Fatty Batter cover art

Fatty Batter

How Cricket Saved My Life (Then Ruined It)

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Fatty Batter

By: Michael Simkins
Narrated by: Michael Simkins
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About this listen

 Shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards, 2007.

Fatty Batter is the story of one man's lifelong obsession with cricket. From his earliest awkward days as a fat schoolboy, to his years running a team of dysfunctional inadequates, cricket has offered Michael Simkins a shelter from life's irksome realities and a place in which to quietly dream.

That place is a peculiarly English arcadia of occasional wondrous beauty, forests of comforting statistics, and the endless life-affirming rituals of defeat, humiliation, and disappointment - the perfect net practise for life.

©2007 Michael Simkins (P)2008 Soundings Cricket Sports Funny

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Critic reviews

"At last, the work of genius that will finally bring the long-suffering cricket addict a measure of understanding in the world." (Sir Tim Rice)
"I cannot recall a funnier or more truthful description of how cricket addiction takes hold." (Spectator)
"An entertaining example of the Nick Hornby fat-lad-chosen-last-for-the-football-team genre of autobiography." (Sunday Times)
All stars
Most relevant  

Would you listen to Fatty Batter again? Why?

I have listened to this book more than once enjoying it each time

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fatty Batter?

The part when he play owzthat making up his own teams brought back many memories

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me laugh but more over took me bake to my childhood

My childhood down to a t

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This book really explains the romance of cricket which one really cannot understand without seeing the origins of the obese, middle-aged who go misty eyed at the sights, sounds and smells of bat and willow. This book has helped me feel positive about the strange world that my children are so attracted by and hugely entertained me in the process.

Become a cricket convert

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Having read the book 3 times ,I decided to buy the audible version to listen to at work and as it did in paper form ,The Burpham chapter had me in floods of tears ,it really is one of the finest books I've ever read and now listened to, in fact being so obsessed with the book ,I even got my local village cricket team a couple of fixtures against the Baldwin's when I had a brief stint as fixture secretary a few years back , unfortunately Simpo didn't make an appearance but Les Sweeney did ...great book , beautifully read by the author, 11/10 ..

funny and moving

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super enjoyable, how every village cricketer feels throughout their careers, so much to relate to

hilarious

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I read the reviews in the papers and on Amazon and thought, as a child growing up in the West Indies, with cricket practically in my blood, that this would be fascinating. Not so. I grew fed up with the trials of Fatty Batter trying to get a team together, the blunders with his partner and the endless criticism of his fellow players. Give me a day in the drizzle, watching any scratch school team, with soggy fruit cake and damp egg sandwiches rather than this!

Wish I'd been out first ball...

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I wanted to love this but, I found it boring, trite, tired and unfunny. For a cricket lover to not know the correct story behind the Ashes just sealed it for me. However, I'm glad Andy Babington got a mention.

Wide, no ball and four overthows

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