The Sport That Governed While Pretending Not To

The Sport That Governed While Pretending Not To

The Life and Death of Toni Corazza

The Adventures of Harry Edward Harmer

Although famous for his success as a bowler — and as one of only four men to take over 3,000 first-class wickets — J. T. Hearne of Middlesex was just as well-known for his utter respectability, the…

The Adventures of Harry Edward Harmer

Although famous for his success as a bowler — and as one of only four men to take over 3,000 first-class wickets — J. T. Hearne of Middlesex was just as well-known for his utter respectability, the…

Although famous for his success as a bowler — and as one of only four men to take over 3,000 first-class wickets — J. T. Hearne of Middlesex was just as well-known for his utter respectability, the epitome of what the amateur establishment wanted from professional cricketers.

A murder-suicide in a Lancashire cotton mill

From Bob Thoms to Dickie Bird

From Bob Thoms to Dickie Bird

A murder-suicide in a Lancashire cotton mill

A murder-suicide in a Lancashire cotton mill

A murder-suicide in a Lancashire cotton mill

Herbert Charles Tebbutt is one of only a handful of cricketers to have been murderers. An accomplished schoolboy cricketer and a wealthy man, he inexplicably killed his common-law wife Helen Williams (nee Jenks), her daughter, and their two children in 1932. He then killed himself.

Herbert Charles Tebbutt is one of only a handful of cricketers to have been murderers. An accomplished schoolboy cricketer and a wealthy man, he inexplicably killed his common-law wife Helen Williams (nee Jenks), her daughter, and their two children in 1932. He then killed himself.

How Some Things Never Change

How Some Things Never Change

Having turned his back on first-class cricket, Sydney Barnes carved out a career at club and minor county level. But a surprise recall to the England team in 1907–08, when the selectors struggled to put a team together, opened the door for a return to Test cricket. Over the next six years, he went from rebellious professional to one of the greatest bowlers of all time.

Having turned his back on first-class cricket, Sydney Barnes carved out a career at club and minor county level. But a surprise recall to the England team in 1907–08, when the selectors struggled to put a team together, opened the door for a return to Test cricket. Over the next six years, he went from rebellious professional to one of the greatest bowlers of all time.

Sydney Barnes was plucked from obscurity by Archie MacLaren to play for Lancashire and England. However, he refused to behave in the way professional cricketers were expected to at the time. Nor did he set the cricketing world alight, falling some way short of the potential that everyone saw in him. The result was a messy falling out.

Sydney Barnes was plucked from obscurity by Archie MacLaren to play for Lancashire and England. However, he refused to behave in the way professional cricketers were expected to at the time. Nor did he set the cricketing world alight, falling some way short of the potential that everyone saw in him. The result was a messy falling out.

S. F. Barnes is one of the few bowlers to have played over a century ago who is still remembered — and even revered — today. The main reason is that his statistical record remains astonishing, but it goes deeper than that. Barnes has become a legend, even if like all legends, the truth was slightly different. But only slightly.

S. F. Barnes is one of the few bowlers to have played over a century ago who is still remembered — and even revered — today. The main reason is that his statistical record remains astonishing, but it goes deeper than that. Barnes has become a legend, even if like all legends, the truth was slightly different. But only slightly.