1 CD: 48 minutes 22 seconds

1 CD, John Woodcock, cricket writer, interviewed by David Rayvern Allen. The CD consists of 9 tracks. Track 1: [0:00-0:41] Introduction by Rayvern Allen, [0:42-1:23] Woodcock talks about loving cricket since being at prep school, [1:24-2:21] Woodcock talks about going to the Dragon School in Oxford and then St. Edwards and falling during the Second World War which curtailed him from playing cricket to a good standard, [2:22-3:02] Woodcock talks about playing club cricket in the 1950's for Free Foresters and Arabs, [3:03-3:22] Woodcock talks about preferring batting and being part-time wicket-keeper, [3:23-4:19] Woodcock talks about organising a yearly village cricket match and getting famous name to play. Track 2: [0:00-0:17] Woodcock talks about Longparish winning the National Village Championship, [0:18-1:51] Woodcock talks about his parents and family ties to Longparish, [1:52-2:41] Woodcock talks about his family ancestry, [2:42-4:45] Woodcock talks changes in village cricket during his lifetime including how competitive school crickey has become. Track 3: [0:00-0:48] Woodcock talks about parents watching school sport matches, [0:49-1:31] Woodcock talks about how village cricket has changed and the difficulties in getting a team together, [1:32-1:53] Woodcock talks about the demands of modern life impacting on modern cricket, [1:54-3:23] Woodcock talks about attending Oxford University, [3:24-3:53] Woodcock talks about playing cricket and other sports for Trinity College at Oxford University, [3:54-4:48] Woodcock talks about briefly being a schoolmaster, [4:49-5:18] Woodcock talks about working for Jim Swanton. Track 4: [0:00-0:27] Woodcock talks about replacing John Kitchen and being friends with him, [0:28-1:23] Woodcock talks about recording the 1950-1951 MCC tour to Australia for the BBC, [1:24-2:01] Woodcock talks about going on tour to Australia by boat, [2:02-4:36] Woodcock talks about what it was like working for Jim Swanton and mentions others who worked for him including Scyld Berry and Irving Rosenwater. Track 5: [0:00-1:42] Woodcock talks about having strong memories of the 1950-1951 MCC tour of Australia and listening to Neville Cardus, [1:43-2:42] Woodcock talks about where Neville Cardus lived and writing in pencil, [2:43-4:58] Woodcock talks about Neville Cardus telling stories. Track 6: [0:00-2:34] Woodcock tells a story about a dinner marking Denis Compton's 50th birthday and the type of player he was, [2:35-3:20] Woodcock talks about what he saw of the 1947 cricket season, [3:21-5:02] Woodcock talks about Len Hutton being England's first professional captain. Track 7: [0:00-2:30] Woodcock talks about Len Hutton being the first professional captain of England and Yorkshire cricket always being seen as good, [2:31-3:10] Woodcock talks about whether Brian Sellars could have captained England, [3:11-3:57] Woodcock talks about Norman Mitchell-Innes, [3:58-4:52] Woodcock talks about Johnny Clay. Track 8: [0:00-0:39] Woodcock talks about Len Hutton being the first professional captain, [0:40-1:15] Woodcock talks about how long he worked for Jim Swanton as his secretary, [1:16-3:59] Woodcock talks about moving to The Guardian and his first Test Match covering the 1952 Indians in England. Track 9: [0:00-2:03] Woodcock talks about his writing style for The Guardian, writing a ghosted piece of Denis Compton and nom-de-plume's, [2:04-4:49] Woodcock talks about England winning the Ashes in 1953 and celebrating after MCC winning in Melbourne in 1950-1951 and knowing Harold Larwood. A back-up copy of this CD is included.

Open

English