EXPLODING THE MYTH

Radio Record, 10 June 1938, Page 13

EXPLODING THE MYTH

By

JACK

DAW

Radio Sports Cameo Puts Cricket Giant of Past In His Place

pAVOURITE literary pastime of the 20th century has been the wholesale destruction of the giants of other days. New radio does it with an NBS broadcast in the sports interview series which already has a history of its own. . .@ history that includes bringing the voice of a dead man to his relatives. . . and @ remarkable interview with "a New Zeeland lady called Cuddle."

NE can imagine the old doctor tugging at his beard ‘aud giving a snort of rage: "Averages? There's more to cricket than _-

t averages. "These young fellows like Hobbs and Bradman may have the biggest averages, but who has the biggest personality? "What’s the name that is graven on dusty pitches whereever the game is played, in memory of a high, chuckling iaugh, of a consummate shrewdness and a native wit that seemed to come down from the generations of English rustics? For his bigness, apart altogether from petty averages! What’s the name?" And no doubt he himself would supply the answer. "Dr. W. G. Grace." {jXE cau hear the doctor's high yoice in eomplaint ag he listens in some Elysian sphere where batsmen never get ruu out and cricketers make centuries all day long... He will make it after listening-in to the NBS radio broad. cast from the world below on the eve of the ‘first cricket Vest at 8.45 p.m. uext Thursday from 2YD, and later from iPe main National stations, Hearing the broadcast, "Talking of Cricket," in a radio preview last week, I was amazed to find how low the sreat doctor's ranking was in the batting averages for Tugland-Australia Test matches. Head of the list came Bradman, next Sutcliffe, then Hammond, Hobbs, Leyland, McCabe and Ranjitsinjhi. Grace came Only eighth.

T is ua good, typical broadcast, presented in the form of a discussion between several voices Four men are arguing on the question of the greatest batsman of all time. Faded into the argument comes an NBS interview With Fuirfax, the Australian cricketer, recorded some time ago. "Who is the greatest batsman of all time?’ asks the juterviewer, "Without doubt, Bradymin," says Fairfax, He gives his reasons, and then the four voices again tuke up the argument, hotly sometimes, in a way that gives the illusion of a real discussion that you can hear any day in a pavilion, on a street corner, in a bar, AFTERWARDS comes the flood of statistics, a bit overwhelming to an listener, but all through them rings the uame of Bradman, Bradman. Bradman The name sounds again and again like the refrain of a chant by worshippers.

Highest individual ; score in first-class cricket, 452 not out . Bradman, " number of scores over 300 in, first-class cricket .. 0! Bradman,

Highest individual score in England-Australia Tests ... Bradman. Secoud highest individual score in Hngland-Australig Tests ... Bradman. And so on. ITH the long fuse of facis, the myth of Dr. Grace’s greatness as a batsman is exploded. ‘he whole piece ends with a burst of musie, as if the mederns of this century, having bowled out the great giant of the last, were marching off in triumph.: This broadcast is the latest addition to the intriguing list of sports interview recordings made by the NBS in the last few years. a) UST lately one of these sports interview recordings: had a strange outcome. os Before Christmas, in the series, a recording was made of an interview with Mr. H. Spurdle, one of the bestknown sports secretaries in New Zealand. He was the only man in New Zealand who had given -50 years’ continuous service as secretary to a rowing club. It was the Clifton Club in Waitara. He had been secretary to the Clifton Ruebv

Football Club and the Waitara Racing Club, and Mayor of Waitara. He died just over a fortnight ago. ST week officials of the service were making ar. rangements to grant the request of his relatives that they might have a copy of that sports interview record. The man is with them no longer, but they can still have his yoiee. ‘THERD are many record- ; ings of interviews with famous sporting personali‘ties in the NBS shelves, ‘One, I am told, is taken out again and again on request. It is an interview, punetu-’ ated with neighs, with one of New Zealand’s most famous ladies, She won the New Zealand Cup in Christchurch, and twice won the Auckland Cup. Her name is Cuddle. OR a pleasant, whimsical recording, I ‘have heard nothing better made in New (Continued on page 87.)

Exploding The Myth THE VOICE OF CUDDLE

(Continued from puge 13). Zealand. The voice of Cuddle is the voice of a lady. She tells the story of her life... "My dad was English. His name was Psychology. He was high and mighty and not like my mother, a New Zealand lady with the beautiful name of Caress. I got my brains from my dad and my heauty from my mother." At times she neighs in a manner that is always delicious-some-times with shyness, sometimes with modesty, and sometimes with scorn. There is more to it than just the interview. A recorded running ‘description of her victory in the New Zealand Cup of 1935 at Christchurch is faded into the interview, and at the end Jimmie Ellis, the jockey who steered her so well, pays his homage to her. It is a recording that one can hear more than once. On Saturday night, June 11, it will be given in 2YD’s Suggestion Box. One hopes, for the sake of outside listeners, that it is.soon sent again round the other statlons. as well.