The Language of Cricket ("Language of" series)

In the Ashes of 1981 John Emburey has come round-the-wicket and got one to pop: although Australian captain Alan Border has tried to play it with soft hands, the ball was dollied to Mike Gatting at short leg who is about to pouch it, watched by Ian Botham and Graham Gooch. These terms and more than 500 others feature in The Language of Cricket, traced from first mentions in the sixteenth century to the language used by today's commentators, writers and aficionados. The history of the game and how it came to England, how the Ashes started, the mysteries of swing and reverse swing, ball-tampering, the bodyline story, bouncing, are explained. The reasons behind such laws as lbw and how they are applied are clearly unfolded. `Cricket is an art,' says West Indian writer C.L.R. James. John Eddowes's ground-breaking book seeks to increase enjoyment of the art. A long-time player and a passionate advocate, Eddowes does not limit himself to first-class cricket: he explores picturesque and forceful archaic usage. He has discovered through the language of cricket a controversial new history of the game and its early development.