Cricket's Hard Men
The Toughest Characters from the History of Cricket
Published on 11. March 2024
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-80150-681-6 (ISBN)
Description
Cricket's Hard Men takes an innovative look at character, psychology and mental health in cricket to produce a fascinating study of the sport's toughest players.
So, what actually constitutes a hard man of cricket? The truth is there is no simple definition. Whether it's resilience to defy injury from players like Kepler Wessels, Mike Atherton and Allan Border; sheer physicality from cricketer turned cage fighter Adam Hollioake; the bloody-mindedness to snub tradition by Douglas Jardine and John Reid; a chest-thumping need from Arjuna Ranatunga to show pride for a flag that had a reputation of being soft in the cricket world; or the blind courage of Brian Close, each player has his own unique story, told here through in-depth research and exclusive interviews.
The author consulted prominent ex-cricketers and broadcasters before studying this select band, from Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
So, what actually constitutes a hard man of cricket? The truth is there is no simple definition. Whether it's resilience to defy injury from players like Kepler Wessels, Mike Atherton and Allan Border; sheer physicality from cricketer turned cage fighter Adam Hollioake; the bloody-mindedness to snub tradition by Douglas Jardine and John Reid; a chest-thumping need from Arjuna Ranatunga to show pride for a flag that had a reputation of being soft in the cricket world; or the blind courage of Brian Close, each player has his own unique story, told here through in-depth research and exclusive interviews.
The author consulted prominent ex-cricketers and broadcasters before studying this select band, from Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
Reviews / Votes
"There has been such a multiplicity of cricket books across the ages that authors often struggle to find an original angle. Richard Sydenham may well have succeeded, compiling this collection of essays on a selection of 22 of the sport's toughest characters." * The Cricket Society * "The West Indies teams of 1980 and 1988 boasted more menacing bowling attacks than the side that featured in this book but their batting was probably at a peak in 1984 along with Clive Lloyd's captaincy; an amalgam of the avuncular and headmasterly which cut through island rivalries to mould a cohesive sporting force. This makes the 1984 West Indies team the greatest (cricket team ever)." * The Cricketer *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Hove
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 144 mm
Width: 223 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
426 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80150-681-6 (9781801506816)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Richard Sydenham worked as a cricket journalist for The Daily and Sunday Telegraph, Reuters, the Associated Press, ESPN Cricinfo, the Daily Star Sunday, Gulf News in Dubai, Bloomberg News, the New York Times and the Sydney Morning Herald. He now owns and runs a professional cricket agency, managing some of the world's elite cricketers. This is his ninth book.