Cricket Books

[Gough]

Cricket has a long and fine literary tradition. What are your favourite cricket books? Mine;
Beyond a Boundary - C.L.R. James, the best cricket book ever for mine
On Top Downunder - Ray Robinson, history of the second highest office in Australia, now updated by the brilliant Gideon Haigh
The Vincibles - Gideon Haigh, anyone who's played club cricket will enjoy this
The Art of Captaincy - Mike Brearley, a chance to climb inside the mind of the smartest guy who's ever played Test cricket
A Lot of Hard Yakka - Simon Hughes, great tales of the life of an average county cricketer. Won the 1997 William Hill Sports Book of the year.
Wisden, been around for 150 years this year so must be doing something right.
Edit - Just seen the typo in the title of the thread, can someone sort that out for me please.

 

[Plugger35]

 

[Carbine Chaos]

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People by Michael Clarke

 

[The_Reaper]

Golden Boy is a great read

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

The Chappell Way was interesting.
The Reasons Why (Bob Simpson) the same.
Also remember a couple of autobiographies on Gooch, Imran Khan that I enjoyed, mostly because the games they'd played in and the key events they referred to I was less familiar with.

Merv: My life and other funny stories

 

[worbod]

Favourite: The Centurions by Patrick Murphy (profiles of the batsmen who have scored 100 centuries).

Others:
Bradman the Great (great analysis of all Bradman's first class matches)
The A-Z of Bradman
Botham's Choice
The Chronicle of W. G. (details of all W.G's first class and second class matches)
Hit For Six (Gerald Brodribb's well known look into big hitting and quick scoring)
Triple Glory (an analysis of all triple centuries in first class cricket, published in 2002)

 

[Gough]

Favourite: The Centurions by Patrick Murphy (profiles of the batsmen who have scored 100 centuries).

Others:
Bradman the Great (great analysis of all Bradman's first class matches)
The A-Z of Bradman
Botham's Choice
The Chronicle of W. G. (details of all W.G's first class and second class matches)
Hit For Six (Gerald Brodribb's well known look into big hitting and quick scoring)
Triple Glory (an analysis of all triple centuries in first class cricket, published in 2002)

You sound to me like a stats man, have you seen Ray Webster and Allan Miller's two volume First Class Cricket in Australia 1850/51 - 1976/77?

 

[worbod]

Yes, I bought those two books when they were published. Cost 90 dollars each I seem to recall, but they are a great stats reference.

 

[STFU Donnie]

Cricket has a long and fine literary tradition. What are your favourite cricket books? Mine;
Beyond a Boundary - C.L.R. James, the best cricket book ever for mine
On Top Downunder - Ray Robinson, history of the second highest office in Australia, now updated by the brilliant Gideon Haigh
The Vincibles - Gideon Haigh, anyone who's played club cricket will enjoy this
The Art of Captaincy - Mike Brearley, a chance to climb inside the mind of the smartest guy who's ever played Test cricket
A Lot of Hard Yakka - Simon Hughes, great tales of the life of an average county cricketer. Won the 1997 William Hill Sports Book of the year.
Wisden, been around for 150 years this year so must be doing something right.
Edit - Just seen the typo in the title of the thread, can someone sort that out for me please.

John Arlott's 'Fred', a biography of Freddie Trueman is a terrific read.

Anything by Gideon Haigh is worth reading, and anything by Roland Perry is worth avoiding! I loved Gideon Haigh's comment on Perry's biography of Bradman; he called it a "book shaped object".

I'm still p-ssed off that I had to miss Haigh's appearance at the writer's festival.

 

[Gough]

John Arlott's 'Fred', a biography of Freddie Trueman is a terrific read.

Anything by Gideon Haigh is worth reading, and anything by Roland Perry is worth avoiding! I loved Gideon Haigh's comment on Perry's biography of Bradman; he called it a "book shaped object".

I'm still p-ssed off that I had to miss Haigh's appearance at the writer's festival.

I'd read Gideon Haigh's shopping list, his Writer's Week talk was brilliant.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bigideas/stories/2013/03/18/3714390.htm
You can see his Perth Writer's Week talk here.

 

[STFU Donnie]

I'd read Gideon Haigh's shopping list, his Writer's Week talk was brilliant.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bigideas/stories/2013/03/18/3714390.htm
You can see his Perth Writer's Week talk here.

Thanks for that. I'll check it out.

Have you read Fred?

 

[Gough]

Thanks for that. I'll check it out.

Have you read Fred?

I've not, but on your recommendation I'll definitely have a look at it. I've read his autobiography, but not the Arlott book. Arlott and Trueman on Cricket which was a fun read, I'd recommend that. You can find a copy in most decent second hand book shops.

 

[STFU Donnie]

I've not, but on your recommendation I'll definitely have a look at it. I've read his autobiography, but not the Arlott book. Arlott and Trueman on Cricket which was a fun read, I'd recommend that. You can find a copy in most decent second hand book shops.

I have a copy, got it as a present in 1977! I was too young to appreciate it at the time, but I definitely grew into it.

 

[Gough]

I have a copy, got it as a present in 1977! I was too young to appreciate it at the time, but I definitely grew into it.

Likewise, I had a very literary grandmother who gave it to me one Xmas when I was about 8, it was book I grew into. Have you read Arlott's autobiography, Basingstoke Boy?

 

[Carbine Chaos]

On a more serious note, I liked Roy.

 

[damochandler]

i think i still have the cricket year books from 93 and 96. got all steve waughs diarys bar the ashes/india tour in 2001 and images of waugh

 

[STFU Donnie]

Likewise, I had a very literary grandmother who gave it to me one Xmas when I was about 8, it was book I grew into. Have you read Arlott's autobiography, Basingstoke Boy?

No, I must get round to it.

 

[Plugger35]

i think i still have the cricket year books from 93 and 96. got all steve waughs diarys bar the ashes/india tour in 2001 and images of waugh

I've got most of Steve Waugh's tour diaries too, one signed by the great man himself. His diaries are all very thorough and make for interesting reading unlike one of Merv Hughes Ashes diaries I've got which he co-wrote with Ian Cover from the Coodabeens. Merv barely scribbled more than a few sentences for each day and just gave up towards the end of the tour with Ian Cover writing most of it.

This one, comes highly unrecommended.

Really should get around to reading more of Gideon Haigh's stuff, his articles on cricinfo are always worth reading.

 

[sherb]

You sound to me like a stats man, have you seen Ray Webster and Allan Miller's two volume First Class Cricket in Australia 1850/51 - 1976/77?

I've got those.

Allan Miller put out an amazingly thorough cricket annual in Australia for about 10-12 years.

 

[Tassieboy]

I enjoyed Sobers' auto and Ryan's Hughes bio.

 

[Gough]

I've got most of Steve Waugh's tour diaries too, one signed by the great man himself. His diaries are all very thorough and make for interesting reading unlike one of Merv Hughes Ashes diaries I've got which he co-wrote with Ian Cover from the Coodabeens. Merv barely scribbled more than a few sentences for each day and just gave up towards the end of the tour with Ian Cover writing most of it.

This one, comes highly unrecommended.

I read one of those Steve Waugh diaries and it was about the most prosaic thing I have ever read. Good thing he could play cricket because a career as a writer was never going to happen.

 

[Plugger35]

I read one of those Steve Waugh diaries and it was about the most prosaic thing I have ever read. Good thing he could play cricket because a career as a writer was never going to happen.

He's not the most colourful or exciting writer to read but in terms of detail it's a pretty good record of certain tours and series with some insights into what went on behind the scenes. Can't really ask for much more than that.

I prefer reading the cricket books of larrikins like Hogg, O'Keefe, Walters and Marsh though as you get more colourful and funnier stories.

 

[Black Diamond]

Arthur Mailey - 10 for 66 and all that

Haven't actually read it but it's next on my list of cricket list. Everyone I know who has read it says it's great.

 

[desie]

Haigh's The Cricket War is the best book on the sport that I've read.

David Tossell's Grovel! on the 1976 England vs West Indies series is also worth checking out.

 

[sherb]

Haigh's The Cricket War is the best book on the sport that I've read.

David Tossell's Grovel! on the 1976 England vs West Indies series is also worth checking out.

Great title.