The subcontinent beyond the cliches: revisiting a landmark cricket book

In this episode, we revisit Mike Coward's book about Australian tours to the subcontinent through the 1980s: Cricket Beyond the Bazaar. Joining us to dissect the book – and its importance for Australian cricket literature – are two contemporary journalists - Russell Jackson and Daniel Brettig. They tell us about the effect the book had on them and how it continues to be a guiding beacon for Australians reporting on the subcontinent. Click here to support 81allout on Kofi Talking Points: The history of India-Australia relations and the blossoming of cricketing ties in the 1980s Mike Coward's love for India – and how he intuitively grasped how big the game would become in the subcontinent A delightful mess of a book - journalism, travelogue, observations, rumination, history, culture.. it has it all The cult status that Allan Border, Dean Jones, David Boon and so many others of that generation enjoy among Indians of a certain generation The 1986 tied Test and the start of the Australian renaissance How writers like Mike Coward helped several Australians grasp the complexities of the subcontinent Australia's triumphant World Cup in 1987 - and the historic win in Lahore Australia's controversial tour to Pakistan in 1988 - and the effect it had for the next decade How Mike Coward stayed true to his profession despite having such unbridled access to the players and team management The relevance of the book today and how young Australian readers can benefit from it Participants: Daniel Brettig (@danbrettig) Russell Jackson (@rustyjacko) Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Related: Embracing the East: Suresh Menon on Cricket Beyond the Bazaar - ESPNcricinfo When a tie was a victory for Border's battlers - Michael Sexton on his book about the tied Test in Madras - 81allout podcast The Final Frontier: Mike Coward - The Greatest Season That Was podcast Collection of Mike Coward's articles for ESPNcricinfo 'It long irked me that sports writing, in this country, has been devalued' - Mike Coward's speech at the ASC Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2015 Clueless Australia need a cultural shift - Daniel Brettig - ESPNcricinfo Daniel Brettig: Books on Amazon.com Russell Jackson - articles on ABC Sport