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Since September 1882, hundreds of outstanding Australian and English cricketers have stepped onto the field in the fiercest and most famous battle in cricket - the battle for The Ashes. The 124 year-old competition has produced dozens of players who stood apart from their contemporaries to acquire the mantle of a legend. But who were the best of the best?
To mark the 2006-07 Ashes Series, cricket commentators Jim Maxwell (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) and Christopher Martin-Jenkins (The Times UK) have teamed up with historians at the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) and England’s Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford DNB) to put together history’s ultimate cricket contest.
The greatest test match of all time hits off today, hosted by the Oxford DNB at www.oxforddnb.com. (Journalists see http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/ashes for a preview) Cricket fans can make their own judgement about the teams. The selectors’ commentaries are on the website which has links to individual biographies in the respective online dictionaries.
The Australian side, selected by Maxwell, includes 11 all time greats drawn from the Australian Dictionary of Biography (www.adbonline.com.au), and the English side, selected by Martin-Jenkins comprises 11 English legends who are included in the Oxford DNB.
With Sir Donald Bradman out of the team because he won’t appear in the ADB until a later edition, Maxwell selected a player just as worthy of the Captain’s mantle. “In the absence of Bradman, Victor Trumper would always be the first picked for a historical Australian team. Trumper’s legendary reputation was to be overrun by the phenomenal scoring feats of the Don. England’s bowlers may be relieved that Bradman is unavailable for this selection, but Trumper’s elegance and artistry produced many masterpieces, and he was Australia’s crown prince of the Golden Age. Sir Neville Cardus wrote, `he was the most gallant and handsome batsman of them all’,” he said.
“Trumper’s dashing and innovative batting would be complemented by his opening partner, Bill Woodfull, whose seemingly impregnable defence encouraged nicknames such as `Unbowlable’ and `Worm-killer’. Under Woodfull’s resolute and dignified leadership, Australia twice recovered the Ashes; he was the only captain to accomplish this.”
Martin-Jenkins expressed relief that Bradman was excluded. “To choose any England side to defeat an Australian team that had access to Don Bradman, the greatest batsman of them all, would have been tricky. However, it’s my good fortune that the Don will not appear in the Australian Dictionary of Biography until the next edition, so I am hopeful that my England XI will be unbeatable,” he said.
“I make [W. G.] Grace my captain. He took the art of batting to a new level but also collected an enormous horde of wickets by cunning bowling, and was the equal of any fielder as a young athlete before age and good living expanded his figure.
“To spin the ball we have first Rhodes with his incomparable flight, then Jim Laker, whose 19 wickets out of 20 in the Old Trafford Test of 1956 may still be used by Australian grandfathers to petrify any Australian youths inclined to be unruly at bedtime. Should any Australian somehow survive, the captain will be only too pleased to tease them out with his mixture of guile and gamesmanship.”
Editor of ADB, Dr Diane Langmore, said an imminent Ashes series quickens Australians’ anticipation of summer like no other event. “National pride is at stake. The English and Australian historical elevens selected from the Oxford DNB and the ADB would have fought a hard, fair and friendly contest. May the tradition continue in 2006-07.”
Her opposite number at the Oxford DNB, Dr Lawrence Goldman said, “We're delighted to take part in `history Ashes', bringing together two great national dictionaries and 22 legendary cricketers, to provide readers with memories and talking points until our boys bring home the urn.”
| ADB/Australia XI |
Oxford DNB/England XI |
1. Victor Thomas Trumper (1877-1915)
2. William Maldon [Bill] Woodfull (1897-1965)
3. Clement [Clem] Hill (1877-1945)
4. Charles George Macartney (1886-1958)
5. Stanley Joseph McCabe (1910-1968)
6. Warwick Windridge Armstrong (1879-1947), captain
7. Jack Morrison Gregory (1895-1973)
8. William Albert Stanley [Bert] Oldfield (1894-1976)
9. Frederick Robert Spofforth (1853-1926)
10. Clarence Victor [Clarrie] Grimmett (1891-1980)
11. Charles Thomas Biass Turner (1862-1944) |
1. Sir John Berry [Jack] Hobbs (1882–1963)
2. William Gilbert [W. G.] Grace (1848–1915), captain
3. Walter Reginald Hammond (1903–1965)
4. Denis Charles Scott Compton (1918–1997)
5. Peter Barker Howard May (1929–1994)
6. Wilfred Rhodes (1877–1973)
7. Leslie Ethelbert George Ames (1905–1990)
8. George Herbert Hirst (1871–1954)
9. Harold Larwood (1904–1995)
10. James Charles [Jim] Laker (1922–1986)
11. Sydney Francis Barnes (1873–1967) |
*Jim Maxwell’s Australia XI is selected from the 81 cricketers included in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. The ADB currently contains biographies of 11,237 men and women who shaped Australian history and who died before 1981. It is for this reason that Sir Donald Bradman, and other greats who died after 1981, do not appear in this team.
*Christopher Martin-Jenkins’ England XI is selected from the 118 cricketers included in the Oxford DNB. The dictionary currently contains biographies of more than 55,000 men and women who shaped British history, all of whom died before 2003.
For more information: Jane O’Dwyer, ANU Media Office, 02 6125 5001 / 0416 249 231
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