# Eleven: We Burn Them in the Sun

> Christian Ryan's cricket book weaves 11 lives of failure and triumph.
- Title: Eleven: We Burn Them in the Sun · Scroll | Shortify
- Summary: Christian Ryan's cricket book weaves 11 lives of failure and triumph. Christian Ryan's book 'Eleven: We Burn Them in the Sun' explores 11 cricketers' brief…
- Keywords: cricket, christian ryan, jane joseph, john watkins, servan pragg, kerry packer, world series cricket, test cricket, trinidadian cricketer, mumbai cricket, Scroll
- Source: Scroll — https://scroll.in/article/1096946/eleven-we-burn-them-in-the-sun-might-be-the-weirdest-most-beautiful-cricket-book-ever-written
- Author: Kevin John Brophy, The Conversation
- Published: 2026-11-08T15:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: cricket, christian ryan, jane joseph, john watkins, servan pragg, kerry packer, world series cricket, test cricket, trinidadian cricketer, mumbai cricket, news, politics
## Cricket's Unconventional Spirit
Cricket offers space for life beyond sport with its slow pace and diverse participants.
## Ryan's Cricket Passion
Christian Ryan writes with a gift for bringing cricket to life through his words and passion.
## The Book's Scope
Eleven: We Burn Them in the Sun explores lives defined briefly by cricket.
## First Story: John Watkins
John Watkins, an Australian spinner who played only one Test match in the early 1970s.
## Second Story: Shervan Pragg
Shervan Pragg, a gifted Trinidadian killed in a road accident at age 20.
## Groundsman John Maley
John Maley prepared Kerry Packer’s drop-in pitches for World Series Cricket matches 1977-1979.
## Ray Robinson
Ray Robinson played only one Test match in 1936 under Don Bradman’s captaincy.
## Padmakar Shivalkar
Padmakar Shivalkar took over 500 wickets for Mumbai between 1961 and 1988 but never played Tests.
## Ken Vowles
Ken Vowles impressed in Australian youth sides in the late 1980s but never had a Test career.
## Frank Parr
Frank Parr, a mid-20th century English cricketer who preferred jazz trombone life.
## Wasim Raja
Wasim Raja, a Pakistani all-rounder featured in the book.
## Jack Collins
Jack Collins, an Australian Test umpire whose career ended in 1975 after Clive Lloyd complained.
## Jane Joseph
Jane Joseph, a Trinidadian cricketer with a powerful 1973 photo capturing her pull shot.
## Donna Carmino
Donna Carmino, a Trinidadian with a 30-minute international batting career.
## Key takeaway

Christian Ryan's book 'Eleven: We Burn Them in the Sun' explores 11 cricketers' brief lives marked by failure and resilience.