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He had one of those natures which called to you and in whose presence you felt it was good to live. Thus wrote Frank Iredale of Victor Trumper, his colleague on the 1899 Australian tour of England. Many contemporaries echoed Iredales sentiments and in the 101 years since Trumpers death from Brights disease, his reputation has grown to legend. Cricket writers have strived and sometimes strained to express their admiration of his batsmanship yet none of them come close to that picture in capturing the elusive magic.George Beldams 1905 image Jumping out for a straight drive is surely the most famous photograph in the history of cricket. Certainly it is the most reproduced, for it has appeared on the covers of countless books and on letterheads and posters; it has been sculpted, etched, reprinted and woven; it has even been the symbol for an internet chat room.And in 1975 it appeared on page 89 of Great Australian Cricket Pictures, where it first came to the notice of a young Gideon Haigh. Thus began a 40-year fascination with Trumper that has culminated in Stroke of Genius, which in the authors words is an iconography, a study of Trumpers valence in crickets mythology and imagery.It could be argued that Haigh has sold himself a little short there. For his latest book is more than a study in polysemy and its related fields, invaluable though that is. Stroke of Genius includes passages on the early history of photography, the development of cricket in Australia and the changing ways in which Australian writers like Jack Fingleton viewed the game. And it is perhaps appropriate that a cricketer whose method was exclusively his own is the chief subject of a book that defies easy classification.But if the librarians at Lords or the MCG are uncertain as to which section Stroke of Genius properly belongs, there need be no doubt about its quality. This may be the book Haigh was destined to write, and he has not been overawed by the occasion. While one might quibble at the absence of an index, one enjoys everything else.It is not only Haighs familiarity with his material that makes this book a triumph. He has three qualities rarely found in conjunction: he is a very good scholar, a very fine writer, and he also understands that what he describes is often best understood in its wider non-cricketing context.The sections in the book where these skills were most interestingly in evidence, at least to this reviewer, were those on photography. Again this is only fitting given that the centrepiece of the book is that wonderful moment of incipience captured by Beldam 111 years ago. Haigh begins the relevant chapter with a quotate from Emile Zola that could serve as an epigraph to the whole book.I dont think you can really say you have seen something until you have taken a photograph of it, which reveals all the details you would not otherwise have noticed - and which in most case cannot even be seen. Soon afterwards the reader is learning about gelatine emulsions, focal-plane shutters and the other innovations by which Beldam sought to refine photographic technique, and that would lead to the production of Great Batsmen: Their Methods at a Glance, which was published with text by CB Fry in 1905 and which included the famous image of the best batsman in the world at that time. Thus an English photographer, who like Trumper followed his own method, helped preserve the powerful image that was used as Australia sought to free itself from colonial associations and establish its independence.Trumper lifted [cricket] to a level of art beyond the reach of all but himself, wrote Bede Nairn in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. And, in achieving this, he reworked the charter of cricket from a Victorian artefact into an Edwardian palimpsest, with spacious Australian flourishes all but replacing the English script. The nature and variety of further Australian flourishes inspired by Trumper, a few of them rather eccentric, are carefully chronicled by Haigh in this rich and rewarding book. So rewarding, indeed, that one wonders whether another edition might be published, rather following the example of Edmund de Waals wonderful The Hare with the Amber Eyes, in which all the photographs, some of which seem a trifle cramped in the current version, could be reproduced in full clarity.That, though, is another cavil at excellence. For the moment, anyone remotely interested in why players like Steve Waugh were so interested in the style of cap worn by Trumper can do no better than buy Haighs book. It will take them back to that glorious image of an Australian cricketer who took the art of batting and reinvented it after his own fashion.You know that photograph. It just sits in your mind and your memory, said former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd on dedicating the SCGs Trumper Stand in December, 2008. Yes, thats right, it really does. Get the modest acceptance speeches ready, Gideon. This is the cricket book of the year.Stroke of Genius by Gideon Haigh Penguin Australia, 2016 A$39.99Scott Stevens Devils Jersey . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem. Pavel Zacha Devils Jersey .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. http://www.devilssale.com/authentic-ken-daneyko-devils-jersey/ . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Taylor Hall Devils Jersey . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Jesper Bratt Devils Jersey . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying.Former Sussex seamer Lewis Hatchett is forging a new career as a motivational speaker, inspiring others with the remarkable story of how he overcame a disability to become a professional cricketer.Hatchett was born with Poland Syndrome, a rare condition which appears in only one in 100,000 births and which affects one side of the body in different ways. In Hatchetts case he is missing his right pectoral muscle and the two ribs that would have been behind it, which means his chest is visibly sunken on that part of his body, leaving complications that he has to deal with on a day-to-day basis.His right shoulder muscles overcompensated for the missing pectoral, causing these muscles to be over-used and they become fatigued quickly, resulting in aches, burning sensations and headaches daily along with his right chest offering little protection to his right lung.Although he was advised as a youngster not to play contact sports, Hatchetts determination helped him to overcome his condition. He spent six years as a professional with Sussex, taking 102 wickets in 53 first-team matches in all competitions, and batting in a bullet-proof vest.He was advised to retire at the end of last season because of a lower-back complaint.Hatchett is still adjusting to life outside the Sussex dressing room but he has kept busy by helping his brother Bradley in a business networking business, works as a personal trainer - a course he took with the help of PCA funding while he was playing - and has also begun a career as a motivational speaker.The more I have spoken about my condition and my path into the game, the more I have realised how rare this story is, Hatchett said. Its not just relevant to people with disabilities. A lot of the people who have heard me speak dont have a disability, but tell me that, having heard my story, they realise that they dont have a reason to complain about things that they think are wrong in their own lives.I believe that there aree so many messages in my story that are transferable to all aspects of life and I am really enjoying telling it.dddddddddddd Each time I speak I get better and the feedback is brilliant.Hatchett was not always so comfortable in discussing his condition and for a long time he hid it so that it could not be used as an excuse to not select him.I protected it because I didnt want to give anyone the chance to use it against me, to not pick me or to drop me. I could accept not being selected for my cricket, but not my body, that wasnt an option in my eyes, he said.I worked incredibly hard to make myself the fittest player in the team so no one could use my body against me. I know I did everything possible to play professional cricket and probably went further than I ever should have.My family never made it a big deal. I have a younger brother who is fully able-bodied. We competed against each for years and I didnt see myself as any different for him.I wasnt put in cotton wool. I wasnt protected from anything. As a youngster I knew I wasnt the best player around, but I knew I could work harder than everyone else I came up against and Id give myself a chance, which is what I did.Hatchetts condition meant that he had to work hard to develop his leading right arm for bowling and catching. The vulnerability of his right chest meant that, if struck, the consequences could have been fatal and so he had a specially-designed vest made out of Kevlar to protect the right side of his chest while batting.The chest guard was something I had built in my second year of being a pro because I realised that chest guards that you get off the shelf werent going to cut the mustard with bowlers bowling up to 90mph, Hatchett said. The Kevlar chest guard is literally bulletproof, so when I was batting I could say to bowlers, Im bulletproof! ' ' '