Warwick Armstrong was a big unit. Maybe not during his Australian rules football career but by the time of the 1921 Ashes tour Armstrong's nickname "The Big Ship" was apt. As well as being a large man he was a bigger-than-life personality who has become one of the biggest names in the history of cricket. So, it's about time that Armstrong's biography was produced.

I'm a fan of Haigh's writing in the main, so I'm surprised that "The Big Ship" feels flat throughout. Perhaps relying so much on secondary sources was a problem for Haigh, or that Armstrong just wasn't as interesting as we thought. Still worth a read though. ( )