CRICKET’S QUIRKY ABC

My 65th and latest cricket book is a quirky ABC of Australian Cricket, being published in October by Echo/Bonnier Books. My Australia-wide cricket miscellany of fun, facts, oddities and anecdote includes a foreword by Scott Boland, who ended the Christmas Test early with a remarkable spell of six for 7.
HE HAD THE LEG BREAK FROM HEAVEN

A teenage Shane Warne was making his debut with the Victorian second XI at Melbourne’s Albert Ground. Lunch was called and instead of walking off with his teammates, he agreed to my request to have his photograph taken close up by our Sunday Press photographer.
Ken’s 24/7 obsession

Cricket is a 24/7 all-year obsession for author, commentator and Mount Eliza lower XIs allrounder Ken Piesse. The long-time president of the Australian Cricket Society, Ken revels in his daily diet of cricket, whether playing, watching or writing about it. He followed a first-ball duck in Saturday club ranks with a career-best ‘six-for’ recently and […]
Len was the unluckiest of all

Of all of Australia’s 70 One Test wonders, Queenslander Len Johnson was by far the unluckiest. On the very day the 1948 Australian team was chosen, Len took six wickets for 26 runs – yet still missed selection. Len hailed from unfashionable Rockhampton but could hit and bowled a heavy ball, like a Scotty Boland. […]