Charlie Macartney – Mayhem and Artistry
Archie Mac |Published: 2024
Pages: 744
Author: Lloyd, Peter
Publisher: Private
Rating: 5 stars
Circa 1988, and the then oldest extant Australian cricketer, ‘Stork’ Hendry was interviewed for a newspaper article. He made the claim that Charlie Macartney was a better batsman than Don Bradman, and in his all time XI had Macartney at three and Bradman at four. As Hendry had played Test cricket with both, he was certainly in a position to make an educated claim. But to my young eyes, I just couldn’t countenance it. Still, his claim and reference to the fact that Macartney’s nickname was the Governor General (GG), inspired me to do some research. Not as easy in the pre internet and Trove days. I stumbled upon Jack Pollard’s Six and Out – and a piece by Jack Fingleton, in which he quoted the GG, “Macartney, however, held that every ball had a look on its face, it was labelled either 1,2,3,4,6”. He left out the five because he said it was too far to run. What elan! That was it, I was a Macartney devotee.
Over the years, I learnt a lot about the GG, including perusing his autobiography My Cricketing Days (1930) and Peter Sharpham’s – Charlie Macartney (2004). I was pretty confident, that if not an expert, I knew my GG. After reading Peter Lloyd’s magnificent book, I have learnt that although I knew about his cricket I knew nothing about Charlie Macartney the man.
This is as comprehensive cricketing biography as ever penned. We start with the genealogy, which eventually leads to Macartney’s first great cricketing mentor, his maternal uncle, and first class cricketer, George Moore. After a move to Sydney, when still a youngster, Macartney is identified as a school boy prodigy by M.A. Noble, and as one of the shrewdest spotters of talent, the great allrounder was proven right. Noble, as part of the media was also the one to inform the public that Macartney had a nervous breakdown which meant he missed the entire Ashes series of 1924/25.
Macartney had missed the series due to what today is known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but at the time was commonly known as Shell Shock. Lloyd’s in-depth analysis of Macartney’s war experiences and subsequent lifelong issues with PTSD, is writing of the highest order. It seems that PTSD came close to ending Macartney’s career and, if not for the great care of his wife he may never have made his greatest cricketing triumph on the 1926 Ashes tour.
Macartney’s wife – Annie Bruce, plays a significant part in her husband’s life. Lloyd presents her as an intelligent strong woman, who not only nurses him through his dark times, but assists him in his business and later newspaper reporting career. Bruce was a Classics Mistress – and as were the rules at the time, had to retire from her teaching role once she married. Lloyd suggests that some of Macartney’s writings show Annie’s classics touch.
As with all Lloyd’s previous books, he is prepared to call out other authors, whose efforts do not meet his own exacting standards. One example will suffice – “Sharpham’s biography as a whole is in need of forensic scrutiny given his failure to observe basic principles of rigorous research”. Perhaps a little harsh, but given the heights that Lloyd reaches in Charlie Macartney – Mayhem and Artistry, it’s fair to say that he not only talks the talk, he also walks the walk.
Apart from his own fine writing, Lloyd quotes some of the greats, my favourite being this short paragraph from Neville Cardus, on the expected retirement of Macartney –
“(Macartney) stands alone as the most brilliant batsman in the Kingdom of Cricket. He is physically an Apollo in miniature. When he eventually retires and hands up his bat, it will be a reminder of the days when throngs, massed in the sun, (and) wondered if it were not really a wand”.
Lloyd’s book is painstakingly researched, beautifully written and beyond reproach for presentation. For a tome of over 700 pages, I found only two typos and as regular readers of my reviews will know, as an ex printer, I pride myself on finding mistakes. I’m sure there will be a couple of errors in this review of 700 words let alone 700 pages. Charlie Macartney – Cricketing Nobility will be very hard to surpass as the best cricket book of 2024, don’t miss it.
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