Brian Booth - Style and The Place of Religion in Sport

Style and The Place of Religion in Sport

Brian Booth, that model of a man and of a batsman who tends to be under-rated and forgotten because both he and his cricket were so blamelessly self-effacing. Tall, upright, correct in method, ever-patient, he repeated the hundred he had got at Brisbane, and so gave England a target to go for while all around him were failing.

E.W. Swanton

Booth was regarded as an elegant batsman who had an erect stance at the crease. He was known for not hitting the ball hard but for having an easy and relaxed style. In hockey, a player is not allowed to lift his stick above the shoulders; this background strengthened Booth's forearms and wrists and enabled him to impart momentum on the ball without a large swing of the blade. Booth was particularly known for his late cut and his cover drive, which he played in a manner not dissimilar to Mark Waugh. He was known for his quick footwork against spin bowling and was rarely stumped, and he had the ability to change his batting tempo. Booth quickly got into position and typically moved onto the back foot to cover his stumps. A lean player, Booth stood 181 cm, weighed 66 kg and refrained from smoking, gambling and drinking. He was known for his efficient outfielding, and on the second day of the Second Test against the West Indies in Trinidad in 1964–65, he ran out Gary Sobers and Basil Butcher with strong throws from the outfield. Booth started as a part-time leg spinner before converting to off spin.

Booth had a reputation for walking when he knew that he was out, without waiting for the umpire's decision, and he was regarded as a player and leader of the highest principles. He was known for his record of instilling high standards of conduct into his players and prevented them from showing dissent towards unfavourable umpiring decisions. Robinson said that "if a prize were offered for fairplaymanship among Australia's post-war cricketers Brian Booth ought to win it hands down". Lawry regarded Booth as one of the most gentlemanly cricketers that he knew.

A committed Christian, Booth is an Anglican lay-preacher, and often invokes religious and ethical arguments while talking about issues such as sportsmanship. Booth became intensely religious in the 1950s after befriending Pastor Roy Gray, a colleague in district cricket and a classmate at Sydney Teachers College. Gray challenged his friend's faith, and Booth reflected that "Until that point, sport had really been my God". During Booth's career, the media made much of his religious convictions. After scoring his maiden Test century, Booth was asked whether he felt that God was with him. He replied in the affirmative, and the next day, a newspaper printed the headline "England can't win. God is on Brian Booth's side."

Booth co-authored Cricket and Christianity with Paul White and wrote Hockey Fundamentals and Booth to Bat. In 1998 he wrote Sport and sportsmanship: a Christian perspective towards 2000 for the Australian Christian Forum on Education. He believed that the foundations of sport were courtesy and fairness, and he condemned the prevalence of verbal jousting in the modern game. During his career, Booth often spoke at religious functions in combination with other Christian cricketers. He appeared with the English Test opener Reverend David Sheppard at Sydney Town Hall and preached with Conrad Hunte in the West Indies.

Despite Booth's views being more genteel than that of most of his team-mates, there was minimal friction or disconnect. Early in his state career, Booth declined to join a Melbourne Cup gambling sweep organised by captain Keith Miller. However, Miller included Booth in the event by assigning him to look after the money. Booth said "That was typical of Keith. That he was able to turn something that might have been a problem into something positive, giving me a responsibility, making me feel part of the team." He added "The boys just accepted me for what I was. If they didn't share the strength of my convictions, they were quite happy for me to hold them." Simpson said that Booth never attempted to impose his worldview on his teammates and never gave any inkling that he disapproved of their behaviour.