Still living the dream

If you are a fan of Australian football or cricket, chances are that you have a Ken Piesse book on your shelves. 

Ken is Australia’s most-published author of books about sport and sporting heroes, but his new book is a little different. 

While he’s written biographies of some of the greats, including cricketers Shane Warne, David Warner, and Sir Donald Bradman, and Aussie rules legends Jack Dyer and Gary Ablett, this time he’s taken on a subject he knows better than all of them: himself. 

In Living the Dream: 60 Years in Cricket and Football, Piesse explores his childhood, personal sporting ambitions, and his writing career. 

Member Matters recently had the opportunity to ask Ken a few questions, with the vain hope of getting one past the keeper. 

Q: What inspired your long interest in cricket?

I was a child of the ‘60s, one of the luckier ones. We didn’t have to endure a Depression or a World War and National Service was ending. We had the Beatles, Clark Kent, sliced bread, decimal currency, and takeaway Chinese. The clip-clop of the horse-drawn milk cart was as familiar as the dawn wake-up calls from our resident kookaburra from our old eucalypt dominating our corner block in bayside Beaumaris (Melbourne).  

My Dad and Mum encouraged me to love and follow all sports. On cold, crisp, often-foggy Saturday mornings, the siren from the nearby footy oval was irresistible. I’d be there from nine to five, watching all three 'Bowie' games. But cricket was the game I really loved. Dad would take me to our local library, and I’d withdraw all 18 of its cricket books and lovingly arrange them in order of size in a bookcase I’d made at school, imagining they were mine. 

We’d attend Sheffield Shield matches at the mighty Melbourne Cricket Ground, always 20 rows back at fine leg. I’d have my NSW Junior Cricket Union scorebook, several sharp grey leads, a rubber, a Herbert Adams pie, and a can of fizzy drink. Dad would sit with me for a time before catching up with his mates in the Cigar Stand.  

Q: Cricket seems to attract a lot of “characters” who can spin a good yarn of their own. Is there something about the game that attracts larrikins?

Cricket inspires story tellers and allows players of all ages to continue playing and reminiscing. Cricket breeds the most amazing friendships. The stats and solo feats are often forgotten, but rarely a face ... or a nickname. I get “Master” most – thanks to Mike Sheahan – but over the journey have had many. 

At Beaumaris I was “Mantis” (like a praying mantis, long and thin), at Kingston “KP”, at Port Melbourne I’m “Guru”, and now at Mt Eliza, I get “Jurassic” which is fair enough as I am in my 70th year.  

Q: You've also collaborated with a few big names in cricket and football. What was the most satisfying experience there?

Terry Jenner (TJ), Shane Warne’s coach, was very human, very vulnerable, and very honest. Of 20 books I have co-written with the champions, this was the best by far. The three “jail” chapters we penned were the best of all my ghost-written stories. 

TJ was on parole when he first met Warnie, who had just returned from a youth tour of the West Indies. He had bleached white hair and an earring. They shook hands and Warnie looked him right in the eye. TJ liked that.  

“Show us what you’ve got son,” he said. Without any warm-up, Warne delivered the most perfect leg-break Jenner had ever seen... 

Q: You do a lot of public speaking, including on cruise ships. Is there one story that audiences love above all others?

One October, Tommy Hafey’s Tigers were in the Australian Championship Final in Adelaide and Brian Roberts, aka the Whale, was having a shocker. Richmond trailed at half-time and instead of joining his teammates in the rooms he immediately veered into the medical room looking for the team’s doctor.  

“Doc, Doc,” he said. “I haven’t gone near it. Tommy is going to hate me forever. Doc, you’ve gotta give me something. I need a lift. I don’t care if it’s illegal. Please Doc, please…” 

“I’ll see what I can do, Whale,” he was told. 

Just as the players were about to run out again, having been given a suitable serve by Hafey, the Doc nodded solemnly to Roberts, called him into a corner and quietly handed him three red tablets and a half-glass of water.  

“Don’t tell anyone Whale,” he whispered. “If I get caught, they’ll throw the book at me… do you promise?”  

“Yep Doc… and thanks.” 

“Swallow ’em straight down now. Whatever you do, don’t crunch ’em.”  

“Yep Doc… yep.” 

Roberts bounced out of the rooms and had a golden second half, dominating the ruck, taking some strong grabs and helping Richmond to a massive comeback win. Rarely had he been on such a high. 

“I was floating out there, Doc,” he said, before burying him in a bear-hug. 

The Doc didn’t have the heart to tell him the pills administered were red Smarties.  

Q: The latest book is titled Living the Dream, and it covers a lot of territory. Which part of it was the most fun to write?

The introduction, talking about growing up in Beaumaris, a sports mad kid who had little idea he could ever write, publish or edit 90 books … the 90th is coming out later this year.