The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong

Darren Keefe is a former international cricketer who has just found himself in a lot of trouble. More specifically, he's found himself bundled in the boot of a car that is travelling down a Melbourne highway and it seems that years of risks and hard living have finally caught up with him. Knowing that he's probably not going to survive, Darren goes about trying to leave some forensic evidence in the vehicle, before going back in time to tell his story--he is the younger of two brothers, born to a plucky, courageous mother who only wants the best for her boys. While Darren grows up to be a larrikin with seemingly few morals who is loved by the press, his older brother Wally is serious about all things, particularly his career as a cricketer. Most of the novel details the difference between the brothers and the careers that may appear quite similar on the surface, and the events and decisions that eventually lead to Darren's fate ... 

This was an enjoyable read, and provided a great observation of what can happen when young sportspeople are transformed into celebrities. (And it says much, perhaps, about our national obsession with sports.) While Darren lives a carefree life, getting away with many things that others his own age never could, Wally is cool and calculating, cleverly manipulating those around him--though he is unable to handle it when things do not go his way. I don't know if it because of my gender, but the character I liked best was their mother, a truly loving and courageous women who did everything she could to further her son's careers. I was fairly confident that I knew who was responsible for Darren's abduction, but that did not spoil my enjoyment of the novel at all. The whole thing is a bit ambiguous about the precise years that the Keefe brothers played for Australia, (though only Wally goes on to play test cricket,) one can deduce that they played sometime in the 1990s, which was, of course, a very successful era for Australian cricket. 

Recommended. 

This book was read as part of the Aussie Author Challenge 2017

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