Never a Gentleman's Game: The Scandal-Filled Early Years of Test Cricket

by Malcolm Knox

Compared to the controversies of contemporary cricket – riven as it is with match-fixing, gambling, cheating and national politics – most people think of the early days of Test cricket as a time of gentlemanly competition and camaraderie, with any disputes settled by Queensberry Rules over a glass of port. Not so. History shows us that cricket between the 1870s and 1914 was fraught with exactly the same bitter, vicious and greedy bad behaviour as the current game. It was cricket in the raw, explored in depth for the first time by the insightful eye of Malcolm Knox, with a genuine affection for the legends of the day – players like WG Grace, Fred Spofforth, Victor Trumper, Joe Darling, Monty Noble and Stanley Jackson.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Malcolm Knox was born in 1966. He grew up in Sydney and studied in Sydney and Scotland, where his one-act play, POLEMARCHUS, was performed in St Andrews and Edinburgh. He has worked for the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD since 1994 and his journalism has been published in Australia, Britain, India and the West Indies.

His first novel Summerland was published to great acclaim in the UK, US, Australia and Europe in 2000. In 2001 Malcolm was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian novelists. He lives in Sydney with his wife Wenona, son Callum and daughter Lilian. His most recent novel, A Private Man, was critically acclaimed and was shortlisted for the Commomwealth Prize and the Tasmanian Premier’s Award.

Reviews

[Jessica Zylstra]

I got a similar feeling from reading this book as I get from watching a game of test cricket.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account of the beginnings of The Ashes and cricket in Australia.