Forty Not Out

Martin Chandler | 6:57am BST 01 August 2021

Published: 2021
Pages: 205
Author: Ezekiel, Gulu
Publisher: Notionpress
Rating: 4 stars

It is the sort of title is not infrequently used for the biographies and autobiographies of cricketers and cricket people. Those in respect of whom it has been used include some of the biggest names in the game, Bradman, Dexter, Swanton and Bird to name just four. The number before the words ‘Not Out’ varies, but Indian writers now hold the records for the highest and lowest. At the top end is Vasant Naik’s 101 Not Out, a biography of DB Deodhar. And now at the lower end Gulu tucks in behind another acclaimed writer, ‘Crusoe’ Robertson-Glasgow, who titled his autobiography 46 Not Out.

So is Forty Not Out an autobiography? Not really, must be the answer to that one, although Gulu does provide an interesting introduction which provides some information about his personal and family history. In addition, bringing up the rear of the book, is an appendix which amounts to the business end of his CV. There is more though. Firstly there is that rarest of things, a foreword from someone who has clearly read the book they are writing their contribution for, Gulu’s guru and long standing friend David Frith. As well as that it is also often possible to pick up much of a man’s personality from the way that he writes. Frith himself is an excellent example of that, as is Gulu, although in a rather different way.

No one will be surprised to learn that the ‘forty’ in Gulu’s title refers not to his age as a human being, but instead to his age as a journalist. He began his serious professional pen wielding back in 1980 and books, reportage, opinion pieces and even the occasional poem have flowed from that pen in the forty years since. In Forty Not Out Gulu has concentrated on his personal favourites from his extensive oeuvre (none are ‘extracts’ from his many books) and all are self contained pieces of writing that are as readable now as they were when they first appeared.

One thing that is noticeable is that rather more of the material in Forty Not Out comes from the second half of Gulu’s career than the first. The reason for that is not difficult to work out. As a young man making his way in his profession Gulu would have had to write about whatever his editors told him they required. Later, as a freelancer and answerable only to himself, he could give his full attention to the research into the unusual and little known that so appeals to him. Fine examples of that are Gulu’s two pieces that appear here on the subject of JS Rao, The Forgotten Double Hat Trick Hero, and his story of the on field kiss that a mysterious young lady gave Abbas Ali Baig back in 1960.

In the circumstances it is, perhaps, not without irony that in many ways my favourite chapter in Forty Not Out is the oldest and therefore, given that the forty chapters appear in chronological order, the first I read. It is a delightful piece, about finding a pen pal who had a father who played Test cricket for New Zealand (Paul Whitelaw). Naturally Gulu ended up corresponding with Dad as well, and was provided with some fascinating insights.

The rest of the collection are an eclectic range. To go with the little known like Whitelaw and Rao there is a good deal on the big names of Indian cricket such as Tendulkar, Dhoni and Pataudi. In case that makes the book sound a little parochial, Messrs Bradman and Boycott feature as well. A goodly number of the pieces are laced with humour or are celebratory in nature, but there are serious subjects tackled as well, particularly in relation to South Africa, cricket politics, and the BCCI.

In some ways this sort of book is relatively easy to put together as, with the exception of the introduction, all the writing has already been done. But this one is certainly a labour of love, as not content with penning the introduction and selecting all of its contents Gulu has also done all of the design work on the book himself and has made a decent fist of that as well. particularly with the illustrations. Most of the images are Gulu’s own, and a goodly number feature the man himself, adding greatly to the very personal nature of this project. Forty Not Out is recommended reading for all cricket lovers.