John Barclay, courtesy of The Telegraph, 4 May 2018, where the title runs “How John Arlott and EW Swanton fought to keep cricket honourable”
John Arlott and E W Swanton, with their instantly recognisable voices and incisive prose, defined English cricket commentary in the second half of the 20th century. Their place in cricketing history has already been cemented by comprehensive biographies, which makes Stephen Fay and David Kynaston’s decision to embark on this joint study seem, initially, an odd one. The result, however, is one of the best pieces of cricket writing of recent years, a book that is as much about politics and social change as it is about the men themselves. It is the tale of an age in which British identity – and the sport that defined it – changed for good.
John Arlott commentating in the late Forties CREDIT: COURTESY OF BOUNDARY BOOKS2 May 2018
Pi from AAP
