Former EP journalist wins yet again...


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"...At a boozy central London bash on Thursday afternoon, Duncan Hamilton's fine biography of Bodyline bowler Harold Larwood became the 21st winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.

Hamilton has form - his book on Brian Clough, Provided You Don't Kiss Me, won 'The Bookie' two years ago - but he was still shocked to become only the second two-time winner in the award's history..."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tomfordyce/2009/11/your_sports_book_of_the_year.html

Stu Frew and I gave some peripheral input, but clearly not enough to merit a 'boozy bash' invite!

His Cloughie book was superb, vast improvement on the filmed 'Damned United'

Cheers

Robt P.

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They actually had a review of "Damned United" on public radio over here. It was pretty funny to hear - firstly knowing that few Americans know enough about (real) football to understand the issues, but then they played clips and the accents were perfect! Stuff nobody born outside the U.K. could understand without an interpreter. I actually had to sit in my car outside a store to listen to the end of it! Brilliant!

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Certainly enjoyed the film more than the book...

No doubt the film casting was superb, and Sheen's Clough portrayal was uncanny.

Also thought the football 'action' was excellent, seemingly much of which was filmed at Chesterfield's Saltergate - as it was considered to more typical of 60's/70's stadia...

The issues here were the many inaccuracies and fictions within the book, sufficient to totally alienate the Clough family.

Cheers

Robt P.

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I too enjoyed the first book, passed on to me from the father in law , and in turn passed on to mine host at my local , he has passed it on else where too. I have purchased the "Larwood" book for FIL foe Christmas and am waiting gleefully for its return some time in February!!! He (No doubt) will be taking it to South Africa for The New Year test match, so it might be a bit battered on it's return!!

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Seems that Duncan spent 4 months in Australia and many weeks around Nuncargate, Annesley and Trent Bridge doing his intense research...

Perhaps worth boring the gallery, yet again, by saying that Larwood's strike partner Bill Voce was my 50's workmate at NCB Bestwood and that in 1977 - the day the Queen came to Nottingham and Trent Bridge hosted the Ashes Test - I ran into Bill once more at the Victoria Station Hotel and he introduced me to his small, slight, stooping companion...Harold Larwood.

For some while after I'd say "Shake the hand that shook the hand of Harold Larwood"

Cheers

Robt P.

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  • 1 month later...

Just finished reading the prize winning Larwood book...which I enjoyed immensely.

Even for the non-cricketing fraternity (95% of our group! :rolleyes: ) it also doubles as a social document of that age...with a predictable Nottingham/Notts emphasis. Coal mining anecdotes from the 1920's were especially interesting...

Cheers

Robt P.

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Glad to hear it's good, (Strange coincidence , the bill for it was in my credit card bill which came today !!!) as I suspected FIL has taken it with him to South Africa, so am eagerly awaiting his return to get my grubby little fingers on it!!

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An interesting thread that I hadn't picked up on before, to meet Larwood and to have worked with Voce must have been an incredible experience.

The war destroyed so many careers, though it has to be said that Larwood and Voce were getting on a bit by 1939, well, by todays standards.

I have to say that the war gave my dad the opportunity to represent the Royal Artillery in a match at Highbury in front of a capacity crowd, it must have been a big thing for a Notts lad used to playing in the local parks.

Lets not forget Hedley Verity, the spinning stooge, operating at the other end of Larwood and Voces power play, the poor man was killed in action during the Italian Campaign, a sad loss, it makes you think how many other potential great athletes, whatever side they were on, lost their lives during the war, the 1948 Olympics must have been a bit of a traversty in reality, so many young folk, lost to us, for whatever reason, should have been there.

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Perhaps not so old as you think, at the outbreak of war.

Bill was 30, Lol slightly older, at 34. Voce didn't play his last Notts game until 1952!

http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/20/20326.html

Hedley Verity still acknowledged as the greatest of England spin bowlers, with a record second to none:

http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/577/577.html

Another superb slow bowler to perish in WWII was Colin Blythe, of Kent and England.

Cheers

Robt P.

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Didn't Larwood work at Bentinck Colliery?? I'm sure I recall that pit gave us many a top class bowler and batsman!

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No specific naming of any particular colliery within the book, but obviously near to Nuncargate.

"...He just wanted to escape from the mines. He'd already worked down two of them". "In those days, he said,'there were so many mines that if you didn't like one of them, you could just get a job at another' "At 14 [1919] he had become a pit-pony boy"..."At 17, he moved on to the night shift at another colliery..."

I know that Bill Voce worked at Annesley Colliery, with a short spell at Newstead...

Cheers

Robt P.

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Just did a bit of surfing, and indeed he did work at Bentinck Colliery. There was two of his workmates who also played for England from that pit, and for the life of me cannot remember who they were.

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