It's Not Cricket : Skullduggery, Sharp Practice and Downright Cheating in the Noble Game

by simon-rae

An eye-opening survey of cricket, from the crowd violence and blatant match-rigging of the eighteenth century, down to the twentieth century's glaring abuses of the spirit of the game.Written in the same lively style that won such praise for his W.G. A Life , Simon Rae's history of cheating will appeal to the cricket fan and general reader alike. Ranging from Thomas White, who notoriously arrived at the crease with a bat the size of the wicket, on through the Bodyline controversy and throwing, sledging, umpire baiting, and the recent disgrace of Hansie Cronje, It's Not Cricket makes us ask whether cricket really ever was the yardstick of all that is true, honest, pure and of good repute.

Genres: Nonfiction

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Dipra Lahiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amidst the nonstop hurly burly of all year round cricket, the cricket fan needs to be occasionally reminded of the fact that since inception, not all was well with the gentleman's game, and perhaps, under the surface, there still exists a seedier side manifesting itself in gamesmanship, unsporting behavior, cheating, bending the rules, match fixing etc.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

He writes in a weird way, but I liked hearing about crooked cricket. If you do not know cricket, you should not read this book.