Telford Vice, writing in Business Day, reviews Robin Jackman's autobiography. Jackers: A Life in Cricket isn t all about cricket, he says; there is enough there to satisfy aficionados, and a lot else besides.
The value of Jackman s life is that it would have a book in it even if he wasn t a public figure. His father, a British army colonel who lost a leg in a shooting accident and wrote sentimental verse, is straight out of Wodehouse. One of his poems was titled Fred s Erection. No, sport-lovers, it s not what you think. Patrick Cargill, star of British sitcom Father Dear Father and two Carry On films, was Jackman s uncle. At 15, Jackman was invited to a lunch to celebrate the completion of the filming of A Countess from Hong Kong, Charlie Chaplin s last project as a director. It featured Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando.