We are all
familiar with Cricket. In some countries, it is not just a sport but a
religion. Even in countries which do not have a cricket team, the masses love
to watch Cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar,
Sir Gary Sobers, Sir Don Bradman, Virat Kohli are some of the players which are
epitomes of the game, the game that is capable of sweeping the people off the
streets to their homes in a country when a world cup match is going on. It is
considered as the second most entertaining sport in the world after association
football.
Cricket has
evolved a lot from the first match played in 1844 between USA and Canada at the
ground of the St George’s Club till date. It has seen many generations of players,
has seen more than a century and a half, and has seen many rough patches but
its evolution is still unstoppable.
With time,
advanced technology has found its way in Cricket too. Many things are
controlled by advanced technologies like event replay for aiding 3rd
Umpire decisions, ultra motion cameras, Spider cam etc.
But, one
thing which hasn’t changed is the spirit of the cricket. The spirit among the
cricketers and the spectators is the same, which is to watch the country they
support win.
The spirit
is the same among the young lads who are aspiring cricketers, teenagers who
want to pursue Cricket as their profession and contribute to their country.
When we
talk about this spirit, there often arises curiosity to learn what went on in
the minds of the great cricketers when they used to be on the field defending a
total in a world cup match or chasing a mammoth target, the curiosity to know
how the game has changed over a period of time, the struggle of some great
cricketers before they made their way to the top.
This thirst
for the knowledge of the game can be quenched through books written by some of
the great players and authors who were able to understand the game more than
the common masses. So, here are 8 books which a cricket lover like you and me
must read and have in the book shelf.
1. Playing
it my way
Playing it
my way is the Autobiography of Sachin Tendulkar coauthored by Boria Majumdar.
No one can deny the fact that a person who is familiar with Cricket will also
be familiar with Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin
Tendulkar with his MRF bat broke records over records and has been solely
responsible of forging a new era of the game of Cricket. However, even a
prodigious person like Sachin had to do a lot of hard work to reach the annex.
Playing it
my way exemplifies the hard work, dedication, and immense perseverance of the
epitome of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar. The Cricket lovers admire Sachin
Tendulkar ‘s long and large career but very few people know that to play for
his country and for the love of the game he took more than 100 cortisone
injections. The first one he took was in the year 1993 to overcome a wrist
injury.
2. The Art of
Cricket
Sir Donald
Bradman was the superstar of the early years of the game who was idolized by
the batsmen across generations. With an average of 99.94, Sir Bradman would
have made a perfect 100 average but fell short of just 4 runs in his last test
against England at ‘The Oval’ in 1948.
Well, if
you or your kid is an aspiring batsman and imagine if Sir Donald Bradman is his
coach, wouldn’t it be surreal?
This is
actually possible. Sir Bradman may not be present in person today but his techniques
still prevail and inspire many current batsmen of the world. The Art of Cricket
is one such book which describes the batting techniques of Bradman.
It is an
instructional book written by Sir Don Bradman himself in 1958. ‘The Art of
Cricket’ contains several diagrams which are very helpful for any young
cricketer, coach or even an umpire. It contains black and white photographs too
and carries a lot of detailed information on different areas of Cricket.
3. Learn to Play Cricket
Learn to
play cricket is an instructional book written by Mark Butcher co-authored by
Paul Abraham. Every young cricketer must have this book with himself/herself.
This book guides you in every area of the sport, be it batting, fielding, and
bowling, even in the areas of umpiring.
The advises given by the authors can help you improve your game drastically. Coaches of the
school, district or state team must also read this book in order to improve
their coaching skills and impart improved and efficient batting, bowling or
fielding skills to the players in making.
Handling
the pressure and scoring is very much important in the game of cricket. It is
very important to analyze and prepare for the situations,well in advance for example, when 15
runs are needed in 5 balls with only 2 wickets remaining and you are at the
crease. Well, this book might prove useful for you to learn to
tackle such situations.
4. A corner of a foreign field –
Ramachandra Guha
This book
describes the plight of cricket in the colonial and post-colonial period of
India. When you read this book, you come to know that Indians were not always
as curious about the game as they became later. It also tells how British would
use the game to get rid of the boredom and bring entertainment to themselves.
This book
also talks about Palwankar Baloo who was the first talented slow bowler Indian
team saw. But, the times were tough and during the tea interval he was made to sit
separate from the rest of the team because he belonged to a lower caste.
If you
really want to know how the game has evolved through various times like those
of independence movement and World War II then this book is the best choice.
It
will also introduce you to some of the finest cricketer of old times one of
whom was Douglas Jardine, who was adored in India. It also carries some of the
great anecdotes of history when the cricket haters got caught into charm of the
game.
5. Rahul Dravid Timeless Steel
This book
is a compilation of various articles written on Rahul Dravid, also known as
‘The Wall’.
It is a
sneak peak in the life of Rahul Dravid with a word from his Kent Team mate Ed
Smith, admiration from the former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar.
It also
features some interviews of Rahul Dravid and a beautiful gallery of his photos.
Rahul Dravid always exuded patience when it came to crisis in the game. If you
have been a fan of Rahul Dravid then you should have this book in your
collection.
6. Cricket’s greatest rivalry
If you are
familiar with Ashes then you must have an idea that it is just not the name of
a cricket tournament between Australia and England, it is also the name of a
135 years old rivalry.
And imagine
a book written on 10 series of Ashes. This book ‘Cricket’s greatest rivalry’
depicts several anecdotes of Ashes including the last test of Sir Donald
Bradman in 1948, the bodyline bowling introduced by English players under the
captaincy of Douglas Jardine and many more.
The book is
very enjoyable to read particularly for Cricket historians.
7. Cricket: The game of Life – Scyld Berry
A lovely
book by one of the great writers of Cricket, Scyld Berry. He does an awesome
job in this book by highlighting the evolution of the game by focusing on
countries like England, Australia, India and West Indies.
Very few
people know that in India Cricket was forged as a result of a healthy
relationship between the English and the Parsi community. This book throws
light on the history of cricket which is evident because of the mention of the
Kent v England Match in 1744, it is the first cricket match in the entire
history of which a match report and stats still exist.
Also, in
this book there is a mention of the Parsis and the GF vernon’s XI held at the
Gymkhana ground in Mumbai (then Bombay) in 1890. Another book which a cricket
lover, who is curious to know about the game, must have in his/her collection.
8. The Art of Captaincy – Mike Brearley
‘The Art of
Captaincy’ has been written by one of the best captains of English cricket Mike
Brearley who led his team to victory in Ashes in 1981.
This book is a must read for all the young
cricketers who want to be captains and even those young men who are leading
their school, college or even the street team.
The book
teaches on various challenges encountered by a captain of the team. The book
contains a couple of chapters on field placements too and surely can prove
useful for a captain or a coach seeking effective team management.
Wrap Up
Cricket
helps you in many ways. It helps you bounce back when the odds are against you.
It makes you love your country more & more. It helps you develop a
different perspective altogether. It makes you rise above the social
boundaries, racism, creed, caste and put together everyone in a single zone of
hope when it comes to supporting your team.
A Cricket
world cup brings cheer and ecstasy to life when the trending topic for more
than a month is nothing but scores of Australia vs New Zealand or South Africa
vs England matches.
Cricket has often been watched on TV but reading about it
through books will add value to your perspective.
You will
come to know the facts which have been unknown till now by reading books on
Cricket. You might know what went in the mind of the captain in the last over of
the world cup final match when he had 12 runs to chase. These things are
precious and may add a lot when you decide strategy in any area of life.
So which
books out of these 8 have you read? Do you want to share the names of any other
books not mentioned here?
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