Ray Robinson (cricket writer)
Encyclopedia
Raymond John Robinson was an Australian journalist and author, best known for his writings on the sport of cricket
. Born in Melbourne
, Robinson attended Brighton State school and joined the Melbourne's The Herald
as a copyboy. Given a cadetship with the paper, he reported on Australian football
and cricket during the early 1920s. In 1925, he wrote to Plum Warner
, the editor of The Cricketer
magazine, complaining about its poor coverage of Australian cricket. Warner invited him to become the periodical's Australian correspondent, and Robinson continued contributing to it until the early 1980s.
In 1930, Robinson was recruited to the editorial staff of a new daily paper, The Star. Four years later, he accompanied the Australian team on its tour of England. Subsequently, he toured with the Australians in 1948, 1953, 1956 and 1961 (to England); and to South Africa in 1957–58 and the West Indies in 1954–55. He made a number of tours of India and Pakistan, writing for the Times of India and Sportsweek in Mumbai
.
Invited to join the staff of The Daily Telegraph
by Sir Frank Packer, Robinson relocated to Sydney
in 1939 and he published his first cricket book, Between Wickets, in 1946 after the manuscript was recommended to the William Collins
publishing house by Neville Cardus
. He retired as a full-time journalist in 1970 and published The Wildest Tests two years later. Awarded a Commonwealth Literary Fund fellowship and a grant from the Literature Board of the Council for the Arts, Robinson began work on his magnum opus, a series of essays about Australia's cricket captains. Released in 1975, On Top Down Under won the English Cricket Society's literary award for 1976. In his latter years, he suffered from poor health but he continued writing though he was legally blind. He died in Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital after complications from an intestinal blockage.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. Born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Robinson attended Brighton State school and joined the Melbourne's The Herald
The Herald (Melbourne)
The Herald was a broadsheet newspaper published in Melbourne, Australia from 1840 to 1990.The Port Phillip Herald was first published as a semi-weekly newspaper on 3 January 1840 from a weatherboard shack in Collins Street. It was the fourth newspaper to start in Melbourne.The paper took its name...
as a copyboy. Given a cadetship with the paper, he reported on Australian football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and cricket during the early 1920s. In 1925, he wrote to Plum Warner
Plum Warner
Sir Pelham Francis Warner MBE , affectionately and better known as Plum Warner, or even "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket was a Test cricketer....
, the editor of The Cricketer
The Cricketer
The Cricketer was an English cricket magazine published between 1921 and 2003 when it was merged with Wisden Cricket Monthly and relaunched as The Wisden Cricketer....
magazine, complaining about its poor coverage of Australian cricket. Warner invited him to become the periodical's Australian correspondent, and Robinson continued contributing to it until the early 1980s.
In 1930, Robinson was recruited to the editorial staff of a new daily paper, The Star. Four years later, he accompanied the Australian team on its tour of England. Subsequently, he toured with the Australians in 1948, 1953, 1956 and 1961 (to England); and to South Africa in 1957–58 and the West Indies in 1954–55. He made a number of tours of India and Pakistan, writing for the Times of India and Sportsweek in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
.
Invited to join the staff of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
by Sir Frank Packer, Robinson relocated to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1939 and he published his first cricket book, Between Wickets, in 1946 after the manuscript was recommended to the William Collins
William Collins (publisher)
William Collins was a Scottish schoolmaster and publisher.Collins was born near Glasgow in 1789. In 1819 he set up a publishing business, initially selling religious books. He produced the first Collins dictionary in 1824, when he also obtained a licence to publish the Bible...
publishing house by Neville Cardus
Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus CBE was an English writer and critic, best known for his writing on music and cricket. For many years, he wrote for The Manchester Guardian. He was untrained in music, and his style of criticism was subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast with his critical...
. He retired as a full-time journalist in 1970 and published The Wildest Tests two years later. Awarded a Commonwealth Literary Fund fellowship and a grant from the Literature Board of the Council for the Arts, Robinson began work on his magnum opus, a series of essays about Australia's cricket captains. Released in 1975, On Top Down Under won the English Cricket Society's literary award for 1976. In his latter years, he suffered from poor health but he continued writing though he was legally blind. He died in Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital after complications from an intestinal blockage.