E. W. Swanton

Infobox cricketer biography
playername = E. W. Swanton


country = England
fullname = Ernest William Swanton
nickname = Jim
dayofbirth = 11
monthofbirth = 2
yearofbirth = 1907
placeofbirth = Forest Hill, London
countryofbirth = England
dayofdeath = 22
monthofdeath = 1
yearofdeath = 2000
placeofdeath = Canterbury, Kent
countryofdeath = England
heightft = 6
heightinch = 0
batting = Right-handed
bowling = Right arm leg spin
role = Commentator, journalist
club1 = Middlesex
year1 = 1937 – 1938
deliveries = balls
columns = 1
column1 = FC
matches1 = 3
runs1 = 67
bat avg1 = 13.40
100s/50s1 = 0/0
top score1 = 26
deliveries1 = 0
wickets1 = –
bowl avg1 = –
fivefor1 = –
tenfor1 = –
best bowling1 = –
catches/stumpings1 = 1/–
date = 22 January
year = 2000
source = http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/20449.html Cricinfo

Ernest William (Jim) Swanton CBE (11 February 1907 – 22 January 2000) is chiefly known for being a cricket writer and commentator under his initials, E. W. Swanton. He worked as a sports journalist for "The Daily Telegraph" newspaper and as a broadcaster for BBC Radio for 30 years. He was a regular commentator on Test Match Special, easily recognised by his distinctive "fruity" voice. After "retiring" in the 1970s, he continued to write occasional articles and columns, virtually until his death.

Swanton was born in Forest Hill, London. His father was a stockbroker. He claimed to have attended a cricket match at which W. G. Grace scored a century while a baby in his pram. He attended Cranleigh School, and became a journalist. He started as Amalgamated Press, but began to write for the London "Evening Standard" newspaper at the age of 27. He also played three county cricket matches for Middlesex County Cricket Club in 1937 and 1938, all against university sides. He did not distinguish himself, scoring only 67 runs in 5 first-class innings. He was also President of Sandwich Town Cricket Club, somewhat curiously he is labelled as having served the role for "25 years from 1976" despite passing away in January 2000.

He served in the Bedfordshire Yeomanry in the Second World War. He was captured by the Japanese in the fall of Singapore, and spent 3 years as a prisoner of war. After the war, he became cricket correspondent for "The Daily Telegraph" in 1946, remaining in that post until 1975. He was also editorial director of "The Cricketer" from 1967 to 1988. His writing style was very spare and simple, reporting what happened and why, without the flourishes of Neville Cardus or John Arlott. John Warr once described it as being "halfway between the Ten Commandments and Enid Blyton".

He was awarded the OBE in 1965 and the CBE in 1994. He made his selections for as one of the voters for the Wisden Cricketers of the Century in 2000, shortly before he died in Canterbury. A respected biography, by David Rayvern Allen, of Swanton (see image) published shortly after his death revealed many previously unknown facts about his life.

Bibliography

* "Elusive Victory" (1951)
* "Cricket and the Clock" (1952)
* "Best Cricket Stories" (1953)
* "West Indian Adventure 1953-1954" (1954)
* "West Indies Revisited - MCC tour 1959-1960" (1960)
* "Cricket from All Angles" (1968)
* "Sort of a Cricket Person" (1972)
* "Swanton in Australia with MCC 1946-1975" (1975)
* "Follow On" (1977)
* "Barclays World of Cricket" (General Editor) (1980 - 2nd ed.)
* "As I Said At The Time - a Lifetime of Cricket" (1983)
* "Gubby Allen - Man of Cricket" (1985)
* "Kent Cricket - a Photographic History 1744-1984" (with C H Taylor) (1985)
* "The Essential E W Swanton - the 1980s Observed" (1990)
* "Last Over - A Life in Cricket" (1996)

Biography

"Jim: The Life of E.W.Swanton" by David Rayvern Allen ISBN 978 1854109002

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/cricket/614842.stm Cricket pundit Swanton dies] (BBC News, 22 January 2000)
* [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/20449.html Player profile] from Cricinfo