Different (read 'reversed'), as it is, in flavour, force and sweepstakes, allow me to give you a ‘vantage point view’ of what the book is all about. Let’s start off with the title straight out of the crease. Reverse Sweep was first exhibited by Pakistan’s Mushtaq Mohammed in the 1970s and is called so because it is hit on the opposite side to a normal sweep. An unorthodox stroke with too much at stake, but that’s where the fun lies. Isn’t it?

In this part-cricket, part-travelogue, Bhimani simply shares his experiences in and around the world of cricket. He actually lives the dream of every cricket fan. As he himself says, 'when I look around at cricket’s insane following, I often think I might have been a shade presumptuous in referring to myself as a cricket junkie'. Packed with anecdotes and knick-knacks, each page (literally) will gift you with a new occurrence and hence, make your sporty trip all the more dynamic. Snippets from 'spaceship' media towers, life-changing 'pegs at the Keg', dinner at Geoff Boycott’s 'palatial country house', chance meetings with the 'mysterious Mrs Singh' and Paul

McCartney, battling for an apt gift for grandpa Gavaskar …this one’s sure to whet you for more.

The book can be roughly divided into seven hotspots where cricket is a way of life - Australia, Sri Lanka/Bangladesh, England, Zimbabwe, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies and a juicy 'tale ender' from the 'crafty leg spinner Harsha Bhogle'. Bhimani narrates incidents that helped him pen these stories down with such 'infectious enthusiasm' that by the end of it all, it would be tough task deciphering what kept you glued, the incidents or the staging.

The book recounts the 'highly addictive anecdote' sessions with the likes of Peter 'Porky' Parker, David Shepherd, Billy Bowden, Ravi Shastri and the 'hard-hitting' Wasim Akram. Then there’s a Ronnie Corbett exclusive where the author actually succeeded in tearing him away 'from the cracket for a few minutes'. Does that ring a bell? Yes, I am talking about the popular TV series, The Two Ronnies.

The passages I found really engaging include the ghostly Lumley castle, the mid-air tete-tete with Sachin Tendulkar, the upside down Trinidad Hilton hotel, the Queenstown escapades, and a bunch more. Bhimani’s use of language is easy, except some places where his use of strong words might seem a little inconsiderate. For instance, on his trip to Sri Lanka, he refers to himself as a sheikh 'parading around Dambulla in an Arab dishdasha thobe'. On the whole, however words flow smoothly as he 'sweeps' effortlessly from one incident to another. Style is refreshing much like that of an erudite, first-time author. What’s most credible is its indomitable spirit of looking at the greener side of life. If you love traveling around the globe, having fun sprinkled with generous toppings of adventure, this one’s for you. A real light-hearted exploration of the things beyond cricket where the 'sunburnt

mosquito' will simply bowl you over with his swashbuckling charisma, on and off the field.

With a clever twist tail-ending each anecdote, Gautam definitely 'mecks' you 'laff'. A foodie to the core, Bhimani strikes gold with this amazing line of pictorial delicacies, arranged carefully, amidst oodles of 'froth' and 'beer'.

Reviewed by Devapriya Banerjee
Designed by Subhadip Mukherjee

Gautam Bhimani was born on an auspicious cricketing date, 25th June, the date India played her first ever Test in 1932, also the date India won the World Cup in 1983. Cricket has been in his consciousness ever since. Six months after he joined ESPN in 2001, an off-beat story on the whacky ways to watch cricket sparked off a trend. A trend that subsequently saw him bring alive the lighter side of cricket. Bhimani has now covered international cricket in everysingle Test playing country other than Pakistan, as well as non-traditional venues like Sharjah, Toronto and Holland.