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My Song Shall Be Cricket: The Autobiography of Franklyn Stephenson
One of cricket's great characters, Franklyn Stephenson was branded a 'rebel' for touring in apartheid South Africa with a West Indian XI.
As a black sportsman, he knew his actions went against the wishes of the authorities and that there would be consequences, yet he overcame the character slurs and subsequent bans from both his beloved Barbados and the West Indian Test selectors.
Recognised as the first fast bowler to develop a cunning slower ball, Stephenson became one of the world's top all-rounders.
The beaming Barbadian achieved cricketing immortality in 1988 by completing the domestic Double of scoring 1,000 runs and taking 100 wickets during an English summer - a feat that is unlikely to be repeated.
Read about encounters, on and off the field, with household names such as Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Clive Lloyd and Desmond Haynes - and a lifelong friendship with Sir Garfield Sobers.
From a childhood full of dramatic life experiences to the heights of one-day finals at Lord's, here is the story of an amiable cricketing giant.
As a black sportsman, he knew his actions went against the wishes of the authorities and that there would be consequences, yet he overcame the character slurs and subsequent bans from both his beloved Barbados and the West Indian Test selectors.
Recognised as the first fast bowler to develop a cunning slower ball, Stephenson became one of the world's top all-rounders.
The beaming Barbadian achieved cricketing immortality in 1988 by completing the domestic Double of scoring 1,000 runs and taking 100 wickets during an English summer - a feat that is unlikely to be repeated.
Read about encounters, on and off the field, with household names such as Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Clive Lloyd and Desmond Haynes - and a lifelong friendship with Sir Garfield Sobers.
From a childhood full of dramatic life experiences to the heights of one-day finals at Lord's, here is the story of an amiable cricketing giant.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 7, 2020
I was disappointed in this. Far more detail and context could have been added to the story of Franklyn's cricketing career. Instead the largely chronological text lacks any real flow and the cricket stories are often perfunctory. There's also an overuse of his friends'/team mates' West Indian nicknames which just becomes irritating after a while. Franklyn would probably have been better served by someone other than Dave Bracegirdle as his contributor/co-author. Bracegirdle is basically a hack journalist best known for covering cricket and football in the East Midlands. He's also written a few books on cricket and football, but he's no stylist. Overall therefore Franklyn's book is a missed opportunity.
July 21, 2024
Interesting autobiography of a West Indian cricketer who, for various reasons, perhaps never got the recognition he deserved. Builds from his upbringing in rural Barbados to county cricket success - the last man to achieve ‘the double’ - and the rebel West Indian tours of South Africa. Comes across as a very nice bloke.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews