BOOK REVIEWS
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The Thin White Line
Nick Greenslade
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BOOK SYNOPSIS
The Thin White Line: The Inside Story of Cricket's Greatest Scandal tells the story of the spot fixing scandal of 2010. which sent shock waves through the sport. It stunned the wider sporting world and confirmed the reputation of the News of the World's Mazher Mahmood as the most controversial news reporter of his generation. It was the start of a stunning chain of events that saw the News of the World shut down, Pakistan captain Salman But and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir banned and sent to prison, before Mahmood himself ended up behind bars.
This gripping, forensic account takes the reader through the twist and turns of those fateful days late one August and beyond. For the first time it shines a light on the tradecraft of the News of the World team and how they exposed the criminal scheming of the Cricketers and their fixer Mazhar Majeed. It reveals how deeply fixing had penetrated the Pakistan dressing room and lifts the lid on the black arts of investigative reporting which would eventually prove Mahmood's undoing.
OUR REVIEW
One of cricket's most shameful periods is fascinatingly thrust into the mainstream as Nick Greenslade digs into the Pakistan spot-fixing scandal from 2010 and expertly tells the story of how three players brought the game into disrepute, when they were caught in a sting by a UK National newspaper.
The book delves into the nitty gritty of how the scandal came about, the background of the players and why they became embroiled in spot-fixing, eventually going to prison and how the controversial tactics that brought them to justice, were questioned ethically and caused the News of the World to cease as publishers.
Every last detail is there and the book does a great job of flowing throughout and its timeline is structured accordingly, allowing you to stay engaged throughout and want you to keep reading and not putting the book down.
The culture of the game is explored too, as is that of the Pakistan team and it really hits home the stark contrasts of why this came about. It also explores the reactions from around the cricketing world and the disbelief it has caused and the lessons that are very much trying to be solved to ensure it doesn't happen again in the game.
This is a very interesting read, has been written well and lots of details and emotions are explored throughout. One of cricket's greatest books of the modern era.
