Yet, in Ed Smith, such a person exists. I'd maybe hold it against him if I did enjoy his work so much.
Having appreciated his insight on Test Match Special - and been impressed by his forays into the pages of the New Statesman - this book was an obvious choice. It's a short book, comprised of 15 essays that address thought-provoking topics. These range from 'The age of the amateur has passed. Worse luck', 'What do people see when they watch sport?' and 'Why luck matters - and admitting it matters more'. All perfect fodder for a lunch time work reading club.
There's a lot packed in to a short space and it's a richly rewarding read that manages to remain insightful without ever becoming inaccessible.
It'd be unfair to categorise this as a sports book - as the name suggests, sport is merely the prism through which we consider some fascinating observations about the world around us, including the role chance plays in our lives and cultural identities.
Best of the lot, for me, was the chapter entitled 'Why history matters in sport (and how England won the 2005 Ashes)'. It's hard to do it justice here, but the way Smith sums up the different theories that might be used to explain the 2005 victory over Australia by comparing them to historical approaches ticked every box for a cricket-loving history graduate.
The chapter also contains a beautiful definition of history, with Smith stating: "The past is a treasure trove of information waiting to be ordered analytically into judgements."
Throw in a pleasing reference to Brian Clough and Peter Taylor - I'm a sucker for a Forest mention - and a thought provoking passage on the way any people watch the same action on the field but 'see' something different (something we all ought to reflect on in an adversarial age of Twitter spats) and you're left with a brilliant blend of material.
Perhaps the only problem here is that there isn't more. I could've easily tucked into twice as many chapters. It certainly feels like I landed on an underrated gem with this book, one that wouldn't disappoint if you landed on it too.
