TRIBUTES TO MURRAY HEDGCOCK
CWC members and friends have been paying tribute to senior member and former News Corp London bureau chief Murray Hedgcock, who has died at the age of 90. Murray was an active member of the Cricket Writers' Club, serving on the Book Award subcommittee since its inception, and most recently helping to judge the 2020 award. The number of contributions from across the membership is testament to the high regard in which Murray was held. READ MORE May 11th 2021
GEOFF WHEELER TRIBUTE by Pat Gibson
Geoff Wheeler, one of the oldest members of the Cricket Writers’ Club and a familiar, smiling face at club lunches, dinners and annual meetings for more than 50 years, has died after a long illness. He was 86. Geoff was Cricket Correspondent and Sports Editor of the old Exchange Telegraph, which members of a certain age will remember supplied news by ticker tape to business offices and gentlemens’ clubs as well as newspapers.READ MOREMay 5th 2021
DOBELL ANNOUNCED AS NEW CWC CHAIR
Respected correspondent George Dobell has been welcomed as the new Chair of the Cricket Writers’ Club, succeeding Alison Mitchell, who has stepped down after a highly productive two years in the role. Dobell is Senior Correspondent at ESPN Cricinfo and was unanimously voted in by the CWC Committee to succeed Mitchell. That decision has now been ratified by the membership at the club’s recent AGM. READ MORE April 28th 2021
DOMESTIC COVERAGE CONFIRMED
CWC is delighted to report that further to the ECB committing to fund eye-witness written reports of the Men's LV= Insurance County Championship and Vitality Blast, all matches in the Women's Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Regional T20 will also be covered by eye-witness reporters through the ECB Reporters' Network. Eye-witness coverage has also been confirmed for all Royal London Cup games, funded by the First Class Counties. READ MORE April 21st 2021
MEMORIES OF HOSTING PRINCE PHILIP
Following the sad news of the death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Cricket Writers' Club recalls the occasion in 1948, when His Royal Highness was special guest at a CWC Dinner with the touring Australian team. According to a history of the CWC written by Alex Bannister (Chair 1960), "the first speeches given by Lord Birkett, the eminent advocate and Don Bradman were broadcast by the BBC and were so captivating that the 9 O'Clock News was delayed." Footage from the dinner can be viewed here via British Pathe. READ MORE April 9th 2021
CWC STATEMENT ON REPORTERS' NETWORK
Following ECB cut-backs to coverage of domestic cricket, and the governing body's confirmation of plans for the2021 Reporters’ Network so far, CWC has issued the following statement: READ MORE March 30th 2021
CWC URGES ECB & COUNTIES TO CO-FUND
Following CWC’s Open Letter of 11th March, the Cricket Writers’ Club has received detailed testimonies stating that a huge drop off in coverage is to be expected as a result of cuts to the ECB Reporters’ Network – the body of reporters who provide the nation’s media outlets with reliable agency-style reports on men’s and women’s domestic cricket. Feedback has been received from an array of cricket specific and general sports media outlets who use the reports, including leading websites, national radio networks, and more than 40 regional titles who wish to retain the level of coverage provided previously. The cuts will result in reduced wordage, no features, minimum quotes, and many games not having a reporter present at all. The following report has been shared with ECB and County Chief Executives. READ MORE March 18th 2021
MARTIN JOHNSON TRIBUTE - by Mike Selvey
He slipped away gently in his sleep on Saturday morning in a beautiful hospice with his family visiting in turns, which is the least he deserved after a year of excruciating, debilitating suffering from inoperable and, because of the delay in proper diagnosis, untreatable cancer of the jaw. His frequent trips (outings to him) to hospitals in Cheltenham, Gloucester and Worcester for tests or to have a stomach tube reinserted, say, earned him loyalty cards. Given his other underlying health issues which included a moderate stroke and emphysema (but not, he noted, obesity given that he hadn’t eaten solid food for a year, had been fed through a stomach tube for much of the time and was skeletal) he thought it a triumph he hadn’t completed his ailment bingo card with covid. By the end, he was, he said, pretty pissed off with it all. He had had enough. READ MORE
CUTS TO DOMESTIC CRICKET COVERAGE
The Cricket Writers' Club has written an open letter to all users and beneficiaries of the ECB Reporters' Network, detailing serious concerns about the cuts the ECB is making to coverage of men's and women's domestic coverage for 2021. The ECB Reporters' Network is the body of journalists engaged by ECB to provide the written-word match reports and features that are read by supporters in their local and regional newspapers, digital/non-digital magazines and websites, including BBC Sport, The Cricketer, Wisden Cricket Monthly and Cricinfo. CWC believes an estimated 70% of coverage will be cut, and reporters will often be expected to write reports on matches they aren’t at. CWC is urging the game to collaborate to find a financial solution, enabling every men’s and women’s professional game to have an eye-witness reporter present throughout the season. READ MORE March 11th 2021
ALAN HILL TRIBUTE - by Anthony Bradbury
Alan Hill, born in Yorkshire in 1928, had a lifelong love of cricket and cricketers. That lifetime extended into his own nineties until he died on 5 February this year. His much loved wife, Betty, with whom he had enjoyed sixty years of marriage had died a few days earlier on 29 January. Alan and Betty had no children and were totally devoted to each other. It is fitting that they should pass away within a few days of one another. READ MORE
COMMITMENT TO TOURING
The Cricket Writers' Club remains committed to ensuring members can tour to cover international cricket on site whenever possible. However, the impact of the ongoing pandemic means the BCCI are not allowing on-site access to any media, local or international, during the upcoming England men’s tour of India, except for the host TV broadcaster. This is the same policy as was employed for the IPL. READ MORE