Legends of the baggy green : dubious behaviour and achievements from cricket's chequered history

New cover edition of Alex Buzo's commentary on cricket manners and mores, charting the rise of the game from disreputable gambling origins in the 19th century to its current status as a first-class game of the 21st century.Full of brigands and bogans, legends and sledgends, Legends of the Baggy Green is an acerbic commentary on the codes and manners of cricket behaviour. Part social history, part blooper tape, this book takes sports comedy back to where it all began.The sins of modern cricket-sledging, chucking, match-fixing, plus the heinous practice of putting the ball in the freezer to make it bounce higher - are all here, along with a rogues'gallery that includes everyone from'Horseshoe'Herby Collins to Salim'The Rat'Malik.From the watermelon presented to Syd Gregory to the brown paper bag full of cash that was given to the late Hansie Cronje, there is full disclosure in Legends of the Baggy Green, as well as comment on the commentators who have observed cricket's transit from Lord's to Hollywood, and from the Gabbatoir to the Elysian, desalinated fields of Sharjah. The outburst by'Oo-ah'Glenn McGrath in the West Indies in 2003 put cricket behaviour on front pages all over the world. As is usual with McGrath, women sighed, men admired and boofheads fumed, but what was really going on? What the hell has happened to the game we loved and respected?There is ample scope for both humour and criticism here, and playwright, satirist and genuine cricket'tragic'Alex Buzo has sharpened his pen to provide plenty of both. Part title......Page 1 Title page......Page 3 Contents......Page 5 1 Oo-wah!......Page 12 2 It's a stew......Page 16 3 Civilising global cricket......Page 30 4 Shouldering arms......Page 46 5 Field chat......Page 60 6 No melons for Mr Gregory......Page 72 7 Asterisks and the gladiators......Page 88 8 Ward's wards......Page 98 9 The third Hollywood......Page 110 10 Liberal boofheads......Page 120 11 Box office saboteurs......Page 134 13 Scoundrel time......Page 154 14 Water boys......Page 164 15 The Eric Hollies award......Page 172 16 Would you like to buy twelve white jumpers?......Page 184 17 Country practices......Page 192 18 Flannelled Addisons......Page 198 19 Memories of development......Page 208 20 The 1942 Ashes tour......Page 224 Author's biography......Page 231 219 pages. Book appears to have hardly been read and is in As new condition throughout. Full Of Brigands And Bogans, Legends Ans Sledgeends, This Is An Acerbic Commentary On The Codes And Manners Of Cricket Behaviour.