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Spell-binding Spells : Cricket’s most magnificent bowling spells
Spell-binding Spells is a book for everyone who loves cricket. It is about stunning spells—those few overs that occur rarely in cricket, when bowlers weave magic and batsmen are mesmerized.
What did the stunning bowling spells of Anil Kumble, Narendra Hirwani, Ravichandran Ashwin, Padmakar Shivalkar, and Yuzvendra Chahal achieve that Kapil Dev’s career best spell could not?
Curtly Ambrose and Sarfraz Nawaz, 14-years apart, bowled identical deadly spells against the same opposition taking 7 wickets for 1 run. Who were the hapless victims?
Why did Gary Gilmour of Australia with an ODI bowling average of 10.31 and Clarrie Grimmett of Australia after taking 13 wickets in a Test in two magnificent spells, never play for their respective countries again?
Spell-binding Spells looks at 50 of the most magnificent bowling spells in the history of cricket and answers some of these questions.
VVS Laxman “This book is a tribute to bowlers, a breed that has never profited from the benefit of the doubt in a sport whose rules have historically always favoured batsmen. This nice little treatise is a reminder that we must ensure that the history of this game continues to get passed on from one generation to the next.”
What did the stunning bowling spells of Anil Kumble, Narendra Hirwani, Ravichandran Ashwin, Padmakar Shivalkar, and Yuzvendra Chahal achieve that Kapil Dev’s career best spell could not?
Curtly Ambrose and Sarfraz Nawaz, 14-years apart, bowled identical deadly spells against the same opposition taking 7 wickets for 1 run. Who were the hapless victims?
Why did Gary Gilmour of Australia with an ODI bowling average of 10.31 and Clarrie Grimmett of Australia after taking 13 wickets in a Test in two magnificent spells, never play for their respective countries again?
Spell-binding Spells looks at 50 of the most magnificent bowling spells in the history of cricket and answers some of these questions.
VVS Laxman “This book is a tribute to bowlers, a breed that has never profited from the benefit of the doubt in a sport whose rules have historically always favoured batsmen. This nice little treatise is a reminder that we must ensure that the history of this game continues to get passed on from one generation to the next.”
338 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2017
4 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Anindya Dutta
12 books13 followersAnindya Dutta, an international banker turned entrepreneur, is a widely read cricket columnist and author. His first book on cricket, A Gentleman’s Game published in early 2017, rose to the top of the Amazon Bestseller list in India, Australia and UK, as have every one of his books since.
He writes regularly on sports history on websites like ESPN Cricinfo, Cricket Country, The Roar in Australia, Cricket Soccer, and journals like The Sportstar and The Cricketer Magazine. Anindya’s writing can be accessed on his website www.cricketwriter.com, and he can also be followed on Twitter and Instagram accounts (@Cric_Writer) and Facebook page (Cricket Writer).
Anindya has worked in London, Hong Kong, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai over the past 25 years. He now works, writes, and lives in Singapore.
He writes regularly on sports history on websites like ESPN Cricinfo, Cricket Country, The Roar in Australia, Cricket Soccer, and journals like The Sportstar and The Cricketer Magazine. Anindya’s writing can be accessed on his website www.cricketwriter.com, and he can also be followed on Twitter and Instagram accounts (@Cric_Writer) and Facebook page (Cricket Writer).
Anindya has worked in London, Hong Kong, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai over the past 25 years. He now works, writes, and lives in Singapore.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 30, 2017
Spell binding read
Outstanding piece of work. The research and detailing is phenomenal. There are very few books on bowling spells and it's good to see one. I was intrigued to find out what was in there that I didn't already know having followed cricket for decades. The book definitely surprised on the upside with the names the author had picked, the little nuggets of information, research especially on the pre-WW1 matches. I would have liked to see more of the domestic matches covered as opposed to T20. Recommended reading for those who love the game and not just the players.
Outstanding piece of work. The research and detailing is phenomenal. There are very few books on bowling spells and it's good to see one. I was intrigued to find out what was in there that I didn't already know having followed cricket for decades. The book definitely surprised on the upside with the names the author had picked, the little nuggets of information, research especially on the pre-WW1 matches. I would have liked to see more of the domestic matches covered as opposed to T20. Recommended reading for those who love the game and not just the players.
November 8, 2017
Meticulously researched and written with passion, this book can be enjoyed at many levels - Cricket Tragics (especially middle-aged ones) will be transported back to the days of reading autobiographies, hoarding back issues of imported magazines like The Cricketer, and holding on to every story their fathers and uncles told them. The Trivia Buffs will enjoy the tales from cricketers in Argentina, America and Canada - and the incredible fortune of Richard Stokes! For younger readers, brought up in an age of TV, this is a great way to learn about the history of the game!
But lists like these are about making difficult choices...perhaps in the next edition of this book, there could be a little section on the Spell Binding Spells that almost made it to the book. Like Hugh Tayfields's 137 dots in a row (or our own Bapu Nadkarni's 21 maidens!). Or the 10/20 by an unknown, unsung Premangshu Chatterjee - the best figures by anyone outside England! But these are precisely the kind of debates and conversations the author would have hoped to start!
But lists like these are about making difficult choices...perhaps in the next edition of this book, there could be a little section on the Spell Binding Spells that almost made it to the book. Like Hugh Tayfields's 137 dots in a row (or our own Bapu Nadkarni's 21 maidens!). Or the 10/20 by an unknown, unsung Premangshu Chatterjee - the best figures by anyone outside England! But these are precisely the kind of debates and conversations the author would have hoped to start!
November 8, 2017
A spellbinding book that I could not put down once I picked it and started reading!! A must-read for any cricket lover, this book took me back in time to some of the most thrilling cricket matches that have been played and how. In cricket, the batsman is typically the glorified superstar, but this book brings the limelight back onto the bowlers. I could feel the pulse of the game and those rare, magical overs beings bowled right in front of me.
The book is extremely well researched and filled with anecdotes, examples and little-known facts, that makes it a compelling read for all lovers of the game. The author has covered all formats of the game – Test match, ODI, T20, debut, and farewell spells and would be a great read for aspiring cricketers.
The book is extremely well researched and filled with anecdotes, examples and little-known facts, that makes it a compelling read for all lovers of the game. The author has covered all formats of the game – Test match, ODI, T20, debut, and farewell spells and would be a great read for aspiring cricketers.
May 5, 2018
What a book about great bowling spells.A tribute to bowlers. Loved it. Not a book for a non cricket fan offcourse but for the true fan a fantastic exploration of the finest bowling analysis.The Author Anindya Dutta has done a very god job, undergoing extensive research and backing this up with some interesting scorecard.The overwhelming details of spells made reading a real slog.The title of the book compell you to pick it up.The cover of the book feature former Indian spin wizard Anil Kumble which itself says a lot about book.Language is simple and easy to read.Highly recommend for cricket enthusiast. A must read.
December 21, 2017
An excellent, well-researched look at some of the great bowler of cricket history by a student of the game.
January 29, 2018
Superb read for a Cricketer and essential one. Classic.
November 4, 2019
3.5/5 A good breezy read for cricket fans. The book is well-structured into bowlers with farewell spells, T20 spells, losing causes etc. The research is good but felt it should have had a few more anecdotes and description.
April 24, 2022
The game of cricket has had a very rich literature legacy, starting from its inception to current times, and it will continue in the future as well with the patronage of the game lovers. The coverage of game has been quite exhaustive but with a very clear preference towards batsman or batting due to the way the game is structured, rather than on bowlers or bowling. However once in a while, a book does come which does justice to the bowling aspect of the game and this particular gem of the book by Anindya Dutta comes in that category, it focuses on bowling spells which are remarkable and match turning in many aspects.
As V.V.S Laxman mentions in the Foreword, it is important to celebrate the bowlers and the bowling spells which we would have seen ourselves but also others which have been probably forgotten or have got buried in the history books. The author does a great job covering this aspect nicely in the book and you would see a wide variety of spells getting covered.
The book is crisply divided into different types of spells- game changing spells, debut spells, one day, T20, farewell spells and so on. In each spell narrative, the author gives the background of the match, importance of the spell, its effect and the description itself in a fitting manner. The author also shares a brief intro of the cricketer so we also get to know the cricketer beyond that particular spell if not so known. And to cap it all, the scorecards provided at the end of the chapter are the icing of the cake, as the reader can go through the same and do a parallel reading with the narrative or go through once the chapter is read.
The author shows a very sharp exposure of the game in the categorization and selection of the spells scanning through all forms of cricket since the inception of the game, and in some cases the information required about the players and the games must have been difficult to access.
As the author says in the Last Word, he wanted to present an unique facet of the game in a engaging manner, and he truly succeeds in the same. Definitely a worthy read for all cricket aficionados.
As V.V.S Laxman mentions in the Foreword, it is important to celebrate the bowlers and the bowling spells which we would have seen ourselves but also others which have been probably forgotten or have got buried in the history books. The author does a great job covering this aspect nicely in the book and you would see a wide variety of spells getting covered.
The book is crisply divided into different types of spells- game changing spells, debut spells, one day, T20, farewell spells and so on. In each spell narrative, the author gives the background of the match, importance of the spell, its effect and the description itself in a fitting manner. The author also shares a brief intro of the cricketer so we also get to know the cricketer beyond that particular spell if not so known. And to cap it all, the scorecards provided at the end of the chapter are the icing of the cake, as the reader can go through the same and do a parallel reading with the narrative or go through once the chapter is read.
The author shows a very sharp exposure of the game in the categorization and selection of the spells scanning through all forms of cricket since the inception of the game, and in some cases the information required about the players and the games must have been difficult to access.
As the author says in the Last Word, he wanted to present an unique facet of the game in a engaging manner, and he truly succeeds in the same. Definitely a worthy read for all cricket aficionados.
March 28, 2022
"Down the mine I dreamed of cricket; I bowled imaginary balls in the dark; I sent the stumps spinning and heard them rattling in the tunnels." - Harold Larwood
Fantastic topic but disappointing match reporting.
I have absolutely loved the idea when I had read the blurb of the book and it was about brilliant bowling spells. However, my disappointment began just with the first chapter. And it magnified after each chapter. I just wished the writing will be of the same quality as the quote mentioned at the start of the first chapter.
Underwhelming aspects:
The writing. I understand that the author must have put in a lot of efforts for writing this book. However, the writing and flow of the action happening during the bowling spell was not good. It was full of clichés. It would have acceptable for you if I had not been spoiled by the rich, magical and blissful ball-by-ball commentary on ESPN CricInfo. Most of the descriptions felt like match reports.
Almost no primary research. I do not remember any first hand interviews taken by the author for this book. Sometimes, there is an old news snippet or two. It would have been great if there would have been any first hand information from the people who had witnessed the spells live.
Errors in scorecard. Although, it is not such an issue since match scorecards are borrowed from cricketarchives.com. However, when the overs delivered from the four bowlers from Kapil's 9/83 spell vs West Indies doesn't add up to 60 overs mentioned below the team total, a cricket crazy person gets irritated.
Good aspects:
I have loved two specific chapters - one on the Forgotten Cricketing Lands and other on the Bowlers who could not play for their country. They were unique in terms of coverage and stories were fascinating. I admire the author for doing research on such rare topics and executing them well.
Moreover, the foreword by the great VVS Laxman is nice and simple.
Overall, an average book which I might not recommend.
Fantastic topic but disappointing match reporting.
I have absolutely loved the idea when I had read the blurb of the book and it was about brilliant bowling spells. However, my disappointment began just with the first chapter. And it magnified after each chapter. I just wished the writing will be of the same quality as the quote mentioned at the start of the first chapter.
Underwhelming aspects:
The writing. I understand that the author must have put in a lot of efforts for writing this book. However, the writing and flow of the action happening during the bowling spell was not good. It was full of clichés. It would have acceptable for you if I had not been spoiled by the rich, magical and blissful ball-by-ball commentary on ESPN CricInfo. Most of the descriptions felt like match reports.
Almost no primary research. I do not remember any first hand interviews taken by the author for this book. Sometimes, there is an old news snippet or two. It would have been great if there would have been any first hand information from the people who had witnessed the spells live.
Errors in scorecard. Although, it is not such an issue since match scorecards are borrowed from cricketarchives.com. However, when the overs delivered from the four bowlers from Kapil's 9/83 spell vs West Indies doesn't add up to 60 overs mentioned below the team total, a cricket crazy person gets irritated.
Good aspects:
I have loved two specific chapters - one on the Forgotten Cricketing Lands and other on the Bowlers who could not play for their country. They were unique in terms of coverage and stories were fascinating. I admire the author for doing research on such rare topics and executing them well.
Moreover, the foreword by the great VVS Laxman is nice and simple.
Overall, an average book which I might not recommend.
January 28, 2022
meh..
went in to look for more human stories around each spell. Turns out to be a cricinfo commentary regurgitation with the occasional anecdote thrown in
went in to look for more human stories around each spell. Turns out to be a cricinfo commentary regurgitation with the occasional anecdote thrown in
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews