A History of Senior Cricket in Ulster
by J Clarence Hiles.
Hiltop Publications, 2003.
ISBN: 0-9545892-0-3
400pp, £18.95

Labours of love do not come any more passionate than A History of Senior Cricket in Ulster by J Clarence Hiles.

It would be difficult to think of anyone more qualified to write the definitive history of the game in Northern Ireland. Not only does Hiles have a serious wealth of experience as player and administrator and a commitment to the game spread equally - and unusually - between the NCU and North West areas, but he also has a pen which glides gracefully across 400 pages and 200 years.

Hiles' first words are of his fascination with history and he puts it to telling effect. His portrayal of players, matches, the evolving politics and development of the game are set in real context: there is as much to be learned about the social, economic and political climates of the times as there is about the sport itself. Hiles contends that the development of any sport over 200 years cannot be appreciated without a working knowledge of the prevailing conditions of the day, a truism that has eluded most sports' historians.

Hiles writes with deep affection about his own experiences of the game, first as a lad growing up in Comber with his beloved North Down Cricket Club as his playground then as a "player, sponsor, administrator, alickadoo, journalist and historian". Rather than intruding, the personal pronoun gives the narrative an accessibility and authority that makes for highly rewarding reading.

By and large he writes generously of his contemporaries but his straight from the shoulder observations of some less fortunate souls add to the book's credibility.

From first notion to last sentence, the book was 14 years in the making. Hiles may have gathered his information at a leisurely pace but it added up to an awesome research project that saw him pick the brains of many and comb the relevance of 130 books and a dozen newspaper libraries.

From the first ball bowled in 1800 to the current issues facing the game (whither professionals/Ulster League/all-Ireland League, …). Hiles takes us on a fascinating journey made the more enjoyable by a veritable treasure trove of illustrations. No fewer than 300 pictures and cartoons make the book's price of £18.95 a realistic one although I'm puzzled at the absence of a scoercard in the detailed account of that famous Irish victory over the West Indies in 1969.

Hiles' book is a serious legacy and he deserves the gratitude of all who have the interests of the Game in Ulster at heart. I for one am grateful. My late father often told me how, as a young soldier posted to Northern Ireland, he took 6 for 50 for City of Derry and helped bowl out Sion Mills for 82 in the 1935 North-West Cup final. I always thought he was exaggerating. Page 367 has told me otherwise.

This review first appeared in the June 2004 issue of the Ulster Cricketer magazine and is reproduced here with the permission of the reviewer.