Product Description

In A LOT OF HARD YAKKA, Simon Hughes provided a remarkable insight into the way that county cricket worked, and the people who lived their life in that world. Now, in MORNING EVERYONE, he follows on by revealing what really goes on in cricket broadcasting and, from his unique viewpoint, assesses how the game is changing. As with his previous books, there are brilliant portraits of those he works with, from Richie Benaud and Geoff Boycott to Mike Atherton and Mark Nicholas. He shows how the life of a sportswriter is rarely as easy or as glamorous as it seems. As a former player himself, he has a fascinating insight into the current generation of stars, and highlights their achievements in the context of the battle for the Ashes - a true test of England's improvements in recent years. Funny, revealing and insightful, this is a book no cricket lover can be without.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26066 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
Simon will be doing book signings at various cricket grounds over the summer to coincide with the test matches

Review
'a hugely entertaining book' (DAILY MAIL )

'easy-going humour and insights' (OBSERVER Sports Monthly )

'A terrific read, not only for Hughes's droll reflections on the Ashes, but for some pithy thoughts on the art of commentary.' (Matthew Norman SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

'The most entertaining of these cricket books... is Morning Everyone... Hughes, a former first-class cricketer knows his game and has a keen ear for conversation amongst the commentators and players' (ECONOMIST )

''Witty self-deprecation, a rich turn of phrase and memorable character sketches' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Books of the Year )

'An entertaining new collection of observations... Hughes at his relaxed best' (OBSERVER )

'funny, intelligent and insincerely self-deprecacting memoirs' (DAILY TELEGRAPH )

'Much amusing behind the scenes banter from the Channel 4 lorry.' (DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Books of the Year' )

'Full of witty anecdotes' (NORTHERN ECHO )

'Even non-cricket enthusiasts will find something to interest them here - the combination of cricket love and knowledge plus first class journalism is a winning formula.' (LEICESTER MERCURY )

'Whatever your interest, Hughes is sure to excite it, whether it be for his wicked sense of humour or fine knowledge and insight into the great game.' (LEATHERHEAD ADVERTISER )

DAILY MAIL
'a hugely entertaining book'

Customer Reviews

Another hugely enjoyable missive from the analyst
Having previously enjoyed Simon Hughes books -"A Lot Of Hard Yakka" and "Yakking Around The World" I was looking forward immensely to reading "Morning Everyone". And you know what? I read it in a day, half of which I spent painting the living room, and indeed did enjoy it immensely. This is a review of absolutely no surprises whatsoever.
Whilst "Hard Yakka" was about the life of an ordinary County cricketer and Yakking was about his far flung travels as an ordinary cricketer "Morning Everyone" is about the life of a Sports journalist. Starting with his fledging career as a print journalist reporting on such sumptuous fare as London Transport Tube Drivers vs. Bus Conductors he describes his lamentable efforts as a sub-editor and early forays into radio and television. This is all done in his easy self decrepitating manner with lots of hugely amusing anecdotes that take in not just cricket , though that encompasses most of the books content, but football ,rugby , formula one, golf, rowing and darts .
It also acts as a sort of diary of the England cricket team's inexorable rise, from the rabble who were bottom of the test rankings in 1999 when Channel Four started their coverage of the game through to the super professional unit who retained The Ashes in 2005. Hughes fortunes seem to have mirrored those of the team with his massively successful spell as the analyst, an idea he points out that he initially pitched to the B.B.C.
As usual his observations on his co-commentators and various other people floating like confetti around the rarefied world of the sports media are balanced and perceptive. Some of the yarns are quite priceless, full of vituperative wit and salacious glee but as ever with Hughes a great proportion of these are aimed at himself, with it must be said, far more accuracy than he showed as a bowler. Which he, of course, would be the first to admit? I laughed a lot at this book, particularly at Tony Grieg's hapless attempts to pronounce Jadeja and accounts of the banter in the Channel Four commentary box.
He is remarkably restrained in his ire at the ECB for selling exclusive rights for Test cricket to "Sky", something which put him out a job but his views that this is detrimental to the game are some I share. Happily he has since turned up on the Channel Five highlights package but somehow removed from that bank of monitors in a dingy truck he seems a little lost. Still, while not a good as "A Lot of Hard Yakka", which is the best sports book I, ve ever read, this is the likable Hughes at near enough the top of his game.

Like Hughes the cricketer -good but not great!
Having read the very good 'A Whole Lot of Hard Yakka' and the excellent 'Yakking All Round the World', I was excited when Santa delivered me Hughes' latest offering. It was interesting, entertaining and insightful....but lacked a little magic or spark. Still worth a read though!!

A good autobiography of someone not very interesting...
Okay, so the title of my review sounds critical but having read other Simon Hughes books I was expecting something a bit better really... something that really digs down into the Ashes and the battles ensued (and generally given up by England over the last 20 years).

Instead, the book is something quite different - it tells of Simon Hughes the cricket who became Simon Hughes the journalist who became Simon Hughes the analyst, as well as Simon Hughes the father etc etc... Including the word Ashes in the title is a little misleading as it only applies to a home series once every 4 years.

However, getting over the fact it wasn't the book I wanted to read I did actually find it quite an interesting read. In it, Hughes tells a lot about the history of televised cricket, how it developed when Channel 4 hosted it (notably his contribution), and some of the wit and nuances of each of the commentators (this was the best part!). I did find some of his apparent criticisms of others a little unncessary (notably Dermot Reeve) and he always seems to paint Ian Botham very negatively.

All in all, if you like the style of Simon Hughes's writing this is one to read, but if you are new to his writing I think others he has written have been better