Flashback: The life and work of cricket's John Arlott

The scenes on television and commentaries on the radio have been a delight in giving us a vivid picture of the events taking place on the pitch.

But for the older cricket enthusiasts, as far as they are concerned, there was only one voice that captured the true spirit and atmosphere of the game, and that was John Arlott.

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John Arlott (Image: Contributed)

Leslie Thomas John Arlott was born on February 15, 1914, to Nellie and William Arlott, who lived at the old Cemetery Lodge in Chapel Street, Basingstoke.

In 1919 their son was sent to Fairfields School, then, afterwards, he attended the grammar school in Worting Road, now the site of Basingstoke College of Technology.

In the summer, John Arlott would slip across from Fairfields School to the May’s Bounty cricket ground and see the various cricketers play.

He was fascinated with the sport and, from this early age, he was to become an expert in the game.

Upon leaving the grammar school, he looked for a job in the area and was accepted as an assistant in the town planning office at the Municipal Buildings in London Road.

However, after six months he sought another position in the town and acquired the job of diet clerk at Park Prewett Hospital for four years.

In his time off he used to watch the cricket matches at Bounty Road and enjoyed talking to some of the players.

In 1936, John decided to apply to various towns to become a policeman, and two forces wrote back to accept him – Bristol and Southampton. He went to the latter, knowing that the city had a strong cricket team.

He was later promoted to Detective Sergeant and, when off duty, would often head for the city cricket ground.

The Second World War broke out in September 1939, and he was to see the city badly bombed by the Germans. He met a nurse from the local hospital and they were married in 1940. Her name was Dawn Rees and she later gave birth to two sons, James and Timothy.

Arlott found an interest in poetry and began to write a series of verses which came to the attention of various people, including John Betjeman (later Sir John, and Poet Laureate) whose influence led to him leaving the police and becoming a programme producer at the BBC in 1945.

The BBC heard about Arlott’s interest in cricket and he was asked to give commentaries at various matches for radio listeners.

He accepted and, from 1946, he reported on the annual Test matches without fail, until he retired. This involved travelling a lot, but he enjoyed the experience.

His encyclopaedic knowledge of the game was to bring him fame and many awards and honours. Unfortunately, his marriage to Dawn came to an end and they were divorced in 1959.

During his last years with Dawn, he became a Liberal candidate for Epping and wrote anthologies and articles for various magazines. He also became an expert in wines and wrote on that subject as well.

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May’s Bounty cricket ground, where John Arlott saw his first game (Image: Contributed)

Some time later Arlott met and married his second wife, Valerie France, but tragedy was to affect their lives. First, their baby girl, Lynne, died soon after being born, then, after the safe birth of a son, Robert, John’s wife became unwell and died, aged 42.

In December 1964, his son James died in a road accident. Then, in 1977, Arlott met and married Patricia Hoare and they lived in a converted public house in Alresford, where he built up a collection of wines in the old cellar.

While at Alresford, he became interested in the Watercress railway line and he joined the group involved in its restoration.

In 1980 he decided to retire from the world of cricket and, with his wife, they moved to Alderney on the Channel Islands.

But his writings still continued. Between 1943 and 1990, he produced some 30 books on various subjects, including his autobiography.

In 1985 he appeared in a television series with Mike Brearley, the cricketer, in which Arlott looked back on his life.

Arlott stated in 1978 that his life had brought him fulfilment and, although he’d had his sad moments, he felt that his career had been a success. He died on December 14, 1991, at the age of 77.

This article was written by Robert Brown and was published on September 10, 2004