A lifelong fascination with the subtleties of cricket
This weekend at the Bathurst Book Fair, along with enough literature to make a book lover think they’ve gone to heaven, will be interesting and informative talks by people who write books.
One of them is Bathurst resident Nick Cowley. Cowley is one of those people who is interested in, and knows about, a great variety of subjects, from environmental issues to local history.
Many know him from the tours of Bathurst that he introduced to the village’s tourism mix.
What you may not have guessed is that he has a fascination with sport, specifically cricket.
His lifelong engagement with the game as a scorer, enthusiastic school second XI player and avid reader has afforded him insights and observations that he’s collected in the book that he will be launching at the Bathurst Book Fair this weekend Bites of Cricket.
Cowley played cricket at school and university “with great enthusiasm”, but never got further than the second XI.
“I used to ‘score’ for the school first XI, a much more complex process than with other sports, and guaranteed to spark an interest in cricket’s multiple statistics,” he said.
“It’s hard to formulate just why cricket appeals to me more than other sports, but I think it has to do with the endless individual contests between the bowler and batter happening within the context of an overall team contest; and all the subtleties involved in the batting and bowling processes alongside the sheer raw force.
“If I had to sum cricket’s appeal up in a single word, it would be ‘subtlety’.”
How did it all start?
“My interest in cricket trivia stems from reading about the sport from an early age in books and magazines, which made me realise just how incredibly rich and multifaceted cricket is,” Cowley said.
“I would read countless intriguing details about different aspects of the game, which made me understand how cricket covers a vast and panoramic canvas (not that I had the words to express these ideas at the time!)
“Within that canvas, all the finer details and points what you call trivia fascinated me.
“I’ve noted cricket facts and figures for as long as I’ve followed the sport, which is essentially a lifetime. The more memorable ones have stuck in my mind and this book is a distillation of those.”
Will you find anyone you know in the book? Quite possibly.
“There are a couple of local angles in the book,” Cowley said, cryptically.
Published by Olympia Publishers in Britain, Bites of Cricket is available on Amazon and at some UK bookstores such as Barnes and Noble. Save yourself the airfare and get a signed copy at Cowley’s talk at 9am on Sunday in the Pig & Whistle Lounge.
“I’ll sign every copy I sell at the Bathurst Book Fair; and I also promise to sign every copy ordered from me there and delivered later.”