The cricket media you may have missed

Season after season, the sporting years roll on.

But guess what! That’s not happening this year and may not be even be happening next year either. So what I’m doing with this article is listing all the great sport books and entertainment you may have missed, which will hopefully fill the gap for you before real sport makes a comeback.

Books

Golden Boy: Kim Hughes and the Bad Old Days of Australian Cricket by Christian Ryan
This was voted the best cricket book ever written by Wisden, and I can see why. The politics and drama are worth it alone. The irony is that Kim Hughes had virtually no involvement with the book.

The Unforgiven by Ashley Gray
This is about the story of the ‘rebel’ West Indies cricket tour of apartheid South Africa. It comprises firsthand account details and interviews about what happened on the tour and its aftermath.

The Laugh’s on Us
This is a great retro cricket book. I highly doubt a book like this would be published in this format today. The first book in the series is the best and funniest. It’s a collection of international cricket players’ best cricket stories and a great read.

(AAP Image/Sean Garnsworthy)

YouTube videos

I really like living in my retro sporting bubble at the moment. I go to a lot of World Series Cup or World Series Cricket searches online. There are some great matches and great players all loaded up and ready for you to see. For me the best cricket era or all time and one of my favourite historical ‘anything’ of all time.

Cricket games

Cricket Captain 2019
A more managerial style of cricket game than an arcade player-controlled game. This cricket game has kept me entertained for hours upon hours. You can select your own sides and choose any historical player from the game’s history and put into your line-up. It’s very well thought through and includes an amazing database.

Cricket documentaries

Fire in Babylon, directed by Stevan Riley
If you want to stroll down memory lane and remember how good the West Indies were, give this documentary a view. It makes use of amazing footage and interviews with a lot of the greats. I saw this movie in the cinema with a collection of cricket fans and we were all very impressed by its standard. It will give you an appreciation of arguably the greatest sporting side of the 20th Century.

From the Ashes, directed by James Erskine
This documentary, narrated by Tom Hardy, is about the legendary 1981 Ashes series in which Ian Botham started the cold and ended up rising like a phoenix. Those exploits are still talked about to this day, and this documentary series will emphasise why.

Underarm: The Ball that Changed Cricket
Released last year, this is an amazing documentary on that ball. It features interviews with members of the New Zealand side and with Greg and Trevor Chappell. I found watching this packed such an emotional punch and is one of the best shows in any genre I watched in 2019.

Cricket podcasts

Cricket Unfiltered
This podcast features very knowledgable and gifted hosts who talk about the state of the game and break down everything there is to know about modern cricket. With the sport on hiatus, they have been delving into historical scenarios and covering the rise of Sir Donald Bradman. It’s hosted by Andrew Menczel, Paul Dennett and Jelisa Apps.