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The Art of Batting: The Craft of Cricket’s Greatest Run Scorers – WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR NOMINEE 2025
'a wonderful tale' – David 'Bumble' Lloyd
'one of cricket's most distinctive writers' – Andy Zaltzman
COLOURFUL CRICKET HISTORY MEETS EXPERT ANALYSIS IN THIS RICHLY RESEARCHED EXPLORATION OF THE ART OF BATTING.
Most batters just do their best, yet the top players create art. It is physically impossible to face an 80mph delivery and track it with your eyes, yet the greatest batters do more than just watch the ball, they can see into the future.
This book is about the batters who see what mortals don't. Javed Miandad purposefully makes errors to manipulate the field, Sachin Tendulkar dug up a pitch to take on Warne, Shivnarine Chanderpaul practised non-stop on a beach with tennis balls until he mastered technique and Joe Root's great play against spin is known to be a confluence of three random events. Others, such as Smith, Pietersen and Richards, carried on the work of a man 100 years before their time, and Ranji changed cricket with a bucket.
Their methods and stories are different, but their currency is the runs. Through interviews with cricketing greats such as David 'Bumble' Lloyd, Nasser Hussain, Rahul Dravid and Brian Lara, this book shows you the science, skill and culture that made the 50 greatest batters of all time – and, ultimately, how they conquered leather with willow.
'one of cricket's most distinctive writers' – Andy Zaltzman
COLOURFUL CRICKET HISTORY MEETS EXPERT ANALYSIS IN THIS RICHLY RESEARCHED EXPLORATION OF THE ART OF BATTING.
Most batters just do their best, yet the top players create art. It is physically impossible to face an 80mph delivery and track it with your eyes, yet the greatest batters do more than just watch the ball, they can see into the future.
This book is about the batters who see what mortals don't. Javed Miandad purposefully makes errors to manipulate the field, Sachin Tendulkar dug up a pitch to take on Warne, Shivnarine Chanderpaul practised non-stop on a beach with tennis balls until he mastered technique and Joe Root's great play against spin is known to be a confluence of three random events. Others, such as Smith, Pietersen and Richards, carried on the work of a man 100 years before their time, and Ranji changed cricket with a bucket.
Their methods and stories are different, but their currency is the runs. Through interviews with cricketing greats such as David 'Bumble' Lloyd, Nasser Hussain, Rahul Dravid and Brian Lara, this book shows you the science, skill and culture that made the 50 greatest batters of all time – and, ultimately, how they conquered leather with willow.
- GenresSportsNonfiction
287 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 8, 2025
72 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 17, 2025
"No one really copied Gilchrist; he was a one of one, part woodchopper, part accountant late to the office. No one could copy McCullum; he was a sawn-off shotgun firing lollipops to sugar-obsessed kids."
Well researched and an entertaining package for cricket mad fans!
When I was disappointed with Overthrowing Cricket's Empire..., I had lowered my expectations because of the similar videos posted by Jarrod Kimber in his YouTube channel; even though the Substack is still awesome. However, this book brings a fresh air of a different perspective on top 50 batters in Tests.
Honestly, it is easier to predict the top 50 since there are the usual suspects with the Don as the numero uno. However, it becomes fun when Mr. Kimber justifies the position of the batter. But that's not the best part of the book. What I enjoyed the most in the whole book, is the amount of detailed analysis on who is not on the list; especially those chapters which covered motivation, peak, eyes and Machiavelli.
Another interesting feature about this book is the amount of interviews conducted by Mr. Kimber. And that too with a lot of superstars like Dravid, Mark Waugh, Sangakkara, ABD, Lara and Ian Chappel. However, the funniest chronicles came from surprising interviewees. These chronicles rekindled with a lot of memories from the 90s where I used to admire Aravinda de Silva and Saeed Anwar a lot.
Overall, an entertaining read with a lot of numbers!
Well researched and an entertaining package for cricket mad fans!
When I was disappointed with Overthrowing Cricket's Empire..., I had lowered my expectations because of the similar videos posted by Jarrod Kimber in his YouTube channel; even though the Substack is still awesome. However, this book brings a fresh air of a different perspective on top 50 batters in Tests.
Honestly, it is easier to predict the top 50 since there are the usual suspects with the Don as the numero uno. However, it becomes fun when Mr. Kimber justifies the position of the batter. But that's not the best part of the book. What I enjoyed the most in the whole book, is the amount of detailed analysis on who is not on the list; especially those chapters which covered motivation, peak, eyes and Machiavelli.
"The entire thing was made to look more dramatic as Gavaskar had on a wide-brim floppy hat with padding inside instead of a helmet. With an early form of arm guard, wrist band on the other side and something tucked into his trousers that looked like a bandage from a First World War bunker, he looked like a character in a John Carpenter film."
Another interesting feature about this book is the amount of interviews conducted by Mr. Kimber. And that too with a lot of superstars like Dravid, Mark Waugh, Sangakkara, ABD, Lara and Ian Chappel. However, the funniest chronicles came from surprising interviewees. These chronicles rekindled with a lot of memories from the 90s where I used to admire Aravinda de Silva and Saeed Anwar a lot.
Overall, an entertaining read with a lot of numbers!
October 7, 2025
A mind-bogglingly well researched look into what makes the greatest test match batters as good as they were. It's incredibly informative and insightful but also entertaining.
Some of my favourite chapters were:
- 'Eyes', which discusses how batters don't really see the ball in the conventional sense, they actually predict it more than anything.
- 'Peak', which discusses the how and when batters reach their peaks and does so with a depth and nuance I've never seen anywhere before.
- 'Motivation', self-explanatory title but again the depth and nuance are exemplary.
Recommend for any fan of cricket or just good sports writing.
Some of my favourite chapters were:
- 'Eyes', which discusses how batters don't really see the ball in the conventional sense, they actually predict it more than anything.
- 'Peak', which discusses the how and when batters reach their peaks and does so with a depth and nuance I've never seen anywhere before.
- 'Motivation', self-explanatory title but again the depth and nuance are exemplary.
Recommend for any fan of cricket or just good sports writing.
October 17, 2025
Feels like one for the purists. Kimber’s dedication to tackling the impossible task of ranking batsmen across generations is admirable. He both quantifies and qualifies the debates cricket fans have argued over in pubs, cafés, and pavilions for decades. It’s no spoiler to reveal that Bradman comfortably holds the GOAT title...but beyond that, things get far trickier. Kudos to Kimber for doing the hard yards!
August 27, 2025
A breezy read with fun anecdotes and impressive stat work.
Some of the stories I had already heard over the years (sometimes in Kimber's other book or on his videos) but there was enough new stuff to learn. Some of my favourite parts of the book were regarding batting in late 19th and early 20th century. The context around WG Grace's numbers was eye opening and made me appreciate him a lot more.
Along with the stories and sentiments, a lot of book is a very detailed slicing and dicing of stats and that was enlightening without being boring. It is impressive that the author goes beyond the simple average but still comes up with objective criteria instead of just relying on his gut feeling. In fact it would have been better if some more detailed stats were provided for better comparison among batsmen. Right now at times it feels like that Kimber only brings stats to justify the rankings he gave but not to provide counterexamples.
I was not super interested in the rankings to start with because there is a huge element of subjectivity to those. Still I quite liked how much data Kimber tries to use and gives justification for his selections. Some of the rankings confirm with my own biases and therefore more data to justify and question those would have been nicer.
The best part of the rankings is that Kimber avoids recency bias quite admirably. It gave special joy to see some of the forgotten greats on this list - Hutton, Hobbs, and Herbert Sutcliffe in particular.
Overall time well spent.
Some of the stories I had already heard over the years (sometimes in Kimber's other book or on his videos) but there was enough new stuff to learn. Some of my favourite parts of the book were regarding batting in late 19th and early 20th century. The context around WG Grace's numbers was eye opening and made me appreciate him a lot more.
Along with the stories and sentiments, a lot of book is a very detailed slicing and dicing of stats and that was enlightening without being boring. It is impressive that the author goes beyond the simple average but still comes up with objective criteria instead of just relying on his gut feeling. In fact it would have been better if some more detailed stats were provided for better comparison among batsmen. Right now at times it feels like that Kimber only brings stats to justify the rankings he gave but not to provide counterexamples.
I was not super interested in the rankings to start with because there is a huge element of subjectivity to those. Still I quite liked how much data Kimber tries to use and gives justification for his selections. Some of the rankings confirm with my own biases and therefore more data to justify and question those would have been nicer.
The best part of the rankings is that Kimber avoids recency bias quite admirably. It gave special joy to see some of the forgotten greats on this list - Hutton, Hobbs, and Herbert Sutcliffe in particular.
Overall time well spent.
May 26, 2025
Follow Jarrods work a lot, so the book was not a surprise.
But to those who have not followed his essays and podcasts - this book will come as a positive surprise.
The sections of the book are very interesting and the writing is crisp and conversational. JK doesnt attempt to come of as a literary genius and that sort of works in favor of the book.
The list of the 50 greatest test batters - is arguably the least interesting thing in the book - which is to say the rest of the book is more interesting.
I would have liked to explore some more aspects of batting - like handling pressure - heat or bad light etc.
All feel like Jarrod has a lot more to say on batting - especially in its ODI and T20 formats and might have to wait for some Video essays for that content.
But to those who have not followed his essays and podcasts - this book will come as a positive surprise.
The sections of the book are very interesting and the writing is crisp and conversational. JK doesnt attempt to come of as a literary genius and that sort of works in favor of the book.
The list of the 50 greatest test batters - is arguably the least interesting thing in the book - which is to say the rest of the book is more interesting.
I would have liked to explore some more aspects of batting - like handling pressure - heat or bad light etc.
All feel like Jarrod has a lot more to say on batting - especially in its ODI and T20 formats and might have to wait for some Video essays for that content.
July 29, 2025
A delightful ode to the art of batting. Packed with engrossing anecdotes & rich cricketing lore. Sharp analysis across eras, bowling attacks, and batting styles. You may not agree with every ranking, but the stories will keep you hooked.
A gem for every cricket lover. Specially if you have loved reading Jarrod’s essays.
A gem for every cricket lover. Specially if you have loved reading Jarrod’s essays.
August 19, 2025
Fun book for a cricket enthusiast. I got a great sense of how batting has changed over the eras due to external factors. I see how folks between eras are so not comparable.
Brian Lara was a genius. Sachin is great, Rahul David is ranked higher than Ricky Ponting. Fun book.
Jarrod does drone on a bit and it gets repetitive after a while. It did not help that I read the book in his voice.
Brian Lara was a genius. Sachin is great, Rahul David is ranked higher than Ricky Ponting. Fun book.
Jarrod does drone on a bit and it gets repetitive after a while. It did not help that I read the book in his voice.
May 28, 2025
A superb analysis of batting, along with some great insights from some of the greats of the game. Always enjoyed Jarrod’s YouTube videos so would recommend this to any cricket fan, especially those who love stats like myself!
October 11, 2025
Although it's weird to see Jarrod Kimber quoting himself a couple of times, this is a solid read. Loved it!
Now do one for bowling Jarrod Kimber
Now do one for bowling Jarrod Kimber
July 15, 2025
What a great book.
Very insightful
Very insightful
October 18, 2025
Good chat on the art of batting and thorough analysis of so many great players. Covers the games long history and I enjoyed the audible version.
November 28, 2025
Well researched book on batting in cricket. Ironically, the highlight for me was the chapter on cricket balls. That chapter elevated the book and is hilariously well written
December 17, 2025
Great book, I am still shit at batting though.
May 22, 2025
What this book is, more than anything else, a love letter to the art of batting.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews