Andrew Keith Hignell (born 12 October 1959 in Gloucester)[1] is a cricket historian and scorer.

Hignell has a PhD in Geography from Cardiff University. He has been the Glamorgan 1st XI scorer since 1982. For over 25 years he combined a career as a teacher at independent schools with working on radio commentaries for BBC Radio Wales on the home and away matches of Glamorgan. In 2004 he left full-time teaching at Wells Cathedral School to become the Heritage and Education Co-Ordinator at Glamorgan Cricket, where he manages the Museum of Welsh Cricket at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.

Hignell has written numerous books on cricket.[2][3] In Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, Alan Ross said Hignell's 1995 biography of Glamorgan's combative post-war captain Wilf Wooller, which was based on extensive interviews, revealed a "surprising warmth" in its subject.[4] Wisden's editor Graeme Wright, reviewing Hignell's 2001 biography of Malcolm Turnbull, praised Hignell as "a thorough researcher and a sound writer", adding that Hignell gets Turnbull "just right".[5] Reviewing Hignell's 2002 book Rain Stops Play, Wisden Cricket Monthly said, "Hignell's excellent volume should be required reading in both dressing-room and press box", and added that it was "a history of cricket with a strong geographical bias".[6] The Welsh historian John Idris Jones, writing in Planet, said of Hignell's Cricket in Wales (2008), "As a chronicle of cricket in Wales, it is not likely to be surpassed",[7] while Duncan Stone, reviewing Cricket in Wales in the journal Sport in History, said "Hignell's obviously exhaustive research informs, illuminates and entertains".[8]

Hignell was awarded The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians' 1988 Statistician of the Year award "for his work on the history and statistics of Glamorgan".[9]

Books

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  • Cricket Grounds of Glamorgan (1986)
  • The History of Glamorgan County Cricket Club (1988)[10]
  • A "Favourit" Game: Cricket in South Wales before 1914 (1992)[11]
  • J.C. Clay: His Record Innings-by-Innings (1992)
  • A Who's Who of Glamorgan County Cricket Club 1888–1991 (1992)
  • Glamorgan County Cricket Club: First-Class Records 1921-1993 (1994)
  • The Skipper: A Biography of Wilf Wooller (1995)
  • Glamorgan County Cricket Club: The Second Selection (1998)
  • 100 Greats: Glamorgan County Cricket Club (2000)
  • Turnbull: A Welsh Sporting Hero (2001)
  • Classics: Glamorgan County Cricket Club (2001)
  • Rain Stops Play: Cricketing Climates (2002)[12]
  • 100 Greats: Gloucestershire County Cricket Club (2002, with Adrian Thomas)
  • 100 First-Class Umpires (2003)
  • Summer of '64: A Season in English Cricket (2005)[13]
  • Getting it Right (2006; assisted with Barrie Meyer's autobiography)
  • Glamorgan Grounds: The Homes of Welsh Cricket (2002)
  • Glamorgan: The Glory Years 1993–2002 (2003)
  • Gloucestershire CCC: 50 of the Finest Matches (2004)
  • Cardiff Sporting Greats (2007)
  • Cricket in Wales: An Illustrated History (2008)[8]
  • From Sophia to SWALEC: A History of Cricket in Cardiff (2009)
  • C.P. Lewis: The Champion Cricketer of South Wales (2009, with Bob Harragan)
  • The Australian Cricketers in Wales (2009)[14]
  • Glamorgan CCC on this Day: History, Facts and Figures for Every Day of the Year (2011)
  • Jack Mercer: A Bowler of Magical Spells (2011)
  • The History of Blaina Cricket Club (2012, with Emma Peplow)
  • Glamorgan CCC Miscellany: Glamorgan Trivia, History, Facts and Stats (2014)
  • Changing Faces: Glamorgan CCC 1888–2012 (2013)
  • "Lucky" Jim Pleass: The Memoirs of Glamorgan's 1948 County Championship Winner (2014)
  • Front Foot to Front Line: Welsh Cricket and the Great War (2017)
  • Always Amongst Friends: The Cardiff and County Club 1866-2016 (2017)
  • The Daffodil Blooms: The Glorious Rise of Glamorgan CCC to County Champions in 1948 (2018, with Brian Halford)
  • Glamorgan Cricketers 1889–1920 (2019)
  • Glamorgan Cricketers 1921–1948 (2020)
  • A Tall Story: The Life of Nigel Plews (2020)
  • Cricketscapes: The Changing Geography of Cricket in England and Wales (2020)
  • Fly at a Higher Game: The Story of TAL Whittington and the Elevation of Glamorgan CCC into the County Championship (2021)
  • Glamorgan Cricketers 1949–1979 (2023)
  • Glamorgan Cricketers 1980–1997 (2023)

References

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  1. ^ "Andrew Hignell". Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Andrew Hignell". www.cruiseshipenrichment.net. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Andrew Hignell". Gomer. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  4. ^ Wisden 1996, p. 1354.
  5. ^ Wisden 2002, p. 1534.
  6. ^ Wisden 2003, p. 1679.
  7. ^ "Cricket in Wales". University of Wales Press. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b Review of Cricket in Wales: Duncan Stone (2010), Sport in History, doi:10.1080/17460263.2010.481212
  9. ^ "Statistician of the Year 1988 – Andrew Hignell". The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  10. ^ Review of The History of Glamorgan County Cricket Club: John Twigg (2007), "More establishment history: a review essay", The International Journal of the History of Sport , doi:10.1080/09523369008713719
  11. ^ Review of A "Favourit" Game: Jack Williams (1993), Welsh History Review, ProQuest 1310504027
  12. ^ Review of Rain Stops Play: Robert Thorpe (2006), Weather, doi:10.1256/wea.112.02
  13. ^ Review of Summer of '64: Derek Clements (17 April 2005), "Book of the week", The Times
  14. ^ Review of The Australian Cricketers in Wales: Steve Dube, "Welsh book reviews", WalesOnline