"After a mere 100 years the Spin, always first with the news, is finally able to reveal the details of one of the more extraordinary secrets in the history of English cricket. The story comes from the private family archives of the former Surrey captain Percy Fender, which are being compiled into a fascinating new documentary film. It has always been a mystery that Fender, who was described by Wisden as the shrewdest county captain of his generation"
"I asked him point blank is it this: that instead of giving you seven and a half per cent on so many shares in return for your work between September and April while I'm away you want to retain the shares for the future, for all time?' He replied that he didn't think I should look at it that way. I finished up by telling him quite bluntly that while I was perfectly"
Private family archives of former Surrey captain Percy Fender reveal that he was blackmailed out of the England captaincy for the 1924-25 Ashes by a corrupt cricket official. A private audio recording from shortly before Fender's 1985 death recounts a May 1924 meeting in Fender's Adelphi flat, where a well-known cricket figure offered the captaincy over two half-bottles of champagne. Fender, an amateur wine merchant who needed cover for a six-month tour, asked about remuneration. The man refused salary or commission, proposing instead dividends on retained shares. Fender resisted the proposal and rejected the permanent transfer of shares.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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