In the 1980s, two books written by the wife of an international cricketer caused a furore. Frances Edmonds, wife of Phil, was wickedly funny. She did not believe what happens in the West Indies should stay in the West Indies, or indeed what happens in Australia. England players and their shenanigans came in for frank appraisals in Another Bloody Tour, and when this was a success (the book, not the tour where England lost the series 0-5) it was followed by Cricket xxxx Cricket.
These did so well that Australian wicketkeeper Tim Zoehrer sledged Phil as he batted in a Test with: “At least I have an identity. You’re only Frances Edmonds’ husband.”
Frances Edmonds’ husband, meanwhile, aware that his wife’s interests were too varied and there was so much more to write about the countries they travelled through, politically and culturally, knew from the start that he was not going to be the focus. Ian Botham, for one, cried out for attention. Mike Gatting and David Gower were there too, apart from a phalanx of reporters with their own psychological issues.
“Two large men in a hotel room, cricket gear all over the place, dirty jockstraps, one wanting to go to bed early, the other coming back at three in the morning — it must be obnoxious. They start giving each other nicknames — Beefy, Lamby, Fender — it’s fairly puerile,” wrote Mrs. Edmonds.
You won’t find similar observations in Puja Pujara’s The Diary of a Cricketer’s Wife. Told by an adoring wife of an introverted husband, it is no travelogue or treatise.
It is not strictly speaking a diary, and is sometimes over-written. Too many pages are spent in the meeting and marrying of an international cricketer; Frances meets Phil on page 13, and they are married on page 20. Puja hears of Cheteshwar on page 3 and they get married on page 137! In between there is much background of the families, the husband’s baby steps in cricket and history both personal and of the sport.
Still, it is a welcome addition to books on Indian cricket. If the connection is tangential we must remember this is Puja’s memoir. Tension and anxiety follow wives off the field as much as they do the husbands on it. The triumphs and tribulations are laid out, Cheteshwar’s exceptional strength of character shines through.
The perspective — that of a wife, manager and fellow-tourist — is unique, and the reticence to get into the ‘masala’ is understandable. Cheteshwar’s father played First-Class cricket, was his first coach and psychologist, and following the death of his mother took on yet another role. Puja draws out the father-son relationship with skill and empathy.
The cricketer who emerges is a man of dignity and character, with a strong moral centre and a remarkable ability to take the blows — physically, as in Australia, and mentally during the times he was dropped from the team — and come up smiling. Puja says, “Cheteshwar’s life has always resembled a cardiogram — full of ups and downs.