Bradman: The Don Declares
A series of eight documentary radio programs on the cricketing life of Sir Donald Bradman which were broadcast on the ABC during the summer of 1987-88. Each 55 minutes program is based upon interviews with Sir Donald by Norman May which are augmented with quotes and extracts from interviews with many of the famous personalities who played with and against Sir Donald during his first-class career. The documentary was also marketed commercially by the ABC. 1987-1988. 7 hours 20 minutes (OH 29/34)
David Studham's Review
J. Neville Turner
Addicted to cricket: essays on the game
Warburton : Bernard Whimpress, 2010
Limited edition of 200. ISBN 9780975049150
I have worked in the MCC Library since January 2, 1994. It is my father’s birthday, so it makes the day very easy to remember. However, I can’t remember when I first met J. Neville. He was a regular researcher and visitor to the library and when I think about it, he is one of those people who is always there.
If there is a major cricket match, you can be sure J. Neville will be somewhere to be found. If it’s at the MCG he could be either in a regular seat in the Great Southern Stand behind the bowler’s arm, or visiting the Members’ Pavilion as guest of one of his many colleagues and fellow devotees of the glorious summer game.
However, if you are fortunate to attend a Test match interstate or following the Australians overseas and you are a betting man (or woman) you would have pretty good odds on Neville being a fellow spectator.
I remember being present at the launch of his last sporting book and was shocked to think it was in 1999! Far too long between books, Neville!
However, this does not mean that I have not had the pleasure of reading Neville’s work, for he is one of the prolific authors, columnists and reviewers and his work appears in a wide range of publications, as the contents of Addicted to cricket: essays on the game can attest. Contributions to Cricket Lore, the Journal of the Cricket Society, Pavilion, Baggy Green and even a piece from The Yorker have all been selected.
This book is a delightful compendium of truly eclectic articles and reviews a diverse range of cricket-related topics. If you know Neville you will expect to find some of the topics like the section on cricket and the law entitled “The Laws and the law”, as well as the pieces on Sir Neville Cardus: “Music Cricket and Cricket Writer” and ”From Beethoven to Bollywood”. No surprises there.
But all of these essays are a delight to read. Neville’s free-flowing style and narrative prose keep the reader interested and entertained. This is the perfect bedtime book, one to pick up, allow to fall open and then begin reading at the start of that entry. There are some short vignettes and morsel-sized dishes that are satisfying and refreshing.
Neville’s writing can be profound, deeply thought-provoking, not afraid to be controversial or tackle any injustice head-on but always entertaining (read his entries on the MCG redevelopment or the way the SCG treats its “clients”). I was thrilled to see the inclusion in the volume of “The One-Day Game: Cricket or Codswallop” from The Journal of the Cricket Society and the Best Australian Sportswriting, where Neville dissects the ODI with the “Inartistic Nature of One-Day Cricket” and the “Defects of the one-day game”. I can’t wait for his critique of T20 and the “New and Improved” format of the Ryobi One-Day Cup.
“A Winter Wonderland” brings back vivid memories of one of the coldest days of my life...watching an ODI at “Colonial Stadium” in a Melbourne winter. It is pieces like his “Statham the Exemplar”, “The Pursuits of the MCG” and “Le Cricket De Paradis”. The latter title had me expecting Faure’s requiem to cricket, but it is a truly delightful account of the traditions of women’s cricket in New Caledonia with a follow-up essay on the Federation Francaise de Cricket Nouvelle Caledonie) that shows Neville at his best with witty asides and commentary. Where else will be read about les batteuses, les lanceuses and players out “captee”?
Whenever you read a piece by Neville you are sure to be educated, entertained and amused. His love of the game is infectious and I am sure you will all enjoy his writings as much as I have.
David Studham
