Monday, March 29, 2010

Almanacs Gems from the past to fund Museum of Welsh Cricket - WalesOnline

Almanacs Gems from the past to fund Museum of Welsh Cricket - WalesOnline

Gems from the past to fund Museum of Welsh Cricket - WalesOnline

Posted: 29 Mar 2010 12:03 AM PDT

Mar 29 2010 by Sam Malone, Western Mail

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CRICKET collectables left gathering dust are to be auctioned off in a bid to raise funds to build a Museum of Welsh Cricket, it was announced today.

Signed memorabilia from two of the games most endurable figures WG Grace and Sir Jack Hobbs will go under the hammer to help finance Glamorgan County Cricket Club's ambitious project at the Swalec stadium.

Welsh auctioneer Richard Madley, who sold off the world's best cricketers to the glamorous Bollywood-backed Indian Premier League (IPL), has been given the task of raising more than £100,000 for the cause.

Autographs from the legendary Ivo Bligh, who was the first English captain to bring home the Ashes, as well as a run of Wisden cricket annuals from 1865 to 1970 are among the other items owned by Glamorgan due to be sold.

"This is an important sale for the club although I have to stress we are not selling off the family silver," said Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell.

"The items going to auction are those that have been gathering dust over the years, we feel we can live without and which would not be housed in our museum."

He added that Mr Madley, who sold English superstars Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff for $1.55m to IPL franchise teams Bangalore Royal Challengers and the Chennai Super Kings, had been recruited especially for the sale.

"We wanted an expert to take on this sale for us and in Richard we feel we have found exactly the right man. Not only does he have great credentials, but he also loves cricket and is a Glamorgan fan."

Items earmarked for the museum, which has already benefited from £500,000 of Heritage Lottery Fund money, include kit, silverware and photographs detailing how entire communities have embraced the game in Wales.

It will also contain a heritage gallery which will house memorabilia from Glamorgan's early days as a first-class county in the 1920s right through to the modern era and the bat with which Matthew Maynard scored the decisive championship-winning hundred at Taunton in 1997.

Mr Russell said: "Whatever money we raise will be put to good use in establishing the museum. It is an important project for us and one which we hope will help to enthuse future generations of cricket players and lovers the length and breadth of Wales.

"The Swalec Stadium has already put itself on the map by hosting a dramatic Ashes Test match. We want it to become a major visitor attraction centre as well as a major sporting venue and that is why we want to establish the museum at the ground."

Mr Madley, who will be holding the auction at Dreweatts and Bloomsbury Auctions, Mayfair, in London on June 9, said the idea of the museum "struck a chord" with him as soon as it was announced.

"This is going to be a very important sale not only for Glamorgan, but also for the cricket memorabilia marketplace.

"It is going to generate huge interest and big sums."

The lots, which have been valued by the Cardiff-born auctioneer, have already been shipped from Cardiff to Dreweatts' West Country base in Clifton and are currently being putting together in a full catalogue.

"We're looking to engage with all Glamorgan members and as many fans as possible and hope that many of the items will stay in Wales," added Mr Madley.

"But the most important thing is that Dr Andrew Hignell, Glamorgan's 1st X1 scorer and archivist, has identified what needs to be kept for the new museum and only those items that don't tell the story of cricket in the county and across South Wales are being listed. The Wisden almanacs alone could raise more than £50,000 and there are many other items that will sell for significant sums."

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