It's Not Cricket

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Surprising Reading - Shocking In Places - Rated
When you read a book about cricket you assume it will tell stories of fair play and gentlemanly conduct, not "...skulduggery, sharp practice and downright cheating." But those are the subjects this book considers and not just in the modern game, but right back throughout history. Each account opened my eyes to the various attempts and successes of those who seek to cheat and undermine the rules in a ruthless pursuit of success, no matter what. One account that particularly shocked me was the 1882 game between England and Australia at the Oval where WG Grace's behaviour led to a huge row with Australian Spofforth and incensed the Aussies so much they were spurred on to win the game which gave birth to the Ashes. Another account that was of particular interest was the Gatting/Rana affair from Pakistan in 1987 and is featured on the front cover of the book. It's all very hot stuff and I guarantee that you won't look upon the game of Cricket in quite the same light after reading this book.

Well researched and entertaining - Rated
It's Not Cricket is an extremely well researched, thoroughly entertaining book about the darker side of cricket. Topics covered include:

- the age old conundrum for batsmen of whether to walk or not
- riots, both on and off the pitch
- bribery and the birth of professionalism
- bowlers using underhand techniques and the Bodyline series
- sledging
- umpiring
- ball tampering
- dodgy pitches
- the new evil in the game: betting and Cronjegate

All the topics have been researched in unprecedented depth and presented with good examples and stories. Many of these are quite amusing and written in a way not to alienate even minor cricket fans.

This is a must for any cricket fan!