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Fatty Batter
- How Cricket Saved My Life (Then Ruined It)
- Narrated by: Michael Simkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
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Fatty Batter
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Summary
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.
Critic reviews
"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)
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What listeners say about Fatty Batter
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nigel
- 27-11-14
My childhood down to a t
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
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 26-08-08
Become a cricket convert
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robin Cattani
- 22-02-21
funny and moving
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 ..
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michelle Cocks
- 30-05-20
hilarious
super enjoyable, how every village cricketer feels throughout their careers, so much to relate to
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Orchard Riser
- 21-03-10
Wish I'd been out first ball...
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!
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Button Shiner
- 11-07-18
Wide, no ball and four overthows
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.
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1 person found this helpful