The Ashes Miscellany
The Ultimate England v Australia Cricket Trivia Book
IN STOCK
By Clive Batty
Foreword by Phil Tufnell
RRP: £9.99
Online shop price: £6.49
From the legend of the burning of the bails to England’s triumph in “the greatest series ever” in 2005. The Ashes Miscellany packs the entire history of sport’s oldest and greatest rivalry into one neat little book.
Packed with quotes, lists, anecdotes and trivia, everything you ever wanted to know about the Ashes is here. From the story of how a tiny terracotta urn entered sporting folklore to the controversy of the Bodyline tour, from the result of every England v Australia Test Match to the ice cream sponsored by Freddie Flintoff.
“A cricket tour in Australia would be the most delightful period in your life – if you were deaf.”
Harold Larwood
“Botham? I could have bowled him out with a cabbage, with the outside leaves still on.”
Cec Pepper
“Are you aware, sir, that the last time I saw anything like that on a top lip, the whole head had to be destroyed.”
Eric Morecambe to Dennis Lillee
“Geoffrey is the only fellow I’ve met who fell in love with himself at a young age and has remained faithful ever since.”
Dennis Lillee on Geoff Boycott
“England will win if Camilla Parker bowls.”
Australian fan’s banner, 1995
About the Author
Clive Batty is a sporting ‘statto’ extraordinaire. The author of football books The England Compendium and The Chelsea Miscellany, he has now come round the wicket to deliver his unique brand of quirk, stats and lists to fans of the most historic rivalry in sport.
Reviews
November 2006
Four cricket balls out 5
The problem with books of miscellany is that the originals have spawned some dreadful offspring with little merit aimed at nothing more than cashing in on the sales boom. In the last couple of months there have been two such dire offerings, so it was a delight to find that The Ashes Miscellany is a return to the well-researched and entertaining kind of book that made the genre so popular in the first place. The contents will appeal to both those who consider themselves well versed in Ashes history and casual cricket fans who want trivia to impress their friends in the pub. It would have been too easy to pad the book with well-worn anecdotes and page-filling statistics, but Clive Batty has avoided that short cut and produced a genuinely good publication.