Packed with information to help you, or anyone with an interest in cricket, demystify the sport and make learning about it fun. This book features chapters on what you need to play cricket, the laws of the game, positions on the pitch, skills and more; and interactive tasks to test your understanding as you work through the chapters.
In 1874, John Rae, a Bendigo schoolmaster, approached the Sandhurst Easter Fair Committee with an idea to draw the crowds: a novelty ladies' cricket match - something Australia had never seen before. And here begins the story of women's cricket in Australia. Bowl the Maidens Over presents the factual account of the very first women's matches through a combination of images, annotations, newspaper extracts and clippings of the times. We follow the women cricketers from the first advertisement in the Bendigo Advertiser to the final game: from the selection of uniforms, to mentoring by the prestigious Bendigo United Cricket Club, to their ceremonial arrival at the Easter Fair to the during- and post-match critiques. The story is told through the media's lens and provides insights into the tumultuous road the cricketers travelled, just in order to play.
Match fixing in cricket has plagued the noble game as long as it has ever existed. Lady Andalusia, a gorgeous lass, from the erstwhile British Empire in 1810, was set to marry the dashing batsman Hughie Dawson. But fate had other ideas. Fast forward to 2010. Twenty Twenty Cricket, fast and exciting, and with its exorbitant riches, threatens the longer and purest form of the game, the five day Test Match, from its very existence. With billions of dollars in marketing and TV rights, a three match 20/20 series in London is scheduled by the billionaire descendants of Hughie Dawson. Experimental in nature, it features a Professional cricketers XI against an International selection of amateurs from each of the 10 Test playing nations. But the Coach is found mysteriously murdered after the first game, and the Amateurs XI lose their form. The obvious suspects are the match fixers who were seen approaching the Amateurs XI star batsman Amay Indulkar. But are they the real culprits? What about the gigantic spectre of a strangler? And of the tears rolling down the cheeks of a Bollywood actress? The search for a magic bat, that disappeared in 1810, bestowed with divine powers, which scores runs at will, is on. It takes detective Landon Beau and Nigel Harrison, to the Indian subcontinent, to recover it. Through the romance between Landon and his new flame, Amelia Kanowski, the series reaches a thrilling conclusion at Lords. Landon, captains the Amateurs XI, and with the help of the mysterious but elusive Lucy, finds the magic bat, and soon enough later solves the crime. This is the story of romance, of the enormous wealth and popularity of Twenty Twenty cricket, of faith and toil, Bollywood, the thrills and spills of limited overs cricket, crime, match-fixing, and the very spirit of the game.
The first three volumes of a series that is to run to the present day and give complete theatrical records of their periods, with elaborate indexes of plays, players, and playwrights.
Sleep baby sleep, somewhere in the down deep, a mysterious mountain, a Dreamer's fountain and near its source a talking horse... A grandmother's lullaby guides a princess to grand adventures in the secret Valley of Singing Crystals in the fantastical tale, Granny's Baskets. When the princess of Castletown suddenly runs away from home with a horse seller, little does she know that the handsome stranger is really a prince in disguise. But instead of following his destiny, he now chooses to live in the Valley of Singing Crystals amidst a wizard, a dangerous Sharpie, and a talking horse. The princess and the horse seller try to find their way back to Castletown and they discover the path sealed by an avalanche of rocks. Forced to locate an alternative route, they must dodge danger at every turn and look for clues to help them return home. In a valley filled with magic and mystery, the princess must learn the rules that govern this strange land and in so doing, she finds a treasure lost long ago when her grandmother was a young girl. Will this treasure help lead her home, or will this enchanted world encompass her forever?