Victor Trumper at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Archie Mac |Published: 2024
Pages: 60
Author: Cardwell, Ronald, Cattlin James and Rodgers, James
Publisher: The Cricket Publishing Company
Rating: 4 stars
There is an Australian comedy team with the catch phrase, “Too much sport is barely enough”. For a Cricket Tragic, Too much Trumper is barely enough – and thanks to The Cricket Publishing Company – we’ve enjoyed a plethora of Trumper titles in recent years. The one for review this week, concentrates on the great man’s performances at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). As a Sydney prodigy, Trumper played a lot of cricket at the SCG, from junior cricket to the Test arena his matches there paint a vivid tale of his career.
James Rodgers kicks us off with Trumper’s finest Test century in Australia. The fact it was at the SCG is appropriate, as the Sydney masses adored him. It was the first Ashes Test of the 1903/04 series, and Rodgers does a great job in taking the reader back to what it was like in Sydney at the time. It is amazing to imagine that 10,000 lined the streets in the city centre to gaze at the large Sydney Morning Herald scoreboard. No commentary, just the updating of the score throughout the Test.
And what a Test match. Rain on an uncovered pitch, Tip Foster’s 287 on debut, and controversy – after the great Aussie left hander Clem Hill is given run out, just when he and Trumper looked likely to take Australia to a winning position. After Hill was dismissed, Trumper took the English attack apart and finished on 185* – but on the back of Foster’s big score England ran out winners by five wickets.
After a strong start, James Cattlin keeps the momentum going by providing a statistical breakdown of all Trumper’s matches at the SCG. It seems Trumper was playing on the ground almost every other week during the summer. During Grade, Shield or Test matches over the years, you see the development of the Trumper game. We learn his audaciousness reduced as he aged, and while he still had all the shots, his shot selection became more circumspect.
The next author to write a chapter is Ronald Cardwell, and his choice of subject – Trumper’s 1913 Testimonial sums up the living legend at the time, as well as the timeless icon Trumper has become. It seems that every first class contemporary Australian cricketer wanted to play in the match, and almost every cricket lover from adults to kids wanted to contribute to the fund. 110 years ago there were no credit cards, or TV to pledge your donations. Instead most money was subscribed through newspapers or from collections at the ground. Cardwell also provides some insight into Trumper the man, and his poor business acumen. For example the money raised from his testimonial was put into a trust and not given to Trumper directly. This was due exclusively to his inability to make wise investments.
The last chapter focuses on some of the plaques and memorabilia pertaining to Trumper housed at the SCG. As always this publisher provides some lovely photos throughout and the production values of the publication are first class. I can hardly wait to see what the next book pertaining to Trumper the publisher will produce. The Cricket Publishing Company can rest assured that for the Cricket Tragic too much Trumper will always be barely enough.
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