Fact fiends ahoy

Leathery-faced Ray Robinson loved cricket, and pursued trivia before that became a global game. He put the two together in his 1975 compendium of the lives of Australia's cricket captains, of whom there had been 34 at the time. Absorbing essays analyse the skippers' strengths and weaknesses, and give enough background details to shut up the bar-room bore at 100 yards. Tom Horan was born in Ireland, "within jaunting-car ride of Blarney Castle". Richie Benaud was hit in the mouth while fielding just before his wedding, and had to sip the celebratory champagne through a straw. And Ian Chappell once raised eyebrows by turning up for a reception in a mauve safari suit. Priceless stuff - and beautifully written. "Robbie", who was plagued by ill-health and poor sight, died in 1982. But Gideon Haigh - the only current Aussie writer with Robinson's fetish for apt fact and killer stat - updated On Top Down Under in 1997. Don't worry which edition you find - just try to lay your hands on one somehow.