The Rules of Backyard Cricket

‘There are moments of sheer delight in the boyhood sequences, where sibling rivalry is painted with unerring accuracy by Jock Serong (winner of the Ned Kelly Award for his novel Quota)…A novel of suspense, I heartily recommend it’–Shots Magazine (UK)

‘A story of the love and hate within families, of the failures of masculinity, in a cricket context rendered with technical precision. Brutal, perceptive, uncomfortably funny, occasionally breaking into poetry.’—Geoff Lemon on Rules of Backyard Cricket

‘Funny, sad and oddly touching…also riveting…Beautifully written and acutely observed, The Rules of Backyard Cricket is a noir tour de force…Original Australian crime fiction of the first order.’—Sydney Morning Herald

'Pitch-perfect dialogue, and a strong sense of place…A very engaging, and extremely realistic debut novel.’—Reviewing The Evidence on Quota

A novel of suspense about family, sport, celebrity, rivalry, masculinity and the high price of getting everything you want.

Darren Keefe and his older brother are sons of a fierce and gutsy single mother. Darren has two big talents: cricket and trouble. No surprise that he becomes an Australian sporting star of the bad-boy variety— one of those men who’s always got away with things and just keeps getting.

Until the day we meet him, middle aged, in the boot of a car. Gagged, cable-tied, a bullet in his knee. Everything pointing towards a shallow grave.

Narrated by Darren from the boot of a car on his way to what's sure to be his own murder, this ambitious literary work is impossible to put down. Reads like literary fiction, grips like a thriller.

Jock Serong lives and works on the southwest coast of Victoria. Formerly a lawyer, he is now a features writer, and editor of Great Ocean Quarterly. His debut, Quota, won the 2015 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime Novel.