From the Boundary's Edge: A Celebration of Village Cricket - Hardcover

Griffiths, Laurence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0955794978 ISBN 13: 9780955794971

Verlag: Transatlantic Press, 2011

Über diesen Titel

Críticas:

Stunning. Shows that the great cricketing tradition is flourishing throughout the land. --Authors Cricket Club

Loved From the Boundary s Edge by Laurence Griffiths. Beautiful cricket grounds. --Jonathan Agnew

We don t have a coffee table in our house. The best compliment I can pay this book is that it deserves pride of place in the living room and I m prepared to risk the Christmas rush to the Leeds Ikea (last of the big spenders) to give it the attention it deserves. At the risk of unedifying raving, this is a superb celebration of grassroots cricket by a sports photographer Laurence Griffiths who s on top of his game. His keyhole-through-the haze shot of Athletico Madrid lifting the 2010 UEFA Europa League trophy is indicative of the body of work which helped net him the 2011 Sports Photographer of the Year. In a professional capacity for Getty Images, Griffiths is more used to firing off frames of KP s trademark shuffle across his stumps but From the Boundary s Edge is a collection of images purely on local cricket up and down the country. It awards centre stage to the amateur game and his camera trains on some spectacular grounds like Bridgetown CC in Somerset or Cumbria s Coniston Cricket Club. Characters include the umpire emerging from his room, resplendent in white, and the scorer at home in his wooden box; it s examples like these that make this book so captivating. Griffiths skilfully captures the essence of what it is to be involved with local cricket and he does so not by just photographing the action on the pitch but giving as much attention to the people and the surroundings. Schoolboys in whites drag their cricket bags along and share a laugh; teammates put the world to rights on the boundary or look for a lost ball in the long grass. It is an admirable skill to distil all the elements of cricket. It is left to Sky cricket pundit Bumble to best prepare the reader in his foreword: He (Griffiths) gets us into the thick of the action: bowlers in delivery stride, a slip cordon waiting to pounce, batsmen in full flow, diving fielders, handsome drives, quick singles. But cricket is a game that can t be rushed. There s change of ends, field alterations, fall of wickets. As the greatest Lancastrian export (along with the hotpot) acknowledges, it is the way the photographer changes pace effortlessly without need for any words, (in fact they re rendered completely redundant) that will encourage appreciative nodding. The cricket photography speaks for itself and the clubs featured in its pages should be delighted at the way they are represented. Yorkshire clubs include Booth, Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Bradfield but to concentrate on one county is to ignore the fact you ll want to play cricket at or at least visit, a multitude of other cricketing destinations after seeing what s on offer. If you re planning 2012 tours then this book advertises the wisdom of a trip to the likes of The Ship Inn CC in Fife to patrol the boundary on the beach or a weekend to Lynton & Lynmouth CC, perched on Devon s coastline. I would defy anyone who enjoys cricket not to delight in flicking through its pages. At a time of year when the nights have drawn in, this will make you want to dig out your discarded bat or practice your bowling grip on an old cricket ball and long for next summer. Hands down, my favourite cricket book of the year. --http://www.cricketyorkshire.com/boundarys-edge/

In this magnificent book, Laurence Griffiths captures the appeal of English club cricket and village green matches with almost a hundred beautiful photographs. Most are in colour, most are full-page and all are technically excellent. But above all, as you turn each page and gaze at Griffith s photographs the overriding emotion is that you want to be on that particular boundary s edge, preferably on a warm summer s day, pint in one hand, ploughman s lunch in the other, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the cricket. In this book you will find no famous cricketers and none of the great test arenas. This book is devoted to the rich variety of grass roots cricket from the thatch roofed pavilion of Bridgetown cricket club in West Somerset to the Ship Inn in Fife, where cricket is played on the beach. There are photographs of spectacular off-drives, energetic fast bowlers in delivery stride, eager slip fielders. But I also enjoyed the photos of portly umpires, ramshackle pavilions and relaxed spectators, mostly human but also quite a few grazing animals. There are some fantastic backdrops, such as the hills that surround the cricket ground Coniston in Cumbria. My favourite venue is Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire, where a magnificent stately home overlooks the boundary. It must be a pleasure to watch a game there. In his foreword, David Lloyd describes this book as a visual feast, a sensory smorgasbord. I can only bow to the eloquence of Bumble! To enjoy this book fully, you should take time to pour over each photograph before turning the page to the next inviting image. This book would grace the coffee table of any cricket lover. Sports photographer of the Year 2011, Laurence Griffiths began his career with the Midlands based EMPICS agency before joining Allsport/Getty Images in 1996. Over the past two decades he has covered countless elite sporting events, including five World Cups and Test cricket all over the world. He won the 2010 Sports Folio award at the Press Photographer s Year ceremony, and made it a prestigious double by taking top prize at the British Sports Journalism Awards. --http://www.sixtyplusurfers.co.uk

In the competitive world of sports photography, his stock has never been higher. In 2010 he won the Sports Folio award at the Press Photographer s Year ceremony and took top prize at the British Sports Journalism Awards. And the Vale of Belvoir man topped it in 2011 when he was named Sports Photographer of the Year and published his first book. Melton Times sports editor CHRIS HARBY talks to fellow cricket nut Laurence Griffiths. They are idyllic, timeless scenes which define the soul and essence of rural life in summertime Britain. They also go a long way to capturing the soul of Laurence Griffiths, a multi-award winning photographer whose first book is going down a storm with cricket nuts. From the Boundary s Edge is the perfect coffee table companion for the cricket fan, a lovingly crafted collection of some of the most picturesque and dramatic grounds in Britain. The book was a labour of love which spanned six summers, but its roots go way back. Growing up in Stathern, the picturesque village where his parents still call home, Laurence was immediately ingrained with village life, and a passion for cricket followed almost seamlessly. As an opening batsman in his teens, Laurence got an early taste for picture book cricket settings. He said: I played cricket in Melton for Saxby Road where I was coached by Barry Rabjohn. I also played at Egerton Park which is a beautiful ground and loved going to places like Knipton. I had a very brief career as an opening batsman and got out for a duck or a golden duck more times than I care to remember. But it was a wonderful time and that was where my love for cricket developed. Laurence (38) left Stathern in his late teens to seek fame and fortune in his other passion of photography. Earning a job with the world renowned Getty Images agency, he was soon living the best of both worlds while snapping England s Test exploits across the globe. In 1994 he was one of the lucky few to witness one of cricket s defining moments Brian Lara s world record-breaking knock of 375 against England at Antigua. But cricket touring is more suited to the young, free and single and not so conducive to family harmony, and Laurence turned his lens instead towards the football field, working his passage to five World Cups. From the Boundary s Edge gave Laurence the perfect excuse to return to grass roots cricket and re-connect with his first love. He added: It took six years from start to finish which was longer than I anticipated, but it meant it wasn t forced or rushed - it took its natural course. I was tying it in with work and grabbing any spare time I could. Just about every summer I have to go away for soccer tournaments so there wasn t so much spare time. I just turned up at places and if it worked for me, then great, if not I would watch a few overs and move on to the next ground. One particular image will be a familiar beauty spot to many cricketers in the borough and had special resonance for Laurence who has now retreated back to village life in Burton Joyce, near Nottingham, after relishing the city bustle of London and Leeds. Belvoir CC s ground on the edge of Knipton is nestled in a particularly green and pleasant corner of England, bordered by lush trees and overlooked by the fairytale splendour of Belvoir Castle. He said: Dad used to play squash in Grantham so we drove past Knipton many, many times it is a very special place for me and I wanted to do it justice in the book. There is usually corn blowing in the field in the foreground, but I had always wanted oilseed rape for that picture. So when I got a call to say they had rotated the crop to oilseed rape I got in the car and whizzed over. You need late evening sun to make the most of the ground and luckily the players came out at just the right time and I finally got the picture I wanted. --http://www.meltontimes.co.uk

Reseña del editor:

A unique and sumptuous celebration of the real game of cricket, its players and, above all, the exquisite backdrop landscapes which make the sport an inspiration in communities across the land

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: Transatlantic Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0955794978
• ISBN 13: 9780955794971
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 128