AUSTRALIAN cricketing legend Justin Langer was at the Fremantle Arts Centre last Thursday for the launch of Ron Elliott’s Spinner.
The author said he was overwhelmed by Langer’s praise for the book and the idea that, while coaching Australia in New Zealand earlier this year, he tried to convince the Australian team about the main character David Donald (12) a budding cricketer.
Langer said that each night he was eager to head back to his hotel and continue reading about young Donald the amazing spin bowler.
Despite an original fear that Langer would “spot all the terrible mistakes” in the book, the author was glad his imagination, study and love of the game was successful when told it was as if Elliott was describing parts of Langer’s world. “For a cricket person to be so excited about the novel is great, because it passes the (authenticity) test,” he said.
Elliott said he was a huge fan of the culture and complexity of cricket. Though the book focuses on cricket, it was also a nostalgic, sentimental look at Australia during the war years.
Cricket, he said, was used to tell the story of Donald, a young boy confronting fame, manhood and damaged adults, but is incredibly naive to the world – growing up as an orphan on a farm with his grandfather.
“This tiny little kid with all these insecurities who’s finally marching out on to a cricket field to confront these warriors from around the world,” he said. “There is a really strong David and Goliath thing going on.”
At 52, Elliott has been a scriptwriter and director, and currently lectures in Film and Television at Curtin University.