Edwin Martin, L.

Jim Allen's life reads like a Shakespearean tragedy; the rise to cricketing stardom with the hopes of a nation on his shoulder, almost reaching the pinnacle before a freak injury led him to an abyss of drinking and self-destruction. And, yet, there may be redemption ...

I first heard the name Jim Allen during World Series Cricket (WSC), a mystery man from a small island in the Caribbean who Clive Lloyd claimed was the biggest hitter of a ball you'll ever see. Then, with the eyes of the world on him, Allen hits a six from the first ball he faces in WSC, and he becomes legend. We then sat back, waiting to see more of the mystery man on the next Windies tour of Australia, but Allen was seen nor heard no more, and for the most part, the cricketing world forgot him.

"Stranded Batsman" is perhaps the best cricketing biography I have read, written by an unashamed fan of Allen but by no means a hagiography. It covers Allen's life in tiny Monserrat from promising young cricketer, through the Montserrat national cricket team and onwards through the Leewards Islands side and onto the verge of the West Indies team. It also covers, unflinchingly, the slow demise of Allen following a freak eye injury to the point he was a drunk with a large chip on his shoulder, living in a dilapidated shack but still considered Montserrat's greatest sportsman.

I not only learnt about Allen and cricket in Montserrat but of the history of the tiny island of Montserrat, one of only two places in the world to have a public holiday for St Patrick's Day, and now devastated by volcanic activity. By the end of the book I wanted to travel to Montserrat, take in the views and meet Mr Allen, and tell him that his place in cricket folklore is secure.… (més)