81 All Out - A Cricket Podcast

'I was helping players write the book they wouldn't otherwise write' - Gideon Haigh on The Summer Game

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We talk to journalist and historian Gideon Haigh about The Summer Game - his classic book recently republished by 81allout Publishing.

Gideon talks about the largely forgotten 1950s and '60s, and fascinating stories he heard from many who nourished the game – at a time when the financial rewards were minimal and when the game itself saw some fallow times.

India (hardback) | India (paperback) | India (e-copy)

Australia (paperback, e-copy)

USA (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

UK (hardback, paperback, e-copy)

Canada (hardback, paperback, e-copy)


Talking Points:

  • The idea for The Summer Game - an outgrowing from The Cricket War
  • How post-war period opened up Australian cricket to the rest of the world
  • The tragic end to Ian Meckiff's career - and what he recalled of it many years on
  • Robert Menzies' role in Australian cricket through his primership
  • The discontent of the '50s and '60s setting the stage for World Series Cricket
  • The poignant story of Pat Crawford - who disappeared from the face of cricket
  • The staggering popularity of the West Indies tourists in 1960-61
  • Richie Benaud's punctilious image management - and his precise writing
  • The ebullient Benaud who ruffled feathers as a player and journalist
  • Neil Harvey's legacy in Australian cricket
  • Australia's tours to South Africa in the 1960s - and their attitude to discrimination
  • Bill Lawry's reaction to the news that he was dropped from the Australian side


    • Participants:

    Gideon Haigh

    Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

    Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)


    Books Discussed:

    • Gideon Haigh's books - gideonhaigh.com
    • Cricket War - Gideon Haigh - Amazon
    • Bowler non grata - Brydon Coverdale meets Ian Meckiff - The Cricket Monthly
    • The Lucky Country - Donald Horne - Amazon
    • Beyond a Boundary - CLR James - Amazon
    • The Summer of '49 - David Halberstam - Amazon
    • The Fifties - David Halberstam - Amazon
    • The Tale of Two Tests - Richie Benaud - Amazon

      •  

      ...more
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