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In this episode we meet and talk to a visiting Australian group who are from the Harrow Discovery Centre, a small museum in Victoria Australia.

The museum is dedicated to spreading the story of the first touring Australian sporting side, a group of aboriginal cricketers, who came to the UK in 1868.

Led by an English professional cricketer by the name of Charles Lawrence they played 47 matches stretching from May through to October and, as part of the tour, they came to Swansea.

The Harrow Discovery Centre has just published the 4th edition of a book about the cricketers and their visit was part of a promotional tour for the book.

Swansea plays quite a significant part in the story they have to tell. The photograph taken at Swansea on the day of the match, is one of the few surviving photographs of the team. When Cricket Australia decided to honour the most famous aboriginal cricketer, Johnny Mullagh ( traditional name, Unaarrimin ) by naming a man of the match medal after him, descendants of the players wanted to have an image of the whole team at the centre of the buckle produced. So now, the Swansea photograph sits at the heart of the Mullagh Medal which is presented to the Man of the Match for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The episode features speeches and interviews with the Australian party and the Swansea Cricket Club as well as the museum's own Andrew HIgnell.

For those interested in discovering more about the aboriginal team, including Johnny Mullagh, you can visit the Harrow Discovery Centre website here:

https://harrow.org.au/

Fiona Clarke, the descendant of two of the players who was in attendance is an artist who has gained great prominence in recent years in Australia. You can see her work here:

https://www.fionaclarke.com.au/

The book about the tour, Cricket Walkabout, does not have a UK publisher, but is available via the internet (we will not recommend any particular sites) but you could consider purchasing a copy from the Discovery Centre shop which is available via their website. All profits from the sale of the book will go towards the work of the discovery centre.

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Just over a year ago we visited Hay-On-Wye to witness the first ever game of cricket played as part of the Literary Festival between the local Hay Club and a celebrity XI picked largely from the ranks of the world famous Authors XI.

This year, the Festival has agreed to making this fixture an integral part of its activities on a day dedicated to a number of sports related meetings and speakers.

This episode of the podcast tries to capture the day, talking to Hay Club stalwarts as well as the celebrities / writers associated with the Authors XI.

Listen out for contributions from:

Ebony Rainford Brent (Broadcaster and ex England cricketer)

Stephen Fry (multi talented broadcaster / actor / writer)

Tom Holland (Historian and co-host of The Rest is History Podcast)

Matt Thacker (MD of company that runs Wisden Cricket Monthly and editor the Wisden Journal The Nightwatchman

Andrew Kojima (Chef and writer)

For those interested in Ebony Rainford-Brent's book, you can purchase a copy here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Test-Match-Special-Everything-greatest/dp/1785949500/ref=asc_df_1785949500?mcid=d17a7a06d32e30188956fe318b91d8bc&th=1&psc=1&hvocijid=7672195198612755959-1785949500-&hvexpln=74&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696285193871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7672195198612755959&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007460&hvtargid=pla-2281435177618&psc=1&gad_source=1

We hope you enjoy the listen

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In this episode we hear Toby talk about about the following:

His coaching philosophy

The coaching process and, in particular, his use of video analysis

The drills he uses with players to correct batting issues or to develop their batting potential

The three stages to change for a batter

His use of WhatsApp as a tool to keep in touch with clients

Toby Radford's Batting Booth

His book, Getting to Grips

The five fundamentals of batting

His best moments as a coach

If you are interested in getting in touch with Toby, head to his website:

https://tobyradfordcricketcoaching.com/

You can purchase his book here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Getting-Grips-Breakdown-Batting-Expanded/dp/1782552847/ref=asc_df_1782552847?mcid=0823a4f8eff3384f8708ca6708c98b97&th=1&psc=1&hvocijid=3078148220777049017-1782552847-&hvexpln=74&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696285193871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3078148220777049017&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007460&hvtargid=pla-2281435177578&psc=1&gad_source=1

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In this episode we talk to ex Glamorgan CCC Coach Toby Radford. He talks about his early learning of the game, being coached extensively by his father and of his early successes in junior cricket.

We talk about his first class career and then his embarking on a coaching career at the early age of 26.

Toby tells us about how he came to be coach of the Middlesex side and recounts what was probably his gtreatest cricketing exoerience, winning the 2008 T20 Cup with the county.

His next major coaching experience was in the West Indies and Toby recounts the players he worked with and the experience of living in the Carribean.

Along the way we hear about his work with Andrew Strauss, some of his coaching philosophy and he finishes with his reflections on his time at Glamorgan.

For those interested in discovering a little more about Toby, you can visit his website here:

https://tobyradfordcricketcoaching.com/

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In this episode we bring together two Andrews. One is Andrew Hignell, curator of the museum of welsh cricket and Andrew Renton who is ex-curator at Amgueddfa Cymru, The National Museum of Wales.

Together, they tell the story of a small china cup that was made at the Nantgarw China works at some time between 1820 and 1822. The dates here are important because the artefact may be the earliest known sporting artefact in Wales. It depicts a cricketing scene and was decorated by a well known artist who had made a living painting china and porcelain. His name was Thomas Pardoe.

Andrew Renton makes mention of several places in South Wales where you can see examples of and learn about the porcelain industry in south wales. Below you will find linkes to these places:

The Nantagrw China Works Museum:

https://www.visitwales.com/attraction/historic-site/nantgarw-china-works-museum-2169291

The National Museum of Wales:

https://www.gov.wales/national-museum-wales

The Glyn Vivian Art Gallery

https://www.glynnvivian.co.uk/

Swansea Museum:

http://www.swanseamuseum.co.uk/

If you know of any further examples of this type of cricketing artefact you can contact Andrew Hignell at the Museum of Welsh Cricket on museum@glamorgancricket.co.uk or via the podcast on mwcpod1921@gmail.com

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In this episode we talk to Glamorgan CCC top order batter Sam Northeast who, in the first game of last years County Championship went to Lords and managed to compile the highest ever first class innings recorded at the Home of Cricket.

He scored 335 not out in a Glamorgan first innings total of 620 for 3.

You can take a look at the scorecard here:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/county-championship-division-two-2024-1410192/middlesex-vs-glamorgan-2nd-match-1410264/full-scorecard

This is how reporter Nick Webb covered the story for the BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/68749184

If you would like to watch some of Sam's shots during that innings you can go here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7tmEsD27FA

Here is the article carried on the Glamorgan website with the details of the records Sam broke and set during those two days at Lords:

https://glamorgancricket.com/news/stat-attack-sam-northeast-has-a-day-to-remember-at-lords

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In this episode we talk to Wales Over 50s cricket coach and player Mark Davies. Mark had a very brief career with Glamorgan CCC before being offered the opportunity to play for Gloucestershire, which he did for 4 seasons in the early 1990s.

For his first-class careers statistics you can go here:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/mark-davies-11829

You can also read his profile on the Glamorgan Archives website here:

https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/mark-davies/

For those interested in the Wales Over 50s Cricket Team you can follow their exploits via their Facebook page 'Wales Over 50s Cricket'.

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This season represents an historic departure for Glamorgan CCC as they play both a men's and women's professional team for the first time in their history.

But the path to this point has been a long and arduous journey for women's cricket.

In this episode we talk to Jill Matthews who, as a young Jill Ayres, played a significant role in women's cricket in South Wales during the 1950s and 1960s.

She gives us an insight into what it was like being a woman interested and keen to play cricket at that time, the difficulties faced by the players in maintaining their organizations and the enjoyment she got from playing the game.

For those of you who would like to learn a little more about the development of the women's game in Wales, you can go here:

https://www.cricketmuseum.wales/the-evolution-of-womens-and-girls-cricket-in-wales-1/