Last weekend’s very pleasing and inspiring results put us a little further ahead in the Club Championship.
The details, especially 1st Grade’s emphatic victory, are well covered in the other reports on the website this week.
So, I want to recommend a book to you!
It’s called ‘Swift Underhand’, a biography of John Kinloch by Max Bonnell.
Ok…who’s Max Bonnell?
Max played for the Club very successfully, taking 278 wickets in his ten seasons from 1987 until 1997. He captained one of our Premiership sides. He’s currently an adjunct Professor of Law at Sydney University. He’s written or helped write at least seven books on cricket and cricketers, mostly fascinating studies of some of the most influential figures in Australian cricket. Max’s gift is to uncover facts that have been long hidden and to weave them into a compelling story.
Well, he’s done it again with this study of John Kinloch
And…Who was John Kinloch?
I’ll give you a few of the facts then you’ll have to read the rest of the story.
1832…Kinloch was born in Dublin.
1838…he migrated with his family to Australia.
1847…the first record of him playing cricket, as a 15 year old for the ‘Union Club’
1852…he was one of the first group of undergraduates enrolled at Sydney University
1854…he played in University’s first recorded game, against The Garrison and took at least 8 wickets for the match. He was the first Secretary of the University Cricket Club and can be correctly known as the founder of the Club. He also helped form the NSW Cricket Association.
He played 3 games for NSW, taking 12 wickets, bowling his fast under armers.
He played at least 18 games for University, taking well over 100 wickets at an incredible average of 3.85!
If Kinloch founded the Club in about 1854, why are we celebrating 150 years in 2014?
It seems that the original Club didn’t play any games for a while and was only revived in 1864 and has had continued existence since then
Enough!
Read it and find out about our rich early history.
It’s available from Roger Page Cricket Books
rpcricketbooks@unite.com.au
James