WINS THE CRICKET SOCIETY AND MCC
BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2011
A thrilled Harry Pearson was last night the acclaimed winner of this prestigious award -presented in a packed Long Room at Lord’s - for his book “Slipless in Settle – A Slow Turn Around Northern Cricket”.
Harry beat off strong opposition from four other books, including one by multi-award winner Duncan Hamilton, to take the £3000 award presented by author and broadcaster David Rayvern Allen.
The Cricket Society and MCC expect to extend their agreement and plan to make awards in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
On Tuesday 19th April Harry Pearson accepted his short listed and winner’s certificates and cheque for £3000 after an Oscar-style countdown in the Lord’s Long Room, packed with MCC and Cricket Society Members, authors and their publishers and guest cricketing journalists and writers. Harry said: “'I’m amazed. Following Yorkshire since the early seventies hasn't exactly prepared me for success and looking down the list of previous winners - including Gerald Howat, whose biography of Learie Constantine was one of the inspirations for Slipless - leaves me feeling like an imposter.”
Chair of judges Vic Marks surveyed the books considered by the judges and commented in detail on each of the five that had been short listed. “Harry’s book was a narrative about a summer’s northern league cricket which successfully allowed the past to intrude on the present. It provided sharp, observational humour and created a strong sense of time and place. Harry’s definition of the north raised issues about whether Geoffrey Boycott was in fact a southerner. But my only suggestion for the next print, at least for this southerner chair of judges, is that it would be even better with a map at the front!”
Vic was very open about the judging process which after much discussion had reduced the candidates to three. “We tried both first past the post and AV systems, but the winning book exceeded the fifty per cent threshold and it didn’t make a blind bit of difference!”
The competition, run by The Cricket Society since 1970 and in partnership with MCC since 2009, is for books nominated by Members and not publishers and is highly regarded by writers and publishers. Four years ago the delighted winner, former Wisden editor Scyld Berry, hailed his award as “cricket’s seal of literary approval.” Last year a prolonged search of the Lord’s dustbins failed to locate Anthony Gibson’s excitedly discarded winning cheque.
The five books on the shortlist (alphabetically by author) were:
Now I’m 62, The Diary of an Ageing Cricketer; by Stephen Chalke, Fairfield books
A Last English Summer; by Duncan Hamilton, Quercus Books
The Cricketer’s Progress – Meadowland to Mumbai; by Eric Midwinter, Third Age Press
Slipless in Settle – A Slow Turn Around Northern Cricket; by Harry Pearson, Little Brown
Following On – A Year with English Cricket’s Golden Boys; by David Tossell, Pitch Publishing Ltd.
Sixteen books – nominated by either Cricket Society or MCC Members and not publishers – were whittled down to five by a panel of judges independently chaired by writer and broadcaster and former England and Somerset cricketer Vic Marks. The other judges are David Kynaston and Stephen Fay (MCC) and John Symons and Chris Finch (The Cricket Society). Nigel Hancock is the competition’s administrator.
The Cricket Society – www.cricketsociety.com – encourages a love of cricket through playing, watching, reading and listening. It supports young cricketers, makes annual awards, holds regular meetings , publishes an acclaimed journal and has a cricket team. The Society is marking England’s Ashes retention by completing the restoration of Ivo Bligh’s grave at Cobham in Kent, with a re-dedication there planned for 18 May.
MCC is the custodian of the Laws and Spirit of Cricket, an innovative independent voice in world cricket, and a passionate promoter of the game. It is also the world’s most active cricket-playing club and the owner of Lord’s – The Home of cricket. MCC funds the six MCC Universities and has a long-established academy at Lord’s – MCC Young Cricketers.
The initial partnership agreement between the Cricket Society and MCC expires with the 2011 award. Both parties are committed to its continuation with formal agreement expected soon on awards for the next three years.
For further information on this story please contact:
Vic Marks – 01392 861333 or vic.marks@guardian.co.uk
Nigel Hancock – 07885 733320 or nigelhancock@cricketsociety.com
Neil Robinson – 0207 616 8559 or neil.robinson@mcc.org.uk
