Ten Days in the Punjab

Martin Chandler | 9:16am GMT 23 February 2025

Published: 2025
Pages: 44
Author: Battersby, David
Publisher: Private
Rating: 3.5 stars

I have to admit to being very partial to a Battersby monograph. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all the man is an unashamed cricket tragic, so we have much in common. The main reason though is that the subjects he chooses to write about are well away from the mainstream of cricket literature and, therefore, are always of interest to people like me.

I also like Battersby’s writing because he makes no pretence of the fact that he is writing for his own pleasure, and he is not afraid to introduce his own experiences into his writing and, on this occasion, he has come up with perhaps the ultimate expression of that. The sub-title tells you all you need to know; A Personal Diary of a Trip to Pakistan in October 2024.

Anyone who has enjoyed Battersby’s previous work will know about his affinity with Pakistan. He is the chronicler of the doings of the Pakistan Eaglets sides, and there has been much on Majid Khan, and important monographs on two lesser known Pakistan players from the 1960s, Duncan Sharpe and Farooq Hamid.

Those ten days in the Punjab at the back end of last year allowed Battersby to attend the last of England’s three Tests, and witness the wiles of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali dismantling an England side that had batted so well in the first Test. But that was incidental to the main purpose of the visit, which was to meet friends, old and new.

Najum Latif, the curator of the Lahore Gymkhana Cricket Museum, and the man who assisted Battersby so much on the subject of the Eaglets is at the centre of most of the visit, but there are many players who feature as well, dating back to the 1960s and Farooq, Majid and Intikhab Alam, through succeeding generations right up until the present day.

And the 44 pages of the monograph are packed with information about where Battersby went, who he met, what was discussed and what he saw. There are also many photographs to record what must have been one of the busiest ten day holidays that anyone has ever taken.

Ten Days in the Punjab is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and one in respect of which I have only one real complaint, although I’m not entirely sure who is to blame for it. It may be the fellow tragic who was Battersby’s travelling companion, Rupert Lankester, for failing to capture a photograph of Battersby sat on David Gower’s lap in a crowded car. Or it may be that I do Lankester a disservice and that he did do his duty and it was Battersby who chose not to publish the image – either way it is a sight I would love to have seen!

The monograph is published in a signed and numbered limited edition of 100 copies and is available directly from the author at £10 including UK postage and packing. He can be contacted via dave@talbot.force9.co.uk, and for those in Australia copies will be heading to Roger Page.