Book review: Twirlymen, By Amol Rajan

"The great spin bowlers," declared the Aussie spin maestro Arthur Mailey, "were… not always pleasant but invariably interesting." This view is amply substantiated through practitioners from underarm spinner David Harris, who initiated the hat-trick and sat in an armchair between overs, to Shane Warne.

Prior to his renaissance, there was a joke about Warne's idea of a good diet: "a cheeseburger in each hand". This seductive book will engage those who don't know a googly from a doosra and enlighten those who do.