1 review for Cashman, Richard – Yabba, Cricket’s Legendary Barracker, signed

1. 

   Ken – November 24, 2015

   Yabba was Australian cricket’s most famous barracker. A wit, an actor and a crafter of words, known for his booming voice, Yabba was the ultimate self-publicist who promoted himself as the ‘one and only Yabba’. As noted author Richard Cashman says, Yabba lived to barrack… long, loud and often.
   A serious student of cricket, Yabba watched the game intently, his interjections being generally informed, mostly fair-minded and always quirky. He was a simple man who enjoyed drinking beer, smoking, gambling, cracking jokes, family parties and watching and talking about sport.
   Yabba had a vast appetite for life, fighting in the Boer War, branding cattle in the outback and
   sparring with noted Indigenous boxer, Jerry Jerome. He was an adventurer and a knockabout individual who did not mind getting involved in a fight.
   Unlike other barrackers and characters, his reputation has not diminished over time and in 2008 in Sydney, Yabba was immortalised in bronze.
   This is a fascinating character study of one of the foremost Australian cricket lovers written by one of Australia’s noted noted social historians and cricket writers Richard Cashman.
   This is the 12th book Richard has written or edited. I am proud to say that his first regular columns on cricket began in the ‘80s in my old magazine Cricketer (Aust) which we produced from 1973-94. I do highly recommend Richard’s latest book.