From Darkness Into Light

The War Heroes Who Helped Save Cricket from Oblivion

By: John Broom

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Hardcover | 22 May 2023

At a Glance

Hardcover
352 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.5 x 16 x 4

Hardcover

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From Darkness into Light tells the fascinating story of how a handful of intrepid cricketing soldiers helped save the game from oblivion. English cricket emerged from the Great War in a bruised and battered state. A four-year hiatus in the first-class game had left administrators, players and aficionados anxious about whether life on the field could ever be the same again. The state of Test cricket was even worse after the disastrous experiment of the Triangular Series of 1912. Into this maelstrom of uncertainty stepped the Australian Imperial Forces team. Comprised of men waiting for demobilisation, the XI toured England and Scotland in the summer of 1919. They were well received by cricket-hungry crowds and provided a great fillip to ailing county finances. The popularity of international cricket was confirmed, and the tour paved the way for the resumption of Ashes contests the following year. This book traces the origins of the AIF XI and examines the myriad of controversies and confusion that surrounded its inception.

Industry Reviews

"More than the interesting glance down a back alley of cricket's past that I expected it to be. In fact it is a look at an important episode from the game's history without which it is just possible that the red ball game we all value so highly might have disappeared a century ago. The book is highly recommended." -- Martin Chandler * CricketWeb.net *

"It includes a thorough investigation into the somewhat obscure background to the tour, which at one stage was intended to be a full Australian cricket tour, complete with Test matches. The process by which it became a private tour under military auspices makes fascinating reading, all the more so as this is not a well known period of cricket history."

-- Richard Lawrence * The Association of Cricket Statisticians Journal *

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