Book Recommendation

[rogernumber10]

Not sure if we generally do this on the site but if anyone sees 'Goldenboy' on the shelves, I'd urge you to invest and get a copy.
Powered through it in a bit over a day because it was such a good job by the author.
Is the story of Kim Hughes, who has never actually had a book about him, and focusses heavily on the period 77 to 86, while covering the other aspects of his life outside that in much smaller detail.
Hughes didn't want to be part of it - 'didn't want to rake over old ground and upset people again' but author has done a cracking job interviewing all the key guys in the era, and they all went on the record.
I thought I knew a fair bit about that time, but there was things I was stunned to read, and with quotes from key guys at the time confirming stuff, not just the author saying it.
Really interesting stuff on World Series, captaincy swaps, team harmony, rebel tour to Seth Efrica etc etc

[Dogwatcher]

I'll have to get a copy of that one.
Australia's most maligned cricketer - apart from Watto of course.

By all accounts, until this book, he was the only post war Australian captain that hadn't had a book written about him.
Considering the role he played in a very fractious time, that's amazing.

[am Bays]

The worst Cricket book I ever read was on the Seth Efrican rebel tours written by the princple architect and team manager Bruce Francis. So slanted and onesided it wasn't funny (understandable though) mind you dead set hilarious as he attempted to try in the judicial sense Bob Hawke, the ACB and others. I couldn't finish it.

What I did discover though was that if anyone likes the perpindicular pronoun more than Sir Humphry Appelby it is Bruce Francis.

Sounds like a cracking read Rog, a very interesting time in Australian History.

What would also been interesting is to look at the cricketing casualties of WSC those that were on the verge and made test selection in 1977 but were then discarded/had their cards marked once the reunification occured.

Ian Davis, Kerry O'Keefe, Rick McCosker, etc

[am Bays]

I'll have to get a copy of that one.
Australia's most maligned cricketer - apart from Watto of course.

By all accounts, until this book, he was the only post war Australian captain that hadn't had a book written about him.
Considering the role he played in a very fractious time, that's amazing.

Didn't Ashley Mallett write a book on him (pen pic style for kids) in teh 80s on him (along with Border and others) So technically their is a book published on him.

I think one of the most interesting facts out of Rookies Rebels and Renaisance ABC documentary was how at State and National training Hughes always had to face a steamed up Dennis Lillee in the nets. And being a fast bowler in teh nets I bet he occasionally bowled from 18 m instead of 20.12 m....

[rogernumber10]

When you read how Hughes / Chappell / Lillee / Marsh dealt with each other in that period, it's a wonder we won any games at all. Just amazing to read, with quotes from other teammates covering Lawson / Pascoe / Border / Laird / Wood / Thomson / Hogg etc, about how Lillee would bounce Hughes relentlessly at net sessions and try to hit him, for both WA and Australia, for virtually the entire period after World Series Cricket, until Lillee retired.
Kim certainly had his own issues too.

As a kid, I remember loving watching him bat well (213 at Adelaide one day and the memorable ton on tv v the West Indies in 81-82), but it drove me to distraction how many times he chucked away a hand between 20 and 50. It obviously piqued his teammates at the time too, and they don't hold back, but also they keep saying how much they loved him cos he was such a good bloke who just wanted to be an entertainer.

Plus, I never knew what a gun junior footballer he was at Subiaco, and the fact he trained with Norwood for a pre-season when he walked out of WA cricket for half a year and came to SA. Decided against footy, and stuck with cricket.

[Dogwatcher]

An interesting cat.

Mark Waugh was considered extravagant with his wicket - did he cop the same grief from team-mates as Hughes?

[Pup]

When you read how Hughes / Chappell / Lillee / Marsh dealt with each other in that period, it's a wonder we won any games at all. Just amazing to read, with quotes from other teammates covering Lawson / Pascoe / Border / Laird / Wood / Thomson / Hogg etc, about how Lillee would bounce Hughes relentlessly at net sessions and try to hit him, for both WA and Australia, for virtually the entire period after World Series Cricket, until Lillee retired.
Kim certainly had his own issues too.

As a kid, I remember loving watching him bat well (213 at Adelaide one day and the memorable ton on tv v the West Indies in 81-82), but it drove me to distraction how many times he chucked away a hand between 20 and 50. It obviously piqued his teammates at the time too, and they don't hold back, but also they keep saying how much they loved him cos he was such a good bloke who just wanted to be an entertainer.

Plus, I never knew what a gun junior footballer he was at Subiaco, and the fact he trained with Norwood for a pre-season when he walked out of WA cricket for half a year and came to SA. Decided against footy, and stuck with cricket.

Sounds like a must read.. Had it been out for a while or is it a new release?

[rogernumber10]

Only seen it in the last 2-3 weeks.

[NFC]

I'll have to get a copy of that one.
Australia's most maligned cricketer - apart from Watto of course.

By all accounts, until this book, he was the only post war Australian captain that hadn't had a book written about him.
Considering the role he played in a very fractious time, that's amazing.

Can't wait till he releases a book, sales will be through the roof.

[Hondo]

When you read how Hughes / Chappell / Lillee / Marsh dealt with each other in that period, it's a wonder we won any games at all. Just amazing to read, with quotes from other teammates covering Lawson / Pascoe / Border / Laird / Wood / Thomson / Hogg etc, about how Lillee would bounce Hughes relentlessly at net sessions and try to hit him, for both WA and Australia, for virtually the entire period after World Series Cricket, until Lillee retired.
Kim certainly had his own issues too.

The DVD "Cricket in the 80s" touches on some of this and has some interview footage with Hughes. He mentions the treatment he copped at net sessions from Lillee.

I never know where to draw the line between sympathising with him or thinking that he made his own bed and simply wasn't up to being captain.

I always felt he was a pawn in the power struggle between the WSC players and the establishment. Like the deal was that an establishment man had to be appointed as vice captain when the truce came, whether or not he was the right man for the job - thereby creating a monkey on Hughes' back the rest of his career. Imagine if AB had been selected as the ACB's man how different could things have been.

Maybe this book will help clear it up. Thanks for the tip Roj I'll keep my eye out for it.

[Adelaide Hawk]

The thing that grinds my gears is the way history points at Hughes as some sort of failure.

He played 70 Tests for Australia (28 as captain) and scored 4415 runs , including 9 centuries. Two of those centuries rate amongst the best I've seen:
1. His 100* out of a team total of 198 on Boxing Day 1981 against a powerful West Indian attack (Holding, Roberts, Garner, Croft). Unfortunately for Hughes, this was the match Dennis Lillee broke the Test wicket taking record so it overshadowded Hughes' brilliant 100.
2. His 117 (followed up with 84) in the 1980 Centenary Test.

A top batsman who was thrust into the Australian captaincy way too early and suffered at the hands of the all-conquering West Indians.

IMHO, the only time Hughes really failed was when he came to SA and played for East Torrens in 1974-75 and couldn't score a run. Two years later he was playing for Australia

[Dogwatcher]

You make a great point AH.
I've looked at his figures and they're not too bad.
I guess though, once you become a patsy, you become a patsy for life.

[rogernumber10]

I actually got motivated today to go and check his detailed career breakdown on cricinfo.
Averaged
38 v Eng in 22 Tests
52 v Ind in 11 Tests
19 v NZ in 6 Tests (amazing at that time of early 80s when we belted them 2-0 here and drew 1-1 there)
40 v Pak in 16 Tests
27 v W Ind in 15 Tests

He got appointed Australian captain in 78-79 v Paks when his Test average was 27 and he had played 10 Tests. Just shows how much we were missing from WSC, when we chuck a bloke not just at the deep end, but tie him down with weights to give him the number one job when he has just one ton and one fifty to his Test career at that point.
The highest his average ever got to was 43.2, after the double ton at Adelaide. Nowadays, we judge players at 45 upwards but, back then, 40 was a pretty solid average against some of the attacks going around.
He lost nearly four points off his average in the last nine Tests of his career, which were all against the Windies, not topping 50 in any of those Tests. No wonder he bowed out when you're up against Marshall, Garner and Holding over and over again. Only AB got through that.

[Dogwatcher]

Further underlines a point about AB doesn't it.