Reading Crickileaks by Tyers and Beach is like watching Sachin Tendulkar bat. Everything looks so easy. Sachin identifies the line and length of the ball, moves the feet into position, swings the bat and away goes the ball. Oh, look, there’s no fielder there – four! Alan Tyers is similarly able to score with apparent ease.
In Tyers’ case, the simple method starts withs identifying an Ashes hero. He spots their (often obvious) Achilles heel, exaggerates it and then puts words into their mouth that illustrate their weakness in an amusing way.
So Mike Gatting is obsessed with food and gets bowled by Shane Warne because he visualises him as a sherry trifle. Shane Warne likes making money and has an errant texting finger; and Mitchell Johnson is a rather dim child bullied by all around him and in a permanent state of bewilderment.
OK, let’s admit that, just as Tendulkar can get out for 91 when going for his 100th hundred, Alan Tyers too can nod. Geoffrey Boycott’s encounters with Bob Dylan didn’t quite work for me and Ashley Giles’ jealousy of Monty Panesar seemed off the mark. As for the illustrations by Beach, they add value without inducing the same degree of mirth as the words.
Overall, however, this is a highly amusing series of vignettes, well up to the standard of WG Grace Ate my Pedalo, the previous Tyers and Beach offering. I look forward to the next venture. Will Mr. Tyers perhaps be brave enough to enter into the murky world of match fixing?
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