iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

For a few weeks in 1931, it looked as if the Lancashire League club Accrington had sensationally signed Donald Bradman, the greatest player in the world, a move that would have ended his Test career. oldebor77.substack.com/p/shall-we-l...

oldebor77.substack.com

“Shall We Lose Bradman?”

An Offer from Accrington, 1931

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I get the impression even if he was brisk, he would toss it up as well, especially on flatter pitches. He bowled a little differently if it was turning. And I don't think he was afraid to be hit. Also, when Paynter hit him for those sixes, he bowled badly on a sticky wicket.

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Between 1919 and 1939, the Roses Match was probably the most intense game in English cricket. Crowds flocked to see, attracted by the drama. But not by the excitement. And all of it was chronicled — sometimes lovingly, sometimes not — by Neville Cardus oldebor77.substack.com/p/glimpses-i...

oldebor77.substack.com

Glimpses into Eternity

Neville Cardus and the Roses Match, 1919–1939

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

In 1921, England were overwhelmed by an Australian team playing a very modern kind of cricket. The response was to look backwards. That was how the extraordinary figure of Lionel Tennyson became England captain oldebor77.substack.com/p/the-wrong-...

oldebor77.substack.com

The Wrong Lesson

Lionel Tennyson’s Appointment as England Captain in 1921

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Outclassed by Armstrong’s Australians in 1921, England's selectors thrashed around for solutions. Their answer: to look backwards, to find a throwback into cricket’s glorious past. They appointed Lionel Tennyson as captain, a man who was already an anachronism. oldebor77.substack.com/p/the-wrong-...

oldebor77.substack.com

The Wrong Lesson

Lionel Tennyson’s Appointment as England Captain in 1921

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

But no-one loved him more than his friends at the Fylingdales Inn, near Whitby, where he spent many happy days.

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Charles Ollivierre was popular wherever life took him: from his early days playing cricket for St Vincent to his career at Derbyshire, in the first years of the twentieth century, when he was the first black West Indian to play county cricket. oldebor77.substack.com/p/the-cricke...

oldebor77.substack.com

The Cricketer at the Fylingdales Inn

The Life of Charles Ollivierre

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

But no-one loved him more than his friends at the Fylingdales Inn, near Whitby, where he spent many happy days.

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

oldebor77.substack.com

The Cricketer at the Fylingdales Inn

The Life of Charles Ollivierre

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

There were few more popular cricketers than Surrey’s Bill Hitch. An enthusiastic fast bowler, a big-hitting batter and an exceptional fielder, particularly at short leg. For a time, he was the fastest bowler in England. And the Oval crowds adored him. oldebor77.substack.com/p/bill-hitch...

oldebor77.substack.com

Bill Hitch

Adored at the Oval

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

oldebor77.substack.com

Bill Hitch

Adored at the Oval

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

In 1922, Lord Harris twice intervened to stop players representing their counties after he discovered that they were not qualified owing to loopholes in the rules. But for Harris it was not about rules: it was about fighting Bolshevism! oldebor77.substack.com/p/lord-harri...

oldebor77.substack.com

Lord Harris and the Bolsheviks

“It means revolt, revolt against law and rule”

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

oldebor77.substack.com

Lord Harris and the Bolsheviks

“It means revolt, revolt against law and rule”

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Sewell says 19 minutes (I've not read the original but he's quoted in Gideon Haigh's biography of Armstrong)

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

But a contemporary grumble in the Morning Post does indicate that Armstrong bowled more than his fair share.

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I'm not sure Woolley is the best source for much, to be honest. But EHD Sewell mentioned this incident before Woolley (who does not name Armstrong as the culprit in King of Games) in a book published in 1923. And there WAS a lot of trouble in the 1909 season with trial balls, not just with Armstrong

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Everyone who saw Frank Woolley admired his beautiful style. Yet he is forgotten today; contemporaries said that neither words nor figures did him justice. But underneath the star-struck wonder was a far more complicated figure than legend allows oldebor77.substack.com/p/easy-to-wa...

oldebor77.substack.com

“Easy to Watch, Difficult to Bowl to, Impossible to Write About”

The Puzzle of Frank Woolley

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

In 1919, the Australian Imperial Forces Cricket Team toured England, initially captained by the Australian Test batter Charlie Kelleway. But he was soon replaced by Herbie Collins. No official explanation was ever offered. But there have been plenty of theories oldebor77.substack.com/p/owing-to-s...

oldebor77.substack.com

"Owing to Some Disagreement"

The Sacking of Charlie Kelleway

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

oldebor77.substack.com

"Owing to Some Disagreement"

The Sacking of Charlie Kelleway

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Reposted by Old Ebor

Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

JWHT Douglas captained England 18 times but he was rarely the first choice of the selectors. His face never quite fitted: an amateur who played like a professional, who treated every game as a battle and was dubbed by the crowd “Johnny Won’t Hit Today”. oldebor77.substack.com/p/a-battle-a...

oldebor77.substack.com

"A Battle, and Nothing But"

J. W. H. T. Douglas: Cricketer, Fighter, Second Choice

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

oldebor77.substack.com

"A Battle, and Nothing But"

J. W. H. T. Douglas: Cricketer, Fighter, Second Choice

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Reposted by Old Ebor

Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

John Vallencey, the Vicar of Rosliston, had absolute faith in his own authority. And he was prepared to go to war with his parishioners to demonstrate it. lostlives.substack.com/p/the-vicar-...

lostlives.substack.com

The Vicar of Rosliston

"I will not yield to any who insist on having a right to do as they like"

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Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

John Vallencey, the Vicar of Rosliston, had absolute faith in his own authority. And he was prepared to go to war with his parishioners to demonstrate it. lostlives.substack.com/p/the-vicar-...

lostlives.substack.com

The Vicar of Rosliston

"I will not yield to any who insist on having a right to do as they like"

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Reposted by Old Ebor

Old Ebor @oldebor.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

In 1919, league cricket in England became a genuine competitor to county cricket, able to attract the best players. For a time, administrators feared the effects of the Lancashire League and Bradford League. It was largely, but not entirely, a question of money. open.substack.com/pub/oldebor7...