Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
1. Introduction.- 2. Metropole-to-Colony Cultural Traffic and the Development of Australian Cricket, 1860-1877.- 3. Bi-directional Cultural Traffic and the Evolution of an Australian Cricketing Identity.- 4. Interlude: the British World Personified: Fred 'the Demon' Spofforth and Billy Midwinter.- 5. Lord Sheffield's 1891-92 Tour and the Revitalisation of Australian Cricket.- 6. Conclusions.- 7. Bibliography.- 8. Index
Synopsis
This book explores the dynamics of Anglo-Australian cricketing relations within the 'British World' in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It explores what these interactions can tell us about broader Anglo-Australian relations during this period and, in particular, the evolution of an Australian national identity. Sport was, and is, a key aspect of Australian culture. Jared van Duinen demonstrates how sport was used to rehearse an identity that would then emerge in broader cultural and political terms. Using cricket as a case study, this book contributes to the ongoing historiographical debate about the nature and evolution of an Australian national identity.