Ashley Mallett

Clarrie Grimmett is one of the all-time great spin bowlers; all the more amazing considering his late start to regular first-class and international cricket. Add to the fact that Grumm was apparently quite a character means that it is a shame that this biography isn't very interesting.

The author Ashley Mallett is a former Australian spinner himself so has a particularly strong insight into the mind of an Australian spin bowler. He’s also been a journalist and writer of longstanding, so you would expect a well-written book. It’s disappointing therefore to see the resulting book, which doesn’t do the Bradman of spin justice.

For starters there’s an overly long and somewhat tedious section imagining Grimmett bowling to Dean Jones before a potted history of Grimmett with little in the way of incisive examinations into the life of a champion spin bowler (be of Grimmett with little in the way of incisive examinations into the life of a champion spin bowler (beyond the fact that Grimmett bowled with an orange in his backyard) or the level of penmanship expected of a highly experienced author.… (mehr)