Ponting: at the Close of Play

Ponting: at the Close of Play
Author: Ricky Ponting
Publisher: HarperSports
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015-01-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780732291839

The number 1 bestseller in paperback. One of the greatest cricketers of all time, Ricky Ponting boasts more records than any other player in Australian history including the most wins as a player and a captain, as well as being Australia's highest run-scorer in test and ODI cricket. From childhood prodigy to the highs and lows of an extraordinary international career, At the Close of Play is the remarkable autobiography of one of the game's greats. But beyond the triumphs and scandals, records and retirement, this is the story of a life lived in cricket and of a life shaped by extraordinary talent and the people who believed in that talent.

KP: The Autobiography

KP: The Autobiography
Author: Kevin Pietersen
Publisher: Sphere
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2014-10-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0751557560

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Outrageous, audacious, jaw-dropping' SUNDAY TIMES 'An essential read' DAILY MAIL 'Utterly captivating' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Hugely entertaining' GUARDIAN The fascinating life story of professional cricketer Kevin Pietersen, MBE, from his childhood in South Africa to his experiences as one of the leading lights in the world of international cricket. Kevin was dropped from the England squad in February 2014, seemingly calling time on an international career that began nearly ten years earlier. The decision puzzled many observers - although the England team had failed miserably in the Ashes tour of 2013-14, Kevin was the tourists' leading run scorer across the series, and he remains the country's highest run scorer of all time across all formats of the game. Kevin reveals all in his autobiography, telling the stories behind the many other highs and lows of his incredible career. Giving readers the full story of his life, from his childhood in South Africa to his experiences as one of the leading lights in the world of international cricket, KP is an autobiography that entertains and fascinates readers in equal measure.

Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke
Author: Michael Clarke
Publisher: Macmillan Publishers Aus.
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2016-10-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1925483819

He was the greatest batsman of his generation and, as captain, possessed the sharpest tactical mind in the game. Bursting onto the scene in 2004 with a Test century on debut, Michael Clarke was Australian cricket's golden boy. And the batting prodigy they nicknamed 'Pup' certainly fulfilled his destiny in a stellar 11-year international career of 115 Tests, 8643 runs and 28 centuries. Clarke's rollercoaster four-year reign as Test captain was marked as much by bravery as brilliance - a 5-0 whitewash of England in 2013-14, the 2015 World Cup triumph, and a ten-hour unbeaten 161, batting with a broken shoulder to lead Australia back to the #1 world ranking in 2014. Yet Michael Clarke also sparked fiercer debate than any other Australian sports star. For a decade his personal life, career fortunes and controversies - real or imagined - were splashed across front pages and scrutinised. Was he simply a hard-working, western suburbs kid living every Aussie boy's dream? Or a 21st century cricketer mired in all the trappings of celebrity? In the echo chamber of social media, the truth about Michael Clarke was warped, then lost. Clarke's enigma deepened but he kept his mouth shut and his dignity intact, knowing the chance to tell his extraordinary story would finally come. And now it has. My Story is the real Michael Clarke, standing up and speaking out for the first time. Bucking the conventions of traditional biography to go hard at the big issues, Clarke speaks fearlessly and poignantly about the scandals, rumours and explosive moments of his life; revealing the amazing truths, private pain and personal triumphs that no one realised. It's the incredible story of a remarkable Australian you never really knew. Until now.

Six Machine

Six Machine
Author: Chris Gayle
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2016-06-02
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0241256356

'If the ball's there, hit it. Don't worry about what might happen. Play for the glory. Play for the six' Chris Gayle is the only man to have ever hit a six off the first ball of a Test match. But then producing the impossible is an everyday act for the West Indies legend: the first man to smash an international T20 century, the first to hit a World Cup 200, the fastest century in the history of the game. He has hit twice as many T20 sixes as any other man and scored two Test triple centuries. All this is delivered with cricket's biggest bat and an even bigger smile. Off the pitch, millions follow him on Instagram and Twitter to catch a glimpse of a globe-trotting life spent in nightclubs as much as nets, hot-tubs as often as helmets and pads. He plays late, parties later, demolishes a king-size pile of pancakes and then strolls out to mangle another hapless bowling attack. But do we really know him? Do we know what took a shy, skinny kid from a cramped tin-roofed shack in the dusty back streets of Kingston, sharing a bed with three brothers and stealing empty bottles to buy food, to the very top of the cricket world - without losing himself along the way? Outrageous and utterly original, this unputdowneable memoir will leave you reeling. Welcome to the world of the Six Machine.

A Century Is Not Enough

A Century Is Not Enough
Author: Saurav Ganguly
Publisher: Juggernaut Books
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2018-02-24
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9386228564

A sporting classic and a manual for livingSourav Ganguly life has been full of highs and lows.Arguably India greatest cricket captain, he gave confidence to the team,reenergized them and took India,for the first time, to spectacular overseas victories.But Ganguly story also came with great challenges from his early days where he had to wait four long years beforebeing included in the team to the ugly battle with the Australian coach Greg Chappell. He fought his way out of every corner and climbed back up from every defeat, becoming India ultimate comeback king. What does it take to perform when the pressure is skyhigh? How do you fight back and win? How do you make a name for yourself when you are young and have started the journey which is closest to your heart? As Sourav takes you through his life, he looks at how to overcome challenges and come out a winner. Time and time again.

The Meaning of Cricket

The Meaning of Cricket
Author: Jon Hotten
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2016-07-07
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1473522390

Cricket is a strange game. It is a team sport that is almost entirely dependent on individual performance. Its combination of time, opportunity and the constant threat of disaster can drive its participants to despair. To survive a single delivery propelled at almost 100 miles an hour takes the body and brain to the edges of their capabilities, yet its abiding image is of the gentle village green, and the glorious absurdities of the amateur game. In The Meaning of Cricket, Jon Hotten attempts to understand this fascinating, frustrating and complex sport. Blending legendary players, from Vivian Richards to Mark Ramprakash, Kevin Pietersen to Ricky Ponting, with his own cricketing story, he explores the funny, moving and melancholic impact the game can have on an individual life.

Captain's Diary

Captain's Diary
Author: Michael Clarke
Publisher: Macmillan Publishers Aus.
Total Pages: 175
Release: 2014-11-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1743518390

After a three year losing streak in the Ashes, complete with a painfully recent 3-0 loss in England, facing the victorious English cricket team so soon was never going to be an easy battle. The public's faith in the young Australian team was waning. Despite their failures, captain Michael Clarke records in his diary a feeling of hunger in his team: a hunger to strike back, a hunger to prove their talent to the world. A hunger to return the urn. Michael Clarke led his team to an Ashes victory at home in a 5-0 triumph over the 2013-14 summer. Along the way, the tide of public affection turned in his favour for the first time. Clarke had previously been respected for his deeds as a batsman, but had not truly won the hearts of sports fans. This Ashes series changed that. Clarke showed the grit, talent, charisma and aggression Australian sports fans look for in their leaders. Revealing and insightful, Clarke once again puts his unique mark on the sport, giving us his account of how he rallied both the team and public behind him to bring the urn home.

Controversially Yours

Controversially Yours
Author: Anshu Dogra
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2011-09-16
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9350292955

A tell-all book on and by Pakistan cricket's fastest and most controversial bowlerOne of the most talented and certainly one of the most colourful players in the history of cricket, Shoaib Akhtar holds the record for the fastest delivery ever, clocking in at 11.2 mph. Having taken more than 400 wickets in his international career, Shoaib has seen it all-the best matches, the most exciting tournaments, the highs and lows of personal achievement and failure. Controversially Yours is his take on the game, on his peers, on the fraught tussles between bowlers and batsmen and, of course, the institutions that control the sport, including the ICC and the Pakistan Cricket Board. From the early days of struggle to the 2011 World Cup, this is Shoaib's story in his own words, straight from the heart.

Standing My Ground

Standing My Ground
Author: Matthew Hayden
Publisher: Penguin Group Australia
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2010-10-12
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1742531342

Matthew Hayden was one of the most commanding batsmen the game has ever seen - and one of its great enigmas. A religious man and a ruthless on-field sledger. A brutal enforcer, and a soft-hearted family man. Australian record-holder for highest score in Tests and One Day Internationals, who was at times troubled by self-doubt and doubters. In Standing My Ground Hayden confronts these contradictions head-on. He talks frankly about the forces that shaped his journey from fringe international to a giant of the game, and takes us on a privileged tour inside the sporting machine that dominated all comers in a golden age of Australian cricket. This isn't a predictable ball-by-ball account of a stellar career. Instead, Hayden delivers a characteristically direct assessment of the matches and the people that mattered most. He opens up on umpires, the media, superstitions, teammates and opponents with disarming honesty and humour. The country boy from Kingaroy rose to greatness in the cricket world. Here is the superstar batsman, the surfer, fisherman and chef in a book as bold and powerful as the man himself.

On Warne

On Warne
Author: Gideon Haigh
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2012-10-25
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1471101126

'A superb portrait of the most brilliant cricketer of his generation' Mike Atherton Shane Warne dominated cricket on the field and off for almost thirty years - his skill, his fame, his personality, his misadventures. His death in March 2002 rocked Australians, even those who could not tell a leg-break from a leg-pull. But what was it like to watch Warne at his long peak, the man of a thousands international wickets, the incarnation of Aussie audacity and cheek? Gideon Haigh saw it all, still can't quite believe it, but wanted to find a way to explain it. In this classic appreciation of Australia's cricket's greatest figure, who doubled as the nation's best-known man, Haigh relieves the highs, the lows, the fun and the follies. The result is a new way of looking at Warne, at sport and at Australia. 'Bloody brilliant... As good as anything I have read on the game' Guardian Winner of The Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year