Playing With Fire
by Nasser Hussain and Paul Newman
Penguin $261
Nasser Hussain didn't captain the England cricket team for the glory or money, he did it for curry and chocolate and to make his dad happy. His story, from arriving in Britain as an Indian immigrant with a cricket-obsessed father to leading his country in a job he never particularly wanted, is entertaining and insightful.
Far more than being just a captain, Hussain was, along with coach Duncan Fletcher, largely responsible for transforming England into an international force. Hussain admits he was not the most naturally talented batsman of his generation, but he forged an impressive career out of sheer hard work and determination.
It's a shame then, that this ghosted first-person account is, at least in places, so annoyingly written. It spoils an intriguing account of a slightly tortured but fascinating man. The prose - perhaps in an effort to mimic Hussain's no-nonsense abrasive persona - is written in a staccato style. Like this. And that. Annoying. Isn't it?
The book also slides from formal English into modern slang, with liberal use of 'this' and 'like'. 'I was at this one game, thinking 'I'm, like, on my own here'.' The mix just doesn't work.