Let down by poor timing
The Wisden Cricketer reviews The Unforgettable Tests by Jonathan Rice
England v Australia 2005, hb, 198pp, £18.99
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One of the few advantages of such a late release was the relief it brought while watching England crash against Pakistan. The memories of Kasper's friendly glove, Warne dropping the Ashes and Ponting going loopy were manna as the England batsmen kept falling to cross-bat shots in the subcontinent.
Another, more important, advantage is a bit of perspective. Was it the greatest-ever series? For tension and drama perhaps, says Rice in his concluding chapter. But the batting let it down: only two innings "of prolonged brilliance" - Ponting's 156 and Pietersen's 158 - is a poor return for five Tests. Unfortunately, this more detached view is confined to the last chapter; the sections on each Test tend to sink into run-of-the-mill exposition.
Rice is best when bringing a personal slant to the action, such as when he starts the chapter on Edgbaston (which, in the irritating absence of a contents page, I can tell you begins on page 57) by visiting the Cornwall fish restaurant owned by former England bowler Chris Old. But these intimate touches are too few and far between.
Another foreword by Mike Gatting, who loves mentioning that he hates to mention he was the last English captain to win the Ashes, and the use of photos that are often irrelevant to the text on the facing page, are other quibbles. But what puts this book above most of the other 12 was publisher Methuen's canny decision to choose an established writer. It's just a pity they brought it out so long after the event that England had forgotten how to win.
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Daniel Brigham is staff writer on The Wisden Cricketer
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