Rik E Boy wrote:1. WG Grace - Simon Rae
This is a brilliant book about the Great Cricketer that I have read and reread on many occasions. This book does not diefy WG and presents a 'warts and all' look at perhaps the most controversial figure in Cricket history. When you read this book you will soon learn how WG Grace was perhaps the first sport 'superstar'. He was bigger than the game itself and his dominance over his peers almost rivals Bradman. Brilliantly written with some excellent cricket and non-cricket photographs and with a solid statistical summation as well.
2. Jack Fingelton: The man who stood up to Bradman - Geoff Growden
Growing up I thought of Jack Fingleton like many others did at the time, just one of many jealous peers of the incomporable Don who were making whine with sour grapes. However after reading this book it is clear there are not only two sides 'to the story' but there were also two sides to the Australian dressing room at the time in relation to religous divisions as in Catholics and Church of England. A massive bone of contention between Jack and Don over the many decades was the infamous press 'leak' at the Bodyline test in Adelaide. Both men (journalists) strenously denied that they were the source of the leak and it something that Fingleton never forgave Bradman for an vice versa. A fascinating read and a comprehensive inside look at the dressing room of a bygone era.
3. Calling all Cricketers - The NSWCA Coaching Manual.
I first read my Grandfather's copy of this book on school holidays. Why oh why didn't I pay attention! A very thorough book with step by step photos of where your body should be and how to perform the correct techniques of various skills of the game showing pictures of the star players of the day such as Keith Miller and Ray Lindwall and Lindsey Hassett. It also has what seems to be a quaint chapter today on crickett ettiquette which is worth the read alone. Not many manuals are good reading but this one is. As a junior coach I still refer to this volume today.
4. The Reasons Why - Bob SImpson
After Greg Chappell, Rod Marsh and Dennis Lillee quit, Australia were shit. Allan Border was the last one standing and a bit like Bomber at Geelong before the flags came, we had one man trying to do everything. Enter, and not for the first time when we were in trouble, RB Simpson. Bobby didn't don the whites like he did during the WSC days but his legacy was even more enduring this time around. He became out Cricket coach. Bob's methods soon gave us our swagger back and this book is an excellent depiction of the period from when Simpson first got the gig to the successfull Ashes tour of 1989 and the confrontational series against the West Indies in 1991. Allan Border has been rightly recognised for his efforts to bring Australia back to where they should be but Bob Simpson's role in our resurgence cannot be underestimated. One downside of this book is he is a bit on the defensive at times as you can see by the title.
5. Lambs to the Slaughter - Graham Yallop
Graham Yallop is perhaps one of the saddest cricketers in history. Not in the tragical Hughes or broken hero Larwood sense but here was a man with immense talent who was literally fed to the English Lion. Graham Yallop's 'Lambs' were slaughtered 5-1 by a full strength English team in 1978-79 as Australia went in without the gun WSC players. Even worse, Yallop did a 'Glen McGrath' and predicted a whitewash. With only five tests in three years prior to being made Captain Yallop was hopelessly out of his depth and this book is a cry of anguish from a very frustrated man who did not command the respect of his players. I recommend this one to any English Cricket fan who is still hurting from the whitewash last year.
6. Spun Out: The unauthorised (Warne) Biography - Paul Barry
Shane Warne is perhaps the finest cricket brain we have seen in the last three decades. The way he thinks about the game is almost clinical without sacrificing the love of the sport which he still clearly has. He also loves mobile phones, blondes and himself but I'm not sure about the order. Don't bother with the authorised biography of Warne, that will be just the Shane Warne show and you can get that by watching Test Cricket this summer. Barry's book has been described as 'a hatchet job' but I don't think this is entirely fair. Barry paints Warne as a flawed genius. He praises his achievements, his aura and his knowledge and love of the game but pulls no punches about Warne's indiscretions. A great read about a great cricketer who might be a shit bloke. Personally, I think he's a good bloke who shit in his nest.
7. Hitting accross the line - Viv Richards
Viv Richards was the most attacking batsmen I can remember from the West Indies and his personna was a macho tough exterior..not wearing a helmet facing Lillee and Thomson man what balls. However, this book is a bit defensive. Leave our team alone, you should have seen what we copped in Australia, what do you mean Grovel Tony? I don't think Viv needed to defend anyone, he should have stayed on the attack. However, his genuine love for the game and his nation come through. An honest book about an honest bloke who made genuine friendships with blokes in the other dressing room. Viv always gave his best no matter what cap he was wearing and his editors should have suggested that he omitted the 'leave our team alone' stuff out of this book. A very good read.
8. The Gloves of Irony - Rod Marsh
Loved Marshy growing up. Still miss seeing him behind the stumps today. There hasn't been a better keeper to the fast bowling for Australia that I can remember since. In his early days he was called 'Iron Gloves' which suggests he had a rocky start. Imagine keeping wicket to Thomson though. He didn't know where the balls were going so good luck to the batsman and wicketkeeper. This book is a one sitting job. Not all that many pages but the reason I like this one is it gives an insight to the 1981 Tour of England, one of the most gutwrenching losses that an Australian Test team has had in my forty years of watching the game. In at least two tests we had the Poms done and dusted. In this book Rod said 'Botham's 5/1 made me cry' . I made me realise as a teenager that the players feel the losses much tougher than the kids at home listening on the radio.
9. Beyond Ten Thousand - Allan Border
This is a good read from Pugsley and a top summation of the gutsiest player I have ever seen play for Australia. Yeah, Rick McCosker faced up to the Poms with a busted face and Bruce Laird, Steve Waugh and David Boon's courage was legendary but give me AB if I wanted someone to bat for my life. Unlike some cricketers, AB doesn't appear to have a big ego and he readily acknowledges others. Ten thousand runs was a massive achievement when Border first did it. This one tends to stick to 'just the facts' and isn't as well written as the other books in this list but it is a must for AB fans and for anyone who is old enough to remember Border's part in Australian Cricket History.
10. Boycott - The Autobiography
Boycott is an arsehole. Worse he is a boring arsehold. Worse again he's an boring English arsehole. But loathe him or hate him he was a massive obstacle for anyone playing England for many years. In an era when England weren't exactly rolling out class players (apologies to Underwood, Knott and Botham) Boycott was literally an immovable object. And man what an ego this bloke has. Read this and you can see that he came from a shit background and the reason he was like a rock is because he was one tough bastard who literally batted for his life. At times he shows real charm but resentment and ego and unintentional comedy are sometimes never far away. Worth a read.
regards,
REB
Calling all Cricketers, the Gloves of Irony, Beyond 10 000 are all in my collection we should compare our copies of Calling all Cricketers REB as to which one is the most "dog eared" and has been "thumbed through"... A classic
Agree with your descriptions of Marsh's and Border's books
However like your footy team you have no idea of a "cap", this is a top five not top 10.
Don't worry though, like the SANFL there are no consequences for going over the cap but I might thumb through some of your suggestions while enjoying a coffee, in a cafe, down The Parade....
sorry Tige..just stirring! 
