The Wit of Cricket., 07 Dec 2007
An Audio Book which I have enjoyed listening to over and over again. Makes the day a whole lot better. Not offensive in the slightest way.

Bowled over !!, 08 Oct 2007
This audio collection has had an entire car full of people roaring with laughter.It crosses all genders and age groups (youngest 9, eldest 68) and leaves everyone feeling much happier with life than before without offending anybody. I have already pre-ordered the "Wit of cricket 2". Excellent fayre!!

Wit in a plenty, 16 Jan 2006
Absolutely brilliant. I have listened to this 3 times now in the space of 2 days and am still laughing at some of the stories.

The Wit of Cricket., 07 Dec 2007
An Audio Book which I have enjoyed listening to over and over again. Makes the day a whole lot better. Not offensive in the slightest way.

Bowled over !!, 08 Oct 2007
This audio collection has had an entire car full of people roaring with laughter.It crosses all genders and age groups (youngest 9, eldest 68) and leaves everyone feeling much happier with life than before without offending anybody. I have already pre-ordered the "Wit of cricket 2". Excellent fayre!!

Wit in a plenty, 16 Jan 2006
Absolutely brilliant. I have listened to this 3 times now in the space of 2 days and am still laughing at some of the stories.

An Evening with Dickie without having to leave home., 15 Apr 2004
Dickie Bird has always been regarded as one of cricket's great characters. When listening to this tape it is possible to see why he is held in such a high regard. Dickie talks of his experiences as player and an umpire. Some of the greastet names are discussed by Dickie and his encounters with them.
This audiobook is Dickie at his best telling some of his funniest anecdotes.

The Wit of Cricket., 07 Dec 2007
An Audio Book which I have enjoyed listening to over and over again. Makes the day a whole lot better. Not offensive in the slightest way.

Bowled over !!, 08 Oct 2007
This audio collection has had an entire car full of people roaring with laughter.It crosses all genders and age groups (youngest 9, eldest 68) and leaves everyone feeling much happier with life than before without offending anybody. I have already pre-ordered the "Wit of cricket 2". Excellent fayre!!

Wit in a plenty, 16 Jan 2006
Absolutely brilliant. I have listened to this 3 times now in the space of 2 days and am still laughing at some of the stories.

An Evening with Dickie without having to leave home., 15 Apr 2004
Dickie Bird has always been regarded as one of cricket's great characters. When listening to this tape it is possible to see why he is held in such a high regard. Dickie talks of his experiences as player and an umpire. Some of the greastet names are discussed by Dickie and his encounters with them.
This audiobook is Dickie at his best telling some of his funniest anecdotes.

My dear old thing.........., 08 Dec 2007
I really wanted to like this. I found "Wit of Cricket" an absolute delight. So when I saw Vol 2, I had to have it. When I heard it, Oh dear......As John Lennon said, "you can't reheat a souffle". The tracks are a mix of live after dinner speech clips and studio recordings, and for me thats the problem. The studio recordings lack the bite and charm of the live bits, and completely kill the CD for me. This is a real shame, as I really wanted to like this.
As my old school reports sometimes said - Not a bad effort, but must try harder.

The Wit of Cricket., 07 Dec 2007
An Audio Book which I have enjoyed listening to over and over again. Makes the day a whole lot better. Not offensive in the slightest way.

Bowled over !!, 08 Oct 2007
This audio collection has had an entire car full of people roaring with laughter.It crosses all genders and age groups (youngest 9, eldest 68) and leaves everyone feeling much happier with life than before without offending anybody. I have already pre-ordered the "Wit of cricket 2". Excellent fayre!!

Wit in a plenty, 16 Jan 2006
Absolutely brilliant. I have listened to this 3 times now in the space of 2 days and am still laughing at some of the stories.

An Evening with Dickie without having to leave home., 15 Apr 2004
Dickie Bird has always been regarded as one of cricket's great characters. When listening to this tape it is possible to see why he is held in such a high regard. Dickie talks of his experiences as player and an umpire. Some of the greastet names are discussed by Dickie and his encounters with them.
This audiobook is Dickie at his best telling some of his funniest anecdotes.

My dear old thing.........., 08 Dec 2007
I really wanted to like this. I found "Wit of Cricket" an absolute delight. So when I saw Vol 2, I had to have it. When I heard it, Oh dear......As John Lennon said, "you can't reheat a souffle". The tracks are a mix of live after dinner speech clips and studio recordings, and for me thats the problem. The studio recordings lack the bite and charm of the live bits, and completely kill the CD for me. This is a real shame, as I really wanted to like this.
As my old school reports sometimes said - Not a bad effort, but must try harder.

Dead bat, 21 Jul 2008
A dreary non-event. I approached the book expecting riveting anecdotes from an insider and thought-provoking assessment of current cricketing issues. Instead I got - well - nothing. A cynical cash-in on the wave of emotion that accompanied his retirement. After 5 chapters of drivel -Benaud even manages to be dull about Hansie Cronje and chucking - I decided to retire hurt.

Not bowled over, 09 Jun 2007
A mistake to start my reading of Benaud books with this one. Disjointed and with large chunks of reminiscense of little interest to the "younger" cricket lover. I got the feeling that Benaud could write a good biography of one of his fellow players as he obviously has passion for the game and has been there and done it! This book, however, deserves a place on the shelf in the corridor of uncertainty.

Rambling nonsense, 27 Apr 2006
I consider myself a fan of Richie Benaud and take great pleasure over the years in listening to his marvelous commentaries. However, this book came as quite a shock - it rambling nonsense and worse - plain dull.

Also disappointed, 02 Feb 2006
I agree with the majority of other reviews on this one - a deeply disappointing read. I've read most of his previous books but this is the only one that had me counting the pages to the end of the chapter. Much of what I read in this I had read before in his other books - if I had the energy it might even turn out to be an exact copy from them. To some extent Benaud's hallowed tones do come through the written word, but there's far too much emphasis on 1950's NSW teams and how great they were - fine if that's what you want to read about but it has nothing to do with a 'Spin on Cricket' which I hoped would be full of the usual interesting angles on contemporary events. 'My Money-spinner on Cricket' would be closer to the mark. If it were anyone but Benaud I'd have given it 1 star, but some sort of loyalty prevented me.

Some gems but a bit bland, 24 Jan 2006
This audiobook suffers from the fact that it was written prior to the 2005 Ashes series which renders it slightly out of date. Benaud concentrates too much on the distant past of cricket, particularly Australian cricket, so anyone who is both English and born after 1950 is unlikely to find these extracts particularly engrossing. Some of the narrative is of the "that was the finest 8 over spell bowled from the pavilion end at Brisbane under cloud that I can recall" type, which makes it seem like Richie is actually at a live match, not reminicing about one played twenty years ago. The saving grace is Richie's voice: he is truly the vocal embodiment of cricket (with the possible exception of Brian Johnson) it's just a shame that what he has to say is so dull.

The Wit of Cricket., 07 Dec 2007
An Audio Book which I have enjoyed listening to over and over again. Makes the day a whole lot better. Not offensive in the slightest way.

Bowled over !!, 08 Oct 2007
This audio collection has had an entire car full of people roaring with laughter.It crosses all genders and age groups (youngest 9, eldest 68) and leaves everyone feeling much happier with life than before without offending anybody. I have already pre-ordered the "Wit of cricket 2". Excellent fayre!!

Wit in a plenty, 16 Jan 2006
Absolutely brilliant. I have listened to this 3 times now in the space of 2 days and am still laughing at some of the stories.

An Evening with Dickie without having to leave home., 15 Apr 2004
Dickie Bird has always been regarded as one of cricket's great characters. When listening to this tape it is possible to see why he is held in such a high regard. Dickie talks of his experiences as player and an umpire. Some of the greastet names are discussed by Dickie and his encounters with them.
This audiobook is Dickie at his best telling some of his funniest anecdotes.

My dear old thing.........., 08 Dec 2007
I really wanted to like this. I found "Wit of Cricket" an absolute delight. So when I saw Vol 2, I had to have it. When I heard it, Oh dear......As John Lennon said, "you can't reheat a souffle". The tracks are a mix of live after dinner speech clips and studio recordings, and for me thats the problem. The studio recordings lack the bite and charm of the live bits, and completely kill the CD for me. This is a real shame, as I really wanted to like this.
As my old school reports sometimes said - Not a bad effort, but must try harder.

Dead bat, 21 Jul 2008
A dreary non-event. I approached the book expecting riveting anecdotes from an insider and thought-provoking assessment of current cricketing issues. Instead I got - well - nothing. A cynical cash-in on the wave of emotion that accompanied his retirement. After 5 chapters of drivel -Benaud even manages to be dull about Hansie Cronje and chucking - I decided to retire hurt.

Not bowled over, 09 Jun 2007
A mistake to start my reading of Benaud books with this one. Disjointed and with large chunks of reminiscense of little interest to the "younger" cricket lover. I got the feeling that Benaud could write a good biography of one of his fellow players as he obviously has passion for the game and has been there and done it! This book, however, deserves a place on the shelf in the corridor of uncertainty.

Rambling nonsense, 27 Apr 2006
I consider myself a fan of Richie Benaud and take great pleasure over the years in listening to his marvelous commentaries. However, this book came as quite a shock - it rambling nonsense and worse - plain dull.

Also disappointed, 02 Feb 2006
I agree with the majority of other reviews on this one - a deeply disappointing read. I've read most of his previous books but this is the only one that had me counting the pages to the end of the chapter. Much of what I read in this I had read before in his other books - if I had the energy it might even turn out to be an exact copy from them. To some extent Benaud's hallowed tones do come through the written word, but there's far too much emphasis on 1950's NSW teams and how great they were - fine if that's what you want to read about but it has nothing to do with a 'Spin on Cricket' which I hoped would be full of the usual interesting angles on contemporary events. 'My Money-spinner on Cricket' would be closer to the mark. If it were anyone but Benaud I'd have given it 1 star, but some sort of loyalty prevented me.

Some gems but a bit bland, 24 Jan 2006
This audiobook suffers from the fact that it was written prior to the 2005 Ashes series which renders it slightly out of date. Benaud concentrates too much on the distant past of cricket, particularly Australian cricket, so anyone who is both English and born after 1950 is unlikely to find these extracts particularly engrossing. Some of the narrative is of the "that was the finest 8 over spell bowled from the pavilion end at Brisbane under cloud that I can recall" type, which makes it seem like Richie is actually at a live match, not reminicing about one played twenty years ago. The saving grace is Richie's voice: he is truly the vocal embodiment of cricket (with the possible exception of Brian Johnson) it's just a shame that what he has to say is so dull.

Lightweight Autobigraphy, 14 Aug 2007
"Being Freddie" is little more than a series of accounts of Andrew Flintoff's role in various matches he has played since his emergence in the late 1990's as an all rounder in the mould of Ian Botham. There are no great insights or memorable anecdotes in this book from Flintoff, just summaries of his greatest matches and minor detail about his back and ankle injuries and his beery nights out with the lads.We don't get a lot of insight into his family life and upbringing. Andrew Flintoff played a significant role in helping England to some notable Test triumphs which seem to have peaked with 2005's Ashes victory. He is an exciting and talented cricketer (when fit), but this book fails to convey what makes him tick and a rounded portrait of the man fails to emerge.

Very ordinary - huge disapointment, 13 Jul 2007
Dont get me wrong, I'm a great admirer of the man and his cricket but for me this book was nothing more than a catalogue of events with the odd "...we had line a few beers" thrown in. For me it lacked passion and and any real insight as to what really makes Andrew Flintoff tick.

I found myself drifting off reading some of this and confess to flicking through the remaining pages of a chapter to see how much more I had to endure.

It's not great - spend your money on something like 'Fatty Bater' instead.

Dull, 19 Feb 2007
I must confess that this bored me rigid which left me very disappointed as I was really looking forward to it.

Was left with the impression this was cobbled together as an exercise to cash in on the Ashes success (which I fully understand).

I think Freddie comes across as quite boring really.

PRETTY GOOD, 06 Jan 2007
I wasnt sure whether this would be any good but i was quite surprised.it wasnt bad at all.i quite enjoyed this book, it covers his life of cricket in reasonable detail from when he played as a youngster through his club cricket days and his time in the england youth squads to the recent 2005 ashes series.it also contains the people who helped get him to where he is today and he reveals the people who hes good friends with, to the people hes not too keen on, and some of the trouble hes got in along the way.

i thought this book was pretty good and am glad its on my book shelf.

Being Freddie, 29 Oct 2006
This book is fasinating, I just could not put it down. Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff is a great cricketer, and oviously a fantastic aurthor as well! It has an amazing detailded account of his playing days, and how he got into cricket at the highest level. It is great for youngsters who are looking for some inspiration, or the older members of the familey who are just looking for a good read.

The best book I ever read!

The Wit of Cricket., 07 Dec 2007
An Audio Book which I have enjoyed listening to over and over again. Makes the day a whole lot better. Not offensive in the slightest way.

Bowled over !!, 08 Oct 2007
This audio collection has had an entire car full of people roaring with laughter.It crosses all genders and age groups (youngest 9, eldest 68) and leaves everyone feeling much happier with life than before without offending anybody. I have already pre-ordered the "Wit of cricket 2". Excellent fayre!!

Wit in a plenty, 16 Jan 2006
Absolutely brilliant. I have listened to this 3 times now in the space of 2 days and am still laughing at some of the stories.

An Evening with Dickie without having to leave home., 15 Apr 2004
Dickie Bird has always been regarded as one of cricket's great characters. When listening to this tape it is possible to see why he is held in such a high regard. Dickie talks of his experiences as player and an umpire. Some of the greastet names are discussed by Dickie and his encounters with them.
This audiobook is Dickie at his best telling some of his funniest anecdotes.

My dear old thing.........., 08 Dec 2007
I really wanted to like this. I found "Wit of Cricket" an absolute delight. So when I saw Vol 2, I had to have it. When I heard it, Oh dear......As John Lennon said, "you can't reheat a souffle". The tracks are a mix of live after dinner speech clips and studio recordings, and for me thats the problem. The studio recordings lack the bite and charm of the live bits, and completely kill the CD for me. This is a real shame, as I really wanted to like this.
As my old school reports sometimes said - Not a bad effort, but must try harder.

Dead bat, 21 Jul 2008
A dreary non-event. I approached the book expecting riveting anecdotes from an insider and thought-provoking assessment of current cricketing issues. Instead I got - well - nothing. A cynical cash-in on the wave of emotion that accompanied his retirement. After 5 chapters of drivel -Benaud even manages to be dull about Hansie Cronje and chucking - I decided to retire hurt.

Not bowled over, 09 Jun 2007
A mistake to start my reading of Benaud books with this one. Disjointed and with large chunks of reminiscense of little interest to the "younger" cricket lover. I got the feeling that Benaud could write a good biography of one of his fellow players as he obviously has passion for the game and has been there and done it! This book, however, deserves a place on the shelf in the corridor of uncertainty.

Rambling nonsense, 27 Apr 2006
I consider myself a fan of Richie Benaud and take great pleasure over the years in listening to his marvelous commentaries. However, this book came as quite a shock - it rambling nonsense and worse - plain dull.

Also disappointed, 02 Feb 2006
I agree with the majority of other reviews on this one - a deeply disappointing read. I've read most of his previous books but this is the only one that had me counting the pages to the end of the chapter. Much of what I read in this I had read before in his other books - if I had the energy it might even turn out to be an exact copy from them. To some extent Benaud's hallowed tones do come through the written word, but there's far too much emphasis on 1950's NSW teams and how great they were - fine if that's what you want to read about but it has nothing to do with a 'Spin on Cricket' which I hoped would be full of the usual interesting angles on contemporary events. 'My Money-spinner on Cricket' would be closer to the mark. If it were anyone but Benaud I'd have given it 1 star, but some sort of loyalty prevented me.

Some gems but a bit bland, 24 Jan 2006
This audiobook suffers from the fact that it was written prior to the 2005 Ashes series which renders it slightly out of date. Benaud concentrates too much on the distant past of cricket, particularly Australian cricket, so anyone who is both English and born after 1950 is unlikely to find these extracts particularly engrossing. Some of the narrative is of the "that was the finest 8 over spell bowled from the pavilion end at Brisbane under cloud that I can recall" type, which makes it seem like Richie is actually at a live match, not reminicing about one played twenty years ago. The saving grace is Richie's voice: he is truly the vocal embodiment of cricket (with the possible exception of Brian Johnson) it's just a shame that what he has to say is so dull.

Lightweight Autobigraphy, 14 Aug 2007
"Being Freddie" is little more than a series of accounts of Andrew Flintoff's role in various matches he has played since his emergence in the late 1990's as an all rounder in the mould of Ian Botham. There are no great insights or memorable anecdotes in this book from Flintoff, just summaries of his greatest matches and minor detail about his back and ankle injuries and his beery nights out with the lads.We don't get a lot of insight into his family life and upbringing. Andrew Flintoff played a significant role in helping England to some notable Test triumphs which seem to have peaked with 2005's Ashes victory. He is an exciting and talented cricketer (when fit), but this book fails to convey what makes him tick and a rounded portrait of the man fails to emerge.

Very ordinary - huge disapointment, 13 Jul 2007
Dont get me wrong, I'm a great admirer of the man and his cricket but for me this book was nothing more than a catalogue of events with the odd "...we had line a few beers" thrown in. For me it lacked passion and and any real insight as to what really makes Andrew Flintoff tick.

I found myself drifting off reading some of this and confess to flicking through the remaining pages of a chapter to see how much more I had to endure.

It's not great - spend your money on something like 'Fatty Bater' instead.

Dull, 19 Feb 2007
I must confess that this bored me rigid which left me very disappointed as I was really looking forward to it.

Was left with the impression this was cobbled together as an exercise to cash in on the Ashes success (which I fully understand).

I think Freddie comes across as quite boring really.

PRETTY GOOD, 06 Jan 2007
I wasnt sure whether this would be any good but i was quite surprised.it wasnt bad at all.i quite enjoyed this book, it covers his life of cricket in reasonable detail from when he played as a youngster through his club cricket days and his time in the england youth squads to the recent 2005 ashes series.it also contains the people who helped get him to where he is today and he reveals the people who hes good friends with, to the people hes not too keen on, and some of the trouble hes got in along the way.

i thought this book was pretty good and am glad its on my book shelf.

Being Freddie, 29 Oct 2006
This book is fasinating, I just could not put it down. Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff is a great cricketer, and oviously a fantastic aurthor as well! It has an amazing detailded account of his playing days, and how he got into cricket at the highest level. It is great for youngsters who are looking for some inspiration, or the older members of the familey who are just looking for a good read.

The best book I ever read!

Disappointing..., 12 Jan 2004
Having very much enjoyed An Evening With Blowers, I found this book a let down. It didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, and had some errors that will make cricket buffs scream. (Gooch was recalled to England colours in 1978 not 1979; Tony Greig could not have alerted Brearley to Lillee's Aluminium bat as he was commentating, and the action happened mid session; Glenn McGrath is shown on the back cover, but doesn't qualify for a chapter in his own right; and worst of all, the book blithely assumes Steve Wuagh retired after the Ashes last year.) I'd expect a book by such an illustrious character to better researched and/or proof read.

The Wit of Cricket., 07 Dec 2007
An Audio Book which I have enjoyed listening to over and over again. Makes the day a whole lot better. Not offensive in the slightest way.

Bowled over !!, 08 Oct 2007
This audio collection has had an entire car full of people roaring with laughter.It crosses all genders and age groups (youngest 9, eldest 68) and leaves everyone feeling much happier with life than before without offending anybody. I have already pre-ordered the "Wit of cricket 2". Excellent fayre!!

Wit in a plenty, 16 Jan 2006
Absolutely brilliant. I have listened to this 3 times now in the space of 2 days and am still laughing at some of the stories.

An Evening with Dickie without having to leave home., 15 Apr 2004
Dickie Bird has always been regarded as one of cricket's great characters. When listening to this tape it is possible to see why he is held in such a high regard. Dickie talks of his experiences as player and an umpire. Some of the greastet names are discussed by Dickie and his encounters with them.
This audiobook is Dickie at his best telling some of his funniest anecdotes.

My dear old thing.........., 08 Dec 2007
I really wanted to like this. I found "Wit of Cricket" an absolute delight. So when I saw Vol 2, I had to have it. When I heard it, Oh dear......As John Lennon said, "you can't reheat a souffle". The tracks are a mix of live after dinner speech clips and studio recordings, and for me thats the problem. The studio recordings lack the bite and charm of the live bits, and completely kill the CD for me. This is a real shame, as I really wanted to like this.
As my old school reports sometimes said - Not a bad effort, but must try harder.

Dead bat, 21 Jul 2008
A dreary non-event. I approached the book expecting riveting anecdotes from an insider and thought-provoking assessment of current cricketing issues. Instead I got - well - nothing. A cynical cash-in on the wave of emotion that accompanied his retirement. After 5 chapters of drivel -Benaud even manages to be dull about Hansie Cronje and chucking - I decided to retire hurt.

Not bowled over, 09 Jun 2007
A mistake to start my reading of Benaud books with this one. Disjointed and with large chunks of reminiscense of little interest to the "younger" cricket lover. I got the feeling that Benaud could write a good biography of one of his fellow players as he obviously has passion for the game and has been there and done it! This book, however, deserves a place on the shelf in the corridor of uncertainty.

Rambling nonsense, 27 Apr 2006
I consider myself a fan of Richie Benaud and take great pleasure over the years in listening to his marvelous commentaries. However, this book came as quite a shock - it rambling nonsense and worse - plain dull.

Also disappointed, 02 Feb 2006
I agree with the majority of other reviews on this one - a deeply disappointing read. I've read most of his previous books but this is the only one that had me counting the pages to the end of the chapter. Much of what I read in this I had read before in his other books - if I had the energy it might even turn out to be an exact copy from them. To some extent Benaud's hallowed tones do come through the written word, but there's far too much emphasis on 1950's NSW teams and how great they were - fine if that's what you want to read about but it has nothing to do with a 'Spin on Cricket' which I hoped would be full of the usual interesting angles on contemporary events. 'My Money-spinner on Cricket' would be closer to the mark. If it were anyone but Benaud I'd have given it 1 star, but some sort of loyalty prevented me.

Some gems but a bit bland, 24 Jan 2006
This audiobook suffers from the fact that it was written prior to the 2005 Ashes series which renders it slightly out of date. Benaud concentrates too much on the distant past of cricket, particularly Australian cricket, so anyone who is both English and born after 1950 is unlikely to find these extracts particularly engrossing. Some of the narrative is of the "that was the finest 8 over spell bowled from the pavilion end at Brisbane under cloud that I can recall" type, which makes it seem like Richie is actually at a live match, not reminicing about one played twenty years ago. The saving grace is Richie's voice: he is truly the vocal embodiment of cricket (with the possible exception of Brian Johnson) it's just a shame that what he has to say is so dull.

Lightweight Autobigraphy, 14 Aug 2007
"Being Freddie" is little more than a series of accounts of Andrew Flintoff's role in various matches he has played since his emergence in the late 1990's as an all rounder in the mould of Ian Botham. There are no great insights or memorable anecdotes in this book from Flintoff, just summaries of his greatest matches and minor detail about his back and ankle injuries and his beery nights out with the lads.We don't get a lot of insight into his family life and upbringing. Andrew Flintoff played a significant role in helping England to some notable Test triumphs which seem to have peaked with 2005's Ashes victory. He is an exciting and talented cricketer (when fit), but this book fails to convey what makes him tick and a rounded portrait of the man fails to emerge.

Very ordinary - huge disapointment, 13 Jul 2007
Dont get me wrong, I'm a great admirer of the man and his cricket but for me this book was nothing more than a catalogue of events with the odd "...we had line a few beers" thrown in. For me it lacked passion and and any real insight as to what really makes Andrew Flintoff tick.

I found myself drifting off reading some of this and confess to flicking through the remaining pages of a chapter to see how much more I had to endure.

It's not great - spend your money on something like 'Fatty Bater' instead.

Dull, 19 Feb 2007
I must confess that this bored me rigid which left me very disappointed as I was really looking forward to it.

Was left with the impression this was cobbled together as an exercise to cash in on the Ashes success (which I fully understand).

I think Freddie comes across as quite boring really.

PRETTY GOOD, 06 Jan 2007
I wasnt sure whether this would be any good but i was quite surprised.it wasnt bad at all.i quite enjoyed this book, it covers his life of cricket in reasonable detail from when he played as a youngster through his club cricket days and his time in the england youth squads to the recent 2005 ashes series.it also contains the people who helped get him to where he is today and he reveals the people who hes good friends with, to the people hes not too keen on, and some of the trouble hes got in along the way.

i thought this book was pretty good and am glad its on my book shelf.

Being Freddie, 29 Oct 2006
This book is fasinating, I just could not put it down. Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff is a great cricketer, and oviously a fantastic aurthor as well! It has an amazing detailded account of his playing days, and how he got into cricket at the highest level. It is great for youngsters who are looking for some inspiration, or the older members of the familey who are just looking for a good read.

The best book I ever read!

Disappointing..., 12 Jan 2004
Having very much enjoyed An Evening With Blowers, I found this book a let down. It didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, and had some errors that will make cricket buffs scream. (Gooch was recalled to England colours in 1978 not 1979; Tony Greig could not have alerted Brearley to Lillee's Aluminium bat as he was commentating, and the action happened mid session; Glenn McGrath is shown on the back cover, but doesn't qualify for a chapter in his own right; and worst of all, the book blithely assumes Steve Wuagh retired after the Ashes last year.) I'd expect a book by such an illustrious character to better researched and/or proof read.

Audiotastic!!, 23 Mar 2007
This audio book is fantastic, its easy to listen to and full of great advice and tips that really work.Very professional and well put together. Its ideal to listen to prior to a match and to learn new mental skills alongside nlp techniques. I reccommend this book to anyone, and the paperback version is brilliant to.

Stephen, Manchester

Booktastic and audiofabulous, 07 Mar 2007
Welcome to 'tennis is mental too' a great book offering sound tips and proven advice in the form of audio and paperback. This book is for all tennis players, parenst and coaches to help improve and work on the psychology of tennis. The book also offers many NLP skills and techniques to give you the mental edge. Get a head of the game today.

You can also buy this book on audio.

Stephen Renwick
Auhtor

The Wit of Cricket., 07 Dec 2007
An Audio Book which I have enjoyed listening to over and over again. Makes the day a whole lot better. Not offensive in the slightest way.

Bowled over !!, 08 Oct 2007
This audio collection has had an entire car full of people roaring with laughter.It crosses all genders and age groups (youngest 9, eldest 68) and leaves everyone feeling much happier with life than before without offending anybody. I have already pre-ordered the "Wit of cricket 2". Excellent fayre!!

Wit in a plenty, 16 Jan 2006
Absolutely brilliant. I have listened to this 3 times now in the space of 2 days and am still laughing at some of the stories.

An Evening with Dickie without having to leave home., 15 Apr 2004
Dickie Bird has always been regarded as one of cricket's great characters. When listening to this tape it is possible to see why he is held in such a high regard. Dickie talks of his experiences as player and an umpire. Some of the greastet names are discussed by Dickie and his encounters with them.
This audiobook is Dickie at his best telling some of his funniest anecdotes.

My dear old thing.........., 08 Dec 2007
I really wanted to like this. I found "Wit of Cricket" an absolute delight. So when I saw Vol 2, I had to have it. When I heard it, Oh dear......As John Lennon said, "you can't reheat a souffle". The tracks are a mix of live after dinner speech clips and studio recordings, and for me thats the problem. The studio recordings lack the bite and charm of the live bits, and completely kill the CD for me. This is a real shame, as I really wanted to like this.
As my old school reports sometimes said - Not a bad effort, but must try harder.

Dead bat, 21 Jul 2008
A dreary non-event. I approached the book expecting riveting anecdotes from an insider and thought-provoking assessment of current cricketing issues. Instead I got - well - nothing. A cynical cash-in on the wave of emotion that accompanied his retirement. After 5 chapters of drivel -Benaud even manages to be dull about Hansie Cronje and chucking - I decided to retire hurt.

Not bowled over, 09 Jun 2007
A mistake to start my reading of Benaud books with this one. Disjointed and with large chunks of reminiscense of little interest to the "younger" cricket lover. I got the feeling that Benaud could write a good biography of one of his fellow players as he obviously has passion for the game and has been there and done it! This book, however, deserves a place on the shelf in the corridor of uncertainty.

Rambling nonsense, 27 Apr 2006
I consider myself a fan of Richie Benaud and take great pleasure over the years in listening to his marvelous commentaries. However, this book came as quite a shock - it rambling nonsense and worse - plain dull.

Also disappointed, 02 Feb 2006
I agree with the majority of other reviews on this one - a deeply disappointing read. I've read most of his previous books but this is the only one that had me counting the pages to the end of the chapter. Much of what I read in this I had read before in his other books - if I had the energy it might even turn out to be an exact copy from them. To some extent Benaud's hallowed tones do come through the written word, but there's far too much emphasis on 1950's NSW teams and how great they were - fine if that's what you want to read about but it has nothing to do with a 'Spin on Cricket' which I hoped would be full of the usual interesting angles on contemporary events. 'My Money-spinner on Cricket' would be closer to the mark. If it were anyone but Benaud I'd have given it 1 star, but some sort of loyalty prevented me.

Some gems but a bit bland, 24 Jan 2006
This audiobook suffers from the fact that it was written prior to the 2005 Ashes series which renders it slightly out of date. Benaud concentrates too much on the distant past of cricket, particularly Australian cricket, so anyone who is both English and born after 1950 is unlikely to find these extracts particularly engrossing. Some of the narrative is of the "that was the finest 8 over spell bowled from the pavilion end at Brisbane under cloud that I can recall" type, which makes it seem like Richie is actually at a live match, not reminicing about one played twenty years ago. The saving grace is Richie's voice: he is truly the vocal embodiment of cricket (with the possible exception of Brian Johnson) it's just a shame that what he has to say is so dull.

Lightweight Autobigraphy, 14 Aug 2007
"Being Freddie" is little more than a series of accounts of Andrew Flintoff's role in various matches he has played since his emergence in the late 1990's as an all rounder in the mould of Ian Botham. There are no great insights or memorable anecdotes in this book from Flintoff, just summaries of his greatest matches and minor detail about his back and ankle injuries and his beery nights out with the lads.We don't get a lot of insight into his family life and upbringing. Andrew Flintoff played a significant role in helping England to some notable Test triumphs which seem to have peaked with 2005's Ashes victory. He is an exciting and talented cricketer (when fit), but this book fails to convey what makes him tick and a rounded portrait of the man fails to emerge.

Very ordinary - huge disapointment, 13 Jul 2007
Dont get me wrong, I'm a great admirer of the man and his cricket but for me this book was nothing more than a catalogue of events with the odd "...we had line a few beers" thrown in. For me it lacked passion and and any real insight as to what really makes Andrew Flintoff tick.

I found myself drifting off reading some of this and confess to flicking through the remaining pages of a chapter to see how much more I had to endure.

It's not great - spend your money on something like 'Fatty Bater' instead.

Dull, 19 Feb 2007
I must confess that this bored me rigid which left me very disappointed as I was really looking forward to it.

Was left with the impression this was cobbled together as an exercise to cash in on the Ashes success (which I fully understand).

I think Freddie comes across as quite boring really.

PRETTY GOOD, 06 Jan 2007
I wasnt sure whether this would be any good but i was quite surprised.it wasnt bad at all.i quite enjoyed this book, it covers his life of cricket in reasonable detail from when he played as a youngster through his club cricket days and his time in the england youth squads to the recent 2005 ashes series.it also contains the people who helped get him to where he is today and he reveals the people who hes good friends with, to the people hes not too keen on, and some of the trouble hes got in along the way.

i thought this book was pretty good and am glad its on my book shelf.

Being Freddie, 29 Oct 2006
This book is fasinating, I just could not put it down. Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff is a great cricketer, and oviously a fantastic aurthor as well! It has an amazing detailded account of his playing days, and how he got into cricket at the highest level. It is great for youngsters who are looking for some inspiration, or the older members of the familey who are just looking for a good read.

The best book I ever read!

Disappointing..., 12 Jan 2004
Having very much enjoyed An Evening With Blowers, I found this book a let down. It didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, and had some errors that will make cricket buffs scream. (Gooch was recalled to England colours in 1978 not 1979; Tony Greig could not have alerted Brearley to Lillee's Aluminium bat as he was commentating, and the action happened mid session; Glenn McGrath is shown on the back cover, but doesn't qualify for a chapter in his own right; and worst of all, the book blithely assumes Steve Wuagh retired after the Ashes last year.) I'd expect a book by such an illustrious character to better researched and/or proof read.

Audiotastic!!, 23 Mar 2007
This audio book is fantastic, its easy to listen to and full of great advice and tips that really work.Very professional and well put together. Its ideal to listen to prior to a match and to learn new mental skills alongside nlp techniques. I reccommend this book to anyone, and the paperback version is brilliant to.

Stephen, Manchester

Booktastic and audiofabulous, 07 Mar 2007
Welcome to 'tennis is mental too' a great book offering sound tips and proven advice in the form of audio and paperback. This book is for all tennis players, parenst and coaches to help improve and work on the psychology of tennis. The book also offers many NLP skills and techniques to give you the mental edge. Get a head of the game today.

You can also buy this book on audio.

Stephen Renwick
Auhtor

Very Poor and Boring , 28 Apr 2006
I admit I never finished this. It was so poor I couldn't stand any more of the anecdotes. It was about as much fun as a duodenal ulcer. If you find "I went to Ilkestone one day. It was so windy my hat blew off" (read in a dour Yorkshire accent) at all funny, then you will probably enjoy the book. For the rest - avoid like the plague.

A travelogue of the cricket grounds of England and beyond, 26 Nov 2001
White Cap and Bails follows a different format from Dickie Bird's autobiography. Rather than being a chronology, it is a sort of travelogue, with a chapter devoted to each county followed by similar content regarding international grounds.

For each county, Bird gives his best anecdotes about the club, its grounds, and his personal experience with it, both as a player and an umpire.

I think the international section is a bit unneccesary, as it does not go into anywhere near the depth of the rest of the book. That would be better suited for another Dickie Bird release.

The most remarkable thing about White Cap and Bails is that, for the most part, it avoids repeating the same information from Dickie Bird: My Autobiography.

I reccomend this book to anybody who loves cricket.

A superficial, glib rehash of old stories., 10 Jan 2001
I admire Dickie Bird as an umpire and have memories of seeing him as a batsman for Yorkshire, and very promising he was too. I still see him nowadays when he visits Scarborough cricket club for Yorkshire matches, and he is a deservedly popular figure. However, this book is a grave disappointment. It is a highly superficial skim through the first class counties and major test playing countries, purporting to be Dickie's memories, but more often than not rehashing old stories of cricketers of the distant past. These can be found in other publications, and those that can't are not worth repeating anyway. Some of the stories are so thin and lacking interest you wonder how they could be included in a supposedly serious book. This reads like a publisher's attempt to milk Dickie's popularity, by throwing together a book of slender content, with nothing new to offer a cricket fan. It is not a worthy tribute to Dickie and it is a shame it bears his name. Avoid this one.

Amusing anecdotes of county and country cricketers, 05 Jan 2001
Dickie (with the help of a quite a few friends with long memories) details each individual county, recalling many of the characters through his own first-hand experiences and those of others. All the past greats of cricket are mentioned, each with their seemingly own personalised tale from a career that spanned many decades and even more countries. Umpires too are not excluded and are proven to be human after all! He also recalls many overseas players representing counties, and eventually goes on to reminisce his memories of all the current Test playing countries, players and places he has visited. For all the statistitions amongst us, there is contained general information precluding to all the county and country playing cricket teams. On the whole an easy to read book with plenty to keep the enthusiast entertained.

The Wit of Cricket., 07 Dec 2007
An Audio Book which I have enjoyed listening to over and over again. Makes the day a whole lot better. Not offensive in the slightest way.

Bowled over !!, 08 Oct 2007
This audio collection has had an entire car full of people roaring with laughter.It crosses all genders and age groups (youngest 9, eldest 68) and leaves everyone feeling much happier with life than before without offending anybody. I have already pre-ordered the "Wit of cricket 2". Excellent fayre!!

Wit in a plenty, 16 Jan 2006
Absolutely brilliant. I have listened to this 3 times now in the space of 2 days and am still laughing at some of the stories.

An Evening with Dickie without having to leave home., 15 Apr 2004
Dickie Bird has always been regarded as one of cricket's great characters. When listening to this tape it is possible to see why he is held in such a high regard. Dickie talks of his experiences as player and an umpire. Some of the greastet names are discussed by Dickie and his encounters with them.
This audiobook is Dickie at his best telling some of his funniest anecdotes.

My dear old thing.........., 08 Dec 2007
I really wanted to like this. I found "Wit of Cricket" an absolute delight. So when I saw Vol 2, I had to have it. When I heard it, Oh dear......As John Lennon said, "you can't reheat a souffle". The tracks are a mix of live after dinner speech clips and studio recordings, and for me thats the problem. The studio recordings lack the bite and charm of the live bits, and completely kill the CD for me. This is a real shame, as I really wanted to like this.
As my old school reports sometimes said - Not a bad effort, but must try harder.

Dead bat, 21 Jul 2008
A dreary non-event. I approached the book expecting riveting anecdotes from an insider and thought-provoking assessment of current cricketing issues. Instead I got - well - nothing. A cynical cash-in on the wave of emotion that accompanied his retirement. After 5 chapters of drivel -Benaud even manages to be dull about Hansie Cronje and chucking - I decided to retire hurt.

Not bowled over, 09 Jun 2007
A mistake to start my reading of Benaud books with this one. Disjointed and with large chunks of reminiscense of little interest to the "younger" cricket lover. I got the feeling that Benaud could write a good biography of one of his fellow players as he obviously has passion for the game and has been there and done it! This book, however, deserves a place on the shelf in the corridor of uncertainty.

Rambling nonsense, 27 Apr 2006
I consider myself a fan of Richie Benaud and take great pleasure over the years in listening to his marvelous commentaries. However, this book came as quite a shock - it rambling nonsense and worse - plain dull.

Also disappointed, 02 Feb 2006
I agree with the majority of other reviews on this one - a deeply disappointing read. I've read most of his previous books but this is the only one that had me counting the pages to the end of the chapter. Much of what I read in this I had read before in his other books - if I had the energy it might even turn out to be an exact copy from them. To some extent Benaud's hallowed tones do come through the written word, but there's far too much emphasis on 1950's NSW teams and how great they were - fine if that's what you want to read about but it has nothing to do with a 'Spin on Cricket' which I hoped would be full of the usual interesting angles on contemporary events. 'My Money-spinner on Cricket' would be closer to the mark. If it were anyone but Benaud I'd have given it 1 star, but some sort of loyalty prevented me.

Some gems but a bit bland, 24 Jan 2006
This audiobook suffers from the fact that it was written prior to the 2005 Ashes series which renders it slightly out of date. Benaud concentrates too much on the distant past of cricket, particularly Australian cricket, so anyone who is both English and born after 1950 is unlikely to find these extracts particularly engrossing. Some of the narrative is of the "that was the finest 8 over spell bowled from the pavilion end at Brisbane under cloud that I can recall" type, which makes it seem like Richie is actually at a live match, not reminicing about one played twenty years ago. The saving grace is Richie's voice: he is truly the vocal embodiment of cricket (with the possible exception of Brian Johnson) it's just a shame that what he has to say is so dull.

Lightweight Autobigraphy, 14 Aug 2007
"Being Freddie" is little more than a series of accounts of Andrew Flintoff's role in various matches he has played since his emergence in the late 1990's as an all rounder in the mould of Ian Botham. There are no great insights or memorable anecdotes in this book from Flintoff, just summaries of his greatest matches and minor detail about his back and ankle injuries and his beery nights out with the lads.We don't get a lot of insight into his family life and upbringing. Andrew Flintoff played a significant role in helping England to some notable Test triumphs which seem to have peaked with 2005's Ashes victory. He is an exciting and talented cricketer (when fit), but this book fails to convey what makes him tick and a rounded portrait of the man fails to emerge.

Very ordinary - huge disapointment, 13 Jul 2007
Dont get me wrong, I'm a great admirer of the man and his cricket but for me this book was nothing more than a catalogue of events with the odd "...we had line a few beers" thrown in. For me it lacked passion and and any real insight as to what really makes Andrew Flintoff tick.

I found myself drifting off reading some of this and confess to flicking through the remaining pages of a chapter to see how much more I had to endure.

It's not great - spend your money on something like 'Fatty Bater' instead.

Dull, 19 Feb 2007
I must confess that this bored me rigid which left me very disappointed as I was really looking forward to it.

Was left with the impression this was cobbled together as an exercise to cash in on the Ashes success (which I fully understand).

I think Freddie comes across as quite boring really.

PRETTY GOOD, 06 Jan 2007
I wasnt sure whether this would be any good but i was quite surprised.it wasnt bad at all.i quite enjoyed this book, it covers his life of cricket in reasonable detail from when he played as a youngster through his club cricket days and his time in the england youth squads to the recent 2005 ashes series.it also contains the people who helped get him to where he is today and he reveals the people who hes good friends with, to the people hes not too keen on, and some of the trouble hes got in along the way.

i thought this book was pretty good and am glad its on my book shelf.

Being Freddie, 29 Oct 2006
This book is fasinating, I just could not put it down. Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff is a great cricketer, and oviously a fantastic aurthor as well! It has an amazing detailded account of his playing days, and how he got into cricket at the highest level. It is great for youngsters who are looking for some inspiration, or the older members of the familey who are just looking for a good read.

The best book I ever read!

Disappointing..., 12 Jan 2004
Having very much enjoyed An Evening With Blowers, I found this book a let down. It didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, and had some errors that will make cricket buffs scream. (Gooch was recalled to England colours in 1978 not 1979; Tony Greig could not have alerted Brearley to Lillee's Aluminium bat as he was commentating, and the action happened mid session; Glenn McGrath is shown on the back cover, but doesn't qualify for a chapter in his own right; and worst of all, the book blithely assumes Steve Wuagh retired after the Ashes last year.) I'd expect a book by such an illustrious character to better researched and/or proof read.

Audiotastic!!, 23 Mar 2007
This audio book is fantastic, its easy to listen to and full of great advice and tips that really work.Very professional and well put together. Its ideal to listen to prior to a match and to learn new mental skills alongside nlp techniques. I reccommend this book to anyone, and the paperback version is brilliant to.

Stephen, Manchester

Booktastic and audiofabulous, 07 Mar 2007
Welcome to 'tennis is mental too' a great book offering sound tips and proven advice in the form of audio and paperback. This book is for all tennis players, parenst and coaches to help improve and work on the psychology of tennis. The book also offers many NLP skills and techniques to give you the mental edge. Get a head of the game today.

You can also buy this book on audio.

Stephen Renwick
Auhtor

Very Poor and Boring , 28 Apr 2006
I admit I never finished this. It was so poor I couldn't stand any more of the anecdotes. It was about as much fun as a duodenal ulcer. If you find "I went to Ilkestone one day. It was so windy my hat blew off" (read in a dour Yorkshire accent) at all funny, then you will probably enjoy the book. For the rest - avoid like the plague.

A travelogue of the cricket grounds of England and beyond, 26 Nov 2001
White Cap and Bails follows a different format from Dickie Bird's autobiography. Rather than being a chronology, it is a sort of travelogue, with a chapter devoted to each county followed by similar content regarding international grounds.

For each county, Bird gives his best anecdotes about the club, its grounds, and his personal experience with it, both as a player and an umpire.

I think the international section is a bit unneccesary, as it does not go into anywhere near the depth of the rest of the book. That would be better suited for another Dickie Bird release.

The most remarkable thing about White Cap and Bails is that, for the most part, it avoids repeating the same information from Dickie Bird: My Autobiography.

I reccomend this book to anybody who loves cricket.

A superficial, glib rehash of old stories., 10 Jan 2001
I admire Dickie Bird as an umpire and have memories of seeing him as a batsman for Yorkshire, and very promising he was too. I still see him nowadays when he visits Scarborough cricket club for Yorkshire matches, and he is a deservedly popular figure. However, this book is a grave disappointment. It is a highly superficial skim through the first class counties and major test playing countries, purporting to be Dickie's memories, but more often than not rehashing old stories of cricketers of the distant past. These can be found in other publications, and those that can't are not worth repeating anyway. Some of the stories are so thin and lacking interest you wonder how they could be included in a supposedly serious book. This reads like a publisher's attempt to milk Dickie's popularity, by throwing together a book of slender content, with nothing new to offer a cricket fan. It is not a worthy tribute to Dickie and it is a shame it bears his name. Avoid this one.

Amusing anecdotes of county and country cricketers, 05 Jan 2001
Dickie (with the help of a quite a few friends with long memories) details each individual county, recalling many of the characters through his own first-hand experiences and those of others. All the past greats of cricket are mentioned, each with their seemingly own personalised tale from a career that spanned many decades and even more countries. Umpires too are not excluded and are proven to be human after all! He also recalls many overseas players representing counties, and eventually goes on to reminisce his memories of all the current Test playing countries, players and places he has visited. For all the statistitions amongst us, there is contained general information precluding to all the county and country playing cricket teams. On the whole an easy to read book with plenty to keep the enthusiast entertained.

The pages of Wisden brought to life., 01 Oct 2001
Tea in the Pavilion is a collection of readings from Wisden Cricketers' Almanack on two cassettes that takes us on a journey through all manner of cricketing miscellanies. The readings are arranged chronologically according to the events to which they refer, from the 2nd Royal Surrey Militia being bowled out for nothing in the 19th century, to a village team being disbanded after others objected to the standard of its teas in 1999. In between comes everything from straight match reporting to stories of the bizarre, even an advertisement for Turkish baths. To anyone regarding the almanack as uninviting and overladen with statistics, it might well come as both surprising and refreshing. Most extracts are of under a minute in length, though five minutes are given over to the unusual sight of Americans playing both cricket and baseball at Lord's, and four to the D'Oliveira Case. The tapes are packaged in traditional Wisden yellow, and if one has a criticism it is not of the tapes, but of the packaging which gives neither the two-and-a-quarter hours running time, nor a list of the more than 100 items from which there are extracts, the cover unfolding to reveal nothing but an advertisement inside. More useful would have been a list of contents, with reference as to when and where an item first appeared in Wisden or where it may be found in one of the Wisden Anthologies, so one might more easily look up the full version.

The Wit of Cricket., 07 Dec 2007
An Audio Book which I have enjoyed listening to over and over again. Makes the day a whole lot better. Not offensive in the slightest way.

Bowled over !!, 08 Oct 2007
This audio collection has had an entire car full of people roaring with laughter.It crosses all genders and age groups (youngest 9, eldest 68) and leaves everyone feeling much happier with life than before without offending anybody. I have already pre-ordered the "Wit of cricket 2". Excellent fayre!!

Wit in a plenty, 16 Jan 2006
Absolutely brilliant. I have listened to this 3 times now in the space of 2 days and am still laughing at some of the stories.

An Evening with Dickie without having to leave home., 15 Apr 2004
Dickie Bird has always been regarded as one of cricket's great characters. When listening to this tape it is possible to see why he is held in such a high regard. Dickie talks of his experiences as player and an umpire. Some of the greastet names are discussed by Dickie and his encounters with them.
This audiobook is Dickie at his best telling some of his funniest anecdotes.

My dear old thing.........., 08 Dec 2007
I really wanted to like this. I found "Wit of Cricket" an absolute delight. So when I saw Vol 2, I had to have it. When I heard it, Oh dear......As John Lennon said, "you can't reheat a souffle". The tracks are a mix of live after dinner speech clips and studio recordings, and for me thats the problem. The studio recordings lack the bite and charm of the live bits, and completely kill the CD for me. This is a real shame, as I really wanted to like this.
As my old school reports sometimes said - Not a bad effort, but must try harder.

Dead bat, 21 Jul 2008
A dreary non-event. I approached the book expecting riveting anecdotes from an insider and thought-provoking assessment of current cricketing issues. Instead I got - well - nothing. A cynical cash-in on the wave of emotion that accompanied his retirement. After 5 chapters of drivel -Benaud even manages to be dull about Hansie Cronje and chucking - I decided to retire hurt.

Not bowled over, 09 Jun 2007
A mistake to start my reading of Benaud books with this one. Disjointed and with large chunks of reminiscense of little interest to the "younger" cricket lover. I got the feeling that Benaud could write a good biography of one of his fellow players as he obviously has passion for the game and has been there and done it! This book, however, deserves a place on the shelf in the corridor of uncertainty.

Rambling nonsense, 27 Apr 2006
I consider myself a fan of Richie Benaud and take great pleasure over the years in listening to his marvelous commentaries. However, this book came as quite a shock - it rambling nonsense and worse - plain dull.

Also disappointed, 02 Feb 2006
I agree with the majority of other reviews on this one - a deeply disappointing read. I've read most of his previous books but this is the only one that had me counting the pages to the end of the chapter. Much of what I read in this I had read before in his other books - if I had the energy it might even turn out to be an exact copy from them. To some extent Benaud's hallowed tones do come through the written word, but there's far too much emphasis on 1950's NSW teams and how great they were - fine if that's what you want to read about but it has nothing to do with a 'Spin on Cricket' which I hoped would be full of the usual interesting angles on contemporary events. 'My Money-spinner on Cricket' would be closer to the mark. If it were anyone but Benaud I'd have given it 1 star, but some sort of loyalty prevented me.

Some gems but a bit bland, 24 Jan 2006
This audiobook suffers from the fact that it was written prior to the 2005 Ashes series which renders it slightly out of date. Benaud concentrates too much on the distant past of cricket, particularly Australian cricket, so anyone who is both English and born after 1950 is unlikely to find these extracts particularly engrossing. Some of the narrative is of the "that was the finest 8 over spell bowled from the pavilion end at Brisbane under cloud that I can recall" type, which makes it seem like Richie is actually at a live match, not reminicing about one played twenty years ago. The saving grace is Richie's voice: he is truly the vocal embodiment of cricket (with the possible exception of Brian Johnson) it's just a shame that what he has to say is so dull.

Lightweight Autobigraphy, 14 Aug 2007
"Being Freddie" is little more than a series of accounts of Andrew Flintoff's role in various matches he has played since his emergence in the late 1990's as an all rounder in the mould of Ian Botham. There are no great insights or memorable anecdotes in this book from Flintoff, just summaries of his greatest matches and minor detail about his back and ankle injuries and his beery nights out with the lads.We don't get a lot of insight into his family life and upbringing. Andrew Flintoff played a significant role in helping England to some notable Test triumphs which seem to have peaked with 2005's Ashes victory. He is an exciting and talented cricketer (when fit), but this book fails to convey what makes him tick and a rounded portrait of the man fails to emerge.

Very ordinary - huge disapointment, 13 Jul 2007
Dont get me wrong, I'm a great admirer of the man and his cricket but for me this book was nothing more than a catalogue of events with the odd "...we had line a few beers" thrown in. For me it lacked passion and and any real insight as to what really makes Andrew Flintoff tick.

I found myself drifting off reading some of this and confess to flicking through the remaining pages of a chapter to see how much more I had to endure.

It's not great - spend your money on something like 'Fatty Bater' instead.

Dull, 19 Feb 2007
I must confess that this bored me rigid which left me very disappointed as I was really looking forward to it.

Was left with the impression this was cobbled together as an exercise to cash in on the Ashes success (which I fully understand).

I think Freddie comes across as quite boring really.

PRETTY GOOD, 06 Jan 2007
I wasnt sure whether this would be any good but i was quite surprised.it wasnt bad at all.i quite enjoyed this book, it covers his life of cricket in reasonable detail from when he played as a youngster through his club cricket days and his time in the england youth squads to the recent 2005 ashes series.it also contains the people who helped get him to where he is today and he reveals the people who hes good friends with, to the people hes not too keen on, and some of the trouble hes got in along the way.

i thought this book was pretty good and am glad its on my book shelf.

Being Freddie, 29 Oct 2006
This book is fasinating, I just could not put it down. Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff is a great cricketer, and oviously a fantastic aurthor as well! It has an amazing detailded account of his playing days, and how he got into cricket at the highest level. It is great for youngsters who are looking for some inspiration, or the older members of the familey who are just looking for a good read.

The best book I ever read!

Disappointing..., 12 Jan 2004
Having very much enjoyed An Evening With Blowers, I found this book a let down. It didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, and had some errors that will make cricket buffs scream. (Gooch was recalled to England colours in 1978 not 1979; Tony Greig could not have alerted Brearley to Lillee's Aluminium bat as he was commentating, and the action happened mid session; Glenn McGrath is shown on the back cover, but doesn't qualify for a chapter in his own right; and worst of all, the book blithely assumes Steve Wuagh retired after the Ashes last year.) I'd expect a book by such an illustrious character to better researched and/or proof read.

Audiotastic!!, 23 Mar 2007
This audio book is fantastic, its easy to listen to and full of great advice and tips that really work.Very professional and well put together. Its ideal to listen to prior to a match and to learn new mental skills alongside nlp techniques. I reccommend this book to anyone, and the paperback version is brilliant to.

Stephen, Manchester

Booktastic and audiofabulous, 07 Mar 2007
Welcome to 'tennis is mental too' a great book offering sound tips and proven advice in the form of audio and paperback. This book is for all tennis players, parenst and coaches to help improve and work on the psychology of tennis. The book also offers many NLP skills and techniques to give you the mental edge. Get a head of the game today.

You can also buy this book on audio.

Stephen Renwick
Auhtor

Very Poor and Boring , 28 Apr 2006
I admit I never finished this. It was so poor I couldn't stand any more of the anecdotes. It was about as much fun as a duodenal ulcer. If you find "I went to Ilkestone one day. It was so windy my hat blew off" (read in a dour Yorkshire accent) at all funny, then you will probably enjoy the book. For the rest - avoid like the plague.

A travelogue of the cricket grounds of England and beyond, 26 Nov 2001
White Cap and Bails follows a different format from Dickie Bird's autobiography. Rather than being a chronology, it is a sort of travelogue, with a chapter devoted to each county followed by similar content regarding international grounds.

For each county, Bird gives his best anecdotes about the club, its grounds, and his personal experience with it, both as a player and an umpire.

I think the international section is a bit unneccesary, as it does not go into anywhere near the depth of the rest of the book. That would be better suited for another Dickie Bird release.

The most remarkable thing about White Cap and Bails is that, for the most part, it avoids repeating the same information from Dickie Bird: My Autobiography.

I reccomend this book to anybody who loves cricket.

A superficial, glib rehash of old stories., 10 Jan 2001
I admire Dickie Bird as an umpire and have memories of seeing him as a batsman for Yorkshire, and very promising he was too. I still see him nowadays when he visits Scarborough cricket club for Yorkshire matches, and he is a deservedly popular figure. However, this book is a grave disappointment. It is a highly superficial skim through the first class counties and major test playing countries, purporting to be Dickie's memories, but more often than not rehashing old stories of cricketers of the distant past. These can be found in other publications, and those that can't are not worth repeating anyway. Some of the stories are so thin and lacking interest you wonder how they could be included in a supposedly serious book. This reads like a publisher's attempt to milk Dickie's popularity, by throwing together a book of slender content, with nothing new to offer a cricket fan. It is not a worthy tribute to Dickie and it is a shame it bears his name. Avoid this one.

Amusing anecdotes of county and country cricketers, 05 Jan 2001
Dickie (with the help of a quite a few friends with long memories) details each individual county, recalling many of the characters through his own first-hand experiences and those of others. All the past greats of cricket are mentioned, each with their seemingly own personalised tale from a career that spanned many decades and even more countries. Umpires too are not excluded and are proven to be human after all! He also recalls many overseas players representing counties, and eventually goes on to reminisce his memories of all the current Test playing countries, players and places he has visited. For all the statistitions amongst us, there is contained general information precluding to all the county and country playing cricket teams. On the whole an easy to read book with plenty to keep the enthusiast entertained.

The pages of Wisden brought to life., 01 Oct 2001
Tea in the Pavilion is a collection of readings from Wisden Cricketers' Almanack on two cassettes that takes us on a journey through all manner of cricketing miscellanies. The readings are arranged chronologically according to the events to which they refer, from the 2nd Royal Surrey Militia being bowled out for nothing in the 19th century, to a village team being disbanded after others objected to the standard of its teas in 1999. In between comes everything from straight match reporting to stories of the bizarre, even an advertisement for Turkish baths. To anyone regarding the almanack as uninviting and overladen with statistics, it might well come as both surprising and refreshing. Most extracts are of under a minute in length, though five minutes are given over to the unusual sight of Americans playing both cricket and baseball at Lord's, and four to the D'Oliveira Case. The tapes are packaged in traditional Wisden yellow, and if one has a criticism it is not of the tapes, but of the packaging which gives neither the two-and-a-quarter hours running time, nor a list of the more than 100 items from which there are extracts, the cover unfolding to reveal nothing but an advertisement inside. More useful would have been a list of contents, with reference as to when and where an item first appeared in Wisden or where it may be found in one of the Wisden Anthologies, so one might more easily look up the full version.

Freddy meets Book Police after pedalo incident, 22 Mar 2007
Flintoff has recently proved himself to be what he is. Following the world cup defeat to New Zealand, he goes on yet another binge and ends up embarrassing himself and the country he represents. To many this came as something as a shock, but proves he is little more than a pampered lout, who is hardly the most talented cricketer England has produced.
This came off the back of Ashes success, when he was at the Zenith of his fame, a cynical cash-in, fleecing the public with a book packed with untruths, trying to make himself out to be one-of-the-lads. To this end he tries to come over as an average bloke, and people seem to think he is their mate.
In fact he has done very little except play cricket, and even then he is not that good at it. If you buy this the profits will go to bottles of hard liqeur which Andrew will inject into his veins. I think it shows enough about his propfessionalism that during a world cup campaign he felt it was appropriate to get wasted and jeopardise their entire preperation.

Another book - why?, 12 Oct 2006
I am a HUGE England fan and obviously want them to do well at this years Ashes, and bought this book thinking it was an insightful read. But to be honest, much like his autobiography, there isn't much here, other than a few personal shots of Andy's personal life. What else is there to learn after his official book which I bought only ten months ago? I'm passionate about cricket, just as I am about football, and you could say it's not the actual subject's fault, but you do get the feeling we're all being milked for what its worth!! As said, I am disappointed with this book having bought into the PR, I thought it would be a whole lot more than it is, maybe I'll go buy Ashley Cole's or Rio Ferdinand's book next - maybe not! Two stars ONLY because I want an Ashes win!

An enjoyable read, 11 Oct 2006
I recently purchased this book with a niggling doubt; I had read Andrew Flintoff's previous book "Be