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Bob Woolmer's Art and science of cricket
A manual on playing and coaching cricket. It intends to develop true 'all-rounders' - players who show not only technical but mental strength, and who are as physically fit and injury-resistant as possible. It discusses the mental, scientific, biomechanical and medical aspects of the game.
- GenresSports
655 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 4, 2016
Bob Woolmer's tragic death in 2007 came as a shock to all cricket lovers. A successful player and even more successful coach, at 58 the expectation was that he would have many more productive years to give the game, as he no doubt thought himself, being most of the way to completing this book.
And what a mighty tome it is - over 600 pages devoted to almost everything one could think of to help the modern player become his or her best at this great game. Those older cricket fans would look at the title of this book and reason that inside the reader would discover the correct way to bat, bowl and field. This is indeed described within the covers (using photographs of South African greats such as Jacques Kallis and Allan Donald), but there is so much more. With sections on captaining, psychology, health and fitness, physiology, the physics of swing bowling, there is almost nothing that is not covered.
The book quotes extensively from past players and past manuals - one of the points made is that a player is always learning and information can be garnered from anywhere, and Woolmer and the editors have put this into practice in the compilation of this book.
If you are a budding young cricketer, hunt this book out and make it compulsory bedtime reading. If you are old and worn out like me, do the same for sheer enjoyment.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
And what a mighty tome it is - over 600 pages devoted to almost everything one could think of to help the modern player become his or her best at this great game. Those older cricket fans would look at the title of this book and reason that inside the reader would discover the correct way to bat, bowl and field. This is indeed described within the covers (using photographs of South African greats such as Jacques Kallis and Allan Donald), but there is so much more. With sections on captaining, psychology, health and fitness, physiology, the physics of swing bowling, there is almost nothing that is not covered.
The book quotes extensively from past players and past manuals - one of the points made is that a player is always learning and information can be garnered from anywhere, and Woolmer and the editors have put this into practice in the compilation of this book.
If you are a budding young cricketer, hunt this book out and make it compulsory bedtime reading. If you are old and worn out like me, do the same for sheer enjoyment.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
January 31, 2022
A great book which could have used better editors and fact checkers.
It has some great insights and some very impressive predictions which have come true since the publication (also it's interesting to see how some of its advise is outdated in the DRS era). But there are quite a few errors about specific matches and players - it bungles the ground where a match was played, mentions the wrong year at some point, incorrectly claims that Alan Border was the first to 10k runs, and calls Brian Close a tailender among other things.
Such errors make me afraid of some sort of gell-mann amnesia that there might be even more errors in this book which I don't even know (especially in the physiology section). Therefore it has to lose a point.
It has some great insights and some very impressive predictions which have come true since the publication (also it's interesting to see how some of its advise is outdated in the DRS era). But there are quite a few errors about specific matches and players - it bungles the ground where a match was played, mentions the wrong year at some point, incorrectly claims that Alan Border was the first to 10k runs, and calls Brian Close a tailender among other things.
Such errors make me afraid of some sort of gell-mann amnesia that there might be even more errors in this book which I don't even know (especially in the physiology section). Therefore it has to lose a point.
September 11, 2017
I absolutely loved it! Honestly one of the best cricket books I have read in a while. The way Bob Woolmer describes and goes into detail about the different aspects of cricket (Mental and Physical) is just incredible. This book goes very deep into the technical and mental aspects of cricket and it may not be for everyone. But if you enjoy cricket and want to learn more this is the book for you!
March 24, 2025
It is very interesting to read and see the seamy side of professional sports. But I must say that European cricket and Asian cricket are very different. Keep this in mind. If you need the second option, then look for info on 1xBet India. This way you will get practical advice and skills in sports forecasting.
November 8, 2021
Most extensive book containing cricketing skills I have read
November 3, 2013
This is a great book and motivated me to want to play cricket.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews