Cricket's Greatest Rivalry: FREE SAMPLER A History of the Ashes in 10 Matches

by Simon Hughes

Enjoy this free taster of Cricket's Greatest Rivalry

The Book

A gripping, distinctive history of the iconic, 135-year-old cricketing rivalry between England and Australia. Award-winning author Simon Hughes brings to life the history of the Ashes through 10 of the most iconic matches in the fixture's 135-year history. With an innovative and distinctive approach Hughes selects each match as a narrative spine packed with thrillingly evocative detail, alongside the issues, controversies, heroes and villains of each match. With both fascinating analysis of ten unforgettable Test matches and fast-paced history of cricket's fiercest rivalry, this is the perfect way for cricket lovers, both English and Australian, to prepare for the ten-match feast of Ashes cricket that begins in Nottingham in July 2013 and ends in Sydney in January 2014. It includes complete statistics and records of all the Ashes fixtures and results.

The Tatser

The free chapter tells the story of the Third Test in Adelaide in 1933, which was part of the infamous ‘bodyline series’. It gives you the build up from 1928 and carries right through to the aftermath of Jardine’s controversial tactics.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Simon Peter Hughes is an English cricketer and journalist. He is the son of the actor Peter Hughes, and the brother of historian Bettany Hughes.


Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Simon]

I thought this a good concept for a book about the history of the Ashes, but unfortunately Simon Hughes wasn’t up to the task of writing it. The book is largely just a rehash of facts and lacks any in-depth analysis or insight. The author’s obvious English partisanship, writing style and lame jokes also start to grate after a while. Do yourself a favour and read something by Gideon Haigh instead.

[Mark Green]

Really enjoyed this book. It brought some of the legendary games alive! The descriptions of the cricket itself were fantastic.

[Michael Brasier]

Just ok for me..a pleasant plane trip read on my way to some cricket..knew most the stories and did not add that much..writing was ok

[Martin Rowe]

I read this book flushed from seeing an historic game of cricket between England and South Africa at Newlands, in Cape Town, from January 2 to 6, and so was primed to read a ripping story about cricket. The conceit of basing a book on 10 matches is merely that—there's plenty about the entire history of Ashes cricket and lots that has nothing to do with the matches themselves. Not surprisingly perhaps, the book came alive for me from the 1970s onwards (my personal history of cricket beginning then), although Hughes does his best to give you a flavor of the matches of the past. The book narrowly (and not always successfully) skirts falling into a report of match after match, and the characters can blur into a series of stats and adjectives, but Hughes manages to keep the whole thing going quite well. To my relief, Hughes is non-jingoistic and finds some of the rivalry and snobbery absurd, and the book recognizes that a lot of people have spent far too much time investing too much energy into what, in essence, is a game. I'm not a big aficionado of cricket books, but this strikes me as a worthy effort. One word of warning: my hardcover version contains neither the 2013 Australian loss, nor the 2013-14 Australian win, or the 2015 England takeback.

[Alan Draycott]

Hughes is a good writer and tells the tale well. The problem is that the story is so well known there is little to add. That said after the misery of the world cup campaign i was happy to read the 2005 chapter. What a series, it never disappoints. I think I'll dust off the DVD...

[Peter]

American readers won't understand a word of it, but this is a terrific condensed history of one of the greatest ongoing sports rivalries.

[Ian Warren]

Great read for cricket tragics

[Denis Southall]

My first cricket book and very enjoyable too. Enjoyed the history, anecdotes and gripping descriptions of the matches, especially the more recent ones.