Original Spin

Misadventures in Cricket

By: Vic Marks

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Paperback | 18 June 2020

At a Glance

Paperback
336 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
19.8 x 12.8 x 3.6

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The much-loved former England player, Guardian cricket correspondent and TMS broadcaster tells the story of his life in cricket for the first time.

In April 1974 new recruits Viv Richards, Ian Botham, Peter Roebuck and Vic Marks reported for duty at Somerset County Cricket Club. Apart from Richards, 'all of us were eighteen years old, though Botham seemed to have lived a bit longer - or at least more vigorously - than the rest.'

In this irresistible memoir of a life lived in cricket, Vic Marks returns to the heady days when Richards and Botham were young men yet to unleash their talents on the world stage while he and Roebuck looked on in awe. After the high-octane dramas of Somerset, playing for England was almost an anti-climax for Marks, who became an unlikely all-rounder in the mercurial side of the 1980s.

Moving from the dressing room to the press box, with trenchant observations about the modern game along the way, Original Spin is a charmingly wry, shrewdly observed account of a golden age in cricket.

About the Author

Vic Marks is a former Somerset and England cricketer, who played in six Tests and 34 one-day internationals. He is the cricket correspondent of the Observer and the Guardian and has regularly appeared on the BBC's Test Match Special for over three decades. He lives in Devon.

Industry Reviews

A lovely read: self-written and thus well-written; authentic, genial and full of good anecdotes -- Matthew Engel * New Statesman *
[Marks] must be cricket's most avuncular man, a warm, wry presence in voice and print. His memoir has those qualities too, as well as being deeply English, deeply modest...Marks' real gift as writer and broadcaster is an eye for human detail...this is a memoir in Vic Marks' image, and offers joy and solace in plentiful measures. -- Jon Hotten * Wisden Cricket Monthly *
[Marks] is unfailingly courteous, friendly and knowledgable. His autobiography does absolutely nothing to dispel that impression. He tells his story in an engaging style... * Cricket Web *
Elegantly written and...often gently penetrating in its judgements. * Country Life *
There are some great anecdotes as well as a revealing account of his relationship with former Somerset skipper Peter Roebuck * Choice *
a sunny and modest read * Literary Review *

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