If the prospect to of reading numerous newspaper reports about our recent downfall in the Ashes series fills you with dread, fear not. Gideon Haigh not only has a commanding knowledge of cricket and its intricacies, but also possesses the rare ability to convey hours of cricket coverage and make it sound like something spectacular. There is no doubt that the recent Ashes series was one of the best, if not the best, on record. In A Fair Field and No Favour, Haigh presents us with his day-by-day accounts of the matches from the first to the fifth test. His love of the game, exceptional knowledge, wit and humour, make this book a tremendously enjoyable read. This is no collection of mere facts and figures, but a lively and entertaining, blow-by-blow account, of a series that captured the Australian imagination. Haigh, goes beyond the cliché, and presents the players as real people counter pointing their superstar status. There is no doubt that this is one for the cricket fan, however, Haigh’s lively style and narrative prowess result in a text that is accessible for a wider readership.

Ben Beaton is a writer and reviewer in Perth

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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