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Sydney Barnes – Part 2 – with Andy Searle
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In Part 2 of this chat with biographer Andy Searle, we discuss what Sydney Barnes did outside of cricket, his demolition of the Australians in the 1911-12 Ashes tour, his mind-boggling feats in South Africa in 1913-14, why he never played another Test after the First World War, and what his legacy is today.
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ABOUT ANDY SEARLE:
Andy Searle is, arguably, the most prolific publisher of cricket books in the UK. A graduate in history from the University of Lancaster, he specializes in the Victorian and Edwardian era. A cricket tragic from the age of five, despite his family having little or no interest in the sport, he has spent the last 50 plus years as scorer, player, administrator, writer, journalist and reporter on his favourite pastime. As someone who became a victim of class distinction during his early playing career, Sydney Barnes became an early hero of his. For the last ten years he has lived in the Balkan mountains in Bulgaria - where he has helped to establish a cricket club - with his large family of dogs, cats, goats, chickens and pigs. An accomplished wicketkeeper/batsman, he still thinks that one day the England selectors will turn to him, despite being 63 years of age. In 1997, Andy published his book 'S.F. Barnes: His Life and Times'.
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.
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Transcript
Introduction and Early Life of Sydney Barnes
00:00:08
Speaker
Hello and welcome to part two of our chat on the bowling wizardry of Sydney Barnes as I'm joined by his biographer Andy Searle. My name is Tom Ford. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you'll never miss an episode.
00:00:27
Speaker
What was his life like outside of the sporting field? He was a professional cricketer, but did he also have skills or craft that he could rely on? And if so, how did that fit in with his cricketing schedule? Well, not originally. During the, up until the First World War, he worked as a clerk in a Staffordshire colliery.
00:00:53
Speaker
So it was a white collar job, but not a very high up job. But this obviously supplemented his income. After the First World War, when he was a famous cricketer and getting paid lots of money, he could pick and choose. And he variously, he moved to South Wales for a while, to North Wales for a while, no, to Colwyn Bay. He ran a pub. He moved to Derbyshire, not too far away from
00:01:23
Speaker
where he played his professional cricket at Portal Park in Staffordshire, where it was easy to get to Manchester and all these cotton towns he played for. He ran a cafe bar in Alaston in Derbyshire for a while. At the same time, he trained to be a calligrapher.
00:01:46
Speaker
And sometime in the 1920s he got a job at Staffordshire County Council, which he kept till his dying days, till the 1960s, till he was in his early 90s. Writing illuminated addresses, beautiful copper plate handwriting. People used to say when they got a letter from him how beautiful it looked.
00:02:06
Speaker
And some of his designs and his illuminated addresses are still hanging in Stafford Town Hall.
Calligraphy and Royal Presentation
00:02:16
Speaker
So he became a craftsman as well. And that was well paid as well. So he had this cricket and he had this career. So he had a very good life. He also, of course, his wife had a son with George Taylor. Alice had a son with George Taylor.
00:02:36
Speaker
Barnes adopted this son and the grandchildren that exist today are the sons of John, the son of Alice and George Taylor. And he basically adopted the son and the son basically became his son. Isn't there a story regarding his calligraphy that didn't he present something to the Queen, the young Queen?
00:03:00
Speaker
He did in 1957, I think it is, he did an illuminated address of Elizabeth I's visit to Stafford, and he presented this to the Queen, and the Queen sent a personal letter to him thanking him for doing it, which he obviously was very made up of.
00:03:23
Speaker
And by all accounts, and from what I've seen from drawing to books, his calligraphy skills were exceptional. Do you think there's any link between his ability to produce calligraphy, which obviously takes a very steady hand, and his ability to bowl or to be able to use his fingers to get what he wanted from the bowl? Or is that too much?
Challenges in National Team Selection
00:03:48
Speaker
Neville Carder said he held and manipulated the ball like a violinist does with a fiddle. I suppose there is some sort of connection. You never know. He had long fingers. He was able to concentrate for long periods of time, so all these probably helped.
00:04:07
Speaker
There probably wasn't that much of a crossover because calligraphy is probably something you can learn to do, but yeah, I suppose he had some of the assets that would make that –
00:04:20
Speaker
made that connection. And of course very typical of Neville Cardes to make a musical metaphor of course when it comes to cricket. Andy a constant theme with Barnes's test career was his selection and subsequent non-selection in the national team. If we skip to the 1909 test series, the Ashes Against Australia in England,
00:04:47
Speaker
As an example, he was left out, which ultimately played a huge part in Australia winning that series under Monty Noble. And Archie McLaren was the captain for this series, which is also or doubly odd. So can you explain why Barnes, who was taking so many wickets at this point outside of Tess, why he was omitted? Well, it was Lord Hawk again.
00:05:14
Speaker
By this time, the captain had no say in picking the team. It was a selection committee. Lord Hawke was the chairman of that selectors. There was also Liverson Gower. I think there were four selectors. I think C.B. Frye was one, but C.B. Frye said he became a lone voice. Everyone knew Barnes should play the whole test series.
00:05:40
Speaker
he was outvoted. Leveson Gower was a right-hand man of Lord Hawke and I can't remember who the fourth one was but they basically ganged together until with England down in the series they needed Barnes back for the third Test match.
Record-Breaking Achievements in Australia
00:06:01
Speaker
Well, an Asher series, which he wasn't omitted from was the 1911 12 tour of Australia. Not only did he play in all five test matches, but he took a record 34.
00:06:16
Speaker
Australian wickets on tour and he formed a formidable bowling partnership with Frank Foster who took 32 wickets himself and England won the series of course. You know Barnes is 38 at this point in time which is remarkable to think that he's you know taking this record-breaking bowling feat at that point in his life in these hot conditions of Australia.
00:06:42
Speaker
Do you think this was the series that finally England and the selectors and everyone, the cricketing establishment finally recognised his greatness? Yes, I think it definitely was. He was already considered a great bowler by then, but this cemented winning in Australia, winning comprehensively and being part of a two-pronged attack with Frank Foster, well three-pronged attack with
00:07:09
Speaker
Frank Foster and the captain, Johnny Douglas, I think only twice of England won 4-1 in Australia since. So it was a remarkable occurrence. Australia are notoriously strong on their own patch. I'm sure the records show that they've won
00:07:31
Speaker
won the vast majority of series and by large amounts put that and it was an England team that wasn't, wasn't expected to do well. There were only a few of the players have been to Australia before Barnes being one of them, Frank Foster, but he came in on the back of a wonderful season for Warwickshire where he'd done the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets. And Australia suited him.
00:07:56
Speaker
Johnny Douglas became captain by default when the Plumb Warner, the original captain, became ill on the tour. So Johnny Douglas and him being a bowler sort of gave him a bit of knowledge of what bowlers needed and he was also an excellent sportsman who'd won a gold medal at the Olympics in 1908. So he understood
00:08:20
Speaker
sportsmen and the way they ticked so he allowed Foster and Barnes to take control, take control of things like field placing for example and of course the batting spurred on by Jack Hobbs who was now getting into his
00:08:37
Speaker
his greatest form, and he's arguably the greatest open batsman of all time, and Wilfred Rhodes opened the batting. He went from number 11 to number 2 over a period of years. He also contributed a massive amount of runs to the cause.
00:08:56
Speaker
So it was a tremendous performance, and at the end of that series, yes, Barnes was considered the greatest bowler in the world by Australians as well as English people. And obviously, he was to further cement that in the few years later, in the coming years.
00:09:14
Speaker
Well, and also, when we touch on the Australian team at that point in time, 1911-12, I mean, the batting lineup as well. I mean, it's headed by the captain, Clem Hill, when you've got Victor Trumper, Warren Bardsley, Warwick Armstrong. I mean, it's a good batting lineup. I mean, these are some of the
00:09:32
Speaker
uh, you know, the most notable names in all of Australian cricket history. So for him to produce that against that lineup is, is all the more impressive. I mean, there were, um, you could argue that the Australians were slightly distracted from what was happening in the boardroom at the time, certainly Clem Hill. Um, which is another story we don't need to stress at this point in time, but, um, yes. And as, and as you say, he, he returns to England and then goes on to even
00:10:01
Speaker
even further greatness with his bowling.
Unmatched Success in South Africa
00:10:04
Speaker
So they returned from the 1911-12 tour and then there's this very unique series, the triangular series which was to involve England, Australia and South Africa playing in England. It's often described as ill-fated because there was a lot of I think poor administration but also the weather made it a very
00:10:28
Speaker
unenjoyable series for everyone, except for Sidney Barnes, who in six matches takes another 39 wickets, this is on home soil, and then he follows that up with England's tour of South Africa in 1913-14, which is
00:10:49
Speaker
become quite mythical I suppose in what he achieved on that tour. So he plays four test matches and takes an astounding 49 test wickets. It's almost a feat that has never been and probably won't ever be matched. The singular match at Johannesburg in December of 1913 for example
00:11:13
Speaker
produced figures by pounds of 8 for 56 in the first innings and 9 for 103 in the second, which meant he had 17 for 159 for the match, which is quite astounding. It's to this day, the second best bowling figures of all time. He was surpassed by Jim Laker, of course, who took 19
00:11:37
Speaker
So my question to you, Andy, is how do we assess these quite mythical bowling figures from Barnes today? Firstly, the triangular series, but then this series in South Africa, which was played on matting wickets, I believe. You know, he just took all before him. Was he just at the peak of his pals, or could you argue that
00:12:02
Speaker
there was a bit of weak opposition that he was bowling, too. Well, he was certainly at the peak of his powers. And, well, I think any cricket store in the world agreed that his achievements in Australia in 11-12 were the best achievement, even though 49 wickets in four test matches is pretty special. But you've got to get those wickets. In the triangular tournament, he dominated South Africa and he did very, very well against Australia.
00:12:30
Speaker
In South Africa he dominated, yes South Africa, the team in the triangular tournament was a shadow of the team that had won in England a few years previously and in South Africa in 1314 he seemed to revel in the matting wickets they played on.
00:12:53
Speaker
But South Africa still had some great players. In the series where he took 49 wickets, Herbie Taylor averaged over 50 with the bat. And then there was A.D. Norris from a long family of great players.
00:13:09
Speaker
South African batsmen. So they did still have players that could challenge bonds. England had bowlers that had been taking well over 100 wickets in the county championship, Colin Blythe, other players.
00:13:27
Speaker
they didn't do as well as Barnes did. So Barnes' achievements are still top rank amongst the best ever in test crickets in the triangular tournament and in the series in South Africa. But I would rank his performance in Australia in 11-12 as above those two. I tend to agree. Yeah. And certainly, as I mentioned before, when you consider the
00:13:52
Speaker
the conditions and the Australian side at that point in time. So after the South African tour, obviously shortly after the First World War commences and
Post-WWI Cricket Career
00:14:04
Speaker
we know what happens to international cricket from there on,
00:14:09
Speaker
When the war ends and cricket begins to commence again after the war, England obviously has been decimated by casualties. When we see those first Australian sides reach England, led by Warwick Armstrong, we
00:14:31
Speaker
sort of can tell that England has really suffered from what happened in the First World War. Barnes doesn't play any further test cricket. And he doesn't play any county cricket after the First World War, but he continues to play league cricket and to great effect despite his age. I mean, he's in his mid 40s at this point. Why did he never return to either county or test cricket, do you think?
00:15:00
Speaker
Why did he never get selected? Well, I suppose his age counted against him. People wanted to move on. Also, his greatest supporters, like Archie McLaren, had long since finished their cricket careers. There was a new generation, obviously a lot of the older generation had died in the war. There was a sense of moving on from the First World War.
00:15:25
Speaker
And I think he himself would have thought, well, you know, yeah, I'll do a job if selected, but I'm quite happy playing for Salt Air in the Branford league, playing for Staffordshire during the week, earning lots of money, running my pub in Colwyn Bay, running my cafe bar in Derbyshire. So he had a good, playing the odd first-class match because he also played in first-class matches against touring sites for Wales.
00:15:51
Speaker
in the 1920s. He played against the Indians, the West Indies, to astounding success. He taught lots of wickets in those first class games. So he was probably happy with the way he played in lots of exhibition games against some of the great players because it was in before the First World War, the Lancashire League, for example, their professionals were English professionals. After the First World War,
00:16:17
Speaker
professionals from other countries started to arrive. For example, Leary Constantine from the West Indies, as the West Indies were trying to get test status. So these people he could play against on a regular basis. So he was still playing some very competitive cricket. And he was playing for Staffordshire, as I said before, he was playing against Lancashire 2nd-11, Yorkshire 2nd-11, he played against Len Horton.
00:16:43
Speaker
He played against Jack Aiken. He played against all these people when they were younger and up and coming. He bowled against these people successfully who were giving him stiff competition. He was quite happy.
00:16:58
Speaker
to play that role of an elder statesman. If England had called, I'm sure he would have played, but as you say, he was in his mid-40s, nearly 50, 50 in 1923. I think it's pushing a bit. I think Jimmy Anderson will have retired by the time he's 50.
00:17:20
Speaker
And I suppose, I mean, Wilford Rhodes makes a famous comeback, obviously, but to have perhaps two 50-year-olds in the side would be asking a bit much at that time.
Missed Opportunity Against Bradman
00:17:32
Speaker
Just on those young, up-and-coming players he managed to play against, he never quite had the opportunity to bowl to Bradman, did he?
00:17:41
Speaker
No, no, he didn't. Yeah, that would have been a tantalising prospect, I suppose, for all concerned. I'm surprised a game wasn't arranged in those when he came to England in 1928 or 1930. I suppose Bradman hadn't quite made his name by then, so he wasn't quite as famous a character as he became throughout the 1930s.
00:18:23
Speaker
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00:18:49
Speaker
Andy, we're at the point of the podcast where we go through the statistics. Statistics aren't everything obviously, but in the absence of footage and many photographs, it's one of the
00:19:06
Speaker
best things we have to compare with modern cricketers today.
Remarkable Test Cricket Statistics
00:19:11
Speaker
So I'm just going to run through some of these figures. We've touched on some already. He obviously made his test debut in 1901-02 at the SCG, played his last test on that South African tour in February of 1914, just before the curtain comes down for the First World War.
00:19:30
Speaker
His first class debut and final first class match stretch obviously a larger period. So his first match is in 1894, plays his final match in 1930, which is a very Wilfred Rhodesian lifespan. When we look at the actual numbers, so he played 27 test matches. Again, this is a time when
00:19:55
Speaker
test match opportunities only came around every few years so 27 isn't it's low by today's standards it's not low by those standards so he bowled 7,873 deliveries in test cricket he took 189 wickets at the expense of 3,106 runs
00:20:19
Speaker
As we've mentioned those remarkable bowling figures so best bowling figures in an innings 9 for 103 and he took 17 for 159 his best bowling figures for a match. His test average this is remarkable was 16.43
00:20:39
Speaker
which still today when you see when you look at the best bowling averages of all time he's right up there and on five occasions he took twenty four five wicket holes
00:20:51
Speaker
And seven times he took 10 wicket for the match, 10 wickets in a match. 24, five wicket holes in 27 tests, that is remarkable. That's a good return. And that really just boggles the mind why the selectors didn't pick him more, really. I mean, when you look at those figures, he's almost, he should be the first name put down on the list, really, when you're picking a team.
00:21:16
Speaker
Well, he missed something just over 30 test matches where he wasn't selected in between that first match in Australia in 1901 till the start of the First World War. If he'd have played in those matches and performed as he had in all those games,
00:21:38
Speaker
he would have taken well over 300 test wickets. We wouldn't have been talking about Freddie Truman breaking the record of the number of test wickets or even Lance Gibbs or even some of the great West Indian bowlers. They would have been behind him. So we wouldn't have been talking in the 70s and 80s, 60s, 70s and 80s about these people breaking those records and having the highest number of test wickets. He would have held all those records
00:22:07
Speaker
for a good number of years to the expansion of test cricket in the 1980s. So the mind boggles at what
00:22:16
Speaker
He would have achieved had he been selected all the time. It's an excellent point. But as we've been discussing, you know, the test cricket career of Sydney Barnes is just a fraction of what he achieved on the sporting field.
First-Class and League Achievements
00:22:30
Speaker
So if we move to his first class career, he played 133 first class matches. He took 719 wickets.
00:22:41
Speaker
at the expense of 12,289 runs. Obviously his test match figures are his best individual bowling figures for first-class cricket 9 for 103 and his average in first-class cricket is almost just as good as test cricket 17.09.
00:23:01
Speaker
uh he took five 68 five wicket holes and 18 times he scored or took 10 wickets in a match um but as we've discussed there's another aspect to this statistical story and a few which you could perhaps elaborate on because the records aren't as complete i suppose so in league cricket um he took 4069 wickets
00:23:30
Speaker
Um, at the expense of 27,974 runs. Uh, but his, his average Andy was 6.08. So he took a wicket every six runs. That is just incredible. You.
00:23:49
Speaker
You could, I played lots of league cricket. You could just go out and swing the bat a really good bowler and you will average more than six runs. That figure is mind-boggling. It's figure for Staffordshire as well. 1,441 wickets in Staffordshire. No minus county cricket has ever got near a thousand wickets. And averaging 8.15 in minor counties cricket.
00:24:16
Speaker
where the standard was quite good. It's quite good. Just the level below the county championship. So the figures are just mind-boggling. Over that long period of time, there's no one ever in cricket history to come anywhere near these statistics.
00:24:37
Speaker
So if we were to surmise or put them together as I suppose wickets that he took in his adult life, it's something like 5,000 and you know, it's pushing like 6,000 wickets, which is over 6,000. Yeah, it just shows the hunger of the man to, you know, he obviously loved bowling and he loved taking wickets at all levels. And he must have been truly fit with that
00:25:03
Speaker
long-rangey action of his, you know, to be bowling like that, you know, he must have been a very, very fit person. Yeah. And as we've mentioned, when we're watching cricket today or listening on the radio and they talk about the records that
00:25:22
Speaker
cricketers today are competing against. The name Sydney Barnes often flashes up on screen or it's mentioned on the airwaves because his average was just astounding. And some of those performances in those series, certainly against Australia and South Africa still stand today. He's 49 wickets against South Africa in 1913-14, remains the most in a single test series. And he did it in four matches.
00:25:52
Speaker
I actually sent a copy of my book when it was published in 1997 to Richie Benno, because Australia were in England at that time, and Richie Benno, on one of the commentaries, he said, this guy Sidney Barnes must have been some sort of bowler, 189 wickets at 16.43. I was glad that my book,
00:26:20
Speaker
He brought his name forward a bit more than it had been. It seemed that when I was researching the book, it had been a name that had been forgotten since he died in the 60s, but his records there are just truly remarkable.
00:26:35
Speaker
For the life of me, I can't see any of them ever being beaten. It would just require a colossal, it would require a Sydney Barnes of the 21st century to emerge, who didn't play county cricket, who just played in league cricket and test matches.
00:26:53
Speaker
But in the current system, that's unlikely to happen. Very unlikely. And the allure of playing other formats like T20 is just so great that you're right. I think these records will stand for all time. So Andy, let's finish talking about Barnes' legacy and what happened afterwards. So what do we know about his life?
00:27:17
Speaker
post cricket when he finally put up the flannels, so to speak, because he played when was his final match? It was something he was 67 matches in 1940, I think. I think he played 67 years old. I think he was playing for stone in Staffordshire. Yeah, in 1940. So it would win the outbreak of it would only been the Second World War that would have stopped him going for a few more seasons. Right.
00:27:47
Speaker
Because all cricket stopped in the Second World War. In the First World War, he managed to get a contract in the Bradford League, because obviously there wasn't aircraft around in the First World War. It was a fight going on a long way away in France.
00:28:03
Speaker
The Second World War was truly a world war. So all cricket stopped in the country because of air raids and things like that, because all the young men had to be enlisted. So there would have been no cricket playing. But for sure, he would have wanted to play on for a few more years during that Second World War. So almost certainly, he was in his 70s at the end of the Second World War.
00:28:32
Speaker
He would probably have called it the day. He wouldn't have been getting the exercise, I expect, that he was getting on the cricket field by then.
Legacy and Rediscovery of Barnes
00:28:40
Speaker
Throughout the late 40s, 50s and 60s, he became a celebrity. He was sought after by cricketers of the period, their comments on things. He was a regular attender at test matches.
00:28:56
Speaker
along with his friend, a colleague Wilfred Rhodes, who had turned blind, Rhodes used to guide, Barnes used to guide Rhodes around the terracing, around the grounds, when Rhodes became blind. So he was seen often, he would often be asked for advice from the Staffordshire team, he'd hold court,
00:29:25
Speaker
with anyone who wanted to listen. He was a bit of a reluctant celebrity, but apparently he had a sense of humour. People became very fond of him. He became a
00:29:38
Speaker
famous figure when he died his funeral was televised live by by the BBC in Birmingham and so he was a celebrity but as I say after he died his sort of his legacy died with him really in a lot of ways but he was forgotten a lot along came people break the likes of Truman and Lance Gibbs breaking
00:30:04
Speaker
his record, breaking the record for the most test week, so his legacy sort of died, so I'm very glad that he's become again, a lot of people would name
00:30:16
Speaker
in the cricket world now, because of all the Facebook sites and all the different cricket websites, they always have these lists, the best 11 players of all time. Often Barnes is included in many people's lists, so he has regained some of that legacy, I think.
00:30:36
Speaker
Yes, I know. I've seen interviews where Jeffrey Boycott is often talking about Sydney Barnes and putting him in his personal best 11, which is remarkable to see. And and also Barnes lived to be a grand age, didn't he? Ninety four or something and 94. Yeah. And like Wilford Rhodes, you know, these two men who had long playing careers each lived to be, you know, into their 90s. So many of the
00:31:05
Speaker
golden ages. The cricketers, you know, they died young or middle-aged. You know, you get the legend of Trumper when he dies aged 37. But Barnes probably, you know, testament to his ability to look after his body and that he ate well and things probably helped him live to be 94. And was with Rhodes, you know, they were the two last
00:31:33
Speaker
figures of that age and when they died that sort of closed the curtain on the golden age of cricket, so to speak. Apart from his statistical records, are there any monuments, statues that exist today in honour of Sydney Barnes?
00:31:52
Speaker
Well, in the last couple of weeks I've found out an amazing story about Barnes' Ashes. In the course of doing a club history for a club in Birmingham, I've found out from a journalist
00:32:08
Speaker
that when they redeveloped the Edgbaston ground, they were just about to knock down the bell tower when someone realised that Sidney Barnes's ashes were in there. And just 10 minutes before the bell tower was going to be demolished, they rescued Sidney Barnes's ashes. And now they're sitting in the museum at Edgbaston, but they could have been destroyed forever. Why were they in the bell tower? Do we know?
00:32:38
Speaker
After his death, his legacy and his connection with Warwickshire was in a way spurious. He only played a few games for them. Although he was a Midlands cricketer, and his only connection with Lancashire really was those two seasons he played. So he didn't really have, and many counties' Staffordshire don't really have a home.
00:33:03
Speaker
They, Mander County's cricket, you play at various different club cricket grounds around the county. So they didn't really have a home base where some monument could be installed for them. The only real monument was these ashes at Edgbaston. So now they've been rescued and they were rescued and they're in a safe place until the next redevelopment of Edgbaston.
00:33:29
Speaker
He had a great legacy, but after he died, he was forgotten somewhat. And as I say, when I was researching the book, it was a big surprise to me that no one had done a full-length biography of him because of his achievements.
00:33:46
Speaker
Are we able to ascertain how, I mean, it's a long time ago now and a lot has passed, but, you know, has, have any of the establishment sort of paid tribute to him? Like, are there any monuments to him at Lords or anything, for example, or Lancashire? Is there anything that if the average punter was to go there today, would there be recognition of him somewhere?
00:34:14
Speaker
that at Lourdes there is a famous portrait of him hanging at Lourdes along with W. G. Grace and he's lauded that way, his memories kept kept alive that way. Edgbaston has said that part of the museum is looks at his career. Lancashire was the place where I found lots of my archive material about Barnes because they also keep
00:34:42
Speaker
archive material about the Lancashire Leagues, where he played in a lot. So yeah, he has some memory, but there's nothing like a statue or anything like that. I think that's purely because he never, apart from Staffordshire, which doesn't have the same sort of home
00:35:11
Speaker
feeling as a county cricket club. I'm sure if Stafford should have been a county cricket club and had a home base, like Lancashire of Old Trafford, for example, there would be a statue of Barnes there, but he's more remembered now than he was in the immediate aftermath of his death. So, considering
00:35:35
Speaker
And not only that, what he stood up for in the early 19th century, fighting for his rights, fighting for the best possible pay. He was playing cricket. He started his test career just when the Labour Party was starting in England and taking advantage of universal suffrage. More people were getting the vote.
00:35:57
Speaker
He was very much a man of his time and one of the leaders. I think there's a quote in my book from Bernard Hollywood, who played for Staffordshire at the same time as him, said he could have been a James language or a James Kerr Hardy. He had that about him, that he was a working class hero who fought for the best possible deal for the working man.
00:36:26
Speaker
It's just a pity they were more around him, the cricketers that did the same. Yeah, that's true. As for a statue, I mean, there's still time. I think cricket has actually done quite well to cricket, when you compare it to other sports, to remember the cricketers of the previous century and to retrospectively resurrect them, so to speak. And I can certainly speak from an Australian point of view that the
00:36:52
Speaker
um cricketers of the past you know some of them have only recently had statues made even though they died uh 70 80 years ago so perhaps there's still time and if anyone is listening to this podcast who has the powers to create a statue for Sydney Barnes um I know Andy would support that idea
00:37:11
Speaker
Yeah, that's the problem. It's where would you put it? Lords, Edgbaston, Old Trafford, Melbourne. Well, you can put it in Australia, of course. That's the only problem. It's just where it would be.
00:37:32
Speaker
Yeah, good point.
Hypothetical Modern Cricket Performance
00:37:35
Speaker
Andy, final question, and as my regular listeners would know, this is how I end each podcast, and that's a hypothetical about how would Sidney Barnes approach modern cricket? Would he be as successful with modern cricket? And by modern cricket, I'm talking about all formats, the shorter forms of the game and, you know, even day night cricket. But
00:37:59
Speaker
How do you think he would have approached and succeeded in in the modern world? Judging by what I know about him, he would have signed up for the Indian Premier League, the big bash. And so I'm not playing county cricket. I'm just going to earn a couple of million dollars here and a couple of million dollars there. And and that will be my season for sure. He I'm sure I'm sure he would cope with uncovered pictures.
00:38:29
Speaker
with covered pictures where there wasn't so much help for the bowler. I'm sure he would have, because some of the players he played against, I do a list in the book of who the wickets he got, and they're all, all the most are all top-order batsmen.
00:38:45
Speaker
He very rarely was one of the people who cleaned up tail enders and took his wickets. Most of his wickets, he got Victor Trump out 13 times. And I think Clem Hill was the next one. So he, yeah, you're right. He didn't succeed or his record is not based on sort of those cheap wickets at the end. He really did damage in the opening spell, which is when he was at his best.
00:39:13
Speaker
And I think he would have embraced T20 cricket, for example. A short game where we could excel in a short, not use too much energy, a lot of money. Certainly it was regards to the Indian Premier League, a big high profile.
00:39:32
Speaker
in the cricket world, so I think he would probably embrace that. I think he'd be glad of the money. He wouldn't have had to open a pub or
00:39:46
Speaker
or be a sign writer or work as a collie or clerk. And it also suited his approach to cricket because the shorter form meant less standing in a field. He could do his job, go home and then play another match, go home, etc. And so he possibly would have extended his career even more had he played in that.
00:40:08
Speaker
The Lancashire League, I'm pretty sure at the time it was 32 eight ball overs. So there wouldn't be too much difference in the time and everything. He loved that short form of the game. And obviously thousands watching these grounds, he turned up when there was a crowd and when there was people watching, he really performed. So I think he would have loved modern cricket. He would have adapted, certainly.
00:40:39
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree. Well, Andy, thank you so much for being my guest today. It's been fascinating to hear your thoughts on Sydney Barnes. Really interesting chat and a reminder to my listeners that your book from 97, SF Barnes, His Life and Times, can still be found. I found a copy online, I'm sure, at local libraries if you're keen to read it.
00:41:03
Speaker
we are really publishing it next year in hardback and with a limited edition and with extra chapters of the Sydney Barnes story which I've found out over the years since I've done it.
New Edition Announcement and Closing
00:41:20
Speaker
So look out for that. It's going to be published through through MaxBox, a specialist cricketing
00:41:25
Speaker
publisher in the UK. Excellent, that's good news. I will remind my listeners when it's available and I'll put a link on their podcast website. But thank you Andy, very much appreciate your time and thanks for joining me on the podcast. No, I've enjoyed it. God it could all be breath that long. No, it was a good chat.
00:41:48
Speaker
Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe or favourite the Golden Age of Cricket podcast so you'll never miss an episode. My name is Tom Ford, and until next time, bye for now.