Recently I received a surprise in my letterbox.

A nice one.

A re-issued copy of Gideon Haigh’s seminal piece on the  south yarra cricket club (the yarras), the Vincibles.

It happened to appear when England were playing South Africa in a 2020 match, and I was trying to keep one eye on the match, but I couldn’t.

Instead I read the entire book in one go. That is very rare for me, general I flick, I read bits on trains, and then eventually I finish a book through sheer luck.

I loved it.

Obviously I am partial to writing about club cricket, but even so this was a great.

It reminded me of playing cricket in Australia.

Through the magic of the internet we can even look at Gideon’s career.

He is a specialist at making 70 odds.

His bowling, off spin (or as he called it recently cricket’s rubbish skill), is also pretty handy, with a best of 6 for 6 on what was probably an early season sticky wicket.

The book is way better than a nuggety 70odd or an assy 6 for, it is a stylish hundred or a hard earned 8 for.

There is very little about cricket in this, mostly it is about blokes, taking the piss and being involved in a group so badly run that everyone does everything and nothing ever gets done till the last minute.

Once you’ve bought my book, read it, loved it, get this, Gideon at his best.

Gideon Haigh’s new book, his 736th, is something i like.

Online the book is still called, “The Ultimate Test: The Story of the 2009 Ashes Series“.

Gideon knew that no one would take that seriously and instead has used the extremely self-aware comment from Strauss upon England winning the Ashes.

The book is not without fault, there is no chapter about Gideon meeting me, and the front cover has a ginger northern man making the international symbol for the letter Y.

Once inside the book, it is a thing of beauty, a joy forever. Which makes it nothing like the series itself.

Reading Gideon is like drinking the top single malt Scottish Whisky. It’s a smooth enjoyable feeling, and even when he is talking about Brum you feel like you are in your happy place.

Gideon is the cricket writer’s writer.

Friends of mine talk about him like goth schoolgirls talk about those moody looking vamps in Twilight.

In 2005 this book would probably already be a best seller, but in the wake of the Bopara Hauritz series people aren’t looking forward to shelling with their cash, for this book they should.

This is a small section on Ian Bell:

“Perhaps the most intriguing is Bell. In mathematics, a bell curve describes the mathematical depiction of data clustered around a mean. In cricket, a Bell curve describes a tendency in scores to produce a Test average of 40 while nonetheless remaining largely devoid of character or authority. “

Imagine if I wrote that, it would end up with Ian Bell naked in a bird cage. Gideon makes it classy while slipping his velvet slipper nicely into Bell’s ribs.

If you are going to buy only one Ashes book this year, perhaps you should wait a month or so, but if you are going to buy a couple I suggest this should be one of them.

Available with free worldwide delivery here.

It is just a tiny little thing, resplendent looking in Wisden yellow.

The book is not Lawrence’s prose, but instead a collection of cricket quotes from around the world over the years.

I must admit that I am a bit of a sucker for cricket quotes, there have been times when I have spent hours going through the online quote section at cricinfo looking for gems.

This book now allows me to do this offline, and brings me beauties from the games past as well.

Plus I get the odd pithy remark from Lawrence underneath, nice work.

There is even a quote from Dirty Dirk Nannes saying arse. I prefer ass, but this is Lawrence’s book, so his rules.

Being that I like Lawrence and Quotes I am biased towards this book from the start, but if anyone else likes cricket quotes, there is just no reason not to buy the bugger.

It should also be noted that the patron saint of cricket with balls is mentioned, so how could I not like a book that quotes, and bags, Neil Harvey.

Just to prove I am not talking shit, here is 3 quotes i have taken from random page selections.

“Mummy, He doesn’t look like a murderer” Harold Larwood over hearing a young boy.

“Well, I open for Somerset so I might as well go in first.” Harold Gimblett to fellow mental patients waiting for electroconvulsive therapy.

“Nothing bad can happen to us if we’re in Indian on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it” Hashim Amla

So buy the book, you know your coffee table wants it.