in 1992. Two years later, he co-authored The People’s Game, a history of Australia in international one-day cricket. He has co-written or edited several cricket titles on famous cricketers, including Steve Waugh, David Boon, Bob Simpson, Mike Whitney, Ian Healy and Ricky Ponting. His latest publication reflects the splendour of the SCG: a stunning two-volume account of the ground, titled, A Thing of Beauty: The Founding of the Sydney Cricket Ground. Copies are available in Australia via the Stoke Hill Press website (stokehillpress.com [http://www.stokehillpress.com/]), Roger Page Cricket Books and by order from most specialist bookshops. In the UK, the books can be purchased from the cricket bookseller JW McKenzie (mckenzie-cricket.co.uk [http://www.mckenzie-cricket.co.uk/]).

CREDITS: Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

All music used in podcast comes from the University of California Santa Barbara’s remarkable collection of wax cylinder’s from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are free to download and use. You can donate to the upkeep of these recordings via their website.

The Sydney Cricket Ground – Part 1 – with Geoff Armstrong

In the concluding episode on Bert Folkard (1878–1937), Tom is joined by co-authors Pat Rodgers and Peter Lloyd who discuss his style as both a batsman and bowler, his selection in the Australian squad of 1914, and his life and career after The Great War.

ABOUT PAT RODGERS: Pat has taught History and coached cricket at schools in Sydney for over 35 years. In 2021, The Perplexing and Tragic Life of Jack Cuffe was published and earned critical acclaim. Books on Sydney-born working-class cricketers Alex Kermode and Arthur McBeath followed.

ABOUT PETER LLOYD: Peter has written extensively on cricket, winning various awards for his research and prose. Most recently, in-depth biographies of three 'Golden Age' cricketers – Warren Bardsley, Monty Noble and Charlie Macartney – have stamped him as a social historian of the highest order.

DONATE: You can buy Tom Ford a coffee! Every donation helps with production and inspires Tom to keep the podcast going. You can donate from a little as $5. Visit: buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket [http://buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket]

CREDITS: Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

All music used in podcast comes from the University of California Santa Barbara’s remarkable collection of wax cylinder’s from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are free to download and use. You can donate to the upkeep of these recordings via their website.

Short Leg – Who was Bert Folkard? – Part 2

In this episode, Tom is joined by co-authors Pat Rodgers and Peter Lloyd who have just published a gem of a biography on Bert Folkard (1878–1937), a Sydney cricketer during the Golden Age who, owing to personal and professional circumstances, never reached his full potential on the sporting field. His one chance at playing for Australia was dashed with the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

ABOUT PAT RODGERS: Pat has taught History and coached cricket at schools in Sydney for over 35 years. In 2021, The Perplexing and Tragic Life of Jack Cuffe was published and earned critical acclaim. Books on Sydney-born working-class cricketers Alex Kermode and Arthur McBeath followed.

ABOUT PETER LLOYD: Peter has written extensively on cricket, winning various awards for his research and prose. Most recently, in-depth biographies of three 'Golden Age' cricketers – Warren Bardsley, Monty Noble and Charlie Macartney – have stamped him as a social historian of the highest order.

DONATE: You can buy Tom Ford a coffee! Every donation helps with production and inspires Tom to keep the podcast going. You can donate from a little as $5. Visit: buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket [http://buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket]

CREDITS: Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

All music used in podcast comes from the University of California Santa Barbara’s remarkable collection of wax cylinder’s from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are free to download and use. You can donate to the upkeep of these recordings via their website.

Short Leg – Who was Bert Folkard? – Part 1

In the third and final part to the episode dedicated to Gilbert Jessop’s legendary innings at the Oval against the Australians in 1902, author Simon Wilde discusses how he analysed the number of minutes Jessop spent at the wicket, his re-evaluation of the number of balls he faced, what Jessop achieved in the backend of his career, and whether he thinks Jessop’s great record deserves to be broken.

DONATE: You can buy Tom Ford a coffee! Every donation helps with production and inspires Tom to keep the podcast going. You can donate from a little as $5. Visit: buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket [http://buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket]

ABOUT SIMON WILDE: Simon has been cricket correspondent of the Sunday Times since 1998. He has written 12 books, three of which were shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. His most recent works have been the acclaimed England: The Biography, a history of the men’s national team, and The Tour, which chronicles the England team’s travels overseas since 1877, which won the MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year prize. His new book - Chasing Jessop: The Mystery of England Cricket's Oldest Record - has just been published, and chronicles not only Jessop’s colourful career, but forensically dissects one of the most famous individual feats in the history of the game.

CREDITS: Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

All music used in podcast comes from the University of California Santa Barbara’s remarkable collection of wax cylinder’s from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are free to download and use. You can donate to the upkeep of these recordings via their website.

Gilbert Jessop – Part 3 – with Simon Wilde

In Part 2 of my chat with historian Simon Wilde, we discuss Gilbert Jessop's form leading into the famous Oval Test match of 1902, the affect rain had on the cricket that summer, the missing scorecards from the Oval Test, and whether Jessop was shortchanged in his innings because of an English cricket Law relating to boundaries.   

DONATE: You can buy Tom Ford a coffee! Every donation helps with production and inspires Tom to keep the podcast going. You can donate from a little as $5. Visit: buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket [http://buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket]

ABOUT SIMON WILDE: Simon has been cricket correspondent of the Sunday Times since 1998. He has written 12 books, three of which were shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. His most recent works have been the acclaimed England: The Biography, a history of the men’s national team, and The Tour, which chronicles the England team’s travels overseas since 1877, which won the MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year prize. His new book - Chasing Jessop: The Mystery of England Cricket's Oldest Record - has just been published, and chronicles not only Jessop’s colorful career, but forensically dissects one of the most famous individual feats in the history of the game.

CREDITS: Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

All music used in podcast comes from the University of California Santa Barbara’s remarkable collection of wax cylinder’s from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are free to download and use. You can donate to the upkeep of these recordings via their website.

Gilbert Jessop – Part 2 – with Simon Wilde

There is perhaps no English cricketer who encapsulates the spirit of The Golden Age more than Gilbert Jessop. A wildly talented all-round Amateur from Gloucestershire, whose great, improbable batting at The Oval during the Fifth Test match of the 1902 Ashes not only won the match, but established a mythical-like status for himself and the Age, which has only grown in reputation since. To this day, his match-winning century remains the quickest by an Englishman in Test cricket. In Part 1, writer Simon Wilde joins Tom to discuss Jessop's early life, his famous 'crouching' batting style, his transition from fast bowler to big-hitting batsman, and his form leading into the 1902 Ashes series.

DONATE: You can buy Tom Ford a coffee! Every donation helps with production and inspires Tom to keep the podcast going. You can donate from a little as $5. Visit: buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket [http://buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket]

ABOUT SIMON WILDE: Simon has been cricket correspondent of the Sunday Times since 1998. He has written 12 books, three of which were shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. His most recent works have been the acclaimed England: The Biography, a history of the men’s national team, and The Tour, which chronicles the England team’s travels overseas since 1877, which won the MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year prize. His new book - Chasing Jessop: The Mystery of England Cricket's Oldest Record [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chasing-Jessop-Mystery-England-Crickets/dp/1526692538/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2SIKIO065721A&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HgZqQ1GqvTmiVLLeLBu0Bw.J78sbzJ3v7RWMixYHdHePQjZ_vh8G8MlMEAedz8tb4U&dib_tag=se&keywords=chasing+jessop&qid=1755391529&sprefix=chasing+jessop%2Caps%2C738&sr=8-1] - has just been published, and chronicles not only Jessop’s colorful career, but forensically dissects one of the most famous individual feats in the history of the game.

CREDITS: Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

All music used in podcast comes from the University of California Santa Barbara’s remarkable collection of wax cylinder’s from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are free to download and use. You can donate to the upkeep of these recordings via their website.

Gilbert Jessop – Part 1 – with Simon Wilde

In Part 2 of this episode dedicated to exploring Victor Trumper's final tour, historian Ric Sissons dissects the matches the Australians played, Trumper's legendary eighth-wicket partnership with Arthur Sims in which they hit 433 (Trumper knocked up 293 alone), and contemplates the legacy of the tour and its impact on New Zealand cricket before, during and after the First World War.

DONATE: You can buy Tom Ford a coffee! Every donation helps with production and inspires Tom to keep the podcast going. You can donate from a little as $5. Visit: buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket [http://buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket]

ABOUT RIC SISSONS: Ric is the author of eleven other cricket books including The Players which won the English Cricket Society’s Silver Jubilee Literary Award, and Billy Murdoch: Cricketing Colossus with Richard Cashman, which won the Australian Cricket Society Literary Award. His previous book, When the Kangaroo met the Eagle: The 1913 Australian tour of Canada and the United States, with Peter Schofield, won the 2024 Australian Cricket Society Literary Award.

CREDITS: Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

All music used in podcast comes from the University of California Santa Barbara’s remarkable collection of wax cylinder’s from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are free to download and use. You can donate to the upkeep of these recordings via their website.

Trumper's Final Tour – Part 2 – with Ric Sissons

Little did cricket audiences realise at the time, but when Victor Trumper set sail for New Zealand in the early months of 1914, he was undertaking his final cricket tour. Along with fellow veterans Monty Noble, Frank Laver and Warwick Armstrong, and with a group of promising young players, Trumper played a dozen or so matches against some of New Zealand's finest cricketers, including what turned out to be his final first-class innings. Historian Ric Sissons returns to the podcast following the release of his latest book (co-authored with Peter Schofield), Trumper Across the Tasman: The 1914 Australian tour of New Zealand, to discuss the tour in detail.

DONATE: You can buy Tom Ford a coffee! Every donation helps with production and inspires Tom to keep the podcast going. You can donate from a little as $5. Visit: buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket [http://buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket]

ABOUT RIC SISSONS: Ric is the author of eleven other cricket books including The Players which won the English Cricket Society’s Silver Jubilee Literary Award, and Billy Murdoch: Cricketing Colossus with Richard Cashman, which won the Australian Cricket Society Literary Award. His previous book, When the Kangaroo met the Eagle: The 1913 Australian tour of Canada and the United States, with Peter Schofield, won the 2024 Australian Cricket Society Literary Award.

CREDITS: Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

All music used in podcast comes from the University of California Santa Barbara’s remarkable collection of wax cylinder’s from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are free to download and use. You can donate to the upkeep of these recordings via their website.

Trumper's Final Tour – Part 1 – with Ric Sissons

In this final chapter to the discussion on the Trott brothers, biographer Rick Smith and host Tom Ford discuss Albert's decline in form, Harry's release from the asylum, the brothers' respective statistics, and their separate, tragic deaths.

DONATE: You can buy Tom Ford a coffee! Every donation helps with production and inspires Tom to keep the podcast going. You can donate from a little as $5. Visit: buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket [http://buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket]

ABOUT RICK SMITH: Rick Smith is a former A-Grade cricketer from Launceston who since his playing days, has been a cricket historian, writer and photographer. He is the author or co-author of more than 25 books and numerous articles on various aspects of cricket history, including Australian Test Cricketers and Great Days in Test Cricket. He has also written on various aspects of Tasmanian cricket and was co-author of the book Tigers Roar, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Cricket Tasmania. Rick’s book from 2010 Blighted Lives – the Story of Harry and Albert Trott won the Australian Cricket Society’s Literary Award, and he remains the only Tasmanian to have won this award.

CREDITS: Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

All music used in podcast comes from the University of California Santa Barbara’s remarkable collection of wax cylinder’s from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are free to download and use. You can donate to the upkeep of these recordings via their website.

Harry & Albert Trott – Part 3 – with Rick Smith

In Part 2 of this episode on the Trott brothers, Rick discusses Harry and Albert's falling out over team selection for the 1896 tour of England, Harry's captaincy style, Albert's relocation to Middlesex, his famous stroke over the members' pavilion at Lord's, and Harry's unfortunate time at Melbourne's Kew Lunatic Asylum.

DONATE: You can buy Tom Ford a coffee! Every donation helps with production and inspires Tom to keep the podcast going. You can donate from a little as $5. Visit: buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket [http://buymeacoffee.com/GoldenAgeOfCricket]

ABOUT RICK SMITH: Rick Smith is a former A-Grade cricketer from Launceston who since his playing days, has been a cricket historian, writer and photographer. He is the author or co-author of more than 25 books and numerous articles on various aspects of cricket history, including Australian Test Cricketers and Great Days in Test Cricket. He has also written on various aspects of Tasmanian cricket and was co-author of the book Tigers Roar, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Cricket Tasmania. Rick’s book from 2010 Blighted Lives – the Story of Harry and Albert Trott won the Australian Cricket Society’s Literary Award, and he remains the only Tasmanian to have won this award.

CREDITS: Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

All music used in podcast comes from the University of California Santa Barbara’s remarkable collection of wax cylinder’s from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which are free to download and use. You can donate to the upkeep of these recordings via their website.

Harry & Albert Trott – Part 2 – with Rick Smith

Loosely defined as the twenty five years immediately preceding the outbreak of the First World War, the so called ‘Golden Age’ (1890—1914) saw some of the most legendary cricketers of all time: WG Grace, Victor Trumper, CB Fry, Monty Noble, Wilfred Rhodes, Warwick Armstrong, KS Ranjitsinhji, Hugh Trumble, Sydney Barnes, Archie MacLaren, Clem Hill, Gilbert Jessop and many, many more.

Join me, Tom Ford, as each episode I invite a guest to discuss a player, series or event from the Golden Age, in an attempt to resurrect this often forgotten chapter of cricket history. This is the antithesis of most cricket podcasts which focus on the modern game, and is for anyone interested in learning a little more about one of cricket’s most fascinating periods.

Save or subscribe to the podcast now so you’ll never miss an episode.

FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @GoldenAgeCrickt [https://twitter.com/GoldenAgeCrickt]
FOLLOW ON YOUTUBE: youtube.com/@goldenageofcricket [https://www.youtube.com/@goldenageofcricket]
EMAIL: goldenageofcricket@gmail.com

Tom Ford

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