David Robertson’s guide to the best Kent Cricket books

Kent Cricket’s honorary curator David Robertson gives you a guide to the greatest books on Kent Cricket through the years.

In 1977 was published A Bibliography of Cricket, commonly known amongst collectors of cricket books, pamphlets and other cricket paraphernalia as “Padwick”, because it was compiled by E.W. Padwick.

It records more than 12,000 items. A second volume, containing over 4,000 items was published in 1991. Then in 2004 came a further publication listing more than 1000 items compiled by Stephen Gibbs and carrying the title “Not in Padwick”.

Hundreds of Kent items are listed in those three publications, many of which are biographies, autobiographies, histories and statistical works.

My choice of ten Kent cricket books, most of which are in the bibliography, is a purely personal one. They are listed in no particular order. It does not reflect my judgement on the literary merit of any book, but rather seeks to give the reader an insight into Kent cricket, its history and achievements and the many personalities that the game has thrown up in more than 300 years.

Most are out of print but may well be available through David & Keith Summerfield or from other specialist cricket book dealers.

The History of Kent County Cricket, edited by Lord Harris

This massive work published in 1907 under the editorship of the Fourth Lord Harris.

This first volume covers, in seven chapters under the heading of Kent Cricket, the history of the game in the county from 1705 to the Club’s first Championship success of 1906.

Five later chapters are written as reminiscences by a succession of club captains. It also covers the early Australian tours to England, Kent’s American tour of 1903 and, important to those interested in the statistical side of the game, a register of Kent cricketers from 1729 to 1906 with brief biographies, players’ performances year by year and match results.

This work has been supplemented by a series of Appendices covering the period from 1907 to 2002. In 1997 a two volume facsimile of the original work and each of the Appendices was published in a limited edition of 200 copies.

In 2002 a quartet of Kent cricket enthusiasts published a further appendix covering the period 1985 to 2002. The original work and the appendices are long since out of print. For a set in good condition you would expect to pay around £130-£150.

The two volume facsimile, you could purchase at around half that price whilst the third volume (appendix “J”) is still available through the Club, priced at £25.

Continuing with histories, more modest in price, and appealing to the general reader and not the statistician, are two I would recommend.

County Cricket Histories by R L Arrowsmith

The first, as part of a series by the cricket writer and historian was published in 1971 and records the playing history from the early days up to the great Championship success of 1970.

It describes individual players, their performances and their achievements. It is nicely illustrated with over 40 black and white photos of teams and individuals.

A copy in good condition with dust jacket would cost £8-£10 and can usually be found in the catalogues of specialist cricket book dealers.

The History of Kent County Cricket Club by Dudley Moore

More recently, Kent born writer and journalist Dudley Moore, who reported on Kent cricket for for more than twenty years, wrote The History of Kent County Cricket Club, published in the Christopher Helm County Cricket Histories series in 1988.

A Personal View by Derek Underwood

Penned by way of an introduction to the 25 years of his involvement from when he joined the staff as a sixteen-year-old in 1962.

The author charts the Club’s record of achievements from 1870 after a chapter on old heroes featuring some of Kent’s famous players from the very early days up to the 1850s.

He writes of the two great periods in the Club’s history: the years leading up to World War One with four Championship titles, through the inter-war years featuring Freeman, Woolley, Chapman and many other heroes of those days.

It continues with the post World War Two period and the emergence of Colin Cowdrey and those who in 1970 became Champions for the first time in 57 years, going on to win ten trophies in that period.

This is an eminently readable book that should appeal to the younger Kent cricket enthusiast who will not have lived through those memorable years. It is nicely illustrated and has a excellent statistical section. Although long since out of print, copies are available on the second-hand market at around £8-£10.

Trophies and Tribulations by Clive Ellis and Mark Pennell

A further history, published in 2010, covers forty years of Kent cricket and is the work of two journalists, both enthusiastic supporters of Kent.

Clive Ellis, former Daily Telegraph reporter whose first book, A Biography of C.B. Fry, won the Cricket Society’s jubilee literary award, and Mark Pennell, the Kent Messenger Group’s former cricket correspondent and regular contributor to Wisden and other cricket publications.

Apart from an opening chapter on the origins of the Club, it covers the years from 1957 to 2010. This work not only records the 1970s “Glory Years” but goes on to highlight the difficulties that followed those years of success.

Face-to-face interviews with players of the day add to the appeal of the book. It is profusely illustrated with an attractive pictorial dust jacket. Second-hand copies are available for £10-12. The three works that span the years of the Club’s existence can be obtained for around £30.

Colin Blythe, Lament For A Legend by Christopher Scoble

Among Kent’s all-time greats is the legendry Colin Blythe. At this time of Remembrance we recall that he was the most outstanding cricketer of all those who lost their lives in the Great War. I was privileged to assist Christopher Scoble in 2005 with his research into the first published biography of one of England’s most outstanding bowlers.

This is a sensitive book that tells the story of the Deptford cockney who has become a poignant symbol of cricket’s Golden Age.

He once took fifteen wickets in a Test Match against South Africa but it is as a player for his county that he is best remembered. Among his many remarkable bowling performances was his seventeen wickets in a single day’s play against Northamptonshire in 1907. A large part of one chapter is devoted to that amazing single day of Blythe’s career.

The author grew up in East Kent and went to school in Canterbury. The book is beautifully written and includes a number of previously unpublished photographs.

It is a delightful story and a worthy biography of an outstanding cricketer who played an outstanding part in Kent’s four pre-WW1 championship successes. The cover price if still in print is £16.99 but copies should be available through the second-hand market.

Woolley, The Pride of Kent by Ian Peebles

There are few who can match the remarkable all-round record of Frank Woolley who graced the cricket grounds of Kent, of England and world-wide for more than thirty years. Only Jack Hobbs scored more runs than Woolley’s 58,959.

Only a few exceeded his 2,066 wickets and no-one has come near to his career record of 1,018 catches.

The Middlesex and England leg spinner Ian Peebles, who played for England as Woolley’s international career was drawing to a close, has written the only full-length biography of one of the most remarkable all-round cricketers.

Published in 1969 and with a foreword by Colin Cowdrey, this is an outstanding biography of another of Kent’s cricketing greats from the years of success before WW1 through to the eve of WW2.

It charts his achievements from his triumphant debut season of 1906, Kent’s first Championship season, through to his farewell in 1938 when at the age of 51 he was still fit enough to appear in 29 games, scoring 1,532 runs.

First published in 1969, copies are regularly available on the second-hand market.

Tich Freeman: The Decline of the Leg Break Bowler by David Lemmon

Former schoolteacher and life-long cricket enthusiast, David Lemmon became a prolific writer, producing around fifty books in a relatively short period including a biography of the Kent great.

The five feet two inches-tall Freeman, made his debut in 1914 when he played in just eight games, but his career did not take off until 1920 when, at the age of 32 he recorded his first 100-wicket haul.

That was the first of seventeen seasons during which he never fell below the three-figure mark whilst in all first-class games between 1928 and 1935 he took in excess of 200 wickets with the record achievement, never likely to be beaten, of 304 in 1928.

Whilst the book highlights the post WW2 decline of a type of bowler rarely seen today, it is also an interesting and very readable biography of a remarkable cricketer who shared the stage with so many Kent greats of the inter-war period. It is also fairly easily available in the second-hand market at modest cost.

Indelible Memories, Playing Fields and Battlefields by Tony Pawson

Tony Pawson is not an immediately recognisable name in the annals of Kent cricket, but to those whose early days of watching their heroes at Canterbury his name will always be associated with fun and enjoyment.

As one of the last genuine amateurs, his appearances were mainly confined to the month of August and his innings, just 70 of them spread over seven years, especially in partnership with Godfrey Evans, were a delight to watch.

But this autobiography, is not just cricket, which played only a relatively small part in his sporting life.

It is an absorbing account of an all-round individual published in 2005 when the author was 84.

It covers his early life at Winchester, where military training was an integral part of his education, serving him well for a distinguished army career through World War Two, his business life and his experiences as a journalist.

He was an outstanding amateur footballer for Pegasus and England, represented Great Britain at football in the 1952 Olympics and also appeared in two games for Charlton Athletic.

In later life he became an accomplished angler, winning international honours. He was awarded the OBE for his services to that sport in 1988.

All this and much more makes this book an interesting and enjoyable read. It includes colour and black and white illustrations tracing his long and impressive life through all its stages.

Copies are available in the Kent Cricket Shop for £20.

M.C.C. The Autobiography of a Cricketer by Colin Cowdrey

It is not unusual for biographies and autobiographies to be written either halfway through or before the end of a sporting career. That’s not the case with my final biographical choice.

Colin Cowdrey’s career effectively ended in the golden summer of 1975 and one year later his autobiography was published. This is the story of a distinguished cricket career.

Yet his life was much more than that, spanning a period of some fifty years from his early promise at Tonbridge, through  to Kent and England captain and Kent’s seasons of glory in the 1970s and then moving into the topmost spheres of influence in international cricket and to the House of Lords.

Colin Cowdrey was a little over seventeen and a half years old when he made his county championship debut against Derbyshire in 1950. His final first-class game was against Surrey in the second game of the 1976 Canterbury Week.

He was then in his 44th year and had played 402 first-class matches for Kent in 26 years. His outstanding career is documented with characteristic modesty, and the book is nicely illustrated with 25 pages of black and white photo prints.

Copies are available on the second hand market, priced at around £5.

The Canterbury Cricket Week: Its Origin, Career, And Jubilee 1842-1891 by E. Milton Small

My final choice is something very special in my collection. I found it some years ago in a general book dealer’s catalogue, priced at £30. A bargain at the time and more so now as in a recent specialist catalogue it was on offer at £500.

Published in 1865, it covers the Canterbury Weeks from 1842 to 1851. In addition to the scores of the matches, it carries detailed accounts of the performances of The Old Stagers and its unique attraction is that was the first cricket book to contain photographic plates, including one of Nicholas Felix. Full scores of the matches played are also included.

The front cover title and the page edges are in gilt. There is a list of subscribers and promise of a second volume that never materialised. However, a much more condensed work, covering the Week’s first fifty years, compiled by E. Milton Small, was published in 1891 by J.A. Jennings, City Printing Works, Canterbury.

That occasionally becomes available at around £40 to £50 depending on condition.