Author’s Note

It was while I was pushing the third and heaviest of three crates containing 51 boxes of cricketana up our driveway that my wife Susan questioned my sanity. Again.

‘How much of all this do you intend to keep?’ she asked, knowing full well that it was all bound for my library. ‘Hope there’s something new.’

It was September 2011 and my biggest-ever cricket collection purchase included books, Wisdens, rare between-the-wars cricket magazines and souvenir brochures, every ABC Cricket Book bar one, trade and cigarette cards, scrapbooks and hundreds of original team and action photographs.

The collection was vast and took weeks to sort. ‘Please don’t throw anything out,’ I’d asked my friend’s family and, true to their word, it all arrived intact. Talk about Christmas coming early.

The collection belonged to northern New South Wales farmer Gordon Vidler, who died at 90 on 27 August 2008, the centenary of Don Bradman’s birth. His son Bob said every farm conversation would always include cricket and the Don.

‘It didn’t matter what we were discussing, tractors, feed, whatever. Dad would always find a way of talking about Bradman,’ he said. ‘He first wrote to him in 1933 and they corresponded regularly for a good 60 years and more.’

The Don gave Gordon a pair of gloves which are now on display at the Bradman Museum in Bowral. In 1983 Gordon visited the Don and Lady Jessie in Adelaide, fulfilling a lifelong dream to shake the Don’s hand. Bob and his wife Sue still have the photo in pride of place at the farm.

Gordon loved anything to do with the game. Seeing a photograph he liked in a newspaper, Gordon would write away for it, to newspapers in Sydney and Melbourne and to many in the UK.

‘Dad loved it when the latest envelope or package would arrive with the mail,’ his son said. ‘He was collecting right up until the end. He just loved it.’

As I sorted through the treasure trove of photographs, some ‘specials’ caught my eye and immediately I filed them away for a future project… this one.

Among the boxes were dozens of precious team and individual photos, all in their original sleeves, many of which I’d never seen before. Several of the action pictures were signed, including one by Bill Brown and his great opening partner Jack Fingleton, which is included in this book. Another was signed by two other between-the-wars champions, the two Bills: Ponsford and Woodfull. There was a whole series from Manuka Oval of Don Bradman’s very last game, including one with Sir Robert Menzies, Australia’s cricket-loving Prime Minister of the time.

There were dozens of other more contemporary ones, too, like Bobby Simpson and Bill Lawry, Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee, and the South Africans Graeme Pollock and Eddie Barlow.

About this time my publisher at The Five Mile Press, Julia Taylor, was in touch, canvassing ideas for a 2012 cricket book.

‘Your timing is impeccable,’ I said. ‘I’m surrounded by photos. There are some beauties among them.’

The result is Dynamic Duos: Cricket’s Finest Pairs and Partnerships, and I’d like to thank Julia and everyone at The Five Mile Press for their support of my latest project, my third in as many years with FMP.

While Gordon’s photographs were an inspiration, having access to the research skills of one of Australia’s leading cricket statisticians, Charles Davis, was a huge bonus and many of Charles’ fascinating tables are also included here.

Take Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer, for example, who are pictured on the cover. One of Australia’s ultimate opening pairs, they did significantly better when they opened up together. The only Australian ground where they failed to average 50-plus was the WACA Ground in Perth. Matty did me the honour of contributing the foreword.

As Charles was able to show, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were finer, more effective bowlers operating in tandem, building pressure and reaping the rewards like no other pair in history. Whenever one was absent, the other invariably would not do as well.

I would toss Charles some thoughts and ideas and within 48 hours, back would come the replies with some remarkably detailed charts. He even re-enacted, over by over, the famous Mackay-Kline last-wicket stand which saved a Test match in Adelaide during the incomparable West Indian summer of 1960–61.

Charles’ statistics, like Gordon’s photos, have helped to add substance, fibre and fun to this book.

My thanks, too, to so many friends and Test cricketers of note who all answered my queries and SOSs. Among them were Ian Brayshaw, Mark Browning, Stephen Chalke, Greg Chappell, Colin Clowes, Bob Cowper, Jamie Cox, Tony Crafter, Cathy and David Cruse, Ross Dundas, Patrick Eagar, Peter French, Sourav Ganguly, Stephen Gibbs, Adam Gilchrist, Ron Harbourd, Neil Harvey, Ian Healy, Mahela Jayawardene, Bill Lawry, Rod Marsh, Colin McDonald, Arthur Morris, Bruce Postle, Glyn Powell, Craig Reece, Trevor Ruddell, Kumar Sangakkara, Greg Shipperd, Bobby Simpson, Clive van Ryneveld, John Ward, Wasim Akram and Bruce Yardley. My sincere thanks to you all.

My family have also been very supportive, especially my wife Susan who continues to allow me to indulge my passion for writing about the game – and for collecting!

Until next time… enjoy.

Ken Piesse

Mt Eliza, July 2012