Author(s): Gideon Haigh

Sport

 "Victor Trumper (1877-1915) was our first internationally recognised cricketing genius, acclaimed by the legendary W.G Grace and others, who died at 36 in 1915. He has entered Australian sporting folklore and is still one of the great names in sport, with a stand named after him at the SCG. Trumper is a figure that has long held intrigue for Australia's favourite cricket writer, Gideon Haigh. In Trumper, he takes the phenomenon and specific focus of Trumper u and particularly a famous, groundbreaking photograph of him by Englishman George Beldham preparing to drive u to ask a much larger set of questions. Haigh argues Trumper changed the way cricket was perceived and played in a way that reflects on Australia's relationship with England, the start of the 20th century (photography, marketing, professionalism) and eternal themes of sport and beauty. In the spirit of Simon Wincester, he explores the relationship between Trumper, the photograph, the game, the country and its people. "