With Mother’s Day fast approaching, and A Thief in Stickleback Hollow as the ideal Mother’s Day present (only £6.99 in paperback from Amazon and our Etsy Store), we’ve decided to put together a post that details a little trivia from the book.
Aside from the information contained in the historical note (we won’t spoil that for you) there are a few other things that are well worth mentioning. For those of you who don’t follow C.S. Woolley on social media, you might not know that she is an ardent cricket fan (she supports Nottingham County Cricket Club and is a member). Not knowing this, you might miss the logic behind her naming choices in the Stickleback Hollow books, so here is a run down of the characters and who they were named for in A Thief in Stickleback Hollow.
The name Lewisham is included in honour of Lewisham Cricket Club that was one of the most prestigious London Cricket Clubs in the Victorian Era.
Sarah – Sarah Taylor is a current women’s cricketer for England. She is a wicketkeeper-batsman and is well-known for her free flowing stroke play. She can be seen opening the batting in one day matches and batting in the middle order during Test matches. She plays domestic cricket for Sussex.
Montgomery – Robbie Montgomery was a right-arm fast-medium bowler for Gloucestershire until the end of 2015 season, when he was released.He previously played for the Gloucestershire and Somerset Second XI.
Baird – Sam Baird was born in Perth, Australia,and played for the Derbyshire Second XI.
Watson – Shane “Watto” Watson is now retired, but the Australian all-rounder only retired in 2016 when he was considered the No.1 T20 all-rounder.
Wentworth – Wentworth “Tom” Wills was a Victorian cricketer and one of the founders of Australian rules football. He was seen as the first cricketer of significance to be born in Australia. He sadly committed suicide at the age of 44 after he had become “a complete and dangerous and apparently incurable alcoholic” – David Frith.
Stephen – Stephen Parry is a left arm spinner who plays for Lancashire.
Cynthia – Cynthia Malaka is a South African cricketer who has played for Mpumalanga Women.
George – George Mann CBE, DSO, MC was a cricketer for England, Cambridge University and Middlesex. He captained England during his career. His father, Frank Mann, also captained England, which made them the first father and son to both captain England.
Webb – Jonathon Webb is a right-arm medium bowler who played for Warwickshire until the end of the 2016 cricket season, when he was released.
Thomas – Tom Curran qualified to play for England in 2016. He plays domestic cricket for Surrey and has played for the England Lions as well as recently having been called up to England ODI squad to play in the Caribbean.
Forsythe – Brett Forsyth is an Australian wicketkeeper that has played for Dandenong and the Victoria Under-19s.
Cooky – Alistair Cook is the former captain of the England Test side who also plays for
Alex – Alex Hales is one of the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club players that has played for England in the Test, ODI and T20 formats.
Hunter – Jack Hunter is a New Zealand cricketer that has played for New Zealand Under-19s, New Zealand XI,Otago, Otago A and Otago Under-19s.
Henry – Matt Henry is another New Zealand cricketer who plays for Worcestershire and New Zealand International team.
Cartwright – Hilton Cartwright is an Australian All-Rounder who made his Test debut for the national Australian side in January of this year.He plays for the Perth Scorchers and Western Australia.
Baker – Thomas Baker played for Yorkshire and Northamptonshire between 2001 and 2005.
Evans – Laurie Evans is a cricketer currently contracted to Sussex County Cricket Club who has also played for Warwickshire, MCC and Northamptonshire.
Jack – Jack Russell was an eccentric wicketkeeper who played for England and Gloucestershire.
Mark – Mark Wood is a right-arm fast bowler who plays domestic cricket for Durham and is part of the England cricket side.
Lucy – Lucy Pearson is a former England bowler who took over as the ECB women’s cricket representative from Baroness Rachel Heyhoe-Flint in 2016.
Mary – Mary Duggan was a rught-handed batsman and an incredible bowler for England and took 7 for 6 against Australia, which remain the best test figures in English women’s test history.
May – Peter May played for Surry, Cambridge University and England as a batsman. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009, 15 years after his death.
Margaret – Margaret Rutherford was a cricketer who played four test matches for England in 1960/61.
Other than these cricketing names, there are few other reference that have been crammed into the story. The surname de Mandeville comes from Geoffrey & William de Mandeville from the 1100s, Constable Arwyn Evans is named for a Welsh policeman by the name of Arywn Phillips who once served in the Cheshire Police force and now lives in Llandudno. Emma and Wilson from the inn are named for C.S. Woolley’s friends, Emma and Chris, who recently got engaged.
Harald the horse is named after Harald that fought against Harold at the battle of Stamford Bridge. Bosworth and Mrs. Bosworth are named after the battle of Bosworth field. Black Guy the horse is named after one of C.S. Woolley’s favourite characters from Raymond E. Feist’s Magician series. Kneelingroach is a reference to the West Wing and the use of John Smith and his pocket watch are both references to Doctor Who.
Yes, we’re surprised that she managed to fit in a story around all of the reference as well! With the second book in the series, All Hallows Eve in Stickleback Hollow coming out 20th March 2017, we’ve been assured that there are many more cricketing references to come, as well as another gripping cosy mystery.
Mightier Than the Sword UK Publications 
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