Cricket Books

[archie mac]

It looks a must-have.

Yes, you would enjoy it, very well written

Although it was very successful running into a number of reprints, he was unable to find a publisher, they only wanted books written about big names such as Botham and KP

 

[jammay123]

has anyone read the dickie bird autobiography? coz it is only £3 in the clearance section in my local waterstones. was gonna by it but i would like others who have read its opinion

 

[archie mac]

has anyone read the dickie bird autobiography? coz it is only £3 in the clearance section in my local waterstones. was gonna by it but i would like others who have read its opinion

I enjoyed it, but many other people I have spoke to thought it too long

 

[SJS]

Yes, you would enjoy it, very well written

Although it was very successful running into a number of reprints, he was unable to find a publisher, they only wanted books written about big names such as Botham and KP

How good a writer is Chalke overall ? He seems to have been pretty prolific from what I see from the site of the publishing company. I doubt if I can find his books in India.

 

[archie mac]

How good a writer is Chalke overall ? He seems to have been pretty prolific from what I see from the site of the publishing company. I doubt if I can find his books in India.

He has become one of my favourites, never covers modern players just the oldies

Writes very well too, we have two reviews of his books on our site

 

[neville cardus]

has anyone read the dickie bird autobiography? coz it is only £3 in the clearance section in my local waterstones. was gonna by it but i would like others who have read its opinion

It's a good'un. No false pretences, just the fun, anecdotal frivolity that you'd expect from the man. I didn't think it too long at all (but, then, I finished it in two days).

 

[archie mac]

It's a good'un. No false pretences, just the fun, anecdotal frivolity that you'd expect from the man. I didn't think it too long at all (but, then, I finished it in two days).

Have you finished the WG book yet? We would love a review for our site (if you have finished your tests)

 

[stumpski]

has anyone read the dickie bird autobiography? coz it is only £3 in the clearance section in my local waterstones. was gonna by it but i would like others who have read its opinion

I've read it and I thought it was just OK. The point being that old Dickie has been around a long time, and written (or at least put his name to) a few books, and some of his stories are getting a little well-worn. He trades on his 'lovable eccentric' image rather a lot. I wouldn't quibble at £3 though.

 

[neville cardus]

Have you finished the WG book yet? We would love a review for our site (if you have finished your tests)

I picked it up for the first time in ages last night. Exams are finally over (for now, at least), so I should be done with Mr Rae's masterly offering by the weekend.

 

[SJS]

I wouldn't quibble at £3 though.

Its more about whether one would invest the time to read it through

 

[stumpski]

I was wondering whether anyone can recommend a book on Sobers - other greats such as Hobbs, Bradman, Richards have had many books written on them but I can't recall seeing one on Sir Garfield .. there must have been at least one though I don't see any in the review section.

 

[neville cardus]

I was wondering whether anyone can recommend a book on Sobers

Well, there's always his autobiography.

other greats such as Hobbs, Bradman, Richards have had many books written on them but I can't recall seeing one on Sir Garfield .. there must have been at least one though I don't see any in the review section.

A cursory glance at my bookcase reveals the presence of a slim volume by Trevor Bailey (Sir Garry's first Test wicket). I've read it and so can tell you that it's not quite as in-depth as modern standards dictate, but it does make for some light, easy reading.

 

[archie mac]

I was wondering whether anyone can recommend a book on Sobers - other greats such as Hobbs, Bradman, Richards have had many books written on them but I can't recall seeing one on Sir Garfield .. there must have been at least one though I don't see any in the review section.

I have read the latest one, co written with Harris (he also helped on Richards and the latest Lillee bios)

It was okay (sobers one) but nothing great, was surprised at just what a great sportsman Sobers was, soccer, golf, you name it and Sobers would have been a champion

 

[Perm]

Picked up two cricket books yesterday, John Wright's Indian Summers and The Hansie Cronje Story. Looking forward to reading them.

 

[archie mac]

Picked up two cricket books yesterday, John Wright's Indian Summers and The Hansie Cronje Story. Looking forward to reading them.

Reviews?

 

[SJS]

I was wondering whether anyone can recommend a book on Sobers - other greats such as Hobbs, Bradman, Richards have had many books written on them but I can't recall seeing one on Sir Garfield .. there must have been at least one though I don't see any in the review section.

The absence of a eally great book on Sobers has always irritated me . Here are the three I have.

• Garry (that's how it spells there) Sobers : My Autobiography with Bob Harris
• Sir Gary - A Biography by Trevor Bailey
• Sobers : Twenty Years at the Top by Sobers with Brian Scovell

 

[Perm]

Reviews?

Possibly, I've got a few other assignments for James before I can get down to reading them, but I'll try.

 

[Matt79]

Yeah, the Harris ghosted autobiog of Sobers ain't bad. It's better than the one he did with Viv Richards (or maybe Sobers is just a better subject - Viv came across as a knob in his Harris ghosted autobiog).

Have a look around the second hand book shops and see whether you can find Sobers' own books from when he was playing, Cricket Crusader, Cricket Advance, and King Cricket. They're quite good and give you more of a sense of the man IMO.

 

[stumpski]

Thanks, I'll have a look for those, and I have heard of the Bailey book now I'm reminded of it. It just strikes me that with Sobers you also get the three Ws, Griffith and Hall, Kanhai and Lloyd and much more besides. I gather that towards the latter part of his career he was quite the bon viveur as well, a tradition carried on by the likes of Botham and Lamb.

 

[Matt79]

I think through most of his career tbh. That's certainly covered in some detail in the Harris book. Essentially his argument was that he played better after being out on the turps til 3am, because he didn't have to rock up til 10:50-ish and if he turned in at 8-9pm, he was too keyed up about the game the next day and tossed and turned all night playing and replaying the upcoming game in his head, and ended up shattered the next day. He also pointed out that he did it through most of his career and it never seemed to harm his performance.