Cricket Explained: From Grubbers to Googlies―A Beginner's Guide to the Great English Pastime

Easy read and nicely illustrated with simple drawings to explain many of the finer (and confusing) points of cricket. Over the years I've had a number of my English friends try to explain the game of cricket to me, but all in vain. Invariably it ended in complete confusion. However, having read and studied this little book, the curtain has lifted on some of confusion just a bit. Yet, though reasonably enlightened, I think the real problem lies in the fact that the game of cricket was never meant to be understood fully by the American psyche. It's totally British and can only be fully understood and appreciated by those raised with a sense of the game's history and traditions. Nonetheless, this is a fine little book and one which will certainly give you a better understanding of this most English of games---cricket!

"Cricket Explained" is a unique book, and maybe is unlike any other Cricket book. It's a beginner's guide, not an in-depth treatise, and he incorporates how he feels about the game. The author clearly has a soft spot in his heart for the tradition and history of the game and treats it respectfully, but with humor, and as an old friend. You will learn about Cricket, but also about English history and the English character. "You may well have wondered in the past how anybody could seriously spend a day watching cricket without getting bored." "The length of run up is all to do with rhythm, intimedation and ego." " But perhaps the most important part of cricket is it's very English sense of humor, an absolute essential for a game that can so easily be disrupted by rain." The book is quite readable, and provides a few key and useful diagrams and a comprehensive glossary,... and probably a few laughs. He covers topics that other Cricket books won't, and you'll get a glimpse of that English sense of humor. And maybe why the game is the way it is. I'd suggest watching a T20 Cricket match (about 3-4 hours long), they seem pretty entertaining and understandable.

If the T20 World Cup got you into cricket, this book is the next step. It explains a lot of the detail, nuance, and context around the game. It reminds me of Zach Hample’s “Watching Baseball Smarter” and has a similar sense of humor.

Great book. Quick read with a thorough explanation of the game. As someone who knew almost nothing about cricket before reading this book, I feel as if I could now watch a cricket match and understand most of what is happening. One important thing this book does is avoid getting too technical. Yes, it explains what many of the common terms mean, but it avoids going too in depth into statistics and strategy that would lose many readers unfamiliar with the game. If you know very little about cricket and want to better understand the game, this quick read is the book for you.

I am a newby to cricket and was having a hard time finding any books on the rules of cricket, this book is perfect. I appreciate that it is not highbrow nor do they talk down to the reader. It has been a pleasure to read and has answered my questions, (along with Google). I had to look up what the "follow-on" rule was. Test cricket is something else!

It's a bit dated and very British, but I got a lot of useful information from this book. It has a nice chart showing the fielding positions used in cricket matches and an outstanding glossary at the end with some 600 different cricket terms. I'm sure many of these were only spoken once by a commentator in an Ashes contest in the '70s, but they are still fun to read. Thankfully the author doesn't try to teach you how to PLAY cricket - just enjoy it. This is a good introduction to the sport.

Easy to understand great for someone trying to learn the basics

For a quick reference guide, one can hardly do better. There is not an overwhelming amount of depth to the book, but as a 'now what exactly was that bit again' kind of work, it's brilliant. The author has a nice, light tone but still manages to make cricket really approachable, even for someone who either doesn't know or even doesn't want to know about cricket.

I didn't grow up in a cricket culture, so I don't natively know cricket culture or rules. This book helps to explain both, and provides a handy glossary of cricket jargon at the back. I enjoyed the humour in it and found the content enlightening. The main body of the book is only 116 pages, so it's something that can be read easily over a few afternoons, and it has definitely enriched my understanding of cricket commentary as well as what I'm seeing happening out on the pitch. The book could cover a bit more about Test culture, such as the propensity of British crowds to create songs for their side's players and for opponents they have particularly strong feelings about. And it could say a bit more about the effect of the internationalised T20 comps on the sport. I think those are important things a new spectator might be curious about. But it covers everything else well, and I recommend it for information value per time required to read it, to those new to watching the cricket.

O livro atende ao objetivo de explicar o cricket para quem não o conhece. Eu acabei lendo em um momento que já tinham entendido quase tudo o que o livro explica, mas deu para aprender algumas coisas novas. Só não dou a nota máxima porque o livro é um pouco antigo e o jogo mudou bastante nos últimos anos (o livro não fala nada sobre a modalidade T20 e a IPL, por exemplo).

Generally well presented, if a bit dry. Would be improved, ie more readable, if it included a few amusing stories when describing the rules