Michael John Coward AM (born 1946) is an Australian

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 ...

writer.

Life and career

Mike Coward grew up in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. After leaving school he became a

copy boy A copy boy is a typically young and junior worker on a newspaper. The job involves taking typed stories from one section of a newspaper to another. According to Bruce Guthrie, the former editor-in-chief of the '' Herald Sun'' who began work ther ...

at the '' Adelaide News'' in December 1963 and was promoted to cadet journalist in September 1964. He qualified as a journalist in March 1967. He spent three years working for Australian Associated Press in London, then returned to Australia to become a full-time sports journalist. He was the chief cricket writer for the ''

Adelaide Advertiser Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demo ...

'', then ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' from 1984 to 1989, and was then a columnist for ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' for many years. He has twice won the Jack Pollard Trophy, which is awarded for the best Australian book on cricket each year: in 1991 for ''Cricket Beyond the Bazaar'', about cricket between Australia and India, and in 1995 for ''Australia vs the New South Africa: Cricket Contact Renewed''. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the

Australian Sports Commission The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is the Australian Government commission responsible for supporting and investing in sport in Australia. The Commission incorporates the Australian Institute of Sport. From 2018 to 2022, it was known as S ...

in November 2015. He was awarded the AM in the

2016 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

"For significant service to the print and broadcast media as a journalist, commentator, author and historian, and to cricket." In recent years he has worked at the

International Cricket Hall of Fame The Bradman Museum & International Cricket Hall of Fame is a permanent cultural exhibition dedicated to the game of cricket. It is located in the Australian town of Bowral, New South Wales. The exhibition opened in November 2010 in buildings forme ...

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served ...

, where he has overseen the establishment of the interview archive. He conducted many of the interviews himself, with some of the greatest

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

ers since the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

Books

* ''The Wit of Walker'' (by

Max Walker Maxwell Henry Norman Walker (12 September 1948 – 28 September 2016) was an Australian sportsman who played both cricket and Australian rules football at high levels. After six years of balancing first-class cricket in summer, professional ...

with Mike Coward, 1983) * ''Cricket Beyond the Bazaar'' (1990) * ''Caribbean Odyssey: Australia and Cricket in the West Indies'' (1991) * ''Men of Norwood: The Red and Blue Blooded'' (1994) * ''Australia vs the New South Africa: Cricket Contact Renewed'' (1994) * ''Slats Opens Up: Inside the World of

Michael Slater Michael Jonathon Slater (born 21 February 1970) is an Australian former professional cricketer and former television presenter. He played in 74 Test matches and 42 One Day Internationals for the Australia national cricket team. Early life S ...

'' (by Michael Slater with Mike Coward, 1997) * ''Sir Donald Bradman A.C.'' (edited, 1998) * ''Calypso Summer'' (2000) * ''The Chappell Years: Cricket in the '70s'' (2002) * ''Rookies, Rebels and Renaissance: Cricket in the '80s'' (2004) * ''The

Baggy Green The baggy green is a cricket cap of dark myrtle green colour, which has been worn by Australian Test cricketers since around the turn of the twentieth century. The cap was not originally baggy as evidenced by photographs of early players. The ...

: The Pride, Passion and History of Australia's Sporting Icon'' (with Michael Fahey, 2008) * ''A Century of Achievement: The Players and People of the St George DCC'' (2010) * ''Champions: The World's Greatest Cricketers Speak'' (interviews, 2013) * ''The Bradman Museum's World of Cricket'' (2015) * ''Cricket's Forgotten Pioneer: The Frank Tarrant Story'' (2020) * ''Warne Worn: The Baggy Green that Rallied Australia'' (2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coward, Mike 1946 births Living people Writers from Adelaide Cricket historians and writers Australian sportswriters Australian cricket commentators Members of the Order of Australia