“Any decent cricket fan will know of Dickie Bird and his name shall be always associated with good umpiring. Well-respected by players, media and spectators for his umpiring and management skills and loved for his eccentricities. His autobiography is not one for controversies or mud-slinging. This is a very pleasant read compared to the great many boastful, score-settling ones that are cropping up now. The book has more authority as it is from one who has seen the game first-hand for more than 30 years. With every player having a couple of successful years at the top writing an autobiography now a days, this is a much better read.
Bird was known for his stories and humour. He doesn't disappoint the reader on both the counts. The anecdotes of his own as well as of others are one of the highlights of the book. The book testifies that not for nothing was Bird known as a 'raconteur'.
The book has good words for many and bad word for none. His love for the game is conspicous in the pages of the book. It would be better if certain passages are read by moder-day umpires struggling to come to terms with sledging and aggressive appealing in the game. The important passages are his accounts on how he stood up against intimidatory bowling and his management of the difficult characters. He is absolutely right when he says that the most important thing for umpires is to earn the respect of players. This view is even more important in light of the recent india-aus sydney test. Umpires with bloated egos need to read the book. Listening, Steve Bucknor ?
His opinions on the game are more orthodox but sensible. His criticism on modern-day training is interesting as currently there is hardly any clarity on why there are more injuries in this age than before. His opinions on ODIs will find appreciation from all true lovers of the game. Wonder, how he would react to T20. The photos and he wry-humoured comments also add to the pleasure of reading the book.
There are a few things that did not please me. His overt royalism was one. The other was yorkshire chauvinism appearing more than necessary. This was a bit reminding of glorification of Mumbai cricket in "Sunny Days". Another bad trait of older auto-biographies sticks to him also. The one of glorification of all and sundry that hs ever bowled or batted. I would expect him to name his contemporaries ahead of modern-day greats in his book. That is fair and not surprising. But his accounts of players on county circuit would make you believe that there were Michael Hussey's all over the place. There were abundant world-class english players failing to make it to the international stage as the men at the top where greater. This is what some parts of the book would like you to believe. Well, I am no Ian chappell to trash the english cricket. But still, they weren't the best team of the age or near to the top ? Atleast statistics say so. And for modern-day controversy-loving media, the lack of excerpts criticising a player or someone might be a put-off.
Apart from these glitches, the book is a very fine read. All the more readable for the author's love for the game and modesty. Go for this if you are a cricket anecdote lover and interested a bit in older days of the game. ”
dyogesh wrote this review Friday, October 30, 2009.
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