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In this episode we make use of the MCC Sound Archive to bring you the story of Blaina Cricket Club.

The MCC project, Taking the Field was aimed at recording the oral history of cricket clubs throughout the breadth of the UK. Members of the Blaina Cricket Club had already started recording their history for a published book.

The book can be bought here:

https://welsh-academic-press.shopfactory.com/contents/en-uk/p12_Blaenau-Cricket-Club.html

The Facebook page of the project still exists and can be found here:

facebook.com/takingthefield

We talked to Emma Peplow, who was the full time officer with Taking the Field and Alan Williams, long time member and Chairperson of Blaina Cricket Club. Interspersed with our interview with Emma and Alan are excerpts from the MCC Sound Archive. We have interviews with the following:

Diane Williams
Alan Williams
David Jones
Alan Lewis
and Ernie Barber

We hear about the history of the club going back to its earliest beginnings in the 19th Century and it's high point in the early 20th Century.

Emma and Alan talk about one of the highlights of the project which was being interviewed on the Test Match Special lunchtime slot during the Test Match against Sri Lanka.

Alan tells us about the early sponsorship of the club and one of the outstanding individuals who helped keep the club going in the 1920s, Evan Watkins. His wikipaedia page is here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Watkins

Emma tells us about the international dimension of Taking the Field