The Cricket Society and M.C.C. Book Of The Year Award 2010
will take place on the 26th April in the Long Room at Lords.
Event speakers are Scyld Berry and Vic Marks.
Short list press release monday 8th March 2010
Biographies of Imran Khan, Kim Hughes and Harold Larwood compete with a fresh look at the cricket writings of Alan Gibson and an historical analysis of South African cricketing themes in this year’s shortlist for The Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year Award 2010. New chair of judges Vic Marks said: “There is a strong international theme to this year’s list. All five books have their advocates among the judges and I anticipate frank and lively exchanges when we meet later this month to determine a winner.”
The competition, run by The Cricket Society since 1970 and in partnership with MCC since 2009, is for books nominated by Members and not publishers and is highly regarded by writers and publishers. Previous winners have included Mike Brearley, EW Swanton and David Frith. Three years ago the delighted winner - Scyld Berry – this year a keynote speaker at the award ceremony - hailed his award as “cricket’s seal of literary approval.”
The £3000 for the winner, and certificates in respect of all the shortlisted books, will be presented at an awards evening in the Long Room at Lord’s on Monday 26 April. This is becoming a “hot ticket” event and an expected sell-out audience of 200 people will comprise members of both organisations, the shortlisted authors and their publishers, and many of today’s finest cricket writers and journalists.
The five books on the shortlist (alphabetically by author):
Of Didcot and the Demon: The Cricketing times of Alan Gibson - Anthony Gibson
Harold Larwood - Duncan Hamilton
Empire and Cricket: The South African Experience, 1884-1914 - Bruce Murray and Goolam Vahed (Editors)
Golden Boy: The Bad Old Days of Australian Cricket - Christian Ryan
Imran Khan: The Cricketer, the Celebrity, the Politician - Christopher Sandford
The other nine books on the long list:
The captains’ tales - by David Fulton, Mainstream Publishing
Inside the box, my life with Test Match Special - by Peter Baxter, Quiller Publishing
Cricket in the park - by Roger Packham, Methuen
From Sophia to Swalec: A history of cricket in Cardiff - by Andrew Hignell, The History Press
And God created cricket - by Simon Hughes, Doubleday
Testing times: In pursuit of the Ashes - by Andrew Strauss, Hodder and Staughton
John Shepherd, The loyal cavalier - by Paddy Briggs, ACS
Cricket grounds from the air - by Zaki Cooper, Daniel Lightman and Ian Hay, Myriad Books
From commons to Lord’s, Volume 1: 1700-1750 - by Ian Maun, Roger Heavens