Cricket Books

[YellowMonkey]

Miller's Luck

I guess this website blacklists blogspot websites but that is where the blanked out part is

 

[Dave Gregory]

I saw someone post a query about this awhile ago.

I would have to say that the fact-checking in it is very poor. Perry is sloppy and makes a lot of factual errors.

I have written a great long diatribe about it here.

http://monkeyatthecricket.*************/2008/12/most-uninvincible-performance.html

These are the errors in about 30 pages of book

*p. 222. That the Australians arrived in "early April". Unless April 16, in the second half of the month is "early", then he's made a mistake.
*p. 223. Says that Barnes, Brown, Morris, Bradman, Hassett, Miller and Harvey jostled for five Test spots. Actually, six, as the first six on the list played in the first two Tests. Counting Miller as a frontline batsman, Bradman always used six of them before Tallon/Johnson/Lindwall.
*p. 224. The Worcester Cathedral in the background of the county ground is not 13 centuries old. Christian activity is that old, but the original church was long demolished and the iconic backdrop that cricketlovers are so familiar with dates to the 1200s.
*p. 224. Contrary to Perry's claim, Miller did open the bowling in both innings of the match against Worcestershire.
*p. 224. Miller also did not hit three sixes against Worcs, he hit one. Cricinfo and CricketArchive agree.
*p. 224. Perry says of the next match against Leicestershire: "Batting at three, especially after not bowling in the game". That's because Australia batted first, although Perry's comment is ambiguous.
*p. 224. Perry says Australia played against Yorkshire "next day" after scoring the double ton against Leics. However, Miller finished batting early on day two and the next day was the last day of the match against Leics
*p. 225. Says that Hassett won the toss and put Yorkshire into bat. Actually, Yorkshire won the toss and decided to bat.
*Generally, Perry is often slack with not outs and sometimes doesn't say "not out" after a player's score like Saggers' 104* against Essex, but sometimes does.
*p. 227. He says that the win over Essex was the sixth win in a row in 19 days. Incorrect, as Australia won the first match against Worcs on April 30 and the Essex win came on May 17.
*p. 229. Hutton did not captain the MCC against Australia. Yardley did.
*p. 232. Perry says that Australia slumped to 8/63 against Hampshire in discussing Miller's counterattack. Australia were 5/91 when Miller departed.
*p. 233. Says that Hants took a 77-run first innings lead. No. 195-117=78
*p. 233. Says that Miller and Saggers took a trip to Paris during the match against Sussex because they were not playing. Saggers certainly did not, as he did play in that match.
*p. 234. Says Princess Margaret was 18, when discussing Miller having dinner with her in June. Princess Margaret didn't turn 18 until August.
*p. 235. Says Miller bowled five bouncers in eight balls at Trent Bridge during the Test, in reference to the final over of the day against Hutton. He did not, as in 1948, they used six-ball overs. Hutton glanced the other ball for four.
*p. 238. Says that Miller opened the batting in the second match against Yorkshire. Not so. Brown did and scored 19 and 113, and Perry thinks these were Miller's score. Miller actually scored 20 and 0. A pretty massive mistake to confuse a century with a duck! Furthermore, an incorrect and dubious conclusion is reached from this paragraph, that Miller's long innings as an opener taxed his bowling efforts. Twenty and a duck is not a heavy workload!
*p. 239. Says Hamence bowled Hutton for 10 in the second innings of the said match. He bowled Halliday. Hutton didn't bat in the second innings.
*p. 242. Says that Loxton and Toshack opened the bowling in the first innings of the second tour game against Surrey in 1948. Toshack did not, Hamence did
*p. 243. Mentions a poker match during a rain break in England's first innings in the Third Test involving Miller, Edrich, Compton and Evans. Miller reportedly was late back onto the field as he wanted to continue playing with the others. Well, Edrich came in at 1/22 and when he was out, Compton came in when Edrich was out at 5/119 and batted until the end of the innings. Thus, if Miller was holding up play, it can't have been after England lost their first wicket, as either Edrich or Compton would have been waiting on the ground to bat, not playing poker. But there was no "long rain delay" at the start of England's first innings before the first wicket fell at 1/22. Either he's made another mistake or taken on trust the apocryphal story of an old cricketer with possibly faulty memory without checking to see if it is consistent with the scorecard.
*p. 246. This account of Miller's 58 in the 1948 Headingley Test is adapted from Jack Fingleton's "Brightly Fades The Don". However, Miller did not hit five sixes in this innings, as Perry implies, and mis-adapts Fingleton's account into saying so.
*pp. 248-249. Says that Miller followed his bowling effort against Derby with another against Glamorgan on the next day. Miller's bowling effort against Derby was actually on the second day, so the next day was the final day's play, not the match against Glamorgan.
*p. 250. Dewes fell with the score at 2 in the first innings of the Fifth Test, not 1/1. Appears to have copied this from Jack Fingleton's Brightly Fades The Don, which appears to be incorrect in this case.
*p. 251. Says that Miller scored 2088 runs in the 1948 tour, second only to Bradman. He did not. He scored 1088. What is worse is that Perry uses this erroneous number to reach the conclusion that Miller was the influential player in 1948 after Bradman and Morris, at the end of this chapter.
*p. 253. Says that Bradman only allowed six capped Test players to represent the opposition in the match against Leveson-Gower's XI. Well, Hutton, Edrich, Yardley, Bedser, Evans and Laker played, who were all in the 1948 Tests. But Walter Robins, Freddie Brown, Martin Donnelly and Laurie Fishlock also played, and they were already capped. That's 10. Again it appears that he copied Fingleton's Brightly Fades The Don without checking the scorecard for himself.
*p. 256. Says that Bill Johnston scored 60 runs at 20.66 in the Tests. Nope. 60/3 =20.00. He scored 62 at 62/3=20.66

My blog link has all the links to all the scorecards for verification

But other than that you liked it?

My favourite quote about Perry was by Gideon Haigh, who referred to Perry's effort on Bradman as a 'book shaped object'.

 

[Goughy]

The little Uppercut stocking this year had Michael Simkins's Fatty Batter in it, which i've just started reading. Critical acclaim from great cricket writers like Stephen Fry, Michael Atherton, Ed Smith and archie mac. Anyone else read it?

I was given it for Christmas and tbh Ive dont really rate it.

There are seemingly many similar books on occasional cricket teams and this is a collection of rather dull anecdotes. Maybe that is harsh as I happily read them all but there isnt anything to really get excited about.

It wasnt bad but it wasnt particularly interesting and there are better out there.

 

[archie mac]

I thought the Miller effort by Perry is best effort to date, some mistakes, but not a bad read

 

[Dave Gregory]

I thought the Miller effort by Perry is best effort to date, some mistakes, but not a bad read

From the look of it, I don't think that YellowMonkey agrees with you.

 

[Dave Gregory]

I was given it for Christmas and tbh Ive dont really rate it.

There are seemingly many similar books on occasional cricket teams and this is a collection of rather dull anecdotes. Maybe that is harsh as I happily read them all but there isnt anything to really get excited about.

It wasnt bad but it wasnt particularly interesting and there are better out there.

I agree that the non-first class competition cricket book market has reached saturation point, and your liking of the various offerings depends greatly upon which one/s you read first. The first one I came across was Jim Young's 'Any Old Eleven' and I loved it. After reading RainMen and Zimmermen, The Vincibles, Penguin Stopped Play and so on, I was not really impressed by Fatty Batter either.

 

[archie mac]

From the look of it, I don't think that YellowMonkey agrees with you.

Could it be DF??????????

 

[wpdavid]

There was a book published quite recently by an Australian writing about English cricket. It was supposed to be good, but I can't remember the title or author.

Anyone help me?

 

[archie mac]

There was a book published quite recently by an Australian writing about English cricket. It was supposed to be good, but I can't remember the title or author.

Anyone help me?

Sorry mate, Does not ring any bells

What era was he writing about?

 

[Jakester1288]

I've got 100 years of test cricket and Ricky Ponting 2008 diary to read that I got for Christmas, when I finish a book from the library (not cricket related) I will get stuck into them.

 

[fredfertang]

There was a book published quite recently by an Australian writing about English cricket. It was supposed to be good, but I can't remember the title or author.

Anyone help me?

I think you mean "Pommies" by William Buckland - it is subtitled "English Cricket through an Australian Lens" which leaves considerable scope for confusion given that the blurb says Buckland was born in Surrey and now lives in London!

Fair to say it was "critically acclaimed" and I do intend to read it at some point at which time I will presumably learn that the blurb notwithstanding he has spent much time downunder

 

[wpdavid]

I think you mean "Pommies" by William Buckland - it is subtitled "English Cricket through an Australian Lens" which leaves considerable scope for confusion given that the blurb says Buckland was born in Surrey and now lives in London!

Fair to say it was "critically acclaimed" and I do intend to read it at some point at which time I will presumably learn that the blurb notwithstanding he has spent much time downunder

Thanks. It seems the likeliest object of the book tokens I picked up at Christmas.

 

[YellowMonkey]

From the look of it, I don't think that YellowMonkey agrees with you.

It has more errors than the others I think. I don't like his editorialising as well, in some cases he turns a speculation into "fact", for objective details.

Also he has a corny way of putting up cliches and "word grabs"

 

[Dave Gregory]

It has more errors than the others I think. I don't like his editorialising as well, in some cases he turns a speculation into "fact", for objective details.

Also he has a corny way of putting up cliches and "word grabs"

I wouldn't have thought that this one is any worse than any of his others. All of them have the same basic problem that he simply makes up stuff to suit his agenda.

 

[YellowMonkey]

Miller's Luck

He even contradicts the book in his speech for the launch. Priceless!

http://monkeyatthecricket.*************/2009/01/new-low.html

 

[archie mac]

He even contradicts the book in his speech for the launch. Priceless!

http://monkeyatthecricket.*************/2009/01/new-low.html

That link is not working for me

 

[YellowMonkey]

That link is not working for me

Blogspot is the blotted out part of course

 

[Joe Ninety]

Had a fantastic day book hunting today with the following titles being unearthed :-

Fours Galore ' The West Indians and their tour of Australia 68-69' R.S Whitington
Fifteen Paces - Alan Davidson 1964
Grimmett on Cricket 1952 ?
Cricket Crossfire - First Edition ( I know it's probably not that rare but I'm obsessed with K.Miller).
Viv Richards Master Class 1988 - It's a cricket manual but filled with the most wonderous photos.
The Commonwealth book of Cricket - edited by Jim parkes 1963 again articles on how to play.When I pulled this book out from under a pile I had half a dozen people looking over my shoulder, all wishing they had seen it first.
Ashley Mallets' Trumper
and The Eddie Gilbert story for a more modern book.

That should get me through till the Aussies get to SA.

 

[fredfertang]

Archie has reviewed Cricket Crossfire on the site - Miller also wrote another volume of autobiography called "Cricket from the Grandstand" in 1959 to go with "Cricket Crossfire" and then there are the six books I always thought he co-wrote with Whitington but in respect of which it seems from Archie's review that he may in truth only have lent his name to.

I think he also did an instructional type book and there is a book around called "Keith Miller Companion" but I am pretty sure that is just an anthology from the Whitington "collaborations"

Mihir Bose and Whitington have both written biographies of Miller as has Roland Perry although from recent it would seem Perry's offering needs to be approached with caution

 

[archie mac]

Archie has reviewed Cricket Crossfire on the site - Miller also wrote another volume of autobiography called "Cricket from the Grandstand" in 1959 to go with "Cricket Crossfire" and then there are the six books I always thought he co-wrote with Whitington but in respect of which it seems from Archie's review that he may in truth only have lent his name to.

I think he also did an instructional type book and there is a book around called "Keith Miller Companion" but I am pretty sure that is just an anthology from the Whitington "collaborations"

Mihir Bose and Whitington have both written biographies of Miller as has Roland Perry although from recent it would seem Perry's offering needs to be approached with caution

He did write some of the stuff in the Whitington books but cetainly was not the main writer