1 review for Shindler, Colin – Bob Barber, the professional amateur

1. 

   Ken Piesse – May 31, 2015

   Bob Barber became an instant hero, even among cricket-mad Australian kids of the ’60s through his irresistible strokeplay and dare. His 185 in the Sydney Test of 1965-66 and double century stand with Geoff Boycott is still one of the great moments of Ashes cricket downunder.

   Now 79, Bob Barber played 28 Tests for England scoring nearly 1500 runs. He also played 478 First Class matches for Lancashire and Warwickshire and was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1967.

   His epic 185 remains the highest score by an Englishman on the opening day of an Ashes Test.

   Author of Bob Barber the Professional Amateur, Colin Shindler, says of Bob: “How could a man who thrived in the steely world of international cricket, who told Geoffrey Boycott to run less selfishly or he would run him out be reconciled with the man of whom his contemporaries talk in such glowing terms of his thoughtfulness and his sensitivity? This is what interested me at the start of the preparation of this book. Bob Barber is now telling the story of his life in cricket – and a good story it is too… he certainly doesn’t hold back…’