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Gooch's Autobiography..

wpdavid

Hall of Fame Member
Have anyone read Graham Gooch autobiography released in 1995. Is it worth reading?
Possibly not, given his less than riveting pronouncements whenever in front of a microphone. Expected low-lights would be his justification of dropping Gower and his SA jaunt in 1982.
 

fredfertang

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
You wouldn't expect it to be up to much, save that Gooch chose his ghost wisely, Frank Keating, so it's not bad
 

Bouncer

State Regular
Have anyone read Graham Gooch autobiography released in 1995. Is it worth reading?

I have and it is really good. What I enjoyed the most was him describing the era from 1974-1980-80 Where he went through a phase where he had to alter his stance, change his approach towards batting and decided to back his abilities to hit against the pace bowlers vs the old approach of an English opener should be more of a conservative kind of batsman. Also spoke on his disappointment to not to able to score a hundred and that famous comment by an aussie "What...do you not like scoring 100's mate?"

Overall...I highly recommend it.
 

Bouncer

State Regular
What I really wanna read is Atherton's.

That too was really good. You would be surprised but I personally felt as if Fazal Mahmood's and aravinda de silva's were one of the best ones that I have ever read. The way they described events in their careers and in that era were very interesting to read. Martin Crow's out on the limb was an exceptionally good read too.
 

TheGreatest

U19 Cricketer
I have and it is really good. What I enjoyed the most was him describing the era from 1974-1980-80 Where he went through a phase where he had to alter his stance, change his approach towards batting and decided to back his abilities to hit against the pace bowlers vs the old approach of an English opener should be more of a conservative kind of batsman. Also spoke on his disappointment to not to able to score a hundred and that famous comment by an aussie "What...do you not like scoring 100's mate?"

Overall...I highly recommend it.
Thanks a lot!

Any specific autobiography from 70/80's which you recommend? I like reading about players from that era.
 

wpdavid

Hall of Fame Member
I have and it is really good. What I enjoyed the most was him describing the era from 1974-1980-80 Where he went through a phase where he had to alter his stance, change his approach towards batting and decided to back his abilities to hit against the pace bowlers vs the old approach of an English opener should be more of a conservative kind of batsman. Also spoke on his disappointment to not to able to score a hundred and that famous comment by an aussie "What...do you not like scoring 100's mate?"

Overall...I highly recommend it.
That sounds like when he ran himself out for 99 going for what would have been his maiden test ton.

Beyond that, clearly it's a better read than I imagined. probably worth looking out for a copy.
 

cpr

International Coach
What I really wanna read is Atherton's.
Its a good read, and he's rather honest in his assessments of his own skill and of those around him. Gives quite a bit about how his back really didn't help his career at all, and probably explains the pained grimace he wore for a decade beyond the 'is this what I've got to play with?'
 

jcas0167

International Debutant
Thanks a lot!

Any specific autobiography from 70/80's which you recommend? I like reading about players from that era.
I'm a New Zealand fan and John Wright's 'Christmas in Raratonga' & Richard Hadlee's 'Rhythm & Swing' are excellent. Wright's is particularly funny, recounting some of the more amusing experiences as a touring international cricketer and on the county circuit. Both devote chapters to some of the best players players they encountered. Hadlee's addresses how he used motivational techniques to turn his career around in 1984 when he was suffering burn-out (also see 'Hadlee at the Double').

If you want an account of a teenage opener facing Garner & Marshall in the Windies in the mid-80's I'd recommend Ken Rutherford's 'A Hell of a Way to Make a Living'. It was written after Rutherford had been axed as NZ captain in the mid-90's and is particularly brutal in it's assessments of some of his team-mates.

David Gower's autobiography came out around the same time as Gooch's in the mid-90's, and from memory it was a bit more colourful. Stories of the antics he'd get up to with Botham & Lamb on tour & how he struggled with the change in culture under Gooch's captaincy.

I'd second the recommendation above on the Atherton book. I'd add Nasser Hussain's 'Playing with Fire' to the list. As forthright as you'd expect.
 
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TheGreatest

U19 Cricketer
I'm a New Zealand fan and John Wright's 'Christmas in Raratonga' & Richard Hadlee's 'Rhythm & Swing' are excellent. Wright's is particularly funny, recounting some of the more amusing experiences as a touring international cricketer and on the county circuit. Both devote chapters to some of the best players players they encountered. Hadlee's addresses how he used motivational techniques to turn his career around in 1984 when he was suffering burn-out (also see 'Hadlee at the Double').

If you want an account of a teenage opener facing Garner & Marshall in the Windies in the mid-80's I'd recommend Ken Rutherford's 'A Hell of a Way to Make a Living'. It was written after Rutherford had been axed as NZ captain in the mid-90's and is particularly brutal in it's assessments of some of his team-mates.

David Gower's autobiography came out around the same time as Gooch's in the mid-90's, and from memory it was a bit more colourful. Stories of the antics he'd get up to with Botham & Lamb on tour & how he struggled with the change in culture under Gooch's captaincy.

I'd second the recommendation above on the Atherton book. I'd add Nasser Hussain's 'Playing with Fire' to the list. As forthright as you'd expect.
Thanks for the info especially on New Zealand cricketers autobiographies. They are hard to find.

What are your views on the two Martin Crowe books "Raw" and "Out on a Limb"?
 

jcas0167

International Debutant
Thanks for the info especially on New Zealand cricketers autobiographies. They are hard to find.

What are your views on the two Martin Crowe books "Raw" and "Out on a Limb"?
I really enjoyed both of them. Very different books. I was lucky enough to get my copy of Raw signed by Crowe at a book launch in Wellington. Interestingly, at the launch was Joseph Romanos who wrote a book in 1995 called 'Tortured Genius: the Unauthorized Biography of New Zealand's Greatest Batsman.' It came out at the same time as 'Out on a Limb'. It's a very good read, but not always flattering to Crowe. So I was surprised Romanos was at the launch. Then Crowe, in his speech, said that in hindsight he felt that Romanos's book summed him up better than his own autobiography had. So he'd contacted Romanos when he was struggling with his illness and asked him what he thought about his draft for Raw.

Raw was written in 2013 and released when his lymphoma seemed to be under control after chemotherapy. The first half basically covers his post-cricket career, the struggles of not being a top sportsman anymore, his work setting up Cricket Max, working in commentary, and his battle with lymphoma & how he was trying to get peace of mind. The second half are Crowe's thoughts on various issues in cricket. My favourite chapter is the one on how to score a test match hundred. He also lists the top players he's faced.

Out on a Limb isn't quite as emotional as Raw, but it's a pretty candid & thoughtful account of his life & career. Unlike a lot of autobiographies, it's actually written by Crowe himself without a ghost writer. There are some interesting snippets, like in his debut series, when he was overawed by Thompson & Lillee, he walked when he wasn't sure if he was out. In his next innings Lillee came up to him and told him that it was really "gentlemanly" of him, but never do it again. So he didn't.

There's actually another Crowe book, 'the Crowe Style' written with his brother Jeff in the late 80's, which is pretty light and includes a chapter with coaching advice.
 

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