John Woodcock (cricket writer)
Encyclopedia
John Charles Woodcock OBE
(born 7 August 1926) is an English cricket
writer and journalist
.
He was born at Longparish
, Hampshire
, where he still lives, and was dubbed "the Sage of Longparish" by Alan Gibson
. He is a co-author of the Longparish Village Handbook.
Woodcock attended Trinity College, Oxford
, and won hockey
Blues
in 1946 and 1947. He went on the England tour of Australia in 1950-1 as a newsreel
cameraman for the BBC
. He subsequently worked for the Manchester Guardian for a couple of years.
He was cricket correspondent of The Times
from 1954 to 1988 and editor of Wisden Cricketer's Almanack for six years from 1981 until 1986. He has attended more than 400 Tests
.
He was President of the Cricket Writers' Club from 1986-2004, having been chairman in 1966.
Unlike other notable cricket journalists such as John Arlott
and E.W. Swanton, little of his writing is available in book form. He did, however, write The Times One Hundred Greatest Cricketers, Macmillan, 1998, ISBN 0-333-73641-9.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 7 August 1926) is an English cricket
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...
writer and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
He was born at Longparish
Longparish
Longparish is a small village in Hampshire, England. It lies on the western bank of the River Test.A Victorian monument, Dead Man's Plack, stands nearby.-External links:* * *...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, where he still lives, and was dubbed "the Sage of Longparish" by Alan Gibson
Alan Gibson
Norman Alan Stanley Gibson was an English journalist, writer and radio broadcaster, best known for his work in connection with cricket, though he also sometimes covered football and rugby union...
. He is a co-author of the Longparish Village Handbook.
Woodcock attended Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, and won hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
Blues
University Sporting Blue
A Blue is an award earned by sportsmen and women at a university and some schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of Blues began at Oxford and Cambridge Universities...
in 1946 and 1947. He went on the England tour of Australia in 1950-1 as a newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
cameraman for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. He subsequently worked for the Manchester Guardian for a couple of years.
He was cricket correspondent of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
from 1954 to 1988 and editor of Wisden Cricketer's Almanack for six years from 1981 until 1986. He has attended more than 400 Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
.
He was President of the Cricket Writers' Club from 1986-2004, having been chairman in 1966.
Unlike other notable cricket journalists such as John Arlott
John Arlott
Leslie Thomas John Arlott OBE was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's Test Match Special. He was also a poet, wine connoisseur and former police officer in Hampshire...
and E.W. Swanton, little of his writing is available in book form. He did, however, write The Times One Hundred Greatest Cricketers, Macmillan, 1998, ISBN 0-333-73641-9.