Bats from the Wisden Bat Collection, used by JG Navle, WG Grace and Jahangir Khan of India.
The Wisden Bat Collection was almost lost for ever after the near collapse of the Wisden company in the 1960’s. It was only due to the quick thinking of newly appointed Director Ken Medlock that it was saved from the skip. There were bats dating from the 1750’s to the 1960’s, and featuring such iconic names such as Victor Trumper, Learie Constantine and Jack Hobbs.
After keeping it safe for some years Ken kindly lent it to the Marylebone Cricket Club Museum. It has resided there since 2013 and I had the task of cataloguing the collection, and started to research the associated players. Since that time it has formed an integral part of many exhibitions and been on displays during relevant matches.
Whilst working with the Wisden company at the 2025 ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord’s, I was approached by the Medlock family. They asked me if I would be prepared to carry on with my research into the bats as they thought there was more to be discovered about the bats, and that it would make the collection a greater asset for researchers.
This really felt like unfinished business for me, as I am now working my way through the collection, using information from the MCC Museum database, and investigating each bat more thoroughly. I search cricketing books, online biographies and match reports to build up a picture of the players, the social history and the matches surrounding each bat. Then I will produce a biography of the player at the time of use, maybe include a significant match score, or an event that happened that is associated with the time, place or player. I try to include something that would interest both the cricket enthusiast and the more casual social historian.
It is hoped that this information will be added to the MCC database and be used for future exhibitions. It could also be the basis for a stand alone website dedicated to the Wisden Bat Collection and available to researchers world wide.