CCC VPs Cricket
Book Reviews
The love of cricket generally goes hand in hand with a love of books and when the two combine there are very few better forms of entertainment. Here we plan to share our favourite cricket books with you. If you want to make your own contributions with reviews of the cricket books you have enjoyed to share with other VPs please let us know and we will be very happy to include them.
We are starting with a contribution from Club Chairman, Darren Hughes who talks about his love for the Wille Rushton novel W.G. Grace's Last Case, first published in 1984
W.G. Grace Last Case is set in late 1890s London, which although recently devastated by the recent 'War of the Worlds' hasn't prevented cricket continuing as normal. It sees WG himself team up with Dr John Watson (yes Sherlock's side kick!) in a mystery that takes them around the globe to thwart a menacing conspiracy.
During a match at Lords the bowler is struck down by an apache arrow from the stands which leads WG and the Doctor on a trail of discovery to solve the mystery. During the hilarious 280 pages the two of them encounter a huge number of fictional and real characters from the period, including .Dr Jekyll and My Hyde, A.J. Raffles, Buffalo Bill Cody, Henry James, Oscar Wilde, the son of Charles Dickens and a number of French Impressionist painters.
The book is full of references from the time, full of fun and also illustrated brilliantly by Rushton. It is guaranteed to put a smile on your face as their mad cap adventures race from one scene to another.
A copy can be picked up for less than a fiver on Amazon and I highly recommend it if you are in the mood for some escapism with a large dollop of cricket thrown in.
​
Darren