Cricket's Strangest Matches: Extraordinary but True Stories from 150 Years of Cricket

by Andrew Ward

"A true tale of odd games and one of the most entertaining volumes to appear of late." Wisden Cricket Monthly A fascinating collection of true stories on cricket's oddest matches - some bizarre, some astonishing and some just downright hilarious. They include an account of the game that was played on ice; the game in which two professionals took on eleven amateurs; the game in which both teams were all out for nought; then there was the game where one-armed players took on one-legged players and the one in which the last man scored 163!Taken from annals of cricket history, Cricket's Strangest Matches is a must for all cricket enthusiasts and for anyone interested in the history of the sport.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, History

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Nick Davies · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit of a coffee-table / loo book, and not that impressive a one at that. The premise of the book is a reasonably interesting one, but the writing was a touch too factual and plain, and when it comes down to it there is only so many ways in which you can say "these teams were playing cricket, and this player did really well and scored lots or got lots of wickets, and the scorecard looks a bit interesting as a consequence" without it getting a bit repetitive.

[Eran Rabl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think I actually saw a cricket match for over a decade, although I occasionally follow, so it took me a while to catch up with the cricket lingo in the book.
The thing about the book is that the title is wrong. Most of the matches are not strange, but exceptional. A good morning's batting isn't so strange as it is, even if it's unlikely. It's just exceptional and wonderful and fun. I was hoping to get more strange stories, but had to settle for tales after tales of sporting excellence or failures.

[Dipra Lahiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for advanced cricket nerds (like me). What strikes me is the way in which cricket's unique culture has developed over the last two hundred years, mostly by way of amateur games, clubs and many very eccentric people.

[Rathnavel Ponnuswami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cricket's Strangest Matches by Andrew Ward is a terrific range of strange happenings from the game from which we never want to estrange. A must read for cricket and trivia fans, this book covers 100 matches from 1837 to 1999 replete with strange, funny & heartening stories.

While most of the matches are county and FC matches set in England, there is a good number of international and indian matches too - The Chennai Tied Test, Kumble's Kotla, Sunny's 36(60), Ranji 1947, Jamaica 1976 are the known folklore which are a part of the book.

There was also 2 hitherto unknown matches - Australia vs Madras in 1936 where Australia's last wicket pair add 76 to win the match despite heroics from Gopalan & CR - MCC vs Maharashtra marred by a monkey on field for most of the test - Both made fascinating reading

NZ bowler taking 8 wkts in 8 balls, Sir Sobers in Malaysia, playing cricket on a sand bar during equinox, a benefit match which turned into a loss, G Davis incident, Roy Gilchrist incident, weird declarations, cricket between families, smokers - A lot of great moments - Dont miss

[Zeeshan Mahmud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dry at times. But still this is the only treatment we have in this beloved sport of ours. For years, considered it my vade mecum and carried the masterpiece everywhere. But then the enchantment started to wane. And I can't even locate it now.

Although dry at times, this is a must-have for collectors. The anecdotes in the Afterword are alone worth the price of admission if not 5 stars.

-A beloved cricket nerd

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting summary of some very unusual cricket matches.

[Marium · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good read about cricket history

[John Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun anecdotes from cricket

Lots of short - very short - tales that make for the ideal companion in the smallest room in the house!

[Spencer Preece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stories but a bit of a five day test slog at times.

[Michael Brasier · Rating 2 out of 5]

One for the complete cricket tragic. An amusing collection of stories about many bizarre cricket matches that have taken place(mainly in England) since the great game began

[Robert Bagnall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing and well-researched bedside companion for when the chapter of your novel proves shorter than you’d like.

[Ben Langleben · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is saved by short chapters detailing interesting games. Despite being a short book it feels padded out with the full scorecard of every single match mentioned, even when the individual performances in no way reflect the strangeness of the match in question. One gets the sense that the author enjoyed the uncovering of these unusual fixtures, yet there is nothing to suggest this book is much more than an edited highlights of Wisden. A bit of research e.g. some reminiscences from those involved may have added more excitement than a rather dry roll call of the facts of each match. Some added flexibility in arranging chapters by theme rather than slavishly sticking to chronologically chapters of single matches might have been considered.

[Graham Clayton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ward has looked far and wide for the material for this book, and unsurprisingly, the lower the level of cricket being played, the more extraordinary the occurrences and individual feats. If the writing is not quite in the top class it’s hard to find fault with the quantity and diversity of the source material.

[Olly Colluphid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining collection of matches described briefly.

I read the 2005 edition and it was badly let down by errors in proof reading especially in the scorecards.

Most of matches are chosen for record high/low scores rather than being strange per se but it was entertaining none the less.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very straightforward read more about cricket records that were broken as opposed to really strange matches. An easy read, one more than onto something with a bit more depth!

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dry and not that well written.

[Richard Fauchon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fun more then a well written book. Personally, as a cricket fan I really enjoyed a look at some of the oddities this great game can throw up.

[Jax Goss · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh.