The Googly

Cricket is like opera, apparently

Alf Garnett once said that "football is working class ballet", and now new Wisden Editor Scyld Berry is drawing similarities between another of our national games and highbrow culture - though for slightly different reasons.  Writing in this year's Notes by the Editor, Berry has had a right pop at the costs of watching England.

"A family day out at an England cricket match is now for millionaires only," he says. "Watching the England team, whether at a ground or on subscription television, is becoming an elite pastime for the affluent, like opera. To watch the whole Test match at Lord's against South Africa this summer will cost a member of the public at least £300. Even a day of the New Zealand Test at Lord's will cost £60, while the best ticket for a one-day international at The Oval has exceeded £100."

Of course, if cricket really was like the opera then it wouldn't cost that much as it would have a load of Arts Council subsidy.  One for Giles Clarke to think about as he identifies revenue streams for the coming year.

Behind the Shades: a retrospective review

Back in the days of yore, when the Earth was young, gods stalked the land and we were all beautiful - or more accurately, last year - a certain Mr Duncan Fletcher gave Simon and Schuster the gift of publishing The Autobiography. Now this would probably have gone mostly unremarked, in the way of most sporting memoirs, had said Mr Fletcher, or perhaps his publishers, not done a deal with one of the tabloid rags for serialisation, and had the rag not selected the part of the book that dealt with Andrew Flintoff and his pedalo antics.

I must admit to having read some, not all, of the extracts (free of charge, at my work) and like, no doubt, many others, thought that Duncan had indeed betrayed the trust of the dressing-room. I had little intention of reading the book but my librarian, knowing my interest in cricket, told me that he had asked our local council to purchase a copy of Behind the Shades for my delectation.

Obviously it would have been rude to say I didn't want it but it wasn't until a week or so ago that the book arrived in all its new never-before-opened gorgeousness for me to read. I have a weakness for the feel, smell and touch of a new book no matter what its contents - hell, I can even be excited at the arrival of a brand-new pristine, shrink-wrapped telephone directory - so I plunged headfirst into Mr Fletcher's oevre. The opening words of the Preface "It all ended in tears" were almost enough to have me hurling the tome across the room, shouting "You predictable whining bastard", but that could have damaged the book and led to a fine from the council, so I persevered and the first two chapters: Born in Rhodesia and Down South really were a slog to get through. Full of the worst kind of self-deprecating praise - listing his personal achievements as a school-boy and junior player eg "...I did eventually become captain of cricket at Prince Edward [his school]. Another complete shock, after those years of only being classed good enough to be an underling." And much more of this type of guff. However, as soon as he moved on to writing about his time with Glamorgan and then the England team, the book became an absolute can't put it down number.

His insights on the political machinations of the ECB and the ICC are well worth reading, and he has plenty of kind and genuine things to say about, amongst others, Graham Thorpe and Mark Ramprakash. His relationship with Michael Vaughan is explored and there are tributes galore to Ashley Giles. The very small part of the book that deals with the problems of Flintoff are not sensationalised and actually do not feel like a betrayal of anyone or any dressing-room.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in English cricket and reading the closing words, I did actually have a tear in my eye: "I know I am lucky to have taken that journey [coaching England], and certainly feel immensely proud to have experienced it. I think we will end as we started. Really, it has been one hell of a time."

Hugh Morris, managing director of the ECB said to "Wales on Sunday" at the time excerpts of the book were published in whichever tabloid it was: "I've not read the book so I can't comment on its contents."

Well, Hugh and others - give it a go. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Book review: My Turn to Spin (Shaun Udal)

Oh, dear reader, I wanted to like this book so much.  I think Shaun Udal is such a decent chap, and pleasingly my view was reinforced having read this fairly weighty tome, which chronicles his life as a sterling county cricketer.

There's a strong theme running through the prose of Udal being the "nearly man"; he clearly feels slightly aggrieved by his relative lack of international recognition. Even his Test wickets are tinged with sadness, because you know how this particular story is going to end.

But, goodness, this was tough to plough through.  As the Googly's resident pedant, I'm infuriated by small typos and glaring factual errors alike, and it's even more irritating when you read them in a book that's presumably been edited and proof-read after its frantic ghosting.

No disrespect to Shaggy himself, but the most fascinating sections of the book are when he tells anecdotes about the great Malcolm Marshall, a man of whom he was very fond.  If you're a Hampshire fan, snap this one up quickly.  If you're not, it's worth a glance through, but be prepared for the usual sporting cliches to hit you very hard over the head. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Know the Score Books]

Book review: Ashes To Dust - The Nightmare Before Christmas (Graham Cookson)

It's a compelling tale. The once-mighty England welcome world-beaters Australia into their three-lioned lair and seize the 2005 Ashes. It's no wonder that a sizeable number of people decided to save their pennies for the return trip Down Under less than 18 months later.

Graham Cookson was one of these individuals. Ashes To Dust - The Nightmare Before Christmas is his diary of his winter following the tourists as they were ignominiously whitewashed. It's a simple conceit, and full marks to Cookson for taking it on.

I'm loath to be too critical, as I have no doubt that in his other life as voice of the fans in the broadcast media, Cookson is highly entertaining in his soundbite-sized slots - he strings a sentence together in forthright style and in true Northern fashion he speaks as he finds.

Yet this doesn't necessarily translate well on to the page. Strange though it may sound to some, there really are only so many times you can read the same Aussie-bashing taunts without it seeming very, very dull indeed; likewise laddish tales of alcohol consumption and hilarity ensuing. The prose detailing the games sits uneasily with the narration of the extra-curricular activities, and I wonder if better editing to make the storyline clearer would have helped.

It's a shame, because this kind of diary is truly once-in-a-lifetime stuff. The anecdote about meeting up with David Lloyd, for instance, is fascinating, and Cookson's admiration of the legend that is Bumble is obvious.  If you went to Australia on this Ashes tour, you'll be intrigued. If you stayed at home and watched it on the television or followed it with Test Match Special, then this book will excite mild curiosity - but it's highly probable it won't tell you anything you don't already know about matters on the pitch. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Wisden collection breaks auction record

Many people spend the best part of their lives collecting Wisdens, but some of us place more value on our time than to waste it on eBay and in second-hand book shops buying them one at a time.  The question is do you value your time at £120,000?  Because that is what a full collection of Wisdens (1864 -1999) has just sold for at auction.  This figure is a new record for a Wisden collection and is three times the estimated selling price. This maybe due to the buyer bidding when drunk, a mistake we have all made on eBay.

I assume that whoever has that amount of money to spend on such a large number of books would also have enough credit on their IKEA card to buy the shelves to put them on.  [Lee C]

Wisden 2007 editor Matthew Engel comes over all puritanical

I love Wisden.  The current editor, Matthew Engel, is one of the greats of British journalism; and not just sports, he has covered every major field of journalism is his time.  So it is not for me to question the opinion of such a great and esteemed member of the established media self-congratulation circle.  But I'm gonna do it anyway..

The Notes by the Editor, for those unfamiliar with it, is seven page pontification by the Wisden editor in which he waxes about the state of our beloved game.

Engel has excelled himself this year, and it is a truly great piece of sports writing:  among other things he calls for Fletcher's head, he bollocks the ECB for allowing the County game to fall into such a desperate state, and he has a go at Radio 4 for their shoddy treatment of Test Match Special.  But then he goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like:

"And yet English cricket's two brightest stars, Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, have had their bodies permanently daubed with massive tattoos advertising their patriotism. In the case of the nouveau anglais Pietersen, there is a natural tendency to think he protests too much. But that isn't the issue. Both seem rather keen on showing them off, thus encouraging their young admirers to get their own tattoos, perhaps depicting attachments that might prove more transient.

My generation grew up in the 1960s and is, famously, rather a tolerant one. But tattoos were decidedly uncool when I was young, associated with drunken sailors who endured a lifetime of regret. Medical removal is still by no means infallible. I think that if sporting heroes wish to indulge in this form of self-mutilation, they should have the decency not to advertise the fact."

Really Matthew, have you also sunk to the level of disapproving of "the young" and their ways?  If so, there is no place for it in an otherwise excellent piece of writing.  What will he tackle next year?  Ringtones? People who shout too loud in pubs?  Those baggy trousers that show half the wearer's undies?  [lee calvert]

Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Cricketers Take on the World

Has anyone read this? It sounds quite good, and is written by the late Harry Thompson who died last year. Thompson, whose obituary feature s in this year’s Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, was a cricket lover and comedian (comedic writer).

He either co-wrote, produced or directed a number of the UK’s comedy staple diet: Have I Got News For You, Newman and Baddiel in Pieces, They Think It’s All Over, Harry Enfield and Chums, The 11 O’Clock Show, Da Ali G Show, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Monkey Dust. What a repetoire, and I happen to have loved every single one of those (apart from Monkey Dust).

Anyway, this book looks really good and worth buying.

Steve Waugh's autobiography

At last. Steve Waugh's autobiography - a weighty 800+pages - is finally available in the UK. Pre order yours now here - released on April 27.

I'll see if I can get my hands on a copy and will post thoughts in due course. Waugh has made some comments about the Ashes, and of socialising, which have been curious...more on those tomorrow.

Engel under fire

For such a reasonable chap, Matthew Engel certainly attracts his critics. Indeed today Derek Pringle, who is one of my favourite writers, mentions Matthew's "legendary ire" in his review of this year's yellow bible, which is a perfectly apt phrase considering the backlash of comments since the launch.

In my interview with him, the Scotsman picked up on the quotes about Scotland. Here're my questions (bold) and Matthew's answers:

What of the World Cup then? Has the continued inclusion of developing nations reached its limit?
Well, the top two countries to qualify were Ireland and Scotland, which doesn't represent any kind of expansion or any kind of promise for the game. These countries are never going to beat teams consistently: they simply don't have the potential to become major cricketing powers. We're just pretending.

What then is the future for these countries? Scotland received £317,000 for development at the start of this month.
Scotland will continue to be Scotland. They will be a team somewhat too weak to play in the County Championship. The best hope for them would be to compete regularly with counties, but they aren't yet a match for any county. And to extend the World Cup from its natural length of three weeks to seven, just to accommodate these developing nations, is absurd. There will be a lot of very bored people in the West Indies.

And Peter Drinnen responded with:

"Let's judge the ICC over this in four or five years' time. We need to be playing in this environment for that amount of time before anyone can make any conclusions."

It hasn't stopped there either. Dougie Brown, the Warwickshire and Scotland all-rounder, has teed off in magnificent style:

"This is a very blinkered view. And how can he not say the game is global? Of course it's global. Does that mean we are not allowed, in Scotland or Holland or Namibia, to play cricket? Who does he think he is? It's a disgraceful article, and there will be egg on a few faces next time a small nation upsets a big one. It'll be fantastic."

Just goes to show how revered the Wisden brand is, and how the Editor's Notes are taken very seriously by anyone involved in the game. I'll leave the final words to Christopher Martin-Jenkins:

YEAR by year, by imperceptible degrees, Wisden becomes a little more a book to read, a little less an almanack to consult

Wisden Cricketers Almanack 2006

The Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2006 launches tomorrow. I caught up with the editor, Matthew Engel, and you read my mumblings at Cricinfo. We can also exclusively reveal the five Cricketers of the Year:

• Matthew Hoggard

• Simon Jones

• Kevin Pietersen

• Ricky Ponting

• Brett Lee

Andrew Flintoff was named Leading Cricketer in the World for 2005.

It’s also an exciting time for Cricinfo. After nearly four years of work, involving countless people, we have launched the Almanack online. This means you can search for any Wisden match report, article or obituary from 1864 - 2006! Pretty cool we hope you agree.

Book review: My Turn to Spin (Shaun Udal)

Oh, dear reader, I wanted to like this book so much.  I think Shaun Udal is such a decent chap, and pleasingly my view was reinforced having read this fairly weighty tome, which chronicles his life as a sterling county cricketer.

There's a strong theme running through the prose of Udal being the "nearly man"; he clearly feels slightly aggrieved by his relative lack of international recognition. Even his Test wickets are tinged with sadness, because you know how this particular story is going to end.

But, goodness, this was tough to plough through.  As the Googly's resident pedant, I'm infuriated by small typos and glaring factual errors alike, and it's even more irritating when you read them in a book that's presumably been edited and proof-read after its frantic ghosting.

No disrespect to Shaggy himself, but the most fascinating sections of the book are when he tells anecdotes about the great Malcolm Marshall, a man of whom he was very fond.  If you're a Hampshire fan, snap this one up quickly.  If you're not, it's worth a glance through, but be prepared for the usual sporting cliches to hit you very hard over the head. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Know the Score Books]

Book review: Ashes To Dust - The Nightmare Before Christmas (Graham Cookson)

It's a compelling tale. The once-mighty England welcome world-beaters Australia into their three-lioned lair and seize the 2005 Ashes. It's no wonder that a sizeable number of people decided to save their pennies for the return trip Down Under less than 18 months later.

Graham Cookson was one of these individuals. Ashes To Dust - The Nightmare Before Christmas is his diary of his winter following the tourists as they were ignominiously whitewashed. It's a simple conceit, and full marks to Cookson for taking it on.

I'm loath to be too critical, as I have no doubt that in his other life as voice of the fans in the broadcast media, Cookson is highly entertaining in his soundbite-sized slots - he strings a sentence together in forthright style and in true Northern fashion he speaks as he finds.

Yet this doesn't necessarily translate well on to the page. Strange though it may sound to some, there really are only so many times you can read the same Aussie-bashing taunts without it seeming very, very dull indeed; likewise laddish tales of alcohol consumption and hilarity ensuing. The prose detailing the games sits uneasily with the narration of the extra-curricular activities, and I wonder if better editing to make the storyline clearer would have helped.

It's a shame, because this kind of diary is truly once-in-a-lifetime stuff. The anecdote about meeting up with David Lloyd, for instance, is fascinating, and Cookson's admiration of the legend that is Bumble is obvious.  If you went to Australia on this Ashes tour, you'll be intrigued. If you stayed at home and watched it on the television or followed it with Test Match Special, then this book will excite mild curiosity - but it's highly probable it won't tell you anything you don't already know about matters on the pitch. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Wisden collection breaks auction record

Many people spend the best part of their lives collecting Wisdens, but some of us place more value on our time than to waste it on eBay and in second-hand book shops buying them one at a time.  The question is do you value your time at £120,000?  Because that is what a full collection of Wisdens (1864 -1999) has just sold for at auction.  This figure is a new record for a Wisden collection and is three times the estimated selling price. This maybe due to the buyer bidding when drunk, a mistake we have all made on eBay.

I assume that whoever has that amount of money to spend on such a large number of books would also have enough credit on their IKEA card to buy the shelves to put them on.  [Lee C]

Wisden 2007 editor Matthew Engel comes over all puritanical

I love Wisden.  The current editor, Matthew Engel, is one of the greats of British journalism; and not just sports, he has covered every major field of journalism is his time.  So it is not for me to question the opinion of such a great and esteemed member of the established media self-congratulation circle.  But I'm gonna do it anyway..

The Notes by the Editor, for those unfamiliar with it, is seven page pontification by the Wisden editor in which he waxes about the state of our beloved game.

Engel has excelled himself this year, and it is a truly great piece of sports writing:  among other things he calls for Fletcher's head, he bollocks the ECB for allowing the County game to fall into such a desperate state, and he has a go at Radio 4 for their shoddy treatment of Test Match Special.  But then he goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like:

"And yet English cricket's two brightest stars, Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, have had their bodies permanently daubed with massive tattoos advertising their patriotism. In the case of the nouveau anglais Pietersen, there is a natural tendency to think he protests too much. But that isn't the issue. Both seem rather keen on showing them off, thus encouraging their young admirers to get their own tattoos, perhaps depicting attachments that might prove more transient.

My generation grew up in the 1960s and is, famously, rather a tolerant one. But tattoos were decidedly uncool when I was young, associated with drunken sailors who endured a lifetime of regret. Medical removal is still by no means infallible. I think that if sporting heroes wish to indulge in this form of self-mutilation, they should have the decency not to advertise the fact."

Really Matthew, have you also sunk to the level of disapproving of "the young" and their ways?  If so, there is no place for it in an otherwise excellent piece of writing.  What will he tackle next year?  Ringtones? People who shout too loud in pubs?  Those baggy trousers that show half the wearer's undies?  [lee calvert]

Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Cricketers Take on the World

Has anyone read this? It sounds quite good, and is written by the late Harry Thompson who died last year. Thompson, whose obituary feature s in this year’s Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, was a cricket lover and comedian (comedic writer).

He either co-wrote, produced or directed a number of the UK’s comedy staple diet: Have I Got News For You, Newman and Baddiel in Pieces, They Think It’s All Over, Harry Enfield and Chums, The 11 O’Clock Show, Da Ali G Show, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Monkey Dust. What a repetoire, and I happen to have loved every single one of those (apart from Monkey Dust).

Anyway, this book looks really good and worth buying.

Steve Waugh's autobiography

At last. Steve Waugh's autobiography - a weighty 800+pages - is finally available in the UK. Pre order yours now here - released on April 27.

I'll see if I can get my hands on a copy and will post thoughts in due course. Waugh has made some comments about the Ashes, and of socialising, which have been curious...more on those tomorrow.

Engel under fire

For such a reasonable chap, Matthew Engel certainly attracts his critics. Indeed today Derek Pringle, who is one of my favourite writers, mentions Matthew's "legendary ire" in his review of this year's yellow bible, which is a perfectly apt phrase considering the backlash of comments since the launch.

In my interview with him, the Scotsman picked up on the quotes about Scotland. Here're my questions (bold) and Matthew's answers:

What of the World Cup then? Has the continued inclusion of developing nations reached its limit?
Well, the top two countries to qualify were Ireland and Scotland, which doesn't represent any kind of expansion or any kind of promise for the game. These countries are never going to beat teams consistently: they simply don't have the potential to become major cricketing powers. We're just pretending.

What then is the future for these countries? Scotland received £317,000 for development at the start of this month.
Scotland will continue to be Scotland. They will be a team somewhat too weak to play in the County Championship. The best hope for them would be to compete regularly with counties, but they aren't yet a match for any county. And to extend the World Cup from its natural length of three weeks to seven, just to accommodate these developing nations, is absurd. There will be a lot of very bored people in the West Indies.

And Peter Drinnen responded with:

"Let's judge the ICC over this in four or five years' time. We need to be playing in this environment for that amount of time before anyone can make any conclusions."

It hasn't stopped there either. Dougie Brown, the Warwickshire and Scotland all-rounder, has teed off in magnificent style:

"This is a very blinkered view. And how can he not say the game is global? Of course it's global. Does that mean we are not allowed, in Scotland or Holland or Namibia, to play cricket? Who does he think he is? It's a disgraceful article, and there will be egg on a few faces next time a small nation upsets a big one. It'll be fantastic."

Just goes to show how revered the Wisden brand is, and how the Editor's Notes are taken very seriously by anyone involved in the game. I'll leave the final words to Christopher Martin-Jenkins:

YEAR by year, by imperceptible degrees, Wisden becomes a little more a book to read, a little less an almanack to consult

Wisden Cricketers Almanack 2006

The Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2006 launches tomorrow. I caught up with the editor, Matthew Engel, and you read my mumblings at Cricinfo. We can also exclusively reveal the five Cricketers of the Year:

• Matthew Hoggard

• Simon Jones

• Kevin Pietersen

• Ricky Ponting

• Brett Lee

Andrew Flintoff was named Leading Cricketer in the World for 2005.

It’s also an exciting time for Cricinfo. After nearly four years of work, involving countless people, we have launched the Almanack online. This means you can search for any Wisden match report, article or obituary from 1864 - 2006! Pretty cool we hope you agree.

Morning Everyone by Simon Hughes

I wrote this around Christmas for Cricinfo but, for whatever reason, it never reached the site. So rather than have it sit in my inbox of fate (I'm a big I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue fan, so forgive any tenuous references to the gameshow in future posts), I thought I'd stick it up here.

I had eagerly anticipated the release of Simon Hughes' third book. His previous two - A Lot of Hard Yakka (1998) and Yakking Around the World (2001) - were both well received, particularly by this reviewer. He had a lot to live up to. Thankfully, he matches and exceeds both his previous efforts.

While his first two were essentially light-hearted, honest – and invariably hilarious - anecdotes of a life of a county cricketer in the 1980s, Morning Everyone focuses on Hughes' life as a sports journalist, and the Analyst on Channel 4; of hardened hacks, of unremitting subbers and shiny media types. It's unfailingly funny, magnified by his very British self-depreciation (often making mention to his hair, or lack thereof).

As a county bowler in the 1980s, he writes longingly about his dream to accompany Blowers, Johnners, CMJ and others in the exalted territory of the Test Match Special commentary box: "the Holy Grail of broadcasting, from a wannabe's point of view". His arrival on our screens Aside from endeavouring to conquer the world of cricket broadcasting on radio and television, his insights into the people we see on our screens, hear on the radio and read in the newspapers are often scathing but always entertaining. He said of Piers Morgan, the media magnet: "His commitment to a cause is pit-bullish." Mike Atherton's very holy shoes and general fashion sense come in for scornful derision, but it's clear the joke between the two is very much two-way.

The only person not to fall foul of Hughes' mockery is the man who inspired him most – which the book's title, surely, refers to: Richie Benaud. So much has been written of the cream-jacketed doyen, but rarely from the perspective of a colleague. Hughes portrays him as the complete professional, fastidious in his preparation (and indeed enunciation); foremost a cricket addict and junkie, unfailingly helpful and honest. The book is almost a eulogy to Benaud, without a hint of sycophantism either.

After the torrent of Ashes books released since September – 12 at the last count - Morning Everyone is a welcome change. "My name has never sold newspapers," the book starts, "but I've rubbed shoulders with the sportsmen who have." That sentiment neatly surmises not only this book, but Hughes' unshakable enthusiasm and dedication to the game. Not a world-beating bowler, but his average as a writer is improving with every attempt.

Buy it at Amazon

Graham Thorpe's autobiography

I was lucky, if that's the correct word, to receive Graham Thorpe's autobiography the other day (there are perks to my job!), and skimmed through it on the train on Friday. I was unfortunate enough to be sitting next to an impossibly large gentleman who spent the three hour journey scribbling numbers on a curled notepad. I never did decipher what he was doing, but in a moment of panic and fantasy, thought perhaps he was a spy for the government.

Anyway, such was my predicament and general lack of space that I settled down to read this book. And what a great disappointment it was.

I should point out that I didn't, and still have yet to, finish the book and I admit that I'm not very well qualified to complain about it. But balderdash to that - I'm going to. While I have a lot of time for him as a batsman and cricketer, I couldn't decide whether this was simply an honest portrayal of his life; an extended therapy session (he suffers from depression) or an attempt to remove several large chips from his shoulder. I don't doubt that what he has been through has ruined him and his life - it has. But I question his reasoning behind publishing it. Worryingly, an extra chapter looks like it's being released in June this year.