Cricket Maiden

Match fixing in cricket has plagued the noble game as long as it has ever existed. Lady Andalusia, a gorgeous lass, from the erstwhile British Empire in 1810, was set to marry the dashing batsman Hughie Dawson. But fate had other ideas. Fast forward to 2010. Twenty Twenty Cricket, fast and exciting, and with its exorbitant riches, threatens the longer and purest form of the game, the five day Test Match, from its very existence. With billions of dollars in marketing and TV rights, a three match 20/20 series in London is scheduled by the billionaire descendants of Hughie Dawson. Experimental in nature, it features a Professional cricketers XI against an International selection of amateurs from each of the 10 Test playing nations. But the Coach is found mysteriously murdered after the first game, and the Amateurs XI lose their form. The obvious suspects are the match fixers who were seen approaching the Amateurs XI star batsman Amay Indulkar. But are they the real culprits? What about the gigantic spectre of a strangler? And of the tears rolling down the cheeks of a Bollywood actress? The search for a magic bat, that disappeared in 1810, bestowed with divine powers, which scores runs at will, is on. It takes detective Landon Beau and Nigel Harrison, to the Indian subcontinent, to recover it. Through the romance between Landon and his new flame, Amelia Kanowski, the series reaches a thrilling conclusion at Lords. Landon, captains the Amateurs XI, and with the help of the mysterious but elusive Lucy, finds the magic bat, and soon enough later solves the crime. This is the story of romance, of the enormous wealth and popularity of Twenty Twenty cricket, of faith and toil, Bollywood, the thrills and spills of limited overs cricket, crime, match-fixing, and the very spirit of the game.