ShreyasIyer

Many commentators have said that cricket is, when you break it down to its purest essences, just a game. This definition is certainly simplistic, and perhaps even a little sacrilegious for many, but ultimately it is true. Nonetheless, cricket is a subject that arouses great passions in people all around the world, and the results of either their team or their own performances can have a decided impact upon an individual�s state of mind. Cricket has also been called a team game played between individuals. Sadly, cricket has attracted many participants who have battled themselves and their own inner daemons as much as any opposition players. David Frith�s book, Silence of the Heart (originally published as �By His Own Hand�), is a look at the tragedy of those cricketing heroes who were unable to cope with the demands of an existence post-cricket, and who sadly chose to end their own life. Suicide would appear to be a very strange topic for a cricketing book, and without reading Frith�s ...

Marcus Berkmann is well known to many cricket lovers as both a writer for Cricinfo and Wisden, and as the author of Rain Men and the sequel Zimmer Men. His first book, Rain Men, has been acclaimed by many readers and journalists as a masterpiece of cricketing literature. I had not read it until recently, so it was with interest that I finally opened it up. Simply put, Rain Men is a recounting of the events of a cricket team and the characters that haunted it. Berkmann tells the stories and describes the personalities in a wonderful manner, and his laid back style of writing is perfectly suited to this format of book. The anecdotes and events will be familiar to all cricketers who never quite reached the heights of international play, and have had the enjoyment of playing cricket simply for enjoyment. The staples of lower grade cricket such as umpiring, the selection process for the team, trying to even find enough players to make up numbers, and the often bizarre and psychologicall...

Neville Cardus was born in Manchester in 1888, the illegitimate son of a woman described as a �genteel prostitute�; hardly the auspicious birth for a man who became renown around the world for his wonderful skill with words. Cardus wrote a number of books and anthologies, primarily on his two loves of cricket and music. The first book of his that I read was �The Summer Game�, and probably cause it was my first experience with Cardus, it remains my favourite. Cardus only went to school until the age of 13, then leaving to take up employment as a clerk. He read widely and was attracted to writing about both cricket and music from an early age. Cardus was first able to write for a living when he started work with the newspaper the Daily Citizen, however, his skills with the pen meant he moved onto bigger and better things with the Manchester Guardian. The Summer Game was written in 1929, and like all of Cardus� work, features wonderful prose. He obviously knew the game well, and had g...

Flicking between the two tests played this week has been pretty dreary, even for an absolute cricket junky like myself. Are games like this killing test cricket? The pitches have no pace or bounce, and rely on batsmen getting so bored they get themselves out. This isn't what test cricket is meant to be about. There is meant to be a decent contest between bat and ball, not something so biased towards batting that bowlers just give up. This problem isn't limited to the sub-continent. Australia is serving up batting paradises that are similiarly unfair to the bowlers. No spectators are going to pay decent money to watch a yawn-fest, when tickets are so expensive. Sadly, I can see more and more people chosing to go to ODIs and 20/20s rather than Tests. Already the trends are there in India and Pakistan, with the grounds packed for meaningless ODIs, and often empty for test matches. And that is really depressing. I hope that the ICC starts to take some action on this issue, or the ...

In tribute to the home state of the best cricket blogger out there ( the mighty Uncle J ), I thought I would quickly touch on some of the better reasons players have missed games. The top of the list has to be the Victorian batsman Brad Hodge. After a season of frustration in trying to win his Australian spot back, Hodge finally got an opportunity to play for his country when Ponting showed Australia�s dedication to 20/20 by dropping out. Hodge was so excited by this chance that he somehow managed to injure his back in the dressing room prior to the game starting. Evidently, Hodge strained his back whilst putting on his trousers. His replacement, Luke Pomersbach, made his debut whilst ironically still being banned from representing his home state of Western Australia due to a few nights on the turps. Abdul Razzaq's international career has always been a bit stop-start. However, one of the weirdest incidents occurred when he contracted a mysterious illness during the Melbourne Test ...

It is not commonplace for teams to use more than one wicketkeeper during the course of a match. In first class cricket for Western Australia, Tim Zoehrer used to start keeping to the quicks, before relinquishing the gloves to Mike Valetta so that Zoehrer could bowl his more than useful leg-spin. Likewise, a number of wicketkeepers have had to retire hurt whilst fielding, often suffering nasty blows to the mouth and nose while keeping to the spinners. However, in 1986 England had cause to use four different keepers during the same test. The nominated keeper for England in the First Test against New Zealand at Lords in 1986 was Bruce French. Unfortunately, he was struck on the head by Kiwi maestro Richard Hadlee and forced to retired hurt without scoring. By the time of the commencement of the New Zealand innings, French was still not well enough to take his place behind the stumps. Accordingly, his team-mate Bill Athey took up the gloves. This was not the ideal solution, and with the sp...

For all of those people who have contacted me wanting to find out how to get a copy of "Best of the Best", there is currently one on Ebay in Australia. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BEST-OF-THE-BEST-NEW-LOOK-AT-GREAT-CRICKETERS-ABC_W0QQitemZ310005653339QQihZ021QQcategoryZ32043QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I am not the seller of this item, I know nothing about the seller and I make no recommendation of this seller. Please take the usual precautions in bidding, and make your own judgement if you wish to bid. I do not know if they are willing to post overseas, but most sellers are happy to do so if you contact them prior to the auction ending.

I am always interested in finding out where certain words or terms have come from. There are heaps in cricket - below are a few (the correctness of them all is debatable, but anyway). It may not be as comprehensive as the A to Z of Cricketing Terms, but what the hell. Bosie - This term was used in the early 1900s in Australia to describe the wrong-un. It was so called in deference to B.J.T. Bosanquet, who is believed to be the inventor. Googly - The English term for a wrong-un. So called because (evidently) it caused the batsman's eyes to goggle. Popping Crease - Under the rules of cricket in the 1700s, a batsman had to place his bat into a hole cut in the turf to score a run. The wicketkeeper/fielders had to get the ball into the hole before the bat in order to affect a run-out. This hole was called the popping hole (as in popping the bat/ball into it), but after too many fielders had their fingers broken by the batsman slamming his bat into the hole at the same time as the fielde...

The past decade has seen the development of professional players� associations, an equivalent of a union, to represent the views of the cricketers in discussions with the various bodies that administer the game. The late 1990s saw a few threats of strike action, but nothing ever eventuated. However, striking because of concerns about conditions or payment is nothing new. In 1896, a number of English professionals refused to play a test match against Australia as a result of anger regarding payments made to W.G. Grace � an amateur. The 1896 Ashes between England and Australia was set down for three tests, and leading into the final game, the series was tied at one all. This followed on from the amazing 1894/95 series in Australia that had produced a number of close results, and amazing comebacks. The final and deciding match therefore setup to be a great game, and was to be played at The Oval in Surrey. However, five professionals who were named in the side, refused to play unless their...

As my university maths lecturers would attest, I am not overly gifted numerically. However, I do enjoy the statistical side of cricket, and love pouring over player performances. Statistics never divulge the full truth � but they can be used to provide some useful context for cricketers from other eras. Charles Davis, a cricket historian and statistician from Melbourne, produced one of the most fascinating books I have ever read � �Best of the Best�. Davis has used statistics and statistical analysis in a bold attempt to standardise the performances of players across all eras of test cricket. He has come up with a methodology for both batsmen and bowlers that tries to take into account the historical variables such as uncovered pitches, the quality of opposition, and the length of career. This statistical re-balancing allowed Davis to arrive at an adjusted batting average and bowling rating. Batsmen who feasted on weak attacks in good conditions will see their average reduced, whilst b...

Tom Gleisner is a well known comedian and writer in Australia, and has been an integral part of many successful television series including The D-Generation, The Late Show, The Panel and Thank God You�re Here, and films including The Castle. He is a cricket lover, and has written three satirical books based around the life and times of a mythical test player called Warwick Todd. Gleisner writes in the first person as Todd, recounting his experiences as a member of the Australian cricket team. The book are presented as tour diaries, parodying the annual Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting efforts since the mid 90s. The diaries describe actual real-life matches that were played by the national side, with Warwick Todd slotted into the lineup in a fictional capacity. The first diary was "The Warwick Todd Diaries", which recounts the events of the Australian 1997 Ashes tour of England. Mark Taylor was going through a fairly wretched patch with the blade, and this provided Gleisner with ...

The 1932/33 Ashes contest in Australia was and still is seen by many commentators as the most controversial series of all time. The mere word �bodyline� conjures up strong images of short pitched bowling to batsmen ducking and weaving to avoid being struck. Bodyline has been the subject of video, a fairly forgettable mini-series, and more words than can be counted. David Frith�s offering, Bodyline Autopsy, is another review of the events of this series. Frith has a long standing reputation as one of the leading cricket writers in the world. He has written over 20 books, and has also edited and worked for many major newspapers and cricket magazines. One of Frith�s greatest strengths, and it comes through strongly in this work, is his intimate knowledge of cricket history and his personal relationships with many of the leading players from the past. Frith�s research into the Bodyline series takes the time to carefully examine not just the 1932/33 Ashes, but also both the lead-up to that ...

The Warne V Murali debate has reignited, and whilst I'm not going to buy into that here, I thought I would look again at the issue of pitches, and what bowlers are suited where. Why do Indians play Warne so easily, and why does Murali get carted by Australia? Australia has never produced great off-spinners (well, not since 1900 anyway). The pitches simply don't suit them, and the change to covered pitches has reduced their effectiveness in England as well. There is little spin to be had for off-spinners on hard pitches that don't break up excessively. If you try to come up with a list of good Australian offies, it is pretty hard. Ashley Mallett was pretty handy, but the cupboard is pretty bare after that. Tim May did OK, but was hardly a world beater. Australian left arm orthodox is even less impressive. Anyone remember Murray Bennett, Ray Bright (most over-rated test cricketer ever) or Tom Hogan? Offies will always have a role in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as their pit...

Turn, Turn, Turn � Please by Kerry O�Keeffe If you have read O�Keeffe�s previous book, �According to Skull�, you will know what to expect from this effort. It is a series of short and sweet pieces describing various events throughout his life, with a very light hearted spin. O�Keeffe has built up a cult following for his commentary on ABC radio, and this book is very similar to a O�Keeffe session in the commentary box. Entertaining, but often diverging from the original context, it is never dull. O�Keeffe varies his topics from horse racing to cricket to the forced land of aircraft. Mixed into the humour, there remains enough insight and analysis to sustain the interest of both casual and more serious cricket lovers. Not high literature, but makes no apologies for that. It delivers what it promises � a fun read that is ideal for a lazy Boxing Day. 150 Years of NSW First Class Cricket by Colin Clowes Clowes, one of the honorary Cricket NSW Research Librarians, wrote this book to celebra...

C.L.R. (Cyril Lionel Robert) James was born in Trinidad and Tobago on the 4th of January 1901. As a child, he grew up observing and playing with many of the great players in the early days of West Indian cricket. He moved to England at age 31 in order to further his writing aspirations, and gained a reputation as a social theorist. Over the following years, he spent significant time in both England and the United States, and wrote prolifically on Marx, Lenin and Trotsky. James returned to his birthplace, and was a leading figure in the development of independence in the West Indies. Over all this time, James� love of cricket remained undiminished, and he is now best remembered for his 1963 book, �Beyond a Boundary�. Over the years since its publication, Beyond a Boundary has been nominated by many readers as the greatest book ever written about sport, but it now seems to be popular to criticise it. As such, I thought it worthy of a re-review. �Beyond a Boundary� is a combination of a p...