Gideon Haigh has been commended by just about every major sports writing award in this country, and the recent release of Mystery Spinner in the UK has led to him receiving some of the United Kingdom's most coveted awards. He is now indisputably one of the world's greatest sports writers. Warwick Armstrong is the most significant Australian all-round cricketer of the twentieth century, routinely described as the country's W.G. Grace. He was a dour batsman, a slow bowler so successful at restricting runs that some critics wished to ban him, an uncompromising captain who unleashed on England the first truly life-threatening pace attack (some were inclined to excuse Bodyline as a response to Armstrong's tactics). He was no stranger to gamesmanship, sledging and, once in a while, outrageous cheating. He even foresaw match-fixing, and urged authorities to take remedial action. (Contrary to popular belief, betting on cricket was widespread even at the turn of the century.)