Simmo: Cricket Then and Now

Download or read book Simmo: Cricket Then and Now written by Bob Simpson and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2006-11-01 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No one is better placed than Bob Simpson to comment on how cricket has changed over the last half a century. The prodigy who played first-class cricket for NSW as a sixteen year old is the only post-war Australian cricketer whose Test- match career has spanned more than twenty years. He captained his country on 39 occasions, then as an innovative coach he masterminded the Australian cricket resurgence of the Border/Taylor years. At other times he has been a journalist, commentator, promoter, coaching consultant and match referee. Simpson has always been a close observer of the game and the men who make it. In Simmo: Cricket Then and Now, Bob fondly recalls many wonderful characters such as Keith Miller, Richie Benaud, Bill Lawry, Wes Hall, Merv Hughes, Allan Border and Steve Waugh - and offers strong opinions on some of the major issues confronting cricket, including illegal-action bowlers, the state of one-day cricket, umpiring standards and the future of today's Australian team. He also analyses why the quality of pace bowling and catching has declined in the past decade, while paying hearty tributes to 21st-century champions such as Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, and Andrew Flintoff. Simmo: Cricket Than and Now is a timely and fascinating study of cricket over the past 50 years, and a revealing portrait of one of the game's finest players and most enduring personalities.