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Jeffrey
Stollmeyer's Diary is an important document for those
interested in the history of cricket in the West Indies. The
diary describes the first ever visit to India of a West Indies
team and covers the first Test series between the two countries
in 1948-49. Stollmeyer reports on every day's play in each
of the team's twenty-four matches in India, Ceylon and Pakistan.
He describes all the venues and the journeys to them, and
he registers all the facts and opinions relating to the cricket.
The
reporting is enriched by stimulating and provocative commentary
on the matches played and on cricket and cricketers generally.
Stollmeyer writes from the point of view of a captain or the
leader of the troops, making sharp assessments of players
(his side and the opposing side), reading the game out of
experience and imagination, offering shrewd appraisals of
the state of play, and making it clear what he would have
done if he had been in charge . The diary turns out to be
a book about cricket with particular reference to the art
of captaincy. |