This cricketing nation - Australia, Warne and the Boxing Day Test
Greenland
English - December 25, 2019 13:05 - 54 minutes - 54.5 MB - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingPlaces & Travel Society & Culture Government america american culture american politics australia australian society democrat diana elliott donald betts donald trump health care Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
The eloquent and encyclopaedic Gideon Haigh joins Diana and Donald to chat all things cricket. We learn about when and why cricket started in Australia, its greasy foothold in America and its unabating grip within the Indian sub continent.
Gideon reads a passage from his profile on Shane Warne featured in The Monthly in September 2005 ('Beach Boy'), which preceded a legendary Test match that summer and Gideon's book, On Warne.
We cover a lot of ground (sorry) in this special Christmas edition of Greenland, in which we zero in on one of the great Australian pastimes - playing or watching cricket. The Boxing Day Test is one of the fixtures on our national sporting calendar, played on the hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Links to some stuff we refer to/further reading:
The enduring legacy of Phillip Hughes, article in The Australian by Gideon Haigh, 27 November 2019. This is a stunning reflection on a post-Hughes cricket world.
Gideon Haigh's most recent book, This is How I Will Strangle You is out now. It examines the tortuous experience of Natasa Christidou who was sexually abused by her father.
If (like Diana) you can't get enough of Gideon's writing, here's a link to all of his published work and website so you can devour it there.
A word about our cover art
Australia is currently experiencing raging bushfires across New South Wales and Queensland. Our fire brigades and volunteers have been absolutely stretched to the hilt and our whole community is trying to support them. A small way we're helping out at Greenland is to use this epic photo taken by John Donegan as our promo artwork for this episode on social channels. All proceeds of the sale of the photo are being donated to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
It's a beautiful photo that captures the spirit of our firefighters and the role of cricket in Australian life - in good and tough times.
If you'd to purchase the photo (and support the NSW Rural Fire Service) you can do so here for A$55.