Roland Perry shares some amusing anecdotes about legendary cricketers in this fascinating volume.
Feature image credit: Penguin Books Australia
In Australia, perhaps more so than any other country, cricket has bred some of the most memorable characters to come out of the sporting arena. Roland Perry is not the first, or probably the last, to try and bring to life some of the characters from this great game and this book introduces us to the great Australian icons of the game both past and present.
This is Perry’s 13th book on cricket; previous volumes include extended biographies on a number of subjects discussed in this volume. It is fair to say that Perry knows his stuff and his love for cricket erupts from every page like a Brett Lee spell of devastation.
There will be little of interest to diehard cricket lovers who will probably not find much new information on the people represented here, but if you are relatively new to the game (or a youngster learning the ropes) then this volume will be a great read.
Starting with Shane Warne, Perry gives brief glimpses of the people he considers to be the best in the game. One has to wonder how much more needs to be written about Don Bradman, but Perry gives it a crack anyway (Perry has written no less than five volumes about or with the Don in his illustrious writing career). Keith Miller, Lindsay Hassett, and Ray Lindwall are included alongside icons from the ‘60s and ‘70s like Ian Chappell, Richie Benaud, and Dennis Lillee. Perry also speaks highly of some of our current cricketers including current captain Pat Cummins, and the woman he dubs the best female cricketer ever, Ellyse Perry. There are also many other cricketers spoken about who are not mentioned in the chapter headings. This acknowledges that one person does not make a successful side (even if that person is Don Bradman or Shane Warne).
By far the most interesting chapter is his essay on the first touring cricket side to England: the 1868 Indigenous Team. It is an exceptional piece of writing that is beautifully descriptive. At times the prose is so on point you can practically hear the crack of leather on the bat and cheer of the crowd. One has to wonder how Perry knows so much about the exact deliveries and what happened without the benefit of replays and film footage. Similar stories from early in cricket history seem to be similarly “padded” in order to make the narrative more interesting. This is not a fault of Perry who turns what could have been a rather dry set of headlines into a flowing piece.
Cricket, perhaps more than any other sport, thrives on statistics and Perry delivers these in absolute bucketloads in order to prove the players’ inclusion in this book. It is hard to fault Perry’s meticulous work in this area.
What is disappointing is how the usually excellent editing team at Penguin have let the volume down with slips in the spelling of names near the beginning of the book on more than one occasion, and some lack of clarity in a chapter on Steve Waugh. This chapter is based on an earlier essay by Perry who updates the original stats in a different font but towards the end, it is hard to know where the essay stops and his current writing begins. His chapter on Ray Lindwall’s test at Lord’s frustratingly never tells us how the game actually ends (he stops the narrative going into the second innings). Like an Adam Gilchrist-dropped catch, it spoils what could have been a near perfect volume.
Minor editing problems aside (and these may be fixed in subsequent editions or reprints), this is still a fascinating look into the world of Australian cricket and the men and women who put their bodies on the line to represent their country in one of the greatest sports ever created.
Reviewed by Rodney Hrvatin
Twitter: @Wagnerfan74
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Published by: Penguin Books Australia
Released: November 2022
RRP: $35
More News
