Book Of The Year Award > 2011 >A Long Half Hour
Stephen Chalke, Fairfield Books
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A more traditional offering from Stephen Chalke here, as he revisits a selection of cricketers who were either the subject of interviews in the past where the full interview was not used and Stephen has since found more to say about them or simply, because they were players he met and wanted to share his memories of them and the recollections that they had to offer.

The six subjects are very different cricketers, ranging from Dickie Dodds, with his sincere involvement in the curious and now barely, remembered Moral Re-Armament movement, to Arthur Milton, surely the most diffident man ever to possess a wondrous sporting talent. Geoff Edrich, Eric Hill, Bomber Wells (naturally) and Ken Biddulph complete the set with the key player, in many senses, being Ken Biddulph who coached Stephen when he wondered if his club cricket career was winding gently down.

The fact that Stephen's cricket improved dramatically is in some ways, a side issue, because the true enjoyment came in the post-training session chats, which is where the author found that a modest interjection could spark off hours of reminiscences. Equally true, is the fact that as with many sportsmen, the profiles here are of men with unexpected moments of silence and experiences that may well have changed their lives but were not to be a topic of discussion. Even that most equable of men, Arthur Milton, had areas about which he remained reticent and it is a mark of Stephen Chalke's skill and likeability that he could skirt round those areas and still extract anecdotes and stories that never fail to make the reader keen to learn more.

If you already possess any of Stephen's books, you will know what to expect but that is no reason to suppose that this book is not a worthy purchase. Indeed, it adds to previously published offerings to round out characters and put other players and matches into relief with some sharp psychological insights as well as a real sense of humanity and shared enjoyment. If you don't possess any of Stephen's books - then you should. Start with this one and it's a reasonable guarantee that you will be back for more.

Always a pleasure to receive a Fairfield book through the post, especially in the depths of winter and this is no exception. Now to look forward to the next one.