In this episode, cricket journalist Tim Wigmore joins the podcast to discuss whether the so-called 'Golden Age of Cricket' was exactly that. With host Tom Ford, Tim examines the status of Test cricket prior to the First World War, the evolutions that occurred during that period, and the role technology played in popularising Test cricket.

Tim Wigmore is a sports writer for the Daily Telegraph (UK), and has also written for The Economist and ESPNCricinfo. He is the author of Crickonomics and Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution, which won the Wisden Book of the Year in 2020. His latest publication is Test Cricket: A History, and is available here [https://amzn.eu/d/cb1qfxw]. 

Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

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]

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.


Was it really a Golden Age? – Part 1 – with Tim Wigmore

In Part 2 of this episode dedicated to the 1912 Triangular Tournament between England, Australia and South Africa, historian Patrick Ferriday shares his thoughts on the strengths of each team, the factors for the tournament's failure, and whether such a series would work in the twenty-first century.

ABOUT PATRICK FERRIDAY:

Born in London, he lived for many years in West Berlin but returned to England to work as a racing commentator in the early nineties. Since 2011 he’s written four books and published a number of others, via his own publishing group – Von Krumm Publishing. He now lives in Brighton where, in 2021, he wrote and published the long-awaited biography – Wilfred Rhodes: The Triumphal Arch. It was in this context he last joined the podcast in 2023.

Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

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]

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 1912 Triangular Tournament – Part 2 – with Patrick Ferriday

The 1912 Triangular Test Tournament (featuring England, Australia and South Africa) was the first (and last) of its kind. The pet project of South African tycoon Abe Bailey (1864-1940), the tournament was hampered by a series of problems, including poor scheduling, absent star players and very, very wet weather. Posterity has always viewed the tournament as a failure, but was there anything to salvage? Returning guest Patrick Ferriday joins the podcast to discuss one of the more peculiar Test series of the Golden Age.

ABOUT PATRICK FERRIDAY:

Born in London, he lived for many years in West Berlin but returned to England to work as a racing commentator in the early nineties. Since 2011 he’s written four books and published a number of others, via his own publishing group – Von Krumm Publishing. He now lives in Brighton where, in 2021, he wrote and published the long-awaited biography – Wilfred Rhodes: The Triumphal Arch. It was in this context he last joined the podcast in 2023.

Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

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]

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 1912 Triangular Tournament – Part 1 – with Patrick Ferriday

In this final installment of my chat with historian Richard Tomlinson, author of Amazing Grace - The Man Who Was W.G. (2015), we discuss Grace's love of sports outside of cricket, particularly lawn bowls and golf, his colossal statistics with both bat and ball, and his legacy today.

ABOUT RICHARD TOMLINSON:

Richard Tomlinson is a British historian and journalist whose biography of W.G. Grace was published in 2015 on the 100th anniversary of the great cricketer’s death. In Amazing Grace – The Man who was W.G., Richard set Grace’s on-field achievements in the context of his life and times as arguably the most famous celebrity in the English-speaking world.

Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

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]

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.

W. G. Grace – Part 3 – with Richard Tomlinson

Part 2 of the episode dedicated to the latter stages of the life and career of the most famous cricketer of all time – W. G. Grace. In this episode, biographer Richard Tomlinson discusses Grace’s relationship with his cricket-playing daughter Bessie, his disastrous final Test match in 1899, and his move from the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club to the newly formed London County Cricket Club.

ABOUT RICHARD TOMLINSON:

Richard Tomlinson is a British historian and journalist whose biography of W.G. Grace was published in 2015 on the 100th anniversary of the great cricketer’s death. In Amazing Grace – The Man who was W.G., Richard set Grace’s on-field achievements in the context of his life and times as arguably the most famous celebrity in the English-speaking world.

Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

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]

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.

W. G. Grace – Part 2 – with Richard Tomlinson

W. G. Grace, quite simply, was cricket in the 19th century. So large was the figure of Grace - both physically and figuratively - that he was known throughout the British Empire simply by his initials, W.G., and it’s believed at one point he was even more famous than Queen Victoria. With his large, domineering physique and his idiosyncratic beard, WG Grace dominated the sport of cricket like no one before or since - including Donald Bradman - and was central to transforming the sport from a leisurely British pastime to an international spectacle. In Part 1, we look at existing Grace literature, his expanded waistline, the infamous tour of Australia in 1891-92 and the tragic life of his oldest son, W. G. Grace, Jnr.

ABOUT RICHARD TOMLINSON:

Richard Tomlinson is a British historian and journalist whose biography of W.G. Grace was published in 2015 on the 100th anniversary of the great cricketer’s death. In Amazing Grace – The Man who was W.G., Richard set Grace’s on-field achievements in the context of his life and times as arguably the most famous celebrity in the English-speaking world. 

Presenter & Producer: Tom Ford

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]

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 [https://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/].

W. G. Grace – Part 1 – with Richard Tomlinson

In Part 2 of this episode focusing on the rise of Australian batting legend Charlie Macartney, biographer Peter Lloyd—who was a previous guest on the Podcast in discussion about Monty Noble—explains Macartney's inconsistent form, his close relationship with Noble, and how his statistics compare to other Golden Agers, including Victor Trumper.

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 PETER LLOYD: Three biographies of Golden Agers in, and it appears that Peter Lloyd has found his voice. Pictorial narratives which were driven by his passion and commitment (do not be confused about that despite what others might suggest) and his fine writing were but a mere precursor to his true calling: in-depth stories about the lives of complex people who all happened to be extraordinarily capable cricketers. Charlie Macartney may have bridged the Golden Age and the post-Great War eras but he was a force of nature on the sporting field from a young age. His biography goes so much further than has been attempted before. It is, as one critic has already suggested, as revealing about global migration and colonial and early 20th Century Australia as it is about the individual known throughout the annals of cricket as the 'Governor General'.

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.

Charlie Macartney – Part 2 – with Peter Lloyd

Perhaps best remembered today as the swashbuckling, aggressive batsmen of the 1920s, Charlie Macartney's rise to the Australian Test team occurred well within the period of the so-called Golden Age. He was one of a handful of international cricketers who transcended the First World War, playing for his country both before 1914 and after 1918. Biographer Peter Lloyd—who was a previous guest on the Podcast in discussion about Monty Noble [https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/monty-noble-part-1-with-peter-lloyd/id1667094534?i=1000596895712]—sheds light on Macartney's early career, his cricketing pedigree and his battle with mental health.

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 [https://buymeacoffee.com/goldenageofcricket]

ABOUT PETER LLOYD: Three biographies of Golden Agers in, and it appears that Peter Lloyd has found his voice. Pictorial narratives which were driven by his passion and commitment (do not be confused about that despite what others might suggest) and his fine writing were but a mere precursor to his true calling: in-depth stories about the lives of complex people who all happened to be extraordinarily capable cricketers. Charlie Macartney may have bridged the Golden Age and the post-Great War eras but he was a force of nature on the sporting field from a young age. His biography goes so much further than has been attempted before. It is, as one critic has already suggested, as revealing about global migration and colonial and early 20th Century Australia as it is about the individual known throughout the annals of cricket as the 'Governor General'.

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 [https://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/].

Charlie Macartney – Part 1 – with Peter Lloyd

With Part 2 of this episode of 'Short Leg', Tom Ford concludes the re-telling of Clem Hill's famous innings at the MCG against England in 1898, in which he scored a match saving, series-winning score, with the help of off-spinner Hugh Trumble. 

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 [https://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 [https://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/][https://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/].

Short Leg – Clem Hill's 188 v England at the MCG in 1897/98 – Part 2

This episode of 'Short Leg' – discusses one of the most famous and, arguably, greatest Test innings of the Golden Age. Not yet 21, Clem Hill rescued Australia from a monumental batting collapse on Day 1 of the Fourth Test in Melbourne of the 1897/98 Ashes series. Along with Hugh Trumble, the pair put on a record 7th wicket stand to turn the innings, match and 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 [https://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 [https://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/].

Short Leg – Clem Hill's 188 v England at the MCG in 1897/98 – Part 1

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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