Sunday, May 07, 2006

I have just been sent this link to a review by Grumpy Old Bookman and couldn't resist posting it.

Subject to weather, today will see the first game of the 2006 season for Baldons Cricket Club. We play Tetsworth in the second round of the Cricketer Village Cup - our opponents in the first round were clearly intimidated by our reputation and waved us through without playing. I've spent the morning rummaging for my whites, box, strapping etc. In the olden days I was always keen to win. Now survival seems a worthwhile objective. The competition ends up with a final at Lords on 3rd September. Betting on cricket is very popular. Don't bet on Baldons CC to reach the final.

Which leads clearly to today's Sunday Telegraph. The headline is a joyous example of misleading in order to increase sales:

Out of the shadows: It's a church wedding at last for Kate and William.

William is Prince William and Kate is his girlfriend. You might think they'd announced their wedding plans but no, merely that they are going together to someone else's wedding. Priceless.

In the same issue there is an article about seismic changes in publishing. More inaccurate stuff about the industry and digitisation and self-publishing blah blah.

After the cricket I'm heading off to the gorgeous seaside town of Bournemouth for the Booksellers Association annual meeting where I suspect the industry will be spending a few days discussing digitisation, self-publishing blah blah and .... trading terms. Plus ça change.

5/10/2006 8:12:16 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
still enjoying to read your blog!
by the way, accidently I was talking with friends about us continental Europeans not understanding the beginning of the rules about cricket, as you seem quite an expert, could you refer to a website or any other source of information (a book?)providing with simple explanations, sort of cricket for the dummies?
5/11/2006 10:13:17 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Try What is a Googly?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/186105629X/qid=1147342231/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_2_1/202-1468212-9519008
5/16/2006 11:16:17 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Whilst What is a Googly? is a very fine book and will help with the rules of the game, I fear it will not help explain that particular genre of cricket that Richard, I and many others, play: Social Cricket, which rarely involves much cricket and often stretches the definition of social.


A lifetime's adherence to many, if not all, of the seven deadly sins, is a pre-requisite to master fully the subtleties and complexities of Social Cricket. An excellent alternative is to read Marcus Berkmann's two wonderful books 'Rain Men' or Social Cricket when young and 'Zimmer Men' or Social Cricket for those who should, by now, know better.