Ashes, Clashes and Bushy Taches
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley August 27, 2013
Author Gershon Portnoi
Distributor:
ISBN: 978-1-4711-2885-1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Release Date:
Website: http://www.simonandschuster.com.au
In Portnoi’s latest offering on the more shall we say abstract side of cricket, he has done terrific job of digging out not just the history of the Ashes but also the many funny, bizarre and sometimes ridiculous goings-on which all add a lighter side to the game we lovingly call Cricket.
It’s a great read while getting set for a summer of cricket. Best for dipping into between overs and during the ad breaks while enjoying a cold beer and a bit of sledging in true cricketing style.
With the recent Ashes series ending in controversy and Australia being soundly beaten once again there are bound to be more of “those” stories to be added to the long, long list of stories that stretch back to the origin of the famous or infamous series.
Dependant on how you look at various things in life and whatever country you support, England or Australia that is, the stories of men behaving badly during this series are the subject of which legends can, have been and will continue to be created.
In Portnoi’s latest offering on the more shall we say abstract side of cricket, he has done terrific job of digging out not just the history of the Ashes but also the many funny, bizarre and sometimes ridiculous goings-on which all add a lighter side to the game we lovingly call Cricket.
For those of you who love a good chuckle but don’t really get cricket I do recommend reading the intro as it may answer some of your questions on why thousands, or should one say millions, of people get so excited by what many would say was a totally boring sport.
The Ashes series though is perhaps more like a story of “war” on the pitch as there is never any love lost between the two sides as they front up every four years to level the pitch and win the much coveted tiny clay urn.
The stories that grace the pages go back right to the beginning and talk about such legends as WC Grace and Fredrick Spofforth who are directly responsible for the birth of the Ashes after a serious bout of “unsportsmanlike” behaviour during the game in 1882 and of course the rest is history
Other famous names such as Don Bradman, Tony Greg, Andrew Flintoff, Dennis Lillee, Steve Waugh and many more grace the pages of this very tongue-in-cheek look at the other side of Cricket throughout the ages.
Sledging rates a good chapter of comical and not so comical insults, meeting the Queen and Prince Philip and what can go wrong, those flashpoint moments which resulted in a wicket along with all the many facts and funnies that makeCup the character of the sport let alone the people who are the main players both on and off the field all add to the legend and sport that is Cricket.
It’s a great read while getting set for a summer of cricket. Best for dipping into between overs and during the ad breaks while enjoying a cold beer and a bit of sledging, in true cricketing style.