Interview of Cricket Fans – 55 – Cricket Archivist

“I don’t regard myself as a collector, it doesn’t give the impression of a genuine passion, I am just a huge cricket fan” says Rob Moody, who is also known as Robelinda or Robelinda2, in this interview as he shares his early memories, his favourite cricketers from Australia and India, his favourite rock band and more.

Thank you so much for your participation in this interview, what is your earliest cricketing memory and how did you fall in love with this sport?

My earliest cricket memory is probably from the 1982/83 Australian season, I was 6 years old, I remember Kepler Wessels and David Hookes batting really well, I mainly remember the one day series with the white ball was flying everywhere. Lance Cairns hitting all those sixes at the MCG, David Gower making that big century at the Gabba. It took a few years to actually grow to love the game, by around 1989 it was a passion!

How does it feel to have the biggest cricket video archive?

It’s not something that in my mind that necessarily exists as an entity, it’s been part of my life for so many decades and I’ve nurtured it as technology has evolved, I still have the mindset that I record the matches for my own personal use, that’s how I started and that remains to this day. I love to watch old matches and it’s something I do most days! I don’t regard myself as a collector, there’s something a little cold and sterile about that word, it doesn’t give the impression of a genuine passion, I’m just a huge cricket fan!

Do you remember the first interaction of a cricketer commenting on any of your videos?

I actually can’t remember!! I recall around 2009 a few former players had seen a few of my videos on YouTube, but during this past 6 months, while the world is dealing with the pandemic, there have been more players showing interest, it’s always nice to give something back to the game.

Back then, did you ever imagine that famous cricket personalities like Shoaib Akhtar or Geoffrey Boycott would comment or quote any of your videos?

Definitely not, and that is very funny when it happens!

How much does it bother you when people on Twitter keep telling you, “why aren’t you earning through your videos”?

Yes, it’s always annoying, I’ve never ever viewed my YouTube channel as a vehicle for profit, I have a real career and I am more than happy to keep the content non-profit, how it should be. The world is obsessed with money all the time, there’s more to this life than being rich.

Did it bother you initially when you received threats from fans of any particular cricketers? And what was the reason behind those threats?

Well that was all a long time ago now, I was new to social media and the internet in general, but the trouble was from very different sources, quite bizarre. Some crazy David Warner fan in 2009 from Australia really went a bit too far, couldn’t quite figure out why! There was the occasional sub-continent fan who just didn’t like my typically cheeky Aussie personality which was always taken the wrong way, though I think the cultural divide is much better now, or maybe I’m less antagonistic in my older age!!!

Who is your favourite cricketer from Australia and India, currently?

Marnus Labuchagne and Mayank Agarwal.

Out of all the videos that you have posted, if you had to rewatch one video for the last time in your life, which one would it be?

Probably the 50-minute video of Ricky Ponting’s direct hits. Insane that there’s enough footage to even have a 50-minute idea of run outs from one person!

https://youtu.be/bwJ8KR0E-KQ

Since I am a fan of rock and metal genre too, and you being a professional guitarist yourself, I would like to ask you which is your favourite band of all-time?

Favourite Australian band has always been Cold Chisel. Internationally, always been a big 80’s fan, bands like Van Halen, Toto, Guns n Roses, Bon Jovi.

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