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Do They Play Cricket in Ireland?: A 25-year Journey to a Test Match at Lord's
Do They Play Cricket in Ireland? is the inside story of a rollercoaster ride that took the Boys in Green from rank amateurs to playing Test matches, and dismissing England for 85. Every stage of the journey is charted by a writer who was at the heart of the instrumental in Ed Joyce joining Middlesex and the tactician who helped Ireland win their first global tournament. Read about stunning victories over Pakistan, England and the West Indies, Eoin Morgan's debut at Eton, an annoying redhead's spiky spats with Brian Lara, Kevin Pietersen and the Namibian farming community, the fastest century in World Cup history, a cricket-loving former IRA commander and a six-hitting sheep strangler. As friend and confidant to many of the players and coaches who took Ireland to the top table of world cricket, David Townsend is uniquely placed to tell this remarkable story. Written in diary format, in a chatty, humorous style, the book is part travelogue as it follows the team through more than 20 countries and across five continents.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 12, 2021
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 2, 2021
Great book, absolute must-have for any cricket fan, especially an Irish one.
Does a very good job at bringing alive the human side of Irish cricket’s rise to fame, shining light on the struggles throughout the years of the players, coaching staff and everyone else behind the scenes, as well as their triumphs. A lot of the stories in the book would be brand new to almost all readers but fascinating nonetheless, in particular the author’s part in Kenya’s downfall as well as the Namibian farmers.
Almost all characters in the book are referred to by nicknames of some sort, which is no problem at all for “Timothy” Murtagh and “O’Brien the younger” but I must admit I’m still not certain who the “Ardmore Express” is. That being said I think that the nicknames suit the style of writing in the book and help give the story a more personal dynamic which makes the book stand out compared to other cricket books. I definitely enjoyed DT’s subjective take on stories more than I would have enjoyed a matter-of-fact book along the lines of “This person did this thing on that day in that place and then this happened”.
Throughout the book I found myself agreeing a lot with the author’s thoughts on topics such as coaches, players, tactics, and in particular his assertion that obtaining Test status from the ICC is a complicated and confusing process, and that many players from Ireland’s 2011 World Cup squad were robbed of a well deserved test cap for their efforts. However, I don’t think though he shows any untoward Irish favouritism in the book, and he does very well to explain his point of view without coming across as biased. He has a good way of explaining a topic in the way he sees it, without necessarily forcing you to agree with his opinions on it.
A fantastic book and fantastic story about a fantastic team, written by a fantastic author. Simple as that.
Does a very good job at bringing alive the human side of Irish cricket’s rise to fame, shining light on the struggles throughout the years of the players, coaching staff and everyone else behind the scenes, as well as their triumphs. A lot of the stories in the book would be brand new to almost all readers but fascinating nonetheless, in particular the author’s part in Kenya’s downfall as well as the Namibian farmers.
Almost all characters in the book are referred to by nicknames of some sort, which is no problem at all for “Timothy” Murtagh and “O’Brien the younger” but I must admit I’m still not certain who the “Ardmore Express” is. That being said I think that the nicknames suit the style of writing in the book and help give the story a more personal dynamic which makes the book stand out compared to other cricket books. I definitely enjoyed DT’s subjective take on stories more than I would have enjoyed a matter-of-fact book along the lines of “This person did this thing on that day in that place and then this happened”.
Throughout the book I found myself agreeing a lot with the author’s thoughts on topics such as coaches, players, tactics, and in particular his assertion that obtaining Test status from the ICC is a complicated and confusing process, and that many players from Ireland’s 2011 World Cup squad were robbed of a well deserved test cap for their efforts. However, I don’t think though he shows any untoward Irish favouritism in the book, and he does very well to explain his point of view without coming across as biased. He has a good way of explaining a topic in the way he sees it, without necessarily forcing you to agree with his opinions on it.
A fantastic book and fantastic story about a fantastic team, written by a fantastic author. Simple as that.
Displaying 1 of 1 review