Bent Arms & Dodgy Wickets by Tim Quelch

106 in stock

241mm x 152mm x 25mm

Pages: 304

In 1953 England became the unofficial world champions. Len Huttons victory at the Oval in that coronation year heralded an apparently golden age in Englands Test match history. There were many heroic performances not only from the immaculate Len Hutton and the dashing Denis Compton but there were controversies, too. Some bowlers were thought to throw, but little was done, culminating in a chucking debacle during the disastrous 1958-59 Ashes series. Some pitches were dodgy, too; in a time of uncovered wickets this was not only because of the weather. There were turgid run rates to bear. Safety first seemed the name of the game. So was snobbery, dulling English crickets competitive edge. The title, Bent Arms refers also to the petty constraints that its test players endured while Dodgy Wickets reflects the political sensitivities associated with being Imperial ambassadors. When Andrew Strausss team seized the world title in the summer of 2011 they finally recovered what had been lost at the Adelaide Oval in 1959. This tale of the preceding triumph and loss is recounted through the memoirs of those who took part - both for and against England. It is set against a backdrop of a declining British Empire, the institution that had helped spread the game, fostering also a complacent attitude about enduring British supremacy.