Not Out First Ball

Tha Art of Being Beaten in Beautiful Places. A delightful and witty book that is also a love letter to cricket, through the story of an accidental club that has lasted 25 years and 263 matches longer than it ever meant to. We can't all be sporting heroes. Most of us lost out in life's sporting lottery and have to find whatever virtue we can in effort and incompetence. This is a laugh-out-loud manifesto for anyone who has ever silently sobbed at the sight of their off-stump cartwheeling into the distance, or thrown their bat in disgust on an autumn bonfire. Not only funny but also profound and insightful, it has been long-listed for the MCC Book of the Year 2012.