"Football is not a matter of life and death, it is more important than that."
80 Not Out
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Dickie Bird, Hodder and Stoughton, London 2013. ISBN 978 1444 76961 6
All books by Dickie Bird are eminently readable. He is an engaging, if somewhat eccentric character. Who else would know that he had “met the Queen on no fewer than twenty-seven occasions”?
The book is a series of recollections from a full and fascinating life. He may be 80 but his powers of recall and expression have no diminished. He has strong opinions about many aspects of cricket and life and is not afraid to express them: “I never have a bet. I don’t believe in gambling. I have seen it ruin too many good people and 1 have always been determined it would not happen to me”.
The only negative I felt was that anyone who has read his autobiography will have encountered some of the material before.
As in his previous books his Christian faith comes out strongly but humbly. “My Christian faith has played a big part in my life from my earliest days…I do honestly believe that my faith has helped me through many dark times in my life”.
It is a book that any cricket lover would enjoy.