image of person or book cover 4018167847442886626.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon The Rules of Backyard Cricket single work   novel   thriller  
Issue Details: First known date: 2016... 2016 The Rules of Backyard Cricket
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'It starts in a suburban backyard with Darren Keefe and his older brother, sons of a fierce and gutsy single mother. The endless glow of summer, the bottomless fury of contest. All the love and hatred in two small bodies poured into the rules of a made-up game.

'Darren has two big talents: cricket and trouble. No surprise that he becomes an Australian sporting star of the bad-boy variety—one of those men who’s always got away with things and just keeps getting.

'Until the day we meet him, middle aged, in the boot of a car. Gagged, cable-tied, a bullet in his knee. Everything pointing towards a shallow grave.' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Text Publishing , 2016 .
      image of person or book cover 4018167847442886626.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 291p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 29 August 2016
      ISBN: 9781925355215

Other Formats

Works about this Work

What I’m Reading Peter Mares , 2017 single work column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2017;
Neither Tragedy nor Comedy Patrick Barney , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 31 no. 1 2017; (p. 226-228)

'While reading Jock Serong's The Rules of Backyard Cricket, I kept asking myself if it is possible to write a socially conscious version of Lethal Weapon, with the same drugs, prostitution, and desperation but without the one-liners and subliminal endorsement of machismo and authoritarian violence. Raised by a single mother after their alcoholic father fails to return home after work one day, the two are in constant competition with each other, frequently getting into scuffles over foul play during backyard matches. First person allows us an excellent look at how Darren sees himself, which is a good choice given that the novel examines how his private life is marred by his public persona-but the level of irony needed to distance the novel from Darren's juvenile musings simply is not present.'  (Publication abstract)

The Rules of Backyard Cricket By Jock Serong Sue Noonan , 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: Good Reading , November 2016; (p. 40)
A Frolic in the Slips Craig Billingham , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 385 2016; (p. 33)

— Review of The Rules of Backyard Cricket Jock Serong , 2016 single work novel
A Frolic in the Slips Craig Billingham , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 385 2016; (p. 33)

— Review of The Rules of Backyard Cricket Jock Serong , 2016 single work novel
The Rules of Backyard Cricket By Jock Serong Sue Noonan , 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: Good Reading , November 2016; (p. 40)
Neither Tragedy nor Comedy Patrick Barney , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 31 no. 1 2017; (p. 226-228)

'While reading Jock Serong's The Rules of Backyard Cricket, I kept asking myself if it is possible to write a socially conscious version of Lethal Weapon, with the same drugs, prostitution, and desperation but without the one-liners and subliminal endorsement of machismo and authoritarian violence. Raised by a single mother after their alcoholic father fails to return home after work one day, the two are in constant competition with each other, frequently getting into scuffles over foul play during backyard matches. First person allows us an excellent look at how Darren sees himself, which is a good choice given that the novel examines how his private life is marred by his public persona-but the level of irony needed to distance the novel from Darren's juvenile musings simply is not present.'  (Publication abstract)

What I’m Reading Peter Mares , 2017 single work column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2017;
Last amended 1 Oct 2020 13:57:05
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X