In his florid prose I first discovered Bill Bowes and the great Yorkshire players before the Second World War. I had always been fascinated by the tall, bespectacled quick bowler and his great friend, Hedley Verity, so it was no surprise that I was excited when I read of Jeremy Lonsdale's new biography of him.
It does not disappoint. Bowes was an outstanding bowler for Yorkshire and England, but also an entertainer, film-maker and talented magician. After three years as a prisoner of war in Italy and Germany in which he lost four stones in weight, he was still able to return to Yorkshire for two final seasons when he continued to take wickets.
Subsequently he became a highly respected writer and sports reporter, as well as county coach and mentor to other Yorkshire cricketing greats. He played a crucial role in the development of Fred Trueman, no mean thing to have on any CV.
The book is an excellent read, covering Bowes' role in the Bodyline Series and other controversies over his use of short-pitched bowling. This was perhaps a natural consequence of his unusual height for the period and although not as fast as Harold Larwood, he was awkward to face, especially on a rain-affected pitch.
Bowes took 1639 wickets in first class cricket at just sixteen runs each, a quite remarkable performance. Yet a strength of the book is that one gets to know not only Bowes the cricketer but also the man. He comes across as thoroughly decent, liked and respected by pretty much everyone.
This is the first biography of Bill Bowes and the research and detail is such that it will struggle to be beaten. Jeremy Lonsdale captures the man and the times in which he lived, as well as giving us an insight into the great Yorkshire side of which he was the oft-overworked spearhead. Thirty-eight overs in a day on one occasion, an eye-opener for any modern seam bowler who will rarely get close to twenty.
There is only one error. In the match between Derbyshire and Yorkshire at Chesterfield in 1946, the pitch was two yards too long, reportedly mentioned by Bowes to umpire Bill Bestwick. But he had passed away in 1938 - the umpires were Coleman and Cooke and the account, from Bowes himself, was probably a lapse of his memory
This is another fine offering by Pitch Publishing and both they and the author are to be commended for one of my favourite books this year.
An Unusual Celebrity: The Many Cricketing Lives of Bill Bowes is written by Jeremy Lonsdale and published by Pitch Publishing
If you like Neville Cardus, have you read The Great Romantic by Duncan Hamilton? I’ve not read the book myself but there was an excellent audio of it on Radio 4 earlier in the year.
ReplyDeleteCraig
Yes and it is a fine read, Craig!
Delete