A Middlesex Lifer Writes: Sixty Summers

 

Peter Cox is genuinely MTWD – a life member of Middlesex.  He has written a thoroughly interesting book, Sixty Summers: English Cricket Since World War 2.  Ged Ladd reviews the book, spotting Middlesex references aplenty and enthusiasm for cricket abounding.

 

 

Peter Cox captained Derbyshire and the North Under 19 in 1964, but a year later his eyesight deteriorated dramatically, and he didn't play again till the Eighties, when he set up the 10-match-a-season wandering side he runs to this day.  He had an illustrious career with the John Lewis Partnership, culminating as IT Diredctor of Waitrose.  He has recently celebrated his first sixty years in two ways.  Firstly, he has treated himself to life membership of Middlesex (a very sensible move).  Secondly, he is attempting to pay for that membership with a splendid tome named Sixty Summers: English Cricket Since World War 2.

 

Ged took on the assignment to read and review the book with some trepidation.  The book is nearly 400 pages long and packed with detail.  “If this book is no good, it’s going to be a long, hard Easter holiday weekend”, thought Ged.  But Ged is never knowingly undeterred, so he ploughed on. 

 

And the effort was well worth it.  Despite Peter’s pleas that this is a “dipping” book, not a “read cover to cover” book, Ged believes it works both ways and found the book compelling. 

 

The structure

 

The book basically covers the 60 years of post war cricket (1946-2005), which in effect is Peter’s life to date.  The earlier years are less colourful (from a writers’ personal perspective) than later years but the coverage is comprehensive if not exhaustive.

 

The neat element of the structure, which to me is the book’s selling point, is the way Peter intersperses the history with discussion chapters on cricket issues.  This is both an interesting diversion (if you are reading rather than dipping) and probably also the book’s strongest chapters.

 

Examples of these topics include: On speed and entertainment (Twenty:20 cricket and faster run rates generally), Decisions-decisions (technology and umpiring),  County cricket – a suitable case for treatment (county cricket).  There are several others, each excellent.

 

The writing

 

Peter Cox is clearly a cricket lover – his love of cricket oozes from every pore and from every word in this book.  Publishers are reluctant to touch any cricket writer who isn’t an ex-cricketer of note, a name journalist or a name published writer.  It is almost impossible to make sufficient money out of it.  So Peter has self-published this book, after getting (understandably) enthusiastic encouragement from a couple of publishers.

 

The upside of this approach is the comprehensiveness of the book and therefore its value.  A commercial publisher simply would not give you this much beef in one book.  It is (in publishing terms) more or less “two for the price of one”.  And two goodun’s too.

 

The downside is that the editorial team were either not knowledgeable enough on cricket or not diligent enough in helping with fact checking.  There are too many errors for a book that sets out to be authoritative.  But this is a minor quibble and does not detract from my emphatic “buy” recommendation; indeed some readers, like myself, will enjoy playing “spot the blot”.  Indeed, on the book’s website www.sixtysummers.co.uk  Peter encourages readers to send in corrections.

 

I agree with several of Peter’s opinions but do not agree with all of them – however the opinion elements are always set out with great clarity and wit, such that I consistently enjoyed reading the opinion sections even when I disagreed with the author.

 

The comprehensive “Almanack” appendix at the end is surprisingly strong on county as well as international cricket, as indeed is the whole book.  There are Middlesex references aplenty.

 

 

How do I get this book?

 

Easy as normal – easier perhaps.

 

The book is available in many good shops located in cricket grounds – not least Lord’s.  Cover Price £20.

 

You can sample the preface/1^st pages of chapters and buy signed copies for £15 including postage and packing on the web site: www.sixtysummers.co.uk

 

You can buy signed copies as above by tele-ordering on: (0208 883 6952) if you have an aversion to buying on-line.

 

Or you can go the Amazon route:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0955187702/qid=1147587867/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_2_1/202-8782393-3967055

 

£13.20 plus postage and packing (unless you avoid the p&p by making other purchases) but of course no signature.

 

Summary

 

This book comes with a Ged Ladd recommendation: BUY.

 

It’s not often that such a comprehensive book is published by someone who is MTWD.