View Full Version : Best & Worst Cricket Books
St-KriS
15 Apr 2003, 07:37
Okay, what's everybody's opinion on the best and worst cricket books?
Best: Calypso Cricket by Roland Fishman: Not your typical kinda cricket book. It's about a journo who's not a cricket expert at all and he goes on tour with the Australian team to the Windies in 91. Its follow's his adventures in trying to befriend members of the team so he can actually get some info outta them which leads to going to west indian nightclubs with Greg Matthews and trying to pick up :p and other things along those lines. Seriously a great book. Best cricket book I've ever read quite easily.
Worst: Power And The Passion by Justin Langer: Okay, I know some people may disagree with me here, which is fine. It was just wasn't my thing. I was expecting a book about cricket and life on tour. What I got was the Tony Robbin's of cricket. If people are looking for a book on motivation, then this is for you. But if you're not. STAY AWAY!
kretchy
15 Apr 2003, 09:00
The Wawrick Todd series was always good for a laugh.
I thought Viv Richards' book was a good read as are the Steve Waugh diaries.
Adrian Shelton
15 Apr 2003, 12:09
Any Wisden Cricketers Almanac
manmountain
15 Apr 2003, 13:13
Best Ashley Mallett's book about Clarrie Grimmett is a great read. I had no idea exactly how good Grimmett was until I read this book. Equal to, if not above, Warne and O'Reilly.
Calypso Cricket is also good for a behind the scenes account of an Australian tour. Apparently Roland Fishman was the most hated journalist by the Aussies after the book was published, because they had no idea how "tell-all" it was going to be.
Worst I got given a Mark Waugh book (name escapes me) - what a load of bollocks. He basically just gives an account of each day's play, with no real insight, just who made runs and got wickets. Might as well have read the scorecard.
St-KriS
15 Apr 2003, 13:16
Originally posted by manmountain
Calypso Cricket is also good for a behind the scenes account of an Australian tour. Apparently Roland Fishman was the most hated journalist by the Aussies after the book was published, because they had no idea how "tell-all" it was going to be.
Hell, you could tell in the book that most of the team didnt like him and all the other journo's that were over there didnt think to much of him either.
Jars458
15 Apr 2003, 14:36
Originally posted by St-KriS
Hell, you could tell in the book that most of the team didnt like him and all the other journo's that were over there didnt think to much of him either.
Probably because all the others agree not to publish all the dirt that goes on. Believe you me there is plenty of it.
So many women the palyers have on tour its not funny. 14 different women in a row in 14 nights is the record I believe.
Goldenblue
15 Apr 2003, 16:35
Best: Bradman's Best.
Great indepth look into the masters own test team.
Worst: Aust vs Eng (a pictorial history)
Bad pictures and nil information.
Roland Perry would have to write the best books in my opinion.
I really enjoyed 'Great Innings' by Peter Roebuck, a nice coffee table book where he examines, in detail, 50 of the greatest innings ever played. Very interesting, even the 11th, 12th time around.
Dogwatcher
15 Apr 2003, 21:05
okay here goes - here's just some of the 130 I have on my bookshelf
Any Old Eleven - Jim Young
Adventures and Misadventures of a suburban cricket team. Based on true happenings very funny and could have happened to any of us.
Ray robinson - would have to be one of the greatest Australian cricket writers. a way with words that just leaves you gasping at his cleverness sometimes - examples The Wildest tests and On Top Down Under, australia's Cricket captains. Has been updated, possibly by roland perry who is also very good - def. writes in the spirit of robinson.
200 years of cricket - released in 1997, I think. It's not quite 200 years, but it is a sensational review season by season of what happened. Full statistics. Now a little outdated but still very useful.
Worst - I didn't want to focus on too many 'self written' autobiographies, as most of them suck. However, the worst has to go to Shane Warne - My autiobiogrpahy (2001). Terrible, just justification after justifdication of why mr Warne, great talent that he is, has never been wrong.
Also - there was a claim about Roland Fishman not being a cricket journalist. Not quite right - he wrote a book about Greg Matthews called The spirit of Modern Cricket, released in 1986, well before Calypso Cricket.
PS: If anybody has any cricket books whatsoever, no matter the quality of the literature I will be happy to negotiate a price with you.
Not necessarily a bad book, but a quirky one is Jack Pollard's "Mollydookers", a book abou tthe best left handed batsmen.
It seemed odd to me that a bloke who'd play 80-100 Tests would get no greater write-up than a bloke who played 10 First Class matches for the West Indies in the 1930s and never played a Test.
Always seemed to pay a lot of credit to county batsmen who made X amount of runs in 20+ years but had absolutely no impact at the higher lvel.
Bomber Spirit
20 Apr 2003, 17:02
Originally posted by Adrian Shelton
Any Wisden Cricketers Almanac Did you ever see a book called Winsden Cricketers Almanack? That was a brilliant satire - it's several years old now, but it was great for a laugh.
TheSheik
20 Apr 2003, 19:30
Just started reading 'Eddie Gilbert : The True Story Of An Aboriginal Cricket Legend'.
Not bad but the first chapter about what the whites did to the blacks in the early 1900's is absolutely distressing.
Looking forward to the part when he bowls Bradman for a duck !!
St-KriS
21 Apr 2003, 08:55
Originally posted by TheSheik
Just started reading 'Eddie Gilbert : The True Story Of An Aboriginal Cricket Legend'.
Not bad but the first chapter about what the whites did to the blacks in the early 1900's is absolutely distressing.
Looking forward to the part when he bowls Bradman for a duck !!
I've read that as well. Quality book. It looked like Bradman didn't rate him to much.
dr nick
21 Apr 2003, 08:59
Best: Any Steve Waugh diary, particularly the "No Regrets" one.
Worst: Calypso Cricket. sorry st kris, but i couldnt even get past the 3rd page on this boring paperback.
Mr. Blonde
21 Apr 2003, 14:41
BEST : The Warwick Todd Diaries are the only books I have laughed out loud whilst reading. The man is a legend. Also the Merv Hughes autobiography from about 10 years ago is good for a laugh. It's great to read a book from a sportsman that doesn't take himself too seriously.
WORST : The Ian Botham autobiography. Could any person actually think more of themself than "Beefy". Sure, he was a great cricketer, but do we need to be told this every second paragraph.
bunsen burner
21 Apr 2003, 17:56
Worst: Warwick Todd Diary. Humourous after a few pages, but boring and predictable by the end of the first chapter. There is only one joke in the whole book and it is repeated over and over again. Sorry to offend, but I thought that book was for dumb people who didn't realise they were getting the same joke rehashed over and over again. I could write something that funny and I'm not even a comedian. Then again, neither is Tom Gleisner.
dr nick
21 Apr 2003, 18:02
Originally posted by bunsen burner
I could write something that funny and I'm not even a comedian. Then again, neither is Tom Gleisner.
:p you'd come close
TigerCraig
29 Apr 2003, 12:26
Best:
* The Roebuck best innings one already mentioned
* The Vincibles by Gideon Haigh - a must for anyone who playes park cricket
* Linseed and Fishpaste by M Bussell - much like The Vincibles from an English point of view.
* Confessions of a Thirteenth Man by John Harms
* Old classics like Bradmans Farewell to Cricket
Worst:
* 90% of "auto"biographies (although will have a look at the Lillee one when it comes out later in the year)
Goldenblue
8 May 2003, 02:25
Originally posted by St-KriS
It looked like Bradman didn't rate him to much.
In the Bradman Diaries, Bradman quotes as saying that Gilbert was the only fast bowler he was terrified of facing.
Originally posted by Goldenblue
In the Bradman Diaries, Bradman quotes as saying that Gilbert was the only fast bowler he was terrified of facing.
Yes, but Bradman also questioned his action numerous times and he even did it on flim. That's what I meant by rating him.
TheSheik
9 May 2003, 23:14
Originally posted by TigerCraig
* The Vincibles by Gideon Haigh - a must for anyone who playes park cricket
How did I know you would have listed that one ?? ;)
Bulldog1954
10 May 2003, 20:50
Worst - "Punter" Ricky Pontings book
We know he's a great batsmen, bowler, fielder and would make a great keeper. We know he was a good boy, loves kids and spends hours at charity. We know he's a loving man and that any "incidents" were misrepresented. We know because we get frigging told every page, biggest garbage I have ever read
I read a book by Mark Waugh and Doug Walters that was pretty boring. 'and then this happend. then that happened. then we went home' kinda thing
A bloody good one I read was Gideon Haigh's book about WSC cricket (The Cricket Wars? The exact title escapes me at the moment). Fascinating behind the scenes stuff and good description of the play as well and all the stats for WSC in the back.
Whilst not a bad book Richie Benauds autobiography was very disappointing, nowhere near as insightful as his commentary can be..
Wisden is always good, always have a couple in the throne room for consultation.