The Rules of Backyard Cricket is a 2016 crime fiction novel by Australian author Jock Serong.
It was described as a "bestseller" on the Publishers Weekly website in October 2016.
Synopsis.
This is the story of two Australian brothers who start off playing cricket against each other in their backyard: Wally Keefe who ends up a professional cricketer; and Darren who ends up shot in the knee, bound and gagged in the boot of a car.
Critical reception.
Writing in "Australian Book Review" reviewer Craig Billingham noted: "Reminiscent of Malcolm Knox's "A Private Man" (2004), which also featured a professional cricketer, the subject under investigation in "The Rules of Backyard Cricket" is a recognisable variant of the Australian male: white, laconic, barrel-chested, hands shaped by long exposure to bats and balls and beer bottles."
In the "Sydney Morning Herald" Sue Turnbull called the novel "Beautifully written and acutely observed, "The Rules of Backyard Cricket" is a noir tour de force."