A cricket tragic who writes about the pre-war history of the game https://oldebor77.substack.com/https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mx22fv7zzk26For a few weeks in 1931, it looked as if the Lancashire League club Accrington had sensationally signed Donald Bradman, the greatest player in the world, a move that would have ended his Test career. https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/shall-we-lose-bradman?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true04 Oct 2026 09:07 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mx22fv7zzk26https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mwignhyse22wBetween 1919 and 1939, the Roses Match was probably the most intense game in English cricket. Crowds flocked to see, attracted by the drama. But not by the excitement. And all of it was chronicled — sometimes lovingly, sometimes not — by Neville Cardus https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/glimpses-into-eternity?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true27 Sep 2026 08:58 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwignhyse22whttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mw4p62hdq22yIn 1921, England were overwhelmed by an Australian team playing a very modern kind of cricket. The response was to look backwards. That was how the extraordinary figure of Lionel Tennyson became England captain https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/the-wrong-lesson?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true22 Sep 2026 16:58 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw4p62hdq22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mvwujdd54c2wOutclassed by Armstrong’s Australians in 1921, England's selectors thrashed around for solutions. Their answer: to look backwards, to find a throwback into cricket’s glorious past. They appointed Lionel Tennyson as captain, a man who was already an anachronism. https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/the-wrong-lesson?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true20 Sep 2026 09:18 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvwujdd54c2whttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mvdoqittd227Charles Ollivierre was popular wherever life took him: from his early days playing cricket for St Vincent to his career at Derbyshire, in the first years of the twentieth century, when he was the first black West Indian to play county cricket. https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/the-cricketer-at-the-fylingdales?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true12 Sep 2026 18:14 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvdoqittd227https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mvdoqittd227Charles Ollivierre was popular wherever life took him: from his early days playing cricket for St Vincent to his career at Derbyshire, in the first years of the twentieth century, when he was the first black West Indian to play county cricket. https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/the-cricketer-at-the-fylingdales?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true12 Sep 2026 18:14 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvdoqittd227https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mutrib3orc2hThere were few more popular cricketers than Surrey’s Bill Hitch. An enthusiastic fast bowler, a big-hitting batter and an exceptional fielder, particularly at short leg. For a time, he was the fastest bowler in England. And the Oval crowds adored him. https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/bill-hitch?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true06 Sep 2026 10:21 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mutrib3orc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mutrib3orc2hThere were few more popular cricketers than Surrey’s Bill Hitch. An enthusiastic fast bowler, a big-hitting batter and an exceptional fielder, particularly at short leg. For a time, he was the fastest bowler in England. And the Oval crowds adored him. https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/bill-hitch?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true06 Sep 2026 10:21 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mutrib3orc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3muc72z7l3s2xIn 1922, Lord Harris twice intervened to stop players representing their counties after he discovered that they were not qualified owing to loopholes in the rules. But for Harris it was not about rules: it was about fighting Bolshevism! https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/lord-harris-and-the-bolsheviks?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true30 Aug 2026 10:36 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3muc72z7l3s2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3muc72z7l3s2xIn 1922, Lord Harris twice intervened to stop players representing their counties after he discovered that they were not qualified owing to loopholes in the rules. But for Harris it was not about rules: it was about fighting Bolshevism! https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/lord-harris-and-the-bolsheviks?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true30 Aug 2026 10:36 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3muc72z7l3s2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mtqjcem4ic2fEveryone who saw Frank Woolley admired his beautiful style. Yet he is forgotten today; contemporaries said that neither words nor figures did him justice. But underneath the star-struck wonder was a far more complicated figure than legend allows https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/easy-to-watch-difficult-to-bowl-to?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true23 Aug 2026 09:51 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtqjcem4ic2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mt6yn5mnmk2mIn 1919, the Australian Imperial Forces Cricket Team toured England, initially captained by the Australian Test batter Charlie Kelleway. But he was soon replaced by Herbie Collins. No official explanation was ever offered. But there have been plenty of theories https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/owing-to-some-disagreement?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true16 Aug 2026 10:38 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt6yn5mnmk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mt6yn5mnmk2mIn 1919, the Australian Imperial Forces Cricket Team toured England, initially captained by the Australian Test batter Charlie Kelleway. But he was soon replaced by Herbie Collins. No official explanation was ever offered. But there have been plenty of theories https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/owing-to-some-disagreement?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true16 Aug 2026 10:38 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt6yn5mnmk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3msng5qxt3s22JWHT Douglas captained England 18 times but he was rarely the first choice of the selectors. His face never quite fitted: an amateur who played like a professional, who treated every game as a battle and was dubbed by the crowd “Johnny Won’t Hit Today”. https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/a-battle-and-nothing-but?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true09 Aug 2026 10:52 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3msng5qxt3s22https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3msng5qxt3s22JWHT Douglas captained England 18 times but he was rarely the first choice of the selectors. His face never quite fitted: an amateur who played like a professional, who treated every game as a battle and was dubbed by the crowd “Johnny Won’t Hit Today”. https://oldebor77.substack.com/p/a-battle-and-nothing-but?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true09 Aug 2026 10:52 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3msng5qxt3s22https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3msfpljotj22aJohn Vallencey, the Vicar of Rosliston, had absolute faith in his own authority. And he was prepared to go to war with his parishioners to demonstrate it. https://lostlives.substack.com/p/the-vicar-of-rosliston?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true06 Aug 2026 09:19 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3msfpljotj22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3msfpljotj22aJohn Vallencey, the Vicar of Rosliston, had absolute faith in his own authority. And he was prepared to go to war with his parishioners to demonstrate it. https://lostlives.substack.com/p/the-vicar-of-rosliston?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true06 Aug 2026 09:19 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3msfpljotj22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3ms3ugw72u223In 1919, league cricket in England became a genuine competitor to county cricket, able to attract the best players. For a time, administrators feared the effects of the Lancashire League and Bradford League. It was largely, but not entirely, a question of money. https://open.substack.com/pub/oldebor77/p/there-is-only-one-question-a-financial?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true02 Aug 2026 11:19 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms3ugw72u223https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3ms3ugw72u223In 1919, league cricket in England became a genuine competitor to county cricket, able to attract the best players. For a time, administrators feared the effects of the Lancashire League and Bradford League. It was largely, but not entirely, a question of money. https://open.substack.com/pub/oldebor77/p/there-is-only-one-question-a-financial?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true02 Aug 2026 11:19 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms3ugw72u223https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mrkapm4s7c22Andy Newell was an excellent club cricketer who never quite made it at first-class level. But his disappearance and apparent suicide in 1907 made headlines. His obituary even featured in Wisden. The problem was that Newell was not dead. https://open.substack.com/pub/oldebor77/p/secret-lives-and-wasted-sympathy?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true26 Jul 2026 11:11 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrkapm4s7c22https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mrkapm4s7c22Andy Newell was an excellent club cricketer who never quite made it at first-class level. But his disappearance and apparent suicide in 1907 made headlines. His obituary even featured in Wisden. The problem was that Newell was not dead. https://open.substack.com/pub/oldebor77/p/secret-lives-and-wasted-sympathy?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true26 Jul 2026 11:11 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrkapm4s7c22https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mqymngryxs24Hedley Verity was one of the greatest spinners to play for England. But the man — and his cricket — have been submerged beneath the hagiography of the valiant and tragic war hero. His career was less straightforward than the legend ever allows. https://open.substack.com/pub/oldebor77/p/hedley-verity?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true19 Jul 2026 10:57 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqymngryxs24https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mqymngryxs24Hedley Verity was one of the greatest spinners to play for England. But the man — and his cricket — have been submerged beneath the hagiography of the valiant and tragic war hero. His career was less straightforward than the legend ever allows. https://open.substack.com/pub/oldebor77/p/hedley-verity?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true19 Jul 2026 10:57 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqymngryxs24https://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mqu7d7doj22mI never saw Sobers unfortunately, as he was before my time. But if he isn't the greatest ever, then the word has no meaning. Raising a glass to Sir Garry17 Jul 2026 16:48 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqu7d7doj22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mqgz25rvec2eIt has become a legend that as well as being Hampshire’s wicket-keeper in the 1920s (and one of the heroes of a match his county won after being bowled out for 15), Walter Livsey was also the valet of his captain, Lionel Tennyson. The truth was less clear-cut.. https://open.substack.com/pub/oldebor77/p/the-legends-of-walter-livsey?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true12 Jul 2026 10:51 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqgz25rvec2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mqgz25rvec2eIt has become a legend that as well as being Hampshire’s wicket-keeper in the 1920s (and one of the heroes of a match his county won after being bowled out for 15), Walter Livsey was also the valet of his captain, Lionel Tennyson. The truth was less clear-cut.. https://open.substack.com/pub/oldebor77/p/the-legends-of-walter-livsey?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true12 Jul 2026 10:51 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqgz25rvec2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mpvkkg3nxc2dWalter Gilbert, a cousin of WG Grace, fell into disgrace in 1886. Not just for his arrest and conviction for theft, nor for financial struggles that already had resulted in bankruptcy. But for his horrifying decision to turn professional after years as an amateur https://open.substack.com/pub/oldebor77/p/the-thin-partition?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true05 Jul 2026 12:16 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpvkkg3nxc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/oldebor.bsky.social/post/3mpvkkg3nxc2dWalter Gilbert, a cousin of WG Grace, fell into disgrace in 1886. Not just for his arrest and conviction for theft, nor for financial struggles that already had resulted in bankruptcy. But for his horrifying decision to turn professional after years as an amateur https://open.substack.com/pub/oldebor77/p/the-thin-partition?r=8k8o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true05 Jul 2026 12:16 +0000at://did:plc:yc6whbjbh2eube5van6akd46/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpvkkg3nxc2d