Jack Hobbs: England's Greatest Cricketer
Leo McKinstry
Jack Hobbs: England's Greatest Cricketer
The astonishing feats of Sir Jack Hobbs continue to resonate more than a century after he first played Test cricket. During his long career that stretched from the age of W.G. Grace to the era of Don Bradman, he scored more first-class runs and centuries than any player. Even today, he remains England’s greatest run-maker in Ashes Tests. He changed the art of batting with his elegant style, and transformed the status of professional cricketers through the strength of his quiet, dignified personality. Despite his significance in the game, there has never been a comprehensive biography of Hobbs, until now.
3.8 out of 5 based on 4 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Sports, Hobbies & Games |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
416 |
| RRP |
£20.00 |
| Date of Publication |
May 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-0224083294 |
| Publisher |
Yellow Jersey |
| |
The astonishing feats of Sir Jack Hobbs continue to resonate more than a century after he first played Test cricket. During his long career that stretched from the age of W.G. Grace to the era of Don Bradman, he scored more first-class runs and centuries than any player. Even today, he remains England’s greatest run-maker in Ashes Tests. He changed the art of batting with his elegant style, and transformed the status of professional cricketers through the strength of his quiet, dignified personality. Despite his significance in the game, there has never been a comprehensive biography of Hobbs, until now.
Reviews
The Daily Express
David Robson
“[An] imposing biography, a book that in effort and achievement is the equivalent of a decent century … This is an excellent celebration of cricketing greatness and of a person whom John Arlott described as “the best man I ever knew in my life”.”
27/05/2011
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The Daily Mail
Marcus Berkmann
“Perversely, one of McKinstry’s strengths as a biographer is that he doesn’t talk too much about cricket. And he always has an eye for the telling detail … This learned and wide-ranging book skilfully recreates a vanished world and resuscitates the reputation of one who might well be England’s Greatest Cricketer.”
26/05/2011
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The Spectator
Michael Henderson
“McKinstry captures the spirit of this thoroughly decent man, and also the spirit of the age he dominated … It was a wonderful idea to restore the reputation of this undervalued master, and McKinstry has written a book worthy of his subject. In an unshowy way he is an excellent writer.”
11/06/2011
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The Times
Mike Atherton
“McKinstry is forced to rely on contemporaneous written accounts such as Wisden, Hobbs’s autobiographies and newspaper articles, the writing of which, with the odd exception such as that of Raymond Robertson-Glasgow, is starched and dated. Impressively researched and as well written as the book is, it makes for a duller read than the Boycott story. This is partly because Hobbs seems to have been such a saintly man, and niceness is a quality that family members might appreciate, not writers.”
14/05/2011
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