Noticed this on the Cricket best seller list over the summer, and picked it up in Daunts Books, Marylebone High Street before returning back to China. It is a thumpingly good read. From the very first few pages I was gripped. Here was someone who had the same kind of childhood daydreams as me. Here was someone who had gone to Alf Gover’s Cricket School in Wandsworth and waxed lyrical about the snooker table.

There are some very in-depth analyses of Ramps, Roebuck and Jon Hotten’s ability to draw you in with his story telling is second to none. I was so impressed with the opening few chapters that I wrote and thanked him for writing such a wonderful book. What a Gent – he wrote back.

Sad to see that Staggler’s of Asia have had to cancel the tour to Hong Kong. However, I am making tentative enquiries about the chances of getting a few Chengdu cricket players on a plane and taking on a cricket team in Hong Kong.