Oborne & Heller on Cricket

As England play their first Test series in Pakistan for nearly twenty years one of the country’s leading cricket historians, Najum Latif, describes their reception and celebrates the timely republication of a classic work on the start of England’s cricket relationship with the country. He is an expert tour guide to a vanished world as the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast.

Read the full description here: England versus Pakistan – the first seventy years with historian Najum Latif

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Few sights in cricket’s history have been more thrilling than the great West Indian fast bowler Wes Hall in the 1960s bounding in from his long run. He is now Sir Wesley Hall and the subject of a fine new biography Answering The Call by Paul Akeroyd. He creates the same thrill in his spell as the guest in the latest cricket-themed podcast by Peter Oborne and Richard Heller. In Peter’s absence, Roger Alton again faces the bowling.

Peter, Richard and Roger are delighted to put out the appeal again for the MCC Foundation, the MCC’s charity, in the week in which all contributions are automatically doubled. They will be used in support of the wonderful Alsama project in Lebanon which has brought cricket to war-damaged children and to extend the Foundation’s efforts to bring cricket to children in deprived areas at home. To learn more about the appeal and contribute please use this link. https://donate.thebiggive.org.uk/campaign/a056900002MqZHKAA3?dm_i=50AG,O5TN,957ZD,2X7VO,1

Answering The Call The extraordinary life of Sir Wesley Hall is published by J W McKenzie  www.mckenzie-cricket.co.uk

Buy from McKenzie Books or Amazon


Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-107-another-thrilling-spell-from-fast-bowling-legend-wes-hall/

Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected], we would love to hear from you!

In his book Swallows And Hawke, co-written with past podcast guest André Odendaal, the historian Richard Parry gives a uniquely penetrating account of England’s first eighty years of cricket relations with South Africa, ended by the D’Oliveira affair. It is full of pulsating cricket matches in exciting locations – but all deeply entwined with racism and imperialism. He is the guest in the latest edition of the cricket-themed podcast by Peter Oborne and Richard Heller. In Peter’s unavoidable absence, Roger Alton takes up the attack.

Richard explains that racial segregation in South Africa was firmly established long before formal apartheid and in the earliest days of its representative cricket. One of South Africa’s first captains, William Milton, was secretary to Cecil Rhodes, and responsible for the first major racist legislation in British South Africa. Cricket helped to cement the economic relationships of South Africa with British capital and to normalize for the Empire and the outside world the white-dominated society on which they depended. 2-7 minutes He traces the business interests of the controllers of both countries’ cricket, Lord Harris and Sir Abe Bailey, which turned England – South Africa cricket relations for eighty years into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Consolidated Goldfields. 8-9 minutes

On the field, the cricket was memorable. He identifies three phases. The first, before 1900, was started with a pioneering tour led by Aubrey Smith, later a knighted actor and founder of the celebrated Hollywood Cricket Club. The early tours had long, hard and dangerous travel conditions before the arrival of major railways (25-27 minutes) and played largely exhibition matches, often against odds. The second phase after the Boer war saw victories by South Africa’s quartet of bowlers who had mastered the new mystery ball, the googly. These were avenged by 49 wickets in just four Tests by Sydney Barnes.  He sets out the playing conditions which the brilliant Barnes demanded for himself – and why he refused to take even more wickets by walking out of the fifth Test. (33-34 minutes) Then for nearly fifty years after the Great War England’s visits produced series which were not settled until the last day of the final Test, in contrast to the many dead Ashes rubbers of the same period. 10-12 minutes 

Richard tells stories of the great cricket played in these matches, including the epic duel between Barnes and South Africa’s legend, Herbie Taylor, (34-37 minutes) and the so-called timeless Test in 1939, when England’s pursuit of a target of 696 was ended by their need to catch the boat  home – or risk being stranded by the impending war. (38-42 minutes) England’s captain in that series, Walter Hammond, had many relationships over a long period with South Africa: one ended in his second marriage. Like other players of his era, he benefited from media silence about his off-field activities. 42-47 minutes 

England Tests in South Africa attracted huge crowds – almost exclusively white, despite the efforts of campaigners including Gandhi. The few black and coloured spectators at major grounds were herded into special pens, where they showed their feelings by cheering for England. 12-14 minutes

And more...

Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-106-before-doliveira-the-glories-and-the-shame-of-englands-tests-against-south-africa/

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Ed Smith played cricket for Kent, Middlesex (as captain) and England, was an incisive commentator on Test Match Special and was England’s Chief Selector from 2018 to 2021. In that role, he drew on learning from many different fields as well as those of cricket, as he reveals in his recent polymathic book, Making Decisions. He is the latest guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their cricket-themed podcast. 

Ed begins by describing his childhood training for the post of Chief Selector, in role play in the classic game of Owzat. He suggests that selecting is simultaneously highly complex and highly democratic: all cricket-lovers have views, if not votes, and never hesitate to express them. Social media have opened up new and often unusual perspectives on selection and strategy.

Current form and a past record in county cricket were once the sole basis of selection of England’s international players, but he and his panel looked at other factors as well. He suggests that the gulf in playing standards has widened between county and international cricket. The dramatic and successful selection of Jofra Archer for the 2019 World Cup was based on IPL evidence.  IPL games are not only highly competitive but rich in detailed televised data.

He cites some players who made inauspicious starts in international cricket but whose evident quality demanded their retention, especially Jos Buttler in England’s one-day cricket. Selectors face a constant dilemma of when to over-ride data and rely on their personal assessments of players, as Duncan Fletcher had done with Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan. Decision-makers who always play safe and follow conventional wisdom never add value to the decision process – and not only in cricket. Although cricket has no transfer market, like football and other sports, it is still imperative for selectors to find undervalued players (by reputation) and offload overvalued ones.

He cites the guidance of the conservative philosopher Michael Oakeshott on how to choose among the runners in the Derby and other classic horse races: “there are no precise rules for selecting the winner and some intelligence not supplied by the rules themselves is necessary.” Scientific systems can filter out obvious losers, but human judgement is needed to identify the attributes of a winner.  Sam Curran would never have been selected by scientific algorithm: he was picked after a human assessment of his personality and his ability to add variety and enhance team performance.

He argues strongly that selection must always aim to create the best possible team from the resources available for the contests ahead. The team’s needs will sometimes entail omitting a fine individual player and giving a long run to players whose figures appear unexceptional: he gives three examples of this by his panel. In T20 cricket it is especially important to get the maximum value from the best batter in a limited span of overs and to surround him or her with the players that contribute the most to achieving this. A strong team culture will overcome the disappointment of the individuals passed over for particular matches and remove their fear of being discarded and forgotten.

Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-105-a-select-offering-from-ed-smith/

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Two highly successful captains of village cricket teams, Tom Greaves of Reed, Hertfordshire, and Callum Widdows of Horningsham, Wiltshire, are the latest guests of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast. They share the problems and triumphs of making cricket thrive in local communities – where it belongs.

Both were raised in the villages they now captain, but had little exposure to cricket in primary school. At around 12 years old each was inspired by watching the thrilling Ashes series of 2005 on free-to-air television. It led Callum into long practice sessions in his garden trying to imitate Freddie Flintoff, and then into seeking out the under-13 squad in the nearby town of Warminster. After an initially unpromising reception from the coach, this would give him his first experience of captaincy.

Cricket had had little appeal for Tom and his younger brother: they thought it a game for posh people. They were golfing tearaways (literally) carving divots from the lovingly tended Reed cricket pitch when practising their golf shots. One happy day the groundsman marched them into the nets and made them practise with bat and ball instead. They were converted to cricket, and the following summer alternated long net sessions with a dash home to watch the 2005 Ashes. Before long Tom was opening the batting for Reed’s under-14s and he has been deeply involved with the club ever since...

Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-104-from-the-captains-table-cricket-in-two-village-communities/

Get in contact by emailing [email protected]

Fernando Sugath, a Sri Lankan expatriate, has been playing cricket in Lebanon for 25 years, in some extraordinary places and despite some extraordinary obstacles. With Will Dobson, an English expatriate and a bookseller in Beirut, he recently organized the biggest cricket tournament in Lebanon’s turbulent history. They are the guests of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast.

Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-103-the-cricketing-car-park-of-beirut/

Get in contact by emailing [email protected]

After sixty years’ experience in all forms of media, Mike Coward has become one of the most honoured reporters and analysts of cricket in his native Australia and across the world. He is the guest of Peter Oborne and Richard Heller in their latest cricket-themed podcast.

Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-101-mike-coward-sixty-years-of-great-cricket-writing/

Get in contact by emailing [email protected]

Most of cricket’s history for nearly three hundred years can be found behind a small shopfront in a quiet suburban street in Surrey, forty minutes on the commuter train service from London Waterloo. It is easy to miss on a first visit. The most obvious landmark is the large plastic poodle promoting the dog grooming parlour next door. But a closer inspection shows a handsome carved wooden cricket frieze at the base. Peter Oborne and Richard Heller went there to meet England’s premier cricket bookseller, John McKenzie, the guest in their latest cricket-themed podcast.

Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-99-at-the-wonder-house-of-cricket-books/

Throughout his playing career, Sir Geoffrey Boycott made a habit of celebrating special occasions with a century. It makes him the ideal and appropriate guest for Peter Oborne and Richard Heller on the hundredth recorded edition (according to official statisticians) of their cricket-themed podcast. With him is his new opening partner, Jon Hotten, his collaborator on a revealing, intimate book Being Geoffrey Boycott.

Signed copies and two limited editions – celebrating Sir Geoffrey Boycott’s 100th first-class hundred and 108 Test caps, respectively – of Being Geoffrey Boycott are available to buy from thenightwatchman.net.

Standard copies are also available to Oborne & Heller on Cricket listeners at the discounted price of £19.99 + p&p when you use coupon code OHBOYCS at the checkout.

Read the full description here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-98-high-performance-or-last-performance-campaigner-alan-higham-dissects-the-ecb-review-of-english-cricket/