From Sathasivam to Sangakkara, Murali to Malinga, Sri Lanka can lay claim to some of the world's most remarkable cricketers - larger-than-life characters who thumbed convention and played the game their own way. This is the land of pint-sized, swashbuckling batsmen, on-the-fly innovators and contorted, cryptic spinners. More so than anywhere else in the world, Sri Lankan cricket has an identity: cricket is Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka is cricket. We all know the story of the 1996 World Cup: how a team of unfancied amateurs rose from obscurity and changed the way the game was played. Yet the lore of Sri Lankan cricket stretches back much further, from early matches between colonists andlocals, and Ashes-bound ships bringing in cricket's biggest stars, to the more recent triumphs and tragedies that stem from cash flowing freely into the game. An Island's Eleven tells this story in full for the first time, focusing on the characters and moments that have shaped the game forever.
'This is an impeccably researched and beautifully told story, enhanced with anecdotes and first hand accounts, of the rise of Sri Lankan cricket from its colonial roots to becoming world beaters with some of the greatest cricketers to play the game.' -- Mike Selvey
'Packed full of brilliant stories, wonderfully told. An essential addition to cricket literature.' -- Tim Wigmore
'Nicholas Brookes has filled a gap in cricket literature. This wonderful book, based on compendious research, tells the great story of Sri Lankan cricket, how it began in schools and colleges and emerged to become one of the great forces in world cricket. It is more than a cricket book: it is also indispensable for understanding Sri Lanka itself. This book should be in the library of every serious cricket lover. It has been written with real passion and understanding. A great debut from a serious sports historian.' -- Peter Oborne
'This is a great tale, and what's more, it's beautifully told.' -- Simon Barnes
Author
About Nicholas Brookes
Nicholas Brookes is an English writer, who has been based in Colombo since April 2018. He has covered Sri Lankan cricket and its history for international publications including ESPN's The Cricket Monthly and Wisden's The Nightwatchman.
