Reviewer: David Pracy

John Broom has succeeded in treating the fallen with respect, while conveying the sheer joy that millions felt in playing and watching cricket as an escape from the dark days of war.

The breadth of John Broom’s research is remarkable. While the main emphasis is on England and the traditional Test-playing countries, he has unearthed details of cricket being played in every theatre of war and even in concentration camps.

This is essential reading for any lover of cricket, for whom it is fascinating to see familiar names turning up in unfamiliar places and circumstances. I would have to say that readers with little or no interest in cricket will find parts of the book hard going, but the cricket is firmly set in the context of its social and military background, and the comprehensive index is well worth checking in case it mentions a person or place you are interested in.

The Essex Family Historian, August 2022

"John Broom has given us much here. Amidst the impressive details, stories of great sporting endeavours shine through. One comes away with a great respect and affection for the way in which players at all levels, in Britain and around the cricketing world, just kept on going as much as possible with the game they loved. This book is an important portrait of the way in which, during those momentous years, cricket, with such fortitude and purpose, successfully re-moulded itself and blended into wartime life."

Guards Magazine, Winter 2021 - 2022

I found this a compelling overview of cricket during some of the darkest years this world has seen.

Richard Lawrence, Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians

John Groom describes the symbolic "Grim Test", in which Britons fought to win the Ashes of civilisation - the sport continued throughout the war as did soccer, providing some sort of relief from the relentless fighting. Major personalities who were lost or survived are remembered in this terrific book.

Books Monthly

What a fantastic book indeed, being a big cricket fan and having read many cricket books, I’ve never really read one about the war years. This book was a joy to read for any fans of cricket and I’ve so much I’d happily read it again. A lot of research and work must have gone into this book and it really shows. Calling it the Grim Test seems rather apt too and well done considering it was a dark time in the world. It was nice to see really that despite there being a world war on, there was still time for some cricket. A great book I would certainly recommend to others.

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UK Historian

'...genuinely magnificent. Not just the subject area, covered like never before, but in the sheer depth of research...Drama and poignancy rub shoulders on every page and it is a book you will be the better for reading.'

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Derbyshire Cricket - Peakfan's Blog

' The Grim Test is an immensely satisfying read, and is highly recommended... An impressively researched and immaculately written history of an era that, for perfectly understandable reasons, cricket historians have hitherto tended to neglect. It is also well produced, nicely illustrated and has an excellent index.'

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Cricketweb.net - Martin Chandler

As a lover of the game, I found the book very very interesting and detailed. The part on the Japanese PoW camps was even more so, as I run the Far East PoW website (FEPOW Family). For those interested in the game, this is a must-read.

Ronnie Taylor