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The Rules of Backyard Cricket

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The Rules of Backyard Cricket
AuthorJock Serong
LanguageEnglish
GenreNovel
PublisherText Publishing
Publication date
2016
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint
Pages291 pp.
ISBN9781925355215

The Rules of Backyard Cricket is a 2016 crime fiction novel by Australian author Jock Serong.[1]

It was described as a "bestseller" on the Publishers Weekly website in October 2016.[2]

Synopsis

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This is the story of two Australian brothers who start off playing cricket against each other in their backyard: Wally Keefe who ends up a professional cricketer; and Darren who ends up shot in the knee, bound and gagged in the boot of a car.

Critical reception

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Writing in Australian Book Review reviewer Craig Billingham noted: "Reminiscent of Malcolm Knox's A Private Man (2004), which also featured a professional cricketer, the subject under investigation in The Rules of Backyard Cricket is a recognisable variant of the Australian male: white, laconic, barrel-chested, hands shaped by long exposure to bats and balls and beer bottles."[3]

In the Sydney Morning Herald Sue Turnbull called the novel "Beautifully written and acutely observed, The Rules of Backyard Cricket is a noir tour de force."[4]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "The Rules of Backyard Cricket by". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  2. ^ Hoch, Francis (11 October 2016). "Behind the Australian Bestseller, 'The Rules of Backyard Cricket'". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  3. ^ Billingham, Craig (2016). "The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong". Australian Book Review. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  4. ^ Turnbull, Sue (24 August 2016). "Jock Serong and Zane Lovitt write Australian noir of the first order". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  5. ^ ""Round-up of the 2017 Ned Kelly Awards shortlist for best fiction. By Jean Bedford"". The Newtown Review of Books, 15 August 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2017 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 5 December 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2023.