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Book Of The Year Award > 2011 > The Victory Tests - England v Australia 1945
Mark Rowe, Sportsbooks Limited.
Purchase on Amazon
 A new name to cricket-writing, Mark Rowe has chosen to open his innings with a study of that curious non-series of 1945, where an Australian Forces XI took on as representative an England side as could be mustered in the aftermath of war. That it was not an official Test series, does not really matter as it afforded the public and the players a chance to try and restore some normality to an English summer. The series itself, although much referred to, has been curiously under-reported; Eric Midwinter included some detailed work in his The Lost Seasons 1939-1945 and there was a limited-edition work from Australia but, in general, the series only tends to be referred to in passing, so congratulations to the author for finding an original piece of work to open his account.
Regrettably, there are few participants alive to consult but, where possible, Mark Rowe has gone to first-hand accounts from the survivors and has allied those interviews with detailed investigative work. Keith Miller's war record is examined in depth for, probably, the first time and without detracting from the impact and quality of his cricket, puts some perspective on the legend that has grown up around him. Don Bradman gets some pretty savage criticism and is described as a 'war-dodger' at one point. It's the one part of the book that tends to jar; Bradman is seen as being culpable with his work first as a Physical Training Instructor and then his invaliding out of the military. Len Hutton was a PTI, as were many other professional sportsmen; it was a logical and sensible place for many to find themselves and no one has ever accused those players in England of 'war-dodging.' They could pass on their expertise and could also be used for purposes of morale-boosting. As for Bradman's invaliding out, most criticism seems to stem from the fact that he went back to work on the Stock Exchange and later returned to first-class cricket after the war, along with others who had seen action in the Pacific as well as Europe. These things did happen, not just to Bradman and it does seem amazing that after a long intervening period, feelings still run high.
The matches themselves form the centrepiece of the book but events before and after are covered to give a proper context. Interspersed through the book are chapters dealing more general cricketing matters and although not strictly essential to the reporting of the series, they do give the author license to explore other avenues. An essay on 'What is Bright Cricket' shows that even then, there were stirrings about the entertainment value of some matches but the best of the non-match reporting, covers the thorny topic of 'Amateurs and Professionals' and is the most thoughtful and resonant piece in the book.
An interesting coda to the series concerns the treatment of the players from those Victory Tests. Keith Miller and Lindsay Hassett had long and distinguished careers but none of the other players seriously challenged for Test places when cricket fully resumed in 1946. Were they unjustly overlooked because they had fought in Europe rather than the Pacific? Apart from the legendary Cec Pepper who probably offended Bradman; (Cec Pepper offend someone? Surely not!) it simply looks as if there were just better players available at that time.
This is another fine book from the always enterprising Randall Northam stable at Sportsbooks and it deserves to do well, covering, as it does, a summer of cricket and a back story that needed to be brought into the sunlight. We shall look forward with interest to more from Mark Rowe but in the meantime, this is one of the best books of the year.
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