​James Wilson
Author
"A surprising gem ... all in all, a thoroughly enlightening piece of work"
- Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2015.
"A thoughtful and well written book"
- Lord Judge, former Lord Chief Justice.
"A must read for anyone interested in these pursuits"
- Robert Griffiths QC, former Chairman of the Laws Sub-committee, MCC.
"an interesting and entertaining collection of stories and cases"
- Law Society Gazette.
Court & Bowled: tales of cricket and the law
Published by Wildy, Simmonds & Hill, 2014
'In summertime village cricket is the delight of everyone' the English
judge Lord Denning famously wrote, in a case brought by someone
who clearly disagreed with him. The case was but one example of
how the game of cricket cannot always avoid the law. Neighbours
or passers-by get hit by stray cricket balls, protesters interrupt
matches, players get into fights or take drugs, and not a few
involved with the game sue each other for libel.
This book looks at a number of stories where cricket or cricketers
gave rise to a legal dispute. It begins with a short history of cricket
as it appears in the early law reports, including the case from 1598
which contains the very first known use of the word cricket. It then
turns to individual cases from Victorian times to the present day.
Some of the disputes have been of fundamental importance to the
game itself. The ruling in Bolton v Stone affected village and indeed
impromptu cricketers everywhere, while if Kerry Packer had lost his
High Court action in 1978, his cricket revolution would have been
over before a ball had been bowled. Other cases raise issues going
well beyond the boundary ropes: Basil D'Oliveira's omission by
England from a tour of South Africa, for example, ended up being
considered in the highest echelons of power in both countries.
All of the stories demonstrate something common to both cricket
matches and court cases: behind the intrigue, entertainment and
amusement of both there are real people and real human stories,
with all the usual human emotions and fallibility.
The book will be of interest not only to cricket fans or lawyers but
anyone interested in tales of high (and low) human drama and
great ethical, moral and legal dilemmas.
The book is available from Amazon here or from the publishers
directly here.
In 1979, The Advocates Society welcomed Lord Tom Denning to Toronto. He was on a tour publicizing his latest book. I was gifted The Discipline of Law as a call to the bar gift shortly after.
Forty-five years on—and a quarter century after the world-famous jurist’s death at 100—James Wilson’s new biography is an excellent and thorough review of the still relevant, and always controversial jurist. Wilson himself practices law in New Zealand and the U.K., and is an accomplished writer on legal topics, including exploring legal cases around the game of cricket. The result is not only a highly readable biography but an excellent reference source on the innumerable areas of the law that Denning contributed to developing.
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The book’s 23 chapters extensively cover Denning’s life and upbringing and every stage of his legal career. These are preceded by the book’s opening, which includes quotes about him and by him (never overly modest!) Among the mostly glowing accolades is a comment from Reuben Hassan, Professor Emeritus at Osgoode Hall Law School, who opines that Lord Denning “fell considerably short of the stature of a great judge (or jurist).” The late-Lord Brooke declares him as “rather a discredited figure.”
Through an examination of the man’s life and times, Wilson gives us insight into what drove both Denning’s innovation as well as his often moralistic, judgmental rigidness. His strengths and weakness in many ways reflected the changing society of England during his long life. The book is also meticulously footnoted with a select bibliography of over ten pages including reports or works authored by Denning.
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The last chapter, appropriately titled “A Final Judgement,” includes a critical analysis of Denning’s well known, catchy, succinct openings that he is so remembered for: “It all started in a public house,” or “ A man’s head got caught in a propeller.” While memorable, among other criticisms, the author suggests that putting the merits of the case up front with the facts was Denning’s way of getting the reader to agree with his decision.
In summary, Wilson has delivered a well-organized, readable, and interesting biography / legal-social history that should give a judicial reader both insight and knowledge of perhaps the most influential jurist of the modern era.