Product Description

When England cricket captain Tony Greig announced that he intended to make the West Indies 'grovel', he lit a fire that burned as intensely as the sunshine that made 1976 one of the most memorable summers in British history. Spurred on by what they saw as a deeply offensive remark, especially from a white South African, Clive Lloyd's touring team vowed to make Greig pay. In Viv Richards, emerging as the world's most exciting batsman, and fast bowlers Michael Holding and Andy Roberts they had the players to do it. Featuring interviews with key figures from English and West Indian cricket, "Grovel!" provides a fascinating study of the events and social issues surrounding one of the sport's most controversial and colourful tours - as well as addressing the decline of West Indies cricket and its loss of support in the new century. As reservoirs ran dry during Britain's longest-ever drought, a bruised and battered England team struggled to withstand the brilliance and brutality of the West Indies. The recall of battle-scarred veteran Brian Close, the frightening bombardment of England's batsmen at Old Trafford, and Holding's remarkable performance at The Oval are among the episodes vividly reproduced and discussed, while Greig explains his pre-series comments in a forthright foreword. Off the field, the 1976 series was given a vibrant backdrop and raucous soundtrack by the West Indies' fans, yet a darker undercurrent existed in a period of ongoing racial tension around the country. Featuring full statistics of the tour, "Grovel!" shows how 1976 heralded in two decades of West Indies world domination, changing the face of Test cricket for ever. It also contains statistical appendix and 'Where are they now?' section.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115855 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
David Tossell's excellent study of West Indies cricket...confronts all the issues fearlessly and frankly. It is a highly commended read. --David Llewellyn, The Independent

Enough dynamite to ignite the soul of even the most somnolent cricket fan...relevant, pithy and often amusing...this is a terrific piece of work. The photographs are splendid too: look at the cover image, which captures exactly why Holding could scare a batsman witless --Andrew Baker, The Daily Telegraph

Excellent --Michael Atherton, Sunday Telegraph

Andrew Baker, The Daily Telegraph
...relevant, pithy and often amusing...this is a terrific piece of
work.

The Independent
An excellent study. Confronts all the issues fearlessly and
frankly. A highly commended read.

Customer Reviews

Awesome read
Having seen some stellar reviews of this book in various national papers, and having encountered books from this growing publisher before I thought I'd take a punt and buy a copy.
Thoroughly entertaining, excellently written and wonderfully nostalgic this is a book to return to time and again. Fun anecdotes, excellent photographs and a cast of heroes and villains; what more could you ask for?

Classic memories of a hot summer
I first got hooked on cricket during the summer of '76 when the West Indies toured - was it really 31 summers ago ? This book is extremely well researched and takes us through the whole series almost ball by ball and offers terrific insight into the characters and their motivations. David Steele is particularly cutting about his subsequent treatment by the England selectors after battling it out against the West Indies pace attack and the Autralians the summer before. Being discarded when averaging over 40 in tests against those attacks seems very harsh.
Viv Richards, Michael Holding and Gordon Greenidge are at their peak and under the shrewd captaincy of Clive Lloyd, England under Tony Grieg with their aging team were no match. With hindsight you wonder what the selectors were thinking when you look at some of the selections and David Tossell has many observations on this state of play. For me the most interesting test is the 5th test at the Oval where Richards made 291, Holding took 14 wickets and Amiss (on comeback) scored 203 for England. You can visualise every ball and it makes one hanker for a decent DVD release of this fascinating series. Recommended for all cricket lovers.

Boiling Point!
1976 Is brought back to life in this excellent book!
The scene is det perfectly, with a reminder of how Clive Lloyds men had really struggled in recent series against India and Australia. A 5-1 series defeat in the latter is what led to England Captain Tony Greig's infamous comment about making the West Indies grovel...
All of the five tests are detailed and the majority of the players of the time are interviewed for their recollections.
A must for any cricket lover.