Spinner

by Ron Elliott

  Curtin University allowed time during my final preparation for publishing this novel. I thank Curtin for this and for the place of creative arts within the humanities.

  Lastly, to Dennis Lillee, Alan Border, Greg Chappell, Steve Waugh, Ian Botham, Dougie Walters, David Gower, Derrick Randall, Merv Hughes, Richie Benaud, the other West Aussies, the other Australians, the English, the Kiwis, the West Indians, the Indians, the South Africans, the Pakistanis and Sri Lankans. Even though I have never met any of them, I have derived great pleasure over many years following the strange game of Test cricket. And finally to Shane Warne and that ball he bowled to Mike Gatting. I think that was the moment when I started to daydream about a twelve year old boy, who ... well, what if—

  Michael alludes to a number of literary works and makes up a few. However he also directly quotes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Delian Apollo, Wilfred Owen’s ‘Strange Meeting’ and V.I. Lenin’s lecture entitled ‘The Tasks of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party in the Russian Revolution’. I have attempted, without success, to contact and ask permission of action8cricket for the adaptation of their online glossary of terms.