In this absorbing book, Richard H. Thomas tells the “long and involved” history of cricket through some of its most colourful characters, said Marcus Berkmann in The Spectator. Luckily for him – and for us – the sport has always attracted eccentrics, from oddballs such as W.G. Grace to Geoffrey Boycott, to the many less familiar figures in Thomas’s account.
One such figure is Wilf Wooller, who captained Glamorgan to the championship in 1948 and later became the club’s president. In the latter guise, Thomas portrays him as a “terrifying figure”, prowling the boundary in his sports jackets and brown suede shoes, often commandeering the public address system to denounce the negative tactics of opposing teams.
“Drinkers, adventurers and shaggers abound” in these pages, said Patrick Kidd in The Critic. A century ago, the Hon. Lionel Tennyson (grandson of the poet laureate) found himself summoned to make his Test debut for England the next day while “deep into a night at the Embassy Club on Bond Street”. He struck an extravagant bet with one of his companions that he would score a half-century – and duly made 74.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And it’s not just “Boys’ Own stories”: Thomas doesn’t neglect the “great female legends of cricket”. Eileen Ash, an England player in the 1940s (who is still alive, aged 109), “flew in a Tiger Moth on her 100th birthday and kept one of Don Bradman’s bats by her bed to repel burglars”. Nancy Doyle, the “volcanic” head cook at Lord’s, once responded to Mike Brearley’s request for lighter fare than steak and kidney pudding by telling England’s then captain: “You worry about the f***ing cricket, and I’ll worry about the f***ing food.”
Heavy on research but light in touch, this is a book with something for everyone – “even those who find the game dull”.
Reaktion Books £20; The Week Bookshop £16.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
October 19 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelagoThe Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelago
The Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
Diane Keaton: the Oscar-winning star of Annie HallIn the Spotlight Something’s Gotta Give actor dies from pneumonia at the age of 79
-
Heirs and Graces: an ‘enthralling’ deep dive into the decline of nobilityThe Week Recommends Eleanor Doughty explores the ‘bizarre fascination’ with the British aristocracy
-
6 sporty homes with tennis courtsFeature Featuring a clay tennis court in New York and a viewing deck in California
-
Critics’ choice: Seafood in the spotlightFeature An experimental chef, a newspaper-worthy newcomer, and a dining titan’s fresh spin-off
-
Taylor Swift’s Showgirl: Much glitter, little goldFeature Swift’s new album has broken records, but critics say she may have gotten herself creatively stuck
-
Theater review: Masquerade218 W. 57th St., New York City 218 W. 57th St., New York City
-
Film reviews: Roofman and Kiss of the Spider WomanFeature An escaped felon’s heart threatens to give him away and a prisoner escapes into daydreams of J.Lo.
