Pitch Author Wins Best New Writer Award

Pitch Author Wins Best New Writer Award

We are delighted to announce that Pitch Publishing author Justin Parkinson has won the Best New Cricket Writer Award for his biography of Sussex and England superstar Maurice Tate: Then Came Massacre .

 

The book has already made the long list for the prestigious 2014 Cricket Book of the Year, as well as receiving critical acclaim.

 

The award comes courtesy of CricketWeb.net and the website reports, "Parkinson is a deserved winner of the best new writer" and goes onto describe the book as "a serendipitous find".

 

"Parkinson has produced an intimate portrait of not just Maurice Tate but his father Fred Tate too. In fact the book opens with an account of Fred Tate's only Test match, in which he had a shocker and vowed his young son would make amends.

 

"Unfortunately, despite his son's great success, Fred never seems to have become anything but a pathetic character. We find him near the end of his life practically begging for handouts from a wealthy benefactor and trading on his famous son's name.

 

"One of the reasons for Parkinson receiving best new writer is his interesting take when it comes to areas of comparison. Instead of comparing Fred and Maurice; to say other Test cricketing father and son combinations, such as Dave and Dudley Nourse, we learn about the trials and tribulations of comedian George Formby of following in the footsteps of his famous father.

 

"There are also some interesting facts including one that will have all bowlers excited and hoping for its return. In the 1929 county championship they introduced an experimental law in which a batsman could be out LBW even if the ball struck the bat before hitting the pad. With this Law DRS may actually work.

 

"An excellent first cricket book by Justin Parkinson, let's hope there is a follow up. As the author enjoys all things Sussex I might suggest a biography on Maurice Tate's captain for both Sussex and England, Arthur Gilligan. My only stipulation is that the title must be "What do you think, Arthur?"

 

Click here to read what the critics have said about Then Came Massacre.

Click here to read a sample first chapter of Then Came Massacre.
Click here for more information on Then Came Massacre.