He was no great cricketer himself, being too short to be a top-rank bowler, and professionals were not expected to bat in mid-Victorian days. That was the amateur’s role.
But John Wisden became a very steady and accurate bowler of medium-pace and, as such, made an ideal net bowler at a public school. He was ‘the pro’ at Harrow in the 1850s, and bowled dutifully and deferentially at young gentlemen who went on to be members of the British establishment.
As Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane recalled of Wisden when at Harrow: “He was a very fine and accurate bowler, perfect length, but with little work, except what the ground gave it.” He was apt to send in “a very fast shooter”, which was slightly easier to do in those days when the pitches were hardly better prepared than the rest of the ground.
Sir Kenelm Digby, also at Harrow, remembered: “No one surpassed him in the steadiness of his attack on the wicket, in command of the ball, in straightness, and in length.” Wisden, in other words, could be entirely trusted to give young gentlemen the type of bowling they wanted to hit – the secret talent of the professional coach through the ages.
But Wisden’s deference was no less vital to his long-term success. “He was a genial, pleasant, and respectable fellow in every way, liked and respected by everyone with whom he came in contact,” said Ponsonby Fane, a pillar of the Foreign Office.
So, having ruffled no feathers, Wisden was in a sound position when in 1863 he produced an almanac devoted to recording the events of the previous cricket season and the main matches.
He was also lucky. Soon after his annual publication began, a chap from Bristol called William Gilbert Grace started making far higher scores than anyone before. Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack chronicled them all.
Another professional cricketer who played for Sussex, Fred Lillywhite, published a rival almanac, but there was no room for two long term. Wisden’s creation survived, grew, prospered and became what it is today. "The Bible is God’s Wisden," as someone irreverent said.
As Wisden died in 1884, he did not have the challenge of competing against websites. The fact that all scores and updated records are now available online instantaneously means the Almanack has to find a new purpose in addition to preserving its core.
My personal view is that it should become the home of creative cricket writing, but the editorial budget would need to be increased for this to happen. Even if it does not, collectors will keep buying it for years to come.
John Wisden, as a cricketer, was known as ‘the Little Wonder’, and his yellow bricklike publication has become no less wonderful.
