Australian cricket and cheating

 

Very god condition. 229pp. PB. $15 including postage anywhere in Australia.

He was top of the world, with numbers bettered only by Don Bradman – then captain Steve Smith led his Australian team into a cheating scandal that stunned cricket. Media exploded and million-dollar contracts were torn up. Australia’s prime minister expressed the public anger and disappointment: ‘Our cricketers are role models, and cricket is synonymous with fair play.’

But there was more to the story than the actions of a few young men. A tangle of personality, politics and culture had led them to this point.

Geoff Lemon witnessed that story from commentary boxes and press conferences, and was there in South Africa for its final act. This is a frank, fearless and often humorous account of the path from Ashes high to Cape Town low, from someone who watched it all unfold.

Aussie cricketers who served in war

 

2nd hand book. Excellent condition. PB. 336pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Aussie cricketing heroes who also fought for Australia during wartime 'That's nothing. Pressure is having a Messerschmitt up your arse.' - Keith Miller, when asked if he felt under pressure while captaining the NSW cricket team.

Numerous heroes of Australian cricket have also proved themselves on the battlefield, from Gallipoli to Vietnam and beyond. 

Among them are some of Australia's most illustrious cricketing names: Donald Bradman, Keith Miller, Keith Carmody, Jack Fingleton and, in more recent years, Doug Walters. 

In this sport/history page-turner, veteran sports journalist Greg Growden tells their extraordinary stories of bravery, hardship, courage and human endeavour.

RESERVED The Indian History of Cricket

 

Excellent condition. PB. 496pp. $15 including postage anywhere in Australia.

C. K. Nayudu and Sachin Tendulkar naturally figure in this book, but so too, in arresting and unexpected ways, do Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

The Indian careers of those great English cricketers, Lord Harris and D. R. Jardine, provide a window into the operations of Empire.

The extraordinary life of India's first great slow bowler, Palwankar Baloo, introduces the reader to the still-unfinished struggle against caste discrimination.

Later chapters explore the competition between Hindu and Muslim cricketers in colonial India and the extraordinary passions now provoked when India plays Pakistan.

An important, pioneering work, essential for anyone interested in cricket and India, A Corner of a Foreign Field is also a beautifully written meditation on the ramifications of sport in society at large, and how sport can influence both social and political history.

A very funny book about cricket

 

For cricket tragics. One of Australia’s finest cricket writers. Excellent condition. PB. 189pp. $20 including postage anywhere in Australia.

Meet Moof, Womble, Castaway, Churchyard and One Dad, a dog called Six Bitsm and a van known as the Bog Roll Express.

Every summer weekend, the parks of Australia turn themselves over to countless thousands of club cricket matches. One of those clubs is the Yarras.

This is the inside story of their most memorable season, told by the vice-president, chairman of selectors, newsletter editor, trivia-night quizmaster, karaoke impresario and club greyhound shareholder, Gideon Haigh.

The Vincibles is about playing for love, winning with grace, losing with humour, valuing your community, and other anachronistic notions. It features 69 ducks and 257 dropped catches. (Not that we're counting.)

The spirit of cricket isn't dead. It's just upped and moved to the suburbs.

About the Author

Gideon Haigh has been writing about sport and business for more than 20 years. He wrote regularly for The Guardian during the 2006-07 Ashes series and has won the Australian Cricket Society's Literary Award five times. He has written or edited more than 20 books, including The Cricket War, Inside Out and The Racket.