An important part of growing up in South Australia in the 1970s and 80s was watching Rick Darling and David Hookes dispatch opposition bowlers to all parts of Adelaide Oval, so I was pleased to hear that Darling had written his memoirs.

Bush to Buckingham Palace isn't an autobiography as such; rather a series of vignettes of Darling's time in cricket, mainly the shenanigans that happened while under the influence (Darling and room mate Graeme Wood both end up the worse for wear (Darling waking up to find his pillow stuck to his face due to blood loss thanks to a late night wrestle with Wood), although my biggest surprise was Darling's story about great uncle Joe fighting fast bowler Ernie Jones naked in the dressing room).

Although there are plenty of laughs involved, bubbling under the surface are some serious issues; Darling's chronic injuries due to being hit with a 150km/h cricket ball and his mishandling by selectors (how he found out he was dropped from the Australian ODI side is particularly brutal). While he doesn't hold too many grudges, Darling thinks that if he had access to the same support structures in place today his career would have been far more successful.

Hopefully the success of Bush to Buckingham Palace will lead other South Australian champs like Wayne Phillips, Peter Sleep and Wayne Prior (amongst others) to write their own memoirs. ( )