Fred Trueman book on Cricket Society-MCC Book of the Year shortlist

An starkly honest biography and an elegant romantic novel are among five titles short listed for the Cricket Society and MCC Cricket Book of the Year award for 2012.

Fred Trueman: The Authorised Biography wins well deserved recognition for Chris Waters, cricket correspondent of the Yorkshire Post, who set about assessing the Yorkshire and England fast bowler’s life with the blessing and co-operation of family members yet managed to deliver an objective account that and does not always find in his subject’s favour.

The judging panel headed by Vic Marks, the former Somerset and England player who followed Trueman into the Test Match Special commentary box at the end of his career, will announce their choice in the Long Room at Lord’s on April 16.

The five contenders -- sifted from a field of 24 -- also include a nicely crafted biography of the former Warwickshire captain Frank Foster , a fascinating but ultimately tragic character who has a right to be seen as his county’s greatest player, in the opinion of author Robert Brooke.

Foster, whose career was curtailed by the Great War and did not resume following a motorcycle accident in 1915, played in the Triangular Tournament that brought together England, South Africa and Australia in the Test series of 1912 and is the subject of Patrick Ferriday’s Before the Lights Went Out, which also impressed the panel enough to make the cut.

The same period, subsequently recalled as cricket’s ‘golden age’, forms the backdrop to the work of fiction among the contenders, the novel Half of the Human Race by Anthony Quinn, whose unlikely imagined romance between a gentleman cricketer and a suffragette creates an evocative and insightful portrayal of a cosily complacent, conservative England -- of which cricket is a microcosm -- threatened by a revolution of unexpected origins.

The quintet is completed by Australia - Story of a Cricket Country, a collection of essays and articles assembled by Christian Ryan -- whose biography of Kim Hughes, Golden Boy, was best cricket book at the British Sports Book Awards in 2010 -- to tell not only the history of Australia’s cricketing success but the way in which the game helped shape that country’s character.

The five books on the shortlist:

(Click on the links for more information)

F.R.Foster: The Fields Were Sudden Bare, by Robert Brooke (ACS Publications).

Before the Lights Went Out: The 1912 Triangular Tournament, by Patrick Ferriday (Von Krumm Publishing).

Half of the Human Race, by Anthony Quinn (Jonathan Cape).

Australia - Story of a Cricket Country, by Christian Ryan (Hardie Grant Books).

Fred Trueman: The Authorised Biography, by Chris Waters (Aurum).

The 19 that missed out:

Britain's Lost Cricket Grounds, by Chris Arnot (Aurum).

The Cambridge Companion to Cricket, edited by Anthony Bateman and Jeffrey Hill (Cambridge University Press).

A Class Act; Walter Read, The Surrey Champion, by Keith Booth (ACS).

Cricket at the Crossroads: Class, Colour and Controversy from 1967 to 1977, by Guy Fraser-Simpson (Elliott and Thompson).

Higgy - Matches, Microphones, and MS, by Alastair Hignell (A&C Black).

Australian Autopsy, by Jarrod Kimber (Pitch Publishing).

Jack Hobbs: England's Greatest Cricketer, by Leo McInstry  (Yellow Jersey Press).

Not Out First Ball, by Roger Morgan-Grenville and Richard Perkins (Bikeshed Books).

Twirlymen: The Unlikely History of Cricket's Greatest Spin Bowlers, by Amol Rajan (Yellow Jersey).

The Last Flannelled Fool, by Michael Simkins (Ebury).

The Following Game, by Jonathan Smith (Peridot Press).

The Breaks are Off: My Autobiography, by Graeme Swann (Hodder & Stoughton).

Tony Greig: A Reappraisal of English Cricket's Most Controversial Captain, by David Tossell (Pitch).

Twentieth Century All-Rounder, by Clive van Ryneveld (Pretext Publishers).

Arthur Milton: Last of the Double Internationals, by Mike Vockins (Methuen).

Ian Botham: The Power and the Glory, by Simon Wilde (Simon & Schuster).

Cricket and Broadcasting , by Jack Williams (Manchester University Press).

Behind the Boundary: Cricket at a Crossroads, by Graeme Wright (A&C Black).

Cricket's Historians, by Peter Wynne-Thomas (ACS).

All 24 books were nominated by either Cricket Society or MCC Members and not publishers. Marks and fellow judges David Kynaston and Stephen Fay, representing MCC, and John Symons and Chris Finch, for The Cricket Society, will determine which takes home the £3,000 prize, won last year by Harry Pearson for Slipless in Settle.

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Story of a suicide in football is poignant winner of William Hill Sports Book of the Year prize

William Hill Sports Book of the Year award -- the winner


Ronald Reng’s deeply touching story of the life and death of the German national team’s goalkeeper, Robert Enke, has won the 2011 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.

A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke (Yellow Jersey) was selected from a shortlist of seven titles for the honour, the richest book award of its kind with a cash prize of £23,000. The announcement was made at a reception today at Waterstone’s Piccadilly.

Enke died two years ago this month when he stepped in front of an express train near his home in Germany, having suffered a history of depression.  The recognition for Reng’s skilful telling of a painful story is all the more poignant for coming on a day when the headlines are dominated by the shocking news of another former footballer taking his own life, the Wales manager Gary Speed.

Broadcaster John Inverdale, spokesman for the judging panel, referred to the ‘tragic symmetry’ in their decision, which was reached without knowledge of Speed’s fate.  Cyclist David Millar, whose own autobiography was on the shortlist of seven, Tweeted: 'Worthy winner: pertinent subject.'

When Enke’s death was announced, the reaction in the football world in Germany in particular was much the same as England and Wales has witnessed in the last 24 hours.  Friends and supporters of Enke, who was set to be Germany’s goalkeeper at the World Cup finals in 2010, were stunned, as were the wider public, unable to comprehend why an international footballer apparently at the peak of his career should decide to take his own life.

In A Life Too Short, Reng pieces together the story of a man who had also been his friend as well as his countryman, revealing much about the pressure on those who play sport at the top level and the fears with which many grapple behind a veneer of false confidence. Heartfelt, but never sentimental, Reng describes in painful details the tragedy of a talented man ultimately beaten by his own demons.

Translated into English by Shaun Whiteside and published by Yellow Jersey Press in the UK earlier this autumn, it represents the first translated title to have won the prize.

William Hill spokesman and co-founder of the prize, Graham Sharpe, said: "Robert Enke was one of Germany's greatest goalkeepers and his tragic death shocked the world. Ronald Reng's intimate portrait - vivid, powerful and moving - is an outstanding piece of sportswriting and a very worthy winner of the prize".

John Gaustad, chairman of the judging panel, said: "It is a brilliant piece of work, understated in a sense. [The author] uses very few adjectives and tells it with great restraint and a sensitivity and dignity for its subject. It could not have been done better."

Critics were profoundly moved by the story on its publication in the UK in September. Amy Lawrence, writing in the Observer, confessed it made her feel ‘ashamed about some opinions I have dived into. It is so easy to rush to judgment, to make a cartoon villain of someone or vent spleen from a position of the supposed moral high ground.’

Andy Mitten, in the Manchester Evening News, wrote that ‘English footballers will tell you privately that depression is a far bigger issue than is currently recognised.  Many suffer in silence, afraid even to seek counselling. Maybe by reading about a German who took his life, more will understand.’

The award is the second won by London-based Reng for a book about a German goalkeeper. In 2004, he won the biography prize at the British Sports Book Awards for The Keeper Of Dreams, the story of Lars Leese, who was plucked from the obscurity of reserve team football in the Bundesliga to play for Barnsley in the Premier League.

The judging panel for this year’s award consisted of BBC presenter Inverdale, the much-decorated journalist Hugh McIlvanney, broadcaster Danny Kelly and columnist and author, Alyson Rudd along with chairman Gaustad, co-creator of the award and founder of the Sportspages bookshop.

A Life Too Short beat competition from a strong field, from which a shortlist was selected, in addition to Reng’s book, that  comprised Among The Fans, by Patrick Collins (Wisden Sports Writing); Into The Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight, by Alexander Fiske-Harrison (Profile Books); The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn’t Stop, by Bill Jones (Mainstream Publishing);
Engage : The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson, by Paul Kimmage (Simon & Schuster); Racing Through The Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar, by David Millar with Jeremy Whittle (Orion) and 32 Programmes, by Dave Roberts (Bantam Press).

The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award is the world's longest established and most valuable literary sports-writing prize. As well as a £23,000 cash prize, the winning author receives a £2,000 William Hill bet, a hand-bound copy of their book, and a day at the races.  Reng is the 23rd winner of the award. He received his cheque from the 2010 winner, Brian Moore.

READ MORE ABOUT THE SEVEN CONTENDERS FOR THE PRIZE

A Life Too Short

The Ghost Runner

32 Programmes
Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar
Into the Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight
Among The Fans
Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson

...or click on any of these links to buy direct from Amazon

A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke
Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson
Among the Fans
The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn't Stop
Into The Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight
32 Programmes
Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar

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Kimmage's skills give voice to a brave young man in a bleak yet uplifting story

William Hill Sports Book of the Year award -- the contenders


The winner of the 2011 William Hill Sports Book of the Year will be revealed tomorrow.  For the last week, The Sports Bookshelf has been presenting a run-down of the seven titles on the short list. Today:

Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson (Simon & Schuster)

THE STORY:

It was March 15, 2005. Matt Hampson, a 20-year-old tight-head prop from the Leicester Tigers club, was taking part in a training with an England Under-21 team that included Ben Foden, Toby Flood and James Haskell. The forwards were in full, contested scrum practice. Not unusually, as 16 hefty men confront each other in a shoving match, the scrum would collapse from time to time.

Thankfully, despite the risks inherent, the players normally pick themselves up unscathed and resume practice. On this occasion, however, it was different.

By some freak of physics, the full force of this collapse ended up being borne by Matt Hampson’s neck. In an instant, he suffered a dislocation that trapped his spinal chord.  He was saved from dying on the field because Tony Spreadbury, the referee supervising the session, happened also to be a paramedic, but the damage already done had paralysed Hampson from the neck down.

Paul Kimmage, the Sunday Times journalist, visited Hampson as he recuperated. His brilliant piece -- headlined ‘One Tragic Day’ -- won him the Sports Journalists’ Association interviewer of the year award for the third year in succession.  They struck up a friendship and now Kimmage has told Hampson’s full story, in all its harrowing detail, from the build-up to the fateful day, the drama of the accident itself, the incredibly long rehabilitation, to his struggle to adjust to what passes for him as a normal life.

The result has been hailed as a story that reveals the true hellishness of personal disaster on the scale that befell Hampson as well as the astonishing capacity of one human being to make the best of what little he had left -- in a physical sense -- and to do so without seeking pity.

Hampson now lives in a converted barn in a Leicestershire village, custom made for him by his father, Phil.  He has a ventilator attached to him by a pipe that breathes for him 21,600 times in every 24 hour period.  Yet he manages to pursue a life in which he offers help, advice and support to other victims of serious injury and disability, in particular in a sports context, through his charity The Matt Hampson Foundation (http://www.matthampsonfoundation.org/)

THE CRITICS:

"Engage is a book that will make you laugh, make you cry, make you gasp: it’s the full emotional rollercoaster. I read the 395 pages in two days."
-- Rachel Simmonite, therugbyblog.co.uk Read more…

“Despite this young man’s remarkable character, Engage’s honest, unblinking approach to the scale of his disaster makes this book much bleaker (and better) than just an uplifting triumph-over-adversity tale…a genuinely outstanding book.”
-- Brian Schofield, the Sunday Times. Read more…

"It is typical of Hampson that he treats the very worst experiences as some loony endurance course. The full black humour of his situation unfolds in his autobiography, a hellish, inspiring and often hilarious account of his struggle.”
-- Elizabeth Grice, Daily Telegraph. Read more…

THE AUTHOR:

Paul Kimmage, a former professional cyclist, has already won one William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award for Rough Ride, which exposed drug use in his sport and made his name as a writer.   He also won acclaim for writing the autobiographical Full Time: The Secret Life of Tony Cascarino on behalf of the Republic of Ireland footballer.

* * * * * * * 

The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award is the world's longest established and most valuable literary sports-writing prize. As well as a £23,000 cash prize, the winning author will receive a £2,000 William Hill bet, a hand-bound copy of their book, and a day at the races. 

The judging panel for this year’s award consists of broadcaster and writer John Inverdale; award-winning journalist Hugh McIlvanney; broadcaster Danny Kelly; and columnist and author, Alyson Rudd. Chairman of the panel is John Gaustad, co-creator of the award and founder of the Sportspages bookshop. 

The winner will be announced at a lunchtime reception at Waterstone’s Piccadilly (London), Europe’s largest bookstore, on Monday 28th November.

READ ABOUT THE OTHER SIX CONTENDERS:

A Life Too Short

The Ghost Runner

32 Programmes
Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar
Into the Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight
Among The Fans

The shortlist in full:

1. Among the Fans: From Ashes to the Arrows, a Year of Watching the Watchers by Patrick Collins (Wisden Sports Writing)

2. Into The Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight by Alexander Fiske-Harrison (Profile Books)

3. The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn't Stop by Bill Jones (Mainstream Publishing)

4. Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson by Paul Kimmage (Simon & Schuster)

5. Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar by David Millar (Orion)

6. A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke by Ronald Reng (Yellow Jersey Press)

7. 32 Programmes by Dave Roberts (Bantam Press)

Buy Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson direct from Amazon 

More on the 2011 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award

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The watchers watched: Collins delivers a masterclass in the art of sharp and witty observation

William Hill Sports Book of the Year award -- the contenders


The winner of the 2011 William Hill Sports Book of the Year will be revealed on Monday.  This week, The Sports Bookshelf presents a run-down of the seven titles on the short list. Today:

Among the Fans (Wisden Sports Writing)

THE STORY:

Patrick Collins has been writing about sport for almost half a century, for the last 30 years as chief sports writer for the Mail on Sunday.  For the most part during that time -- as you would expect -- his eyes have been focused on the field of play.

He has reported on Olympic Games and World Cups, countless Test matches, rugby internationals and world title fights, and described the action in such consistently stylish and well-judged prose that he has gathered almost as many awards as he has had years in the newspaper business, including the ultimate accolade of sports journalist of the year on five occasions.

Yet for Among the Fans, Collins turned his focus away from the arena, or at least from the action taking place, in order to observe the participants without whom the great events he has witnessed would have been merely for the amusement of those taking part -- the supporters.

During a year or so on the road, Collins watched the watchers at some of sport’s great showpieces -- the World Cup in South Africa, an Ashes Test in Adelaide, Wimbledon, the Cheltenham Festival among them -- but also in the rather less rarefied atmosphere of a point-to-point meeting in rural Sussex, a dog track in Kent and a speedway meeting in Eastbourne.  He devotes one chapter to a night spent at the BBC in West London, sitting in while Alan Green converses with the nation on the 606 phone-in.

The end result is an effortless read from the writer most respected and admired by his peers, sometimes gentle and affectionate in its observations, at other times unapologetically critical, yet with the barbs carried always by a clever turn of phrase rather than trenchant, boorish rant.

Among the Fans is a first offering from Wisden Sports Writing, a new imprint from Bloomsbury that promises a small and very selective annual catalogue. Collins has set a high bar for titles that follow.

THE CRITICS:

“He has a way of skewering his targets without forfeiting his own civility…during a lovingly detailed description of the annual Canterbury cricket festival, he steps aside to sketch the late EW Swanton, the grand panjandrum of the Daily Telegraph's cricket coverage: ‘An aristocrat by everything but birth, he acquired a repertoire of patrician airs which were so convincing they might almost have been authentic‘.”
-- Richard Williams, the Guardian. Read more…

“A deeply enjoyable and often very funny book which should persuade those who didn't know it already just how brilliantly readable Collins is.”

-- Simon Redfern, the Independent on Sunday. Read more…

“A masterful piece of writing… is a light and humorous read, in the style popularised by Bill Bryson, rather than an analytical tract.”

-- Simon Briggs, the Daily Telegraph. Read more…

THE AUTHOR:

Patrick Collins began his newspaper career with the Kentish Mercury in 1962. He subsequently wrote for the News of the World, the London Evening News and the London Evening Standard before becoming chief sports writer for the Mail on Sunday in 1982, a position he still holds.

* * * * * * * 

The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award is the world's longest established and most valuable literary sports-writing prize. As well as a £23,000 cash prize, the winning author will receive a £2,000 William Hill bet, a hand-bound copy of their book, and a day at the races. 

The judging panel for this year’s award consists of broadcaster and writer John Inverdale; award-winning journalist Hugh McIlvanney; broadcaster Danny Kelly; and columnist and author, Alyson Rudd. Chairman of the panel is John Gaustad, co-creator of the award and founder of the Sportspages bookshop. 

The winner will be announced at a lunchtime reception at Waterstone’s Piccadilly (London), Europe’s largest bookstore, on Monday 28th November.

RELATED READING:

A Life Too Short

The Ghost Runner

32 Programmes
Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar
Into the Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight

The shortlist in full:

1. Among the Fans: From Ashes to the Arrows, a Year of Watching the Watchers by Patrick Collins (Wisden Sports Writing)

2. Into The Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight by Alexander Fiske-Harrison (Profile Books)

3. The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn't Stop by Bill Jones (Mainstream Publishing)

4. Engage: The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson by Paul Kimmage (Simon & Schuster)

5. Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar by David Millar (Orion)

6. A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke by Ronald Reng (Yellow Jersey Press)

7. 32 Programmes by Dave Roberts (Bantam Press)

Buy Among the Fans direct from Amazon 

More on the 2011 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award

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