Article: Hobart Mercury - September 9th, 2006

Cricket story is wicket-ly funny

Cricket Kings
By William McInnes
Hodder, $32.95

Actor William McInnes is a breath of fresh air. His new book Cricket
Kings follows the highly successful A Man's Got to Have a Hobby
and is written in the same colloquial, laconic style. It is an
unabashed feel-good story.

Some claim cricket is a metaphor for life itself, and this particular
match provides a vehicle for McInnes to explore roles and relationships
and some important social issues as well.

It's not just another cricket book. There are certainly philosophical,
even moral undertones here. But putting these heavier considerations
aside, I chuckled, laughed, reflected and pondered through
every delightful page of it.

This is the story of a Yarraville West Fourths cricket team and the
last match of their dismal winless season. "Dismal'' may be inappropriate;
"inconspicuous'' might be better.

I was curious about McInnes's choice of location and the circumstances
that unfold in the story. I think there is a healthy dose of
authenticity here. McInnes reveals an easy intimacy with the physical
and social environment.

His detailed understanding of the vagaries of the game, and his knowledge
of the peculiarities of the little suburban ground and its
surrounds, it seems, could not be acquired without some direct
personal immersion.

Research alone would not be enough to capture the mystical quality
of this hot summer day experience as McInnes has done.

Even the Cec Bull Oval beneath the players' feet provides an intriguing
story component.

A colourful politician and local identity, Alderman Bull had been
linked with the ground since childhood and some dark secrets have
been buried there. It seemed somehow appropriate that he died there
in mysterious circumstances.

As in most sports, cricket now is all about excellence, elitism, big
dollars and media exposure. Little country towns, social clubs
and suburban teams are hanging on by a thread that is a love of
the sport. But as this story reveals, the real rewards are in a team's
camaraderie and mateship.

Yarraville West Fourths' threads are indeed thin and near breaking
point. They invariably play one or two players short and some of
their personnel are reluctant participants.

On this memorable day the captain and driving force of the team, Chris
Anderson, has cobbled together an unusual crew. It includes
an old doctor friend recently returned from service in an African
war zone, a disengaged and lonely bus driver, an effervescent butcher-turned-wicketkeeper,
an intellectually handicapped son of a
friend and two teenagers roped in from the under-17s "just to have
a go''.

There is also Chris's schoolboy son Lachlan and the family baggage
he brings to the game.

They are a disparate group that however becomes a unified force. With
a mammoth score to chase and last to bat, the Fourths face a
former A-grade demon bowler. A surreal series of events unfolds.

The players summon up the spirits of the legendary batsmen Allan
Border and Rick McCosker and the game goes down to the wire.

This story will warm the heart and reassure locals that the level
of competition is not necessarily a reflection of the passion and
joy of participation. If anything, there may be an inverse relationship.
William McInnes has done it again. The "Kings'' and the book are
winners.