Batting on the Bosphorus: A Skoda-powered Cricket Tour Through Eastern Europe

by Angus Bell

Following a chance encounter with a psychic, Angus Bell sets off on an 8,000-mile Skoda-powered road trip across Eastern Europe in search of a cricket match. It's a gloriously batty adventure which brings Bell face-to-face with fingerless fielders in the Czech Republic, Serbian MI6 agents, and the realisation that England's most eccentric game is being played with passion in the strangest corners of the continent.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

300 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2008

Reviews

[Mark Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you drew a Venn diagram of people who like cricket and people with an affinity for the Bosphorus then I guess it would contain a rather small set of people, of whom I am one. And so this was a particularly thoughtful "welcome home" gift from a friend.

The premise is simple - an innocent abroad embarks upon a road trip in a battered skoda to play cricket in a series of eastern european countries with hilarious consequences. Well, not really. You see, once you've decided to to a trip like this to write a book about it, then you have to write a book about it regardless of how entertaining those adventures actually are. And so it gets padded out (no pun intended) with a rather tenuous backstory involving psychics and spirits of dead relatives, and reminiscences about previous (more interesting) trips to the same countries.

And yet the charm and determination of the author just about wins through, and there are enough eccentric characters (Indian doctors in Kiev, lunatics playing ice cricket and drunken Aussies everywhere) to provide a hit and miss account of his travels, and it's hard not to admire the determination of anyone who would undertake this challenge and then the further challenge of getting a book written and published about it. Definitely one for the fans only.

[Lesley Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have just finished reading 'Batting in the Baltic' which appears to be the same book, different title?
If so, I loved it. A Transylvanian joyride - not for the faint-hearted!
For the record my knowledge of Cricket is very basic, so I really admired the author's passion.
BTW Did Cape Talk or any other station in South Africa ever do/get an interview?
Well done, Angus!

[James Sadler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is brilliant. And I love that the author, a Scotsman, is bringing cricket to the French speaking Canadians!

[Piyush Patel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to abandon it halfway. Hard to differentiate between what actually happened and what the author probably made up to make it seem more exciting and dangerous and stereotypical that it really was.

[Godly Gadfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of the BBC audio version (3 stars)

Read by Robin Laing in an abridged version for BBC Radio 4’s “Book of the Week”, this is Scottish sports writer Angus Bell's account of a rather unorthodox cricket tour. After a psychic sees travelling in his future, Angus sets off to play in non-cricketing countries in unusual places in Europe.

The cricket parts are okay, but the book probably suffers in an abridged version, and overall the result is somewhat mediocre. The subtitle calls it “A Skoda-powered Cricket Tour Through Eastern Europe”, but an alternate version calls it “A Liquor-Fueled Cricket Tour Through Eastern Europe”, so I’m not sure I’d want to read the full version anyway.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scottish sports writer Angus Bell's account of a cricket tour to unusual places, read by Robin Laing.

This is a unique and hilarious traveller's tale that redefines the spirit of cricket.Following a chance encounter with a psychic, Angus Bell sets off on an 8,000-mile Skoda-powered road trip across Eastern Europe in search of a cricket match. It's a gloriously batty adventure which brings Bell face-to-face with fingerless fielders in the Czech Republic, Serbian MI6 agents, and the realisation that England's most eccentric game is being played with passion in the strangest corners of the continent.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Batting on the Bosphorus is a decent-enough read for the train or beach but it isn't as good as others out there in whatever niche it is aiming for.

If you're looking for a book that celebrates cricket in far-flung places then read Marcus Berkmann and if you want a Dave Gorman-esque adventure then read Dave Gorman (or Tony Hawks).

Bell seems to fall on the wrong side of the enthusiast/bore divide and by the end it reads too much like a 300-page CV of a journalist wanting a bigger gig.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was tempted to give this one three stars, as the author can write well enough, but it's just too juvenile in places. It's about 60% cricket-focused (you really need a good grounding, and interest, in the game) and 40% general travel narrative, so if you're not in former camp (like me) be prepared to do a fair amount of skimming.

[Sydne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A journey through Eastern Europe, finding the hidden places where cricket is played. With a few very funny moments and some wonderful life stories, it unluckily still drags at times. If that is because there are too many of those stories or because the subject being cricket isn't really my field, I don't know.
As far as cultural studies go it is o.k., though not great.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose I should be thankful that his outlandish fear of the vast majority of eastern european countries will keep the 'pams and cliffs' from invading for a little longer, but at the end of the day it's still disappointing to see tired stereotypes reiterated yet again....