The Museum at the Home of Cricket: An Interview with Neil Robinson (Part 2)

CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket Podcast

Neil begins by outlining the story of the stuffed sparrow that is one of the more unusual items in the MCC Museum and one that has a link to Glamorgan as the ball that was bowled immediately before the sparrow was discovered was bowled by Jahangir Khan, father of Majid Khan, Glamorgan’s first overseas player.

The discussion then moves on to books and, in particular, the books that have been written, wholly or in the main, after research at the MCC library and archive. The following books are outlined by Neil:

John Major’s ‘More Than a Game’:

https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/more-than-a-game-the-story-of-crickets-early-years-john-major?variant=39571071696974

Peter Oborne’s ‘Wounded Tiger: A History of Cricket in Pakistan’

https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Wounded-Tiger/Peter-Oborne/9781849832489

Peter Obourne ‘Basil D’Oliveira, Cricket and Conspiracy: The Untold Story’

https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/peter-oborne/basil-doliveira/9780751534887/+/

David Woodehouse ‘Who Only Cricket Know: Hutton’s Men in the West Indies 53/54’:

https://www.waterstones.com/book/who-only-cricket-know/david-woodhouse/9781909811591

Prashant Kadambi ‘Cricket Country: An Indian Odyssey in the Age of Empire’:

https://www.waterstones.com/book/cricket-country/prashant-kidambi/9780198843146

Future publications that are upcoming are:

David Kynaston and Harry Ricketts ‘Richie Benaud’s Blue Suede Shoes: The Story of an Ashes Classic’:

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/richie-benauds-blue-suede-shoes-9781526670274/

this is published on 23rd May 2024

Leo McKinstry ‘Bill Edrich: The Many Lives of Englands Cricket Great’:

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/bill-edrich-9781399407823/

this is published on 18th July 2024

Jeremy Lonsdale ‘An Unusual Celebrity: The Many Cricketing Lives of Bill Bowed’:

https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/unusual-celebrity

this is published on 10th June 2024

Neil also talks about his book, The Long Shot Summer: The Year of Four England Cricket Captains. You can read more about it here:

https://www.amberley-books.com/long-shot-summer-the-year-of-four-england-cricket-captains-1988.html

After this literary excursion, Neil outlines the staff group at the Museum. They are:

Alan Rees

Charlotte Goodhew

Heather Lomas

Matthew Howe

Neil talks about an item in the collection that has a specific relationship with Glamorgan. It is a poster advertising a gala week to raise money for Glamorgan County Cricket Club.

We talk about the oral history project undertaken at the Museum of Welsh Cricket called Tale-Enders and how it influenced Neil’s approach to the work of the MCC Museum in general and specifically the project they launched called Taking the Field.

Finally, Neil touches on what he sees as the importance of sports museums in telling the history of people in a particular place and at a particular time and he finishes with the details of how people can get in touch with and / or visit the museum.

For details of the tours of Lords or contacting the museum you can go here:

https://www.lords.org/mcc/heritage-collections/what-we-do