Over his long career as a cricket commentator and journalist, Ralph Dellor has met some of the greatest exponents of the "summer" game. In the 1990s he conducted a series of face-to-face taped interviews with famous cricketers past and present. Nine of these extraordinary interviews have now been captured in the written word. Ralph and his fellow sports journalist, Stephen Lamb, have edited and annotated the interviews so they are put into context of time and place. Each chapter is a classic piece of cricketing history, and an insight into the legends and lore of the game.
Surprisingly, perhaps, cricket is a game rich in international history, sporting characters and, on occasions, controversy. Over his long career as a cricket commentator and journalist Ralph Dellor has met some of the greatest exponents of the summer game. In the 1990s he conducted a series of face-to-face taped interviews with famous cricketers past and present. Along with Stephen Lamb, his fellow sports journalist and business partner, he has edited and annotated the interviews so they are put into context of time and place. Each chapter is a classic piece of cricketing history and insight into the legends and lore of the game. Featuring such names as Denis Compton, Brian Statham and Cyril Washbrook.
After Chester lands, in the Times Square subway station, he makes himself comfortable in a nearby newsstand. There, he has the good fortune to make three new friends: Mario, a little boy whose parents run the falling newsstand, Tucker, a fast-talking Broadway mouse, and Tucker's sidekick, Harry the Cat. The escapades of these four friends in bustling New York City makes for lively listening and humorous entertainment. And somehow, they manage to bring a taste of success to the nearly bankrupt newsstand. Join Chester Cricket and his friends in this classic children's book by George Selden, with illustrations by Garth Williams. The Cricket in Times Square is a 1961 Newbery Honor Book.
Everyone knows the story, or thinks they do. The bowler who rewrote the record books. One of Wisden's five cricketers of the twentieth century. A sporting idol across the globe and a magnet for the tabloids. But the millions of words written and spoken about Shane Warne since his explosive arrival on the Test cricket scene in 1992 have only scratched the surface. The real story has remained untold. Here, Shane sets the record straight. From his childhood as a budding Aussie Rules footballer in suburban Melbourne, he takes us all the way down the road to his 700th Test wicket. Nothing is off limits.
Welcome to the world of The Grade Cricketer. Described as the most original voice in cricket, The Grade Cricketer represents the fading hopes and dreams of every ageing amateur sportsman. In this tell-all 'autobiography', The Grade Cricketer describes his cricketing career with unflinching honesty and plenty of humour, in turn providing insights into the hyper-masculine cricket 'dressing room'. This one-time junior prodigy is now experiencing the lean, increasingly existential years of adult cricket. Here, he learns quickly that one will need more than just runs and wickets to make it in the alpha-dominated grade cricket jungle, where blokes like Nuggsy, Bruiser, Deeks and Robbo reign supreme. Through it all, The Grade Cricketer lays bare his deepest insecurities - his relationship with Dad, his fleeting romances outside the cricket club - and, in turn, we witness a gentle maturation; a slow realisation that perhaps, just maybe, there is more to life than hitting 50 not out in third grade and enjoying a few celebratory beers afterwards. Or is there? * * * The Grade Cricketer book is based upon the popular Twitter account, @gradecricketer, which has received critical acclaim for its frighteningly honest portrayal of amateur cricket. Now, the time has finally come for this middling amateur sportsman to tell his story in full. 'The Grade Cricketer is the finest tribute to a sport since Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, and the best cricket book in yonks. It's belly-laughing funny but it's also a hymn to the grand and complex game delivered with a narrative pace and ability I'm afraid most Test players don't have. For anyone who ever dreamed of excelling at a sport but never quite made it but still gave it your life, this is the story. A great read!' - Tom Keneally AO.
In this popular book, 18 teaching creative writers describe their single best writing assignment, the one that never fails to inspire their students to tell and dramatize stories, to write autobiographical pieces, fiction, poetry, and plays, or to become interested in wordplay and oral history. The essays fully describe practical ideas for adaption and use with students of all ages and abilities. The variety of approaches is unified by the respectful, engaged, and sympathetic attitude of the contributors and the enthusiastic response of their students. Most of the essays include examples of student work.
Cricket Creek, Kentucky, is a sweet river town known for its baseball, shopping, and cuisine. After finally rebounding from the recession, the residents are ready to repair their lives—and their hearts… After two very public broken engagements with two very famous men, Addison Monroe is ready to avoid the spotlight. She decides to put her wedding planning experience to good use by opening a bridal boutique. Setting up shop in small town Kentucky is the perfect way to escape prying eyes and live a quiet, single life. Investment consultant Reid Greenfield is fed up with weddings—and not his own. He’s certain his sister’s plan to turn their family farm into a wedding reception venue will lead to bankruptcy. Reid hopes that city girl Addison will be an ally in getting his sister to change her mind before she loses her savings. Instead, Addison adores the idea and jumps on board. It’s a risky business—especially once romance gets involved. But sometimes a little risk brings a huge reward…
Winner of the Commonwealth Book Prize * Winner of the $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature * * A Publishers Weekly "First Fiction" Pick for Spring 2012 * "A crazy ambidextrous delight. A drunk and totally unreliable narrator runs alongside the reader insisting him or her into the great fictional possibilities of cricket."--Michael Ondaatje Aging sportswriter W.G. Karunasena's liver is shot. Years of drinking have seen to that. As his health fades, he embarks with his friend Ari on a madcap search for legendary cricket bowler Pradeep Mathew. En route they discover a mysterious six-fingered coach, a Tamil Tiger warlord, and startling truths about their beloved sport and country. A prizewinner in Sri Lanka, and a sensation in India and Britain, The Legend of Pradeep Mathew by Shehan Karunatilaka is a nimble and original debut that blends cricket and the history of modern Sri Lanka into a vivid and comedic swirl.
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • WINNER OF THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD • "Netherland tells the fragmented story of a man in exile—from home, family and, most poignantly, from himself.” —Washington Post Book World In a New York City made phantasmagorical by the events of 9/11, and left alone after his English wife and son return to London, Hans van den Broek stumbles upon the vibrant New York subculture of cricket, where he revisits his lost childhood and, thanks to a friendship with a charismatic and charming Trinidadian named Chuck Ramkissoon, begins to reconnect with his life and his adopted country. As the two men share their vastly different experiences of contemporary immigrant life in America, an unforgettable portrait emerges of an "other" New York populated by immigrants and strivers of every race and nationality.
