Maxwell Thomas Bennett Bonnell (born 1962) is an Australian lawyer and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

historian.

Career

Max Bonnell attended Trinity Grammar School in Sydney (winning the

Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition The Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition is an annual competition in impromptu public speaking between representatives of each of the Great Public Schools (GPS) and Combined Associated Schools (CAS) in New South Wales, Australia. It was establ ...

in 1979) before studying Arts and Law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

. He also studied at the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

where he completed a master's degree in European Renaissance drama. He was appointed an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Sydney in 2009. He is a lawyer specialising in international arbitration. He was a partner in the Sydney office of the law firm

King & Wood Mallesons King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is the largest global law firm in Asia. It has 30 offices and more than 3,500 legal professionals in Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. Its predecessor firms include ''SJ Berwin'' of the United Kingdom's ...

for 18 years until he joined

White & Case White & Case LLP is a global law firm based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the firm has 46 offices in 31 countries worldwide and has been ranked among the top ten firms worldwide by revenue. History The firm was launched on May 1, 1901 wh ...

in 2017. In 2019 he joined the Sydney firm Henry William Lawyers. At the 2016 Australian ADR Awards, he was named International ADR Practitioner of the Year. He has acted as an Australian delegate to the

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) ( French: ''Commission des Nations Unies pour le droit commercial international (CNUDCI)'') is a subsidiary body of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) responsible for helping to f ...

. He was counsel for the successful claimant in ''White Industries v India'', the first successful ISDS claim made against India. He is a Fellow of the

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (abbreviated as CIArb) is a professional organisation representing the interests of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practitioners. Founded on 1 March 1915, it was granted a royal charter by Queen Eliza ...

and a Fellow of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration. In 2020, he became one of the first arbitrators included in the Arbitrator Pool of the Court of Arbitration for Art. Alongside his legal career Bonnell has been a prolific sports historian since he published ''Currency Lads'' in 2001, concentrating on Australian cricketers in the period between the mid-19th century and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He has received the Jack Pollard Trophy, awarded for the best Australian book on cricket each year, three times (most recently for ''Black Swan Summer'' in 2023). He has also written a biography of

John Walpole Willis John Walpole Willis (4 January 1793 – 10 September 1877) was a British judge of Upper Canada, British Guiana (as acting Chief Justice), the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and resident judge at Port Phillip, Melbourne. Early life The ...

, a 19th-century judge in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, as well as numerous articles for law journals. His writing on law, sport and theatre has appeared in several journals, including the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' and ''New Theatre Australia''. He won NSW Cricket Association Media Awards for his writing on New South Wales cricket in both 1991-92 and 1992-93. Bonnell played club cricket for

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

in the

Birmingham and District Premier League The Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League is the oldest club cricket league in the United Kingdom, formed in 1888. It was the first ECB Premier League, being designated such in 1998, and is one of the strongest of the ECB Premier Leagues ...

, for Warwick University in the Universities Athletic Union competition, and for Western Suburbs and Sydney University in

Sydney Grade Cricket NSW Premier Cricket (formerly known as Sydney Grade Cricket) is a cricket competition played in Sydney, Australia. The competition began in 1893 when a number of clubs that had been playing for many years on an ad hoc basis voted to create a forma ...

. He served as chairman of the board of the Sydney University Cricket Club. He was awarded a University Gold for cricket by

Sydney Uni Sport and Fitness Sydney Uni Sport & Fitness (SUSF) is the University of Sydney's sporting body. SUSF currently manages and administers more than 40 sport and recreation clubs, also organising sporting and recreation events, and offering student and non-student me ...

in 2017 and is a Life Member of the Sydney University Cricket Club and the Sydney Cricket Association.

Books

*''Making the Grade: 100 Years of Grade Cricket in Sydney, 1893/94 to 1993/94'' (with Richard Cashman, James Rodgers and Ross Dundas, 1994) *''Currency Lads: The Life and Cricket of T. W. Garrett, R. C. Allen, S. P. Jones & R. J. Pope'' (2001) *''How Many More Are Coming?: The Short Life of Jack Marsh'' (2003) *''Summertime Blues: 150 Years of Sydney University Cricketers'' (with James Rodgers, 2006) *''

Tibby Cotter Albert "Tibby" Cotter (3 December 1883 – 31 October 1917) was an Australian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches between 1904 and 1912. He served in World War I with the First Australian Imperial Force and was killed in action in the mou ...

: Fast Bowler, Larrikin, Anzac'' (with Andrew Sproul, 2012) *''Something Uncommon in the Flight: The Life of

J. J. Ferris John James Ferris (21 May 1867 – 17 November 1900), a left-arm swing bowler, was one of the few cricketers to play Test cricket for more than one country. Born in Sydney, Australia, Ferris made his first-class debut for New South Wales aga ...

'' (2013) *''Golden Blues: Sydney University Cricket: 150 Years of the Club and its Players'' (with James Rodgers, 2014) *''Swift Underhand: John Kinloch and the Invention of Australian Cricket'' (2014) *''Lucky: The Life of H. L. "Bert" Collins, Cricketer, Soldier, Gambler'' (2015) *''I Like a Clamour:

, Colonial Judge, Reconsidered'' (2017) *''Ebley Street Boys'' (2019; on

Norman Callaway Norman Frank Callaway (5 April 1896 – 3 May 1917) was an Australian first class cricketer and Australian Imperial Force (AIF) soldier. Born in Hay, New South Wales to Thomas and Emily, Callaway moved to Sydney and played for Sydney grade cr ...

and Frank O'Keeffe) *''Dainty: The Story of Bert Ironmonger'' (2019) *''Boyhood Hero: The Sporting Life of J. M. Taylor'' (2019) *''First and Foremost a Cricketer: The Life of Dr Leslie Poidevin'' (2021) *''Black Swan Summer'' (with Andrew Sproul, 2022; on the 1947–48 Sheffield Shield) He has also contributed chapters to the books ''Australia: Sort of a Cricket Country'' (edited by Christian Ryan, 2011) and ''Rock Country'' (edited by Christian Ryan, 2013) and sections of the ''Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket'' (OUP, 1996), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack Australia (Hardie Grant Books) and ''Warne in Wisden'' (Bloomsbury, 2023).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnell, Max 1962 births Living people People educated at Trinity Grammar School (New South Wales) Sydney Law School alumni Cricket historians and writers Australian biographers 21st-century Australian lawyers