A cricket fan’s dream and a learner’s manual rolled into one, Inside Out brings together Gideon Haigh’s colourful, poignant and suitably smart-mouthed despatches from the crease. In this collection of essays, opinions and articles, published as far and wide as The Monthly and Qantas’ in-flight magazine, Haigh has successfully bridged the gap between writing for those in the know and those who don’t. Inside Out is an education for the uninitiated that offers an experienced and unequivocally perceptive look at contemporary cricket, from its venerated history to the multi-million dollar glitz in the game today. The levelling power of Haigh’s unfazed fan’s gaze takes in his own average amateur bowling and the most fractious of international incidents. From Bradman, Bodyline and Sir Beefy and the perceived fear of Twenty20 to the ‘new’ significance of the Baggy Green, Packer’s legacy and murky Establishment administration, Haigh picks the scabs off the grazed knees of the nature and politics of the sport, its characters and its troubles. Haigh is a fine writer writing about a sport he loves. This collection skilfully blends his sense of the straightforward with his customary and razor-sharp wit and insight. Inside Out is the must-have cricket book.

Lee McGowan is a freelance writer and reviewer and works at Riverbend Bookshop, Brisbane

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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