The Summer Game

The Summer Game shines light on a transformational and exhilarating era in Australian cricket: the post-war decades between the retirement of one epochal captain – Sir Don Bradman – and the appointment of another epochal one – Ian Chappell. Gideon Haigh charts the Australian team’s highs and lows through the ’50s and ’60s and explores the development of the game alongside the profound cultural and economic shifts in the country. Haigh conjures the magnetic appeal of heroes like Keith Miller and Richie Benaud, and introduces us to enigmas such as Jack ‘Wrong Grip Jake’ Iverson and opening bowler Pat Crawford – who after four Tests ‘disappeared from the face of cricket altogether’. The players may have passed on and their feats receded from memory, but their stories and triumphs live on in this timeless classic.