Harold Larwood: Special event to celebrate life of Ashfield cricket great
A special celebration of the life of one of Ashfield’s most famous sporting figures will be held before the England v New Zealand test match at Trent Bridge next month.
The Cricketer magazine is holding a live show honouring the great England and Nottinghamshire bowler Harold Larwood, who was born in Nuncargate.
The event marks 100 years since Larwood began an international career for which he is best remembered due to his role in the so-called Bodyline series, in which his fast an accurate bowling led England to victory in the 1932-33 Ashes series in Australia.
The controversial Bodyline tactic led to Larwood being scapegoated by the cricketing establishment after Anglo-Australian diplomatic relations were brought to the brink of collapse.
But, in a remarkable twist, the former miner eventually emigrated with his family to Australia, the land where he had been once hated, after his playing career ended.
The show at the Poppy & Pint pub, in West Bridgford, Nottingham, will feature Larwood’s award-winning biographer Duncan Hamilton, who is a former Nottingham Post journalist, and The Cricketer editor Huw Turbervill in conversation on the life, times and legacy of one of cricket's most infamous figures.
Huw said: "I read Duncan Hamilton’s biography of Harold Larwood while on holiday one summer, and quickly realised why it tops polls of cricket books, including one conducted by The Cricketer magazine for its readers in June 2023.
"Larwood's story was incredible. He'd spend a night working in the mines, then play cricket the next morning.
“At first he bowled in plimsolls, as he couldn't afford boots.
“He walked 24 miles for a trial match.
"He was patronised by the establishment.
“The England selectors needed a fall guy for the diplomatic fall-out caused by the Bodyline series in Australia, when he was used to neutralise the genius of Don Bradman in 1932/33.
"They treated him in a despicable fashion.
“It was a travesty that he only played 21 Tests.
"I'm looking forward to hearing Duncan’s account of how he wrote the biography, his views on how Larwood’s life may have unfolded if he had been treated more sympathetically, his later life in Australia and how he might have performed in the modern game.
"I am sure it will be an intriguing and enjoyable evening."
The celebration is on Wednesday, June 24 and tickets are available at thecricketer.com/larwood