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An Ashes Summer
256 pages, Hardcover
First published November 3, 1997
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January 31, 2023
While Goodreads has this book listed as "by Nasser Hussain", my copy has "by Nasser Hussain and Steve Waugh" on the cover. Each player takes it in turns to detail the day's play in the six Test Matches of the Summer and there are extra chapters on touring life from Waugh and life on the county circuit with his and my own beloved Essex CCC from Hussain.
As a record of what i remember, and this series was played during the time where i was a deeply engaged follower of the England cricket team, this book stands up well as a record of what happened. Australia were heavily favoured to win the series, but were well beaten by England in the One Day Internationals and First Test, only to slowly get better, winning the middle three test matches with increasing style and even ease. Faced with such good play from great players, England did fall short though at no stage do i sense they were not trying or looking to improve.
Reading it again, some 25 years later i am struck by how much the England camp, as reported by Hussain worry or are affected by the reporting in the written press. These days, and it's early 2023 as i type this, i certainly don't see the newspapers having that much influence over current players, a sign perhaps of the lesser importance of newspapers in UK society. It helps of course that England currently do have a very entertaining and interesting men's test team.
The 1997 Ashes doesn't stand out as the 2005 edition, now thought by many as The Greatest Series Ever (i'm not so sure about that for what it's worth) but as a record of the 1997 series which i see as staging post building towards the 2001 series which for me had the best Australian team i've ever seen this book stands up as a good record.
As a record of what i remember, and this series was played during the time where i was a deeply engaged follower of the England cricket team, this book stands up well as a record of what happened. Australia were heavily favoured to win the series, but were well beaten by England in the One Day Internationals and First Test, only to slowly get better, winning the middle three test matches with increasing style and even ease. Faced with such good play from great players, England did fall short though at no stage do i sense they were not trying or looking to improve.
Reading it again, some 25 years later i am struck by how much the England camp, as reported by Hussain worry or are affected by the reporting in the written press. These days, and it's early 2023 as i type this, i certainly don't see the newspapers having that much influence over current players, a sign perhaps of the lesser importance of newspapers in UK society. It helps of course that England currently do have a very entertaining and interesting men's test team.
The 1997 Ashes doesn't stand out as the 2005 edition, now thought by many as The Greatest Series Ever (i'm not so sure about that for what it's worth) but as a record of the 1997 series which i see as staging post building towards the 2001 series which for me had the best Australian team i've ever seen this book stands up as a good record.
Displaying 1 of 1 review