The West Indian political intellectual, CLR James, once described his seminal work 'Beyond the Boundary' as 'neither cricket reminiscences nor autobiography'. It was an apposite description, equally relevant to Michele Savidge's wonderful book.
By the end of it I felt I had read one of the better cricket books/autobiographies in a long time.
It is far more than the tale of a young girl growing up in a Derbyshire village, discovering cricket and the genius of Viv Richards in particular, usurping her crush on David Cassidy. The author's lifelong love of Caribbean cricket shines through, not just in her fantasy eleven, made up of players from that region.
It is an extraordinary read about an ordinary childhood, a life writing, working in and enjoying cricket and the challenges in getting through it all and surviving to tell the tale at the other end.
It is witty, engaging, happy, sad, absorbing and memorable. Dealing with the challenges of ageing parents struck a chord with me, the harder ones of loss highlighting what inevitably is to come. The author is candid about her battles with depression after the loss of a baby and her parents, as well as dealing with the unwanted attentions of various cricketers over the years. Sexism and harassment has been rife, I am saddened but not surprised to say.
The book is a celebration of life, love, cricket and relationships. Hers with her father very similar to me with mine, the company, chats and memories the same.
It is more than 'just' a cricket book. You will likely laugh out loud, shed a tear or two and come out the other end feeling that you have read something special.
I cannot recommend this highly enough.
Between Overs: How Life Gets In The Way Of Cricket is written by Michele Savidge's and published by Pitch Publishing
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