Although the classic British sport has fewer fans here in the States, there are some who appreciate the unpredictable, emotional thrill of the gentleman’s game. The simple sport sets the stage for deeper stories, a unique medium for characters to interact and grow through. If you are a cricket fan, try these:
Mike and Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse
Gloomy when his poor scholastic record forces him to change schools just as he is about to become captain of the cricket team, an English boy cheers up when he discovers another new boy in similar circumstances.
Selection Day by Aravind Adiga
Manjunath Kumar is fourteen and living in a slum in Mumbai. He knows he is good at cricket–if not as good as his older brother Radha. But there are many other things about himself and the world that he doesn’t know. Sometimes it even seems as though everyone has a clear idea of who Manju should be, except Manju himself. And when Manju meets Radha’s great rival, a mysterious Muslim boy privileged and confident in all the ways Manju is not, he is forced to come to terms with who he really is.
The Playing Fields by Stella Cameron
Six weeks after a battered body is found in the grounds of the village cricket club, DCI Dan O’Reilly and his team are no further forward in the investigation. hen a second body is discovered in the nearby tithe barn used by the local amateur dramatics society, artfully posed just like the first. Could there be a serial killer on the loose?
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