Cricket's Historians

100 The Cricketer Magazine H.Grierson, Sir A.Conan Doyle, Sir Edwin Stockton, A.A.Milne, Rev F.H.Gillingham, A.C.MacLaren, D.L.A.Jephson, etc etc. The contents during that first summer appeared to lack what might now be termed the ‘wow factor’. The serials which ran through many of the issues included ‘Batsmanship’, in 15 parts by D.J.Knight; ‘How to run Public Schools Cricket’ also about 15 parts long, by H.S.Altham; ‘Some Facts and Phases of Cricket in the Country’ by W.E.W.Collins – Part One ‘Psychology’, Part Two ‘The Extreme Psychological Moment’, etc etc.; ‘Fielding’ in six parts by G.N.Foster. Exactly what audience the magazine was designed for is difficult to tell, but it seemed to be Public School sports masters – a fairly limited market. The county scores and Test Matches details were printed, but there was very detailed coverage of these games in the press. The statistical content of the magazine was entrusted to R.O.Edwards, rather than Ashley-Cooper, whose contributions only amounted to a handful of historical articles in the first years of The Cricketer’s existence - perhaps Ashley-Cooper required payment, whereas the ‘amateur’ contributors wrote for amusement? Major Reginald Owen Edwards was the regular contributor on Minor County topics. Born in October 1881 and educated at Christ’s Hospital, he played briefly for Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. The famous story about his being always accompanied on his travels by a set of Wisden and the set being the only item saved when his baggage was stolen on a trip to Russia has become somewhat embellished over the years. What in fact occurred was that the Editor of Wisden asked him to provide statistics concerning Tom Hayward. He took the Wisdens which covered Hayward’s career with him to Russia in 1920, when he was assisting the White Russians against the Bolsheviks. He was detained and searched by what he described as ‘Trotsky’s Intelligence Branch’, they saw no value in the Wisdens ! (Seven pages of Hayward’s statistical career did appear in the 1921 edition of Wisden ). Following his Minor Counties column, he contributed regular features on current affairs in the same magazine under the heading ‘Vin Ordinaire’. Edwards died on November 16, 1925, aged 44. He had been badly gassed in France during the 1914-18 War and had suffered ill-health