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Anyone But England: An Outsider Looks at English Cricket
Anyone But England is a timely and entertaining exploration of the bonds which the English cricket to the English nation as both face apparently inexorable decline. Mike Marqusee, an American who has lived in England for twenty years, turns the amused gaze of an outsider on to the idiosyncrasies of the English at play, delving into the interminable wrangles over coloured clothing, covered pitches and commercial sponsorship. Yet Marqusee also displays the knowledgeability and passion of a dedicated cricket follower who has watched matches on four continents. His elegant and concise accounts of the origins of the game, its romance with the British Empire, and its traumatic adjustment to the modern market lift the lid on the paradoxes and hypocrisies that have made cricket what it democratic and elitist, national and international, ancient and modern. In a revealing scrutiny of the long saga of South Africa''s exclusion from world cricket, Marqusee charts England''s collusion with apartheid. Spectacularly failing the Tebbit test on every point, his eye-opening account of Pakistan''s controversial ''ball-tampering'' tour of England will provoke intense debate amongst cricket fans about the role of both the media and racism in the modern game. From the phoney war over the omission of Gower from the England side to England''s women cricketers receiving the World Cup outside the Lord''s pavilion from which they are banned, Anyone But England goes where no cricket book has gone before. In so doing it sheds new light not only on cricket but also on what it means to be part of a nation for whom the game is well and truly up.
- GenresNonfictionSports
Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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150 people want to read
About the author
Mike Marqusee
21 books10 followersMike Marqusee was an American-born writer, journalist and political activist who has lived in Britain since 1971. He was the author of numerous books including If I Am Not for Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew, Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the Sixties, Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties, Anyone but England: An Outsider Looks at English Cricket, a novel, Slow Turn, and a collection of poetry, Street Music. He was a regular correspondent for a range of publications including The Guardian, Red Pepper and The Hindu.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 29, 2019
Sometimes I find that the best part about having a best friend who reads is discovering books that you would have otherwise missed.
When you love cricket and have made it your profession, it's always exciting to read more about the game and how it shapes the ones who fall in love with it. What makes ABE unique that it was written by an American. An American settled in the UK but who took the time and effort to learn and adore the intricacies of an eventful game.
I read this when the 2019 World Cup was on and was drawn into the world of English cricket. It's an old book so be prepared to dive into the wonderful history of British Empire's tryst with a game that usually no American cares about.
A treat for all cricket lovers!
When you love cricket and have made it your profession, it's always exciting to read more about the game and how it shapes the ones who fall in love with it. What makes ABE unique that it was written by an American. An American settled in the UK but who took the time and effort to learn and adore the intricacies of an eventful game.
I read this when the 2019 World Cup was on and was drawn into the world of English cricket. It's an old book so be prepared to dive into the wonderful history of British Empire's tryst with a game that usually no American cares about.
A treat for all cricket lovers!
May 18, 2011
Mike Marqusee is American, although he has lived in the UK since 1971.
I guess it shouldn’t be taken for granted that an outsider will have a clearer view of cricket than someone brought up with it; it would hardly be surprising if an American who became a cricket fan was seduced by the tradition and history of it, the whole nostalgic, self-serving image cricket tends to have of itself. Paul Getty being the classic example.
But Marqusee is a left-winger who first started watching cricket during the West Indies tour of England in 1976, a series when the race and class tensions surrounding cricket were made more explicit than usual. So he is clearly angered, rather than attracted, by the gentility and clubbability and the bacon and egg ties. In fact, given that all that stuff is such a huge part of English cricket culture, it’s amazing that he became such a clearly devoted fan of the sport.
The result is a very pointed examination of the sins and hypocrisies of English cricket. They picked this brilliant quote for the front cover, from Test Match Special commentator Christopher Martin-Jenkins:
I mean, what right-thinking person wouldn’t want to pick it up after reading that?
So it’s comparable to Derek Birley’s excellent A Social History of English Cricket in the way it provides a counterbalance to the game’s self-image; but with the focus mainly on the modern game and with rather more needle to it. It actually makes rather uncomfortable reading at times for an English cricket fan; all those incidents which at the time seem like minor sideshows to the game itself: when you read about them all at once one after an other, it starts to look pretty ugly.
I’m not sure that English cricket administrators and journalists are uniquely bad, mind you; I daresay if you subjected Australia or the West Indies or India to the same kind of inquisitorial examination, they would have their own different failings and embarrassments. But that’s a pretty weak defence.
I was reading the third edition, from 2004; one measure of my enjoyment is that when I finished I was left thinking, hmm, I wonder what Marqusee would have said about the things that have happened since: like England’s 2005 Ashes win. Or the IPL. Or Allen Stanford. So yeah, I recommend this book.
I guess it shouldn’t be taken for granted that an outsider will have a clearer view of cricket than someone brought up with it; it would hardly be surprising if an American who became a cricket fan was seduced by the tradition and history of it, the whole nostalgic, self-serving image cricket tends to have of itself. Paul Getty being the classic example.
But Marqusee is a left-winger who first started watching cricket during the West Indies tour of England in 1976, a series when the race and class tensions surrounding cricket were made more explicit than usual. So he is clearly angered, rather than attracted, by the gentility and clubbability and the bacon and egg ties. In fact, given that all that stuff is such a huge part of English cricket culture, it’s amazing that he became such a clearly devoted fan of the sport.
The result is a very pointed examination of the sins and hypocrisies of English cricket. They picked this brilliant quote for the front cover, from Test Match Special commentator Christopher Martin-Jenkins:
‘A very intelligent book, very cleverly written, with a lot that provokes thought. But I am uneasy about the way he has a go at just about everything that cricketers hold sacred’
I mean, what right-thinking person wouldn’t want to pick it up after reading that?
So it’s comparable to Derek Birley’s excellent A Social History of English Cricket in the way it provides a counterbalance to the game’s self-image; but with the focus mainly on the modern game and with rather more needle to it. It actually makes rather uncomfortable reading at times for an English cricket fan; all those incidents which at the time seem like minor sideshows to the game itself: when you read about them all at once one after an other, it starts to look pretty ugly.
I’m not sure that English cricket administrators and journalists are uniquely bad, mind you; I daresay if you subjected Australia or the West Indies or India to the same kind of inquisitorial examination, they would have their own different failings and embarrassments. But that’s a pretty weak defence.
I was reading the third edition, from 2004; one measure of my enjoyment is that when I finished I was left thinking, hmm, I wonder what Marqusee would have said about the things that have happened since: like England’s 2005 Ashes win. Or the IPL. Or Allen Stanford. So yeah, I recommend this book.
January 27, 2017
the best ever cricket book? so far!
July 22, 2023
"The Englishness is in the lie, in the cult of the honest yeomen and the village green, in the denial of cricket's origins in commerce, politics, patronage and an urban society. The tyranny of mere wealth, on which the English eighteenth-century achievement rested, had to be wrapped in something finer and, at least in appearance, older."
Mike Marqusee (1953-2015) was an American author (who migrated to UK), leftist political activist and a cricket fan. I had read his masterpiece War Minus The Shooting and I was mighty pleased with the writing style and the way he articulates his observations. It was a funny book with an interesting perspective. And now, I had decided to read his another book on cricket and boy o boy! It was a difficult read for me. And there was one major reason for it.
Great writing but bleak tone: I totally understand where Mike Marqusee is coming from. Considering his political inclinations, he is bound to come hard on the conventional and orthodoxy in the English cricket and society. Although, his insights are interesting and he has rightly called out the English hypocrisy, sometimes it feels like the bashing is way too over the top. Heaps and heaps of pages. Nevertheless, he was spot on the laws of cricket.
Pakistani tour and the Indian beginning: One of the most beautiful chapters in the series covers the Pakistan's tour of England in 1992 where the Sultans of Swing - Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis destroyed England's batting in the Tests.
This series was so iconic that the picture of Wasim with his light green helmet and his team mates is used as a cover pic for The Unquiet Ones: A History of Pakistan Cricket. Mike Marqusee shares his thought on the various topics ranging from reverse swing, ball tampering allegations, biased umpiring and the racism against the former colony of the British Empire.
Another entertaining chapter was on the beginning of the Indian dominance over world cricket. He covers the England'ssurrender tour of India where the trinity of Kumble, Raju and Chauhan spun off England even when Gooch was winning the toss most of the times.
The Story of South Africa: I absolutely loved the way he has chronicled and analyzed the developments in South Africa right after the Apartheid was institutionalized in early 1950s. Moreover, the epic story of Basil D'Oliveira was an inspiring saga for the ages and Mike Marqusee did full justice to the impact of apartheid on the South African cricket and society. Additionally, he clearly calls out the similar racism in Yorkshire and other English counties.
This book was published in 1994. I would have loved to understand what Mike would have thought in 2023 about -
1) IPL and the commercialism of the game when the T20 international during an Indian tour of West Indies got delayed because the broadcast equipment needed fixing
2) Racism in Yorkshire and the committee discussion
3) Impact of quota system on South African cricket
4) Bazzball
5) The rise of BJP and their back-to-back wins in the Indian General Elections
Overall, it is an intense book and I would still recommend it for socio-political angle of the usage of cricket by the English administrators and the patrons.
Mike Marqusee (1953-2015) was an American author (who migrated to UK), leftist political activist and a cricket fan. I had read his masterpiece War Minus The Shooting and I was mighty pleased with the writing style and the way he articulates his observations. It was a funny book with an interesting perspective. And now, I had decided to read his another book on cricket and boy o boy! It was a difficult read for me. And there was one major reason for it.
No sport is as besotted with its past as cricket.
Great writing but bleak tone: I totally understand where Mike Marqusee is coming from. Considering his political inclinations, he is bound to come hard on the conventional and orthodoxy in the English cricket and society. Although, his insights are interesting and he has rightly called out the English hypocrisy, sometimes it feels like the bashing is way too over the top. Heaps and heaps of pages. Nevertheless, he was spot on the laws of cricket.
"Double standards, the mismatch of words and deeds, have been seen abroad as characteristically English for two centuries, cricket's lifeline, and have always outraged the victims of colonialism."
Pakistani tour and the Indian beginning: One of the most beautiful chapters in the series covers the Pakistan's tour of England in 1992 where the Sultans of Swing - Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis destroyed England's batting in the Tests.
This series was so iconic that the picture of Wasim with his light green helmet and his team mates is used as a cover pic for The Unquiet Ones: A History of Pakistan Cricket. Mike Marqusee shares his thought on the various topics ranging from reverse swing, ball tampering allegations, biased umpiring and the racism against the former colony of the British Empire.
"To the Pakistanis the demand for neutral umpires seemed a logical response to the accusations that their own umpires were 'cheating.' To the English it was a declaration of war."
Another entertaining chapter was on the beginning of the Indian dominance over world cricket. He covers the England's
The Story of South Africa: I absolutely loved the way he has chronicled and analyzed the developments in South Africa right after the Apartheid was institutionalized in early 1950s. Moreover, the epic story of Basil D'Oliveira was an inspiring saga for the ages and Mike Marqusee did full justice to the impact of apartheid on the South African cricket and society. Additionally, he clearly calls out the similar racism in Yorkshire and other English counties.
This book was published in 1994. I would have loved to understand what Mike would have thought in 2023 about -
1) IPL and the commercialism of the game when the T20 international during an Indian tour of West Indies got delayed because the broadcast equipment needed fixing
2) Racism in Yorkshire and the committee discussion
3) Impact of quota system on South African cricket
4) Bazzball
5) The rise of BJP and their back-to-back wins in the Indian General Elections
Overall, it is an intense book and I would still recommend it for socio-political angle of the usage of cricket by the English administrators and the patrons.
"Ironically, the very consumer capitalism which stripped cricket of a live audience and seemed to threaten its survival has proved the sport's salvation."
June 12, 2023
I had expected this to be a bit lighter than it was, 350 pages and typeset to use as few pages as possible. I didn't necessarily expect "in America, bats are round, but here they are square, how 'bout that?" but the author's nationality played a very small part in his outlook; this was more a political analysis of cricket through a socialist lens.
The first chapter was lighter, comparing baseball to cricket, and the foreword makes it clear the author is a socialist from the outset - not that this would have remained hidden for long. I didn't really mind the political angle itself, it was more that it was quite dry in places. There were a lot of interesting points made, but there were too many lists of 'Lord Baggles of Chutsworth, Lord Beggles of Chotsworth, Lord Biggles of...' when trying to illustrate the hold of the establishment over its administration. It reminded me of Surveillance Capitalism in that it said the same useful thing many times, and it was too repetitive and wordy as a result. Aspects were still well-argued though, in particular hiding behind a selective version of tradition to keep the status quo, and a complete lack of democratic accountability.
Reading it 30 years after its initial publication had its pros and cons. The more recent developments were recounted in more detail, but that meant the minutiae had even less relevance, whlile the contemporary problems provided an interesting comparison with today's. There were racism problems in Yorkshire (on the part of the crowd, though), borderline racist opinions in the cricket press, and despair at the adverts on the pitch and around the boundary (what on Earth would Marqusee make of the IPL?). Counties were resistant to changing the domestic structure, where first class cricket was being subsidised by Tests, which is still the case today. Marqusee was also ahead of time by remotely caring about women's cricket, although the focus is mostly about the top of the men's game.
Other interesting points made included: authorities resisting the market when it suited, and appealing to it at other times as justification; hypocrisy when it came to players stretching the rules depending on their nationality; and the relative comfort columnists felt in ascribing player weaknesses to their national character, especially if they had a different skin colour. It was just a shame that it wasn't particularly fun to read, and I think it could have been shorter while still making the same arguments. The structure was fine, but the writing itself didn't encourage me to keep reading. Instead, there was just enough subtance that I felt I was learning something.
The first chapter was lighter, comparing baseball to cricket, and the foreword makes it clear the author is a socialist from the outset - not that this would have remained hidden for long. I didn't really mind the political angle itself, it was more that it was quite dry in places. There were a lot of interesting points made, but there were too many lists of 'Lord Baggles of Chutsworth, Lord Beggles of Chotsworth, Lord Biggles of...' when trying to illustrate the hold of the establishment over its administration. It reminded me of Surveillance Capitalism in that it said the same useful thing many times, and it was too repetitive and wordy as a result. Aspects were still well-argued though, in particular hiding behind a selective version of tradition to keep the status quo, and a complete lack of democratic accountability.
Reading it 30 years after its initial publication had its pros and cons. The more recent developments were recounted in more detail, but that meant the minutiae had even less relevance, whlile the contemporary problems provided an interesting comparison with today's. There were racism problems in Yorkshire (on the part of the crowd, though), borderline racist opinions in the cricket press, and despair at the adverts on the pitch and around the boundary (what on Earth would Marqusee make of the IPL?). Counties were resistant to changing the domestic structure, where first class cricket was being subsidised by Tests, which is still the case today. Marqusee was also ahead of time by remotely caring about women's cricket, although the focus is mostly about the top of the men's game.
Other interesting points made included: authorities resisting the market when it suited, and appealing to it at other times as justification; hypocrisy when it came to players stretching the rules depending on their nationality; and the relative comfort columnists felt in ascribing player weaknesses to their national character, especially if they had a different skin colour. It was just a shame that it wasn't particularly fun to read, and I think it could have been shorter while still making the same arguments. The structure was fine, but the writing itself didn't encourage me to keep reading. Instead, there was just enough subtance that I felt I was learning something.
April 25, 2021
A take down of the romanticized history of cricket by someone who is quite romantic about the game itself. This is really a social history book. The author looks at things from a different lens which helps him notice things most ignore. Of course there are a few times (not a lot) when that unique lens can lead to a little bit of tunnel vision and his own biases show up.
A lot has changed since this book was published. I wonder if the author were alive, how he would have reacted to some of the changes like the proliferation of the leagues, the resurgence of English cricket, the loss of the West Indies supremacy etc. Some of the things the author mentioned in 94 have turned out to be prescient while others not so much. Overall a worthwhile read.
A lot has changed since this book was published. I wonder if the author were alive, how he would have reacted to some of the changes like the proliferation of the leagues, the resurgence of English cricket, the loss of the West Indies supremacy etc. Some of the things the author mentioned in 94 have turned out to be prescient while others not so much. Overall a worthwhile read.
May 18, 2019
Strong book, takes on some of the major issues of cricket, the game, its history, its reporting and its organisation and running. At times the political bias shines through and he chooses material accordingly to suit his argument, but the sections on the Pakistan series and cheating accusations and the South Africa situation during apartheid are extremely good. A very good book
September 20, 2021
A leftist American settles in England, grows to love cricket, and ends up writing a powerful and incisive analysis of the history of the game, the deeply hierarchical and classist attitudes at the root.
August 23, 2022
Although first published nearly 30 ago this book still packs a mighty punch. Marqusee shows that the fullest understanding of the realities and fundamental failings of English cricket can best be understood by an outsider who over time has spent a considerable period getting to grips with the traditions, history and peculiar nuances of the summer game. The book is beautifully written and comprehensive in its coverage and really has no equal in its political and sociological analysis of cricket.
March 22, 2008
This is an incredible book -- yes, it about sports and yes, it is about a sport no American cares about. It also is a brilliant cultural study and, if I dare say it, attempts the same thing I did in my own book, which was to use a sport as a cultural mirror. If you enjoyed my book, then beg, borrow, steal this one. And if you didn't, well, fuck that and go read this anyway.
July 19, 2019
I'm so amazed to meet an American-American who gets cricket so well. And now I'm being racist. Sorry. This book educated and entertained me. I can't ask for more.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews