Cartoon sledges

Postcards from the Sledge
(Coot Comics, 10pp, £3.95)

Cricket hasn't much of a history with cartoons, nor for that matter comedy. The overwhelming majority of merchandise these days is limited to staid autobiographies, statistical annuals and, on occasion, dull "blooper" DVDs (mainly featuring Merv Hughes and a dog. And Phil Tufnell, natch).

It was a relief, then, to receive Postcards from the Sledge, a beautifully bound collection of 10 cartoons from Beach, a London-based comic artist. As its title suggest, the cards focus on famous sledges - a prickly subject which often divides opinion - and, with the Ashes only weeks away, the timing of its release could not be better.

Beach's unique cards are welcome distraction from the humdrum merchandise sold these days. Printed on high-quality thick, glossy paper - and, pleasingly, with a minimum of self-advertising - the cartoons are distinct, colourful and thoughtfully drawn by someone clearly in love with the game. Shane Warne is featured first, busily guzzling a plastic-looking burger as tribute to Ian Healy's mutterings who said "Shane Warne's idea of a balanced diet is a cheeseburger in each hand."

Cricket and comedy go hand-in-hand and yet, certainly in England, it hasn't often been a part of comedians' scripts. With the exception of Nick Newman, the cartoonist whose work has appeared in Private Eye and The Sunday Times among others, cricket cartoons are rare. And during the 1990s, English cricket was the saggy butt of many people's jokes; stumbling to find a witty simile, a stand-up's quip would often end with "...but he's not as bad as the England cricket team." Side-splitting. Only Rory Bremner, the impersonator and political satirist, spared England's summer game in the 1990s. A keen follower of the game, his affectionate impersonations included Geoffrey Boycott, Richie Benaud and the late Fred Trueman.

Across the pond, Billy Birmingham has single-handedly held the mantle of cricket's satirist with The 12th Man tapes, a hilarious collection of impersonations of the games' biggest names: Tony Greig, Richie Benaud, Max Walker and Bill O'Reilly to name four.

No one, though, has produced cartoon satire though, making this collection a must-have - especially for any Englishmen or Australians keen on joining in the pre-Ashes sniping. Beach is no stranger to cricket cartoons, however. "I drew one for The Telegraph last year making fun of the Aussies after the glorious Oval Test. Someone rang up to buy the original to send to a friend in Australia and that got me thinking about the whole issue of sledging and fan rivalry. I really wanted to do something to mark the Ashes; the whole postcards theme seemed to fit well given the cricket is happening so far away."

Peter Roebuck, Lord Harris, Douglas Jardine - even WG Grace - are all here in Technicolor glory. It's a lot of fun, affectionately designed and professionally published and a snip at under £4. How often do we get to say that?