Customer Reviews
A must-read for cricket lovers - By: AC Riches, 16 Nov 2008 
Even dyed-in-the-wool England fans have learned to love Shane Warne - would the Barmy Army sing `Wish you were English' to any other Aussie? Warne is a man worth listening too, a cricketer blessed with a sharp cricket brain as well as extravagant skills - the best captain Australia never had. In this book he gives an insight into what made (and makes) his great rivals & team-mates tick. So these short essays make fascinating reading; no doubt these observations werein part compiled during a careerin which the spinner used every honest means available to win - especially psychological warfare. As Warne admits, list compiling is a purely subjective exercise (Darren Lehmann 30 places higher than Desmond Haynes?) & there's bound to be omissions & ranking that will provoke debate. But this is the sort of book cricket lovers relish; there's plenty of humour & anecdotes galore from a man who is fulsomein his praise of others, even some who were considered bitter enemies. Easily digestible, I recommend this book highly.
Warney spins a good yarn - By: N. Constable, 22 Oct 2008 This is not a cricket book for the stat-anoraks (though some Test stats are included) but you'd go a long way to find a more thoughtful, concise insight into what makes great players tick. As one of the true greats himself, Warne is well placed to give a verdict on both opponents & team-mates & he does soin typically forthright fashion. Whatever your view of his occasional on-field altercations the overall feeling as you read this is of a guy who genuinely respects & admires fellow players, who bears no grudges & who is realistic enough to know that you never stop learning. Warne also reveals snippets of his own tactics against individual batsman & for any young spin bowler this is really fascinating stuff. Few readers - if any - will ever aspire to match Warne's skill & technique but assessing a batsman's strengths & weaknesses, & formulating a proper attack plan, is a great weapon even for club players.
This memoir is readable & funny - ideal if you like dippingin & out of books - & I'd recommend it to cricket lovers, even English ones. Funny, but Warney seems so much more likeable now he's not helping win the Ashes.
