The Match - Softcover

'Gunesekera has that essential gift of the novelist: the ability to make words live, to create life on the page' Scotsman 'So complete a match ... between empathy and artistry, between lively observation and intellectual grasp of cultural tensions, always surprises' Independent 'Gunesekera is strikingly adept at delineating the landscape of rootlessness ... [He] has a gentle, generous, deceptively light touch and a quiet genius for comic set pieces' Sunday Times 'Few novelists have so skilfully underlined the beauty of patience as a redeeming virtue' Times Literary Supplement

As a teenager from Sri Lanka, Sunny liked to play cricket. But none of his new friends in Manila were remotely interested. That is until the gorgeous Tina arrived, all poise and perfection. Three decades on, Sunny is settled in London with a teenage son of his own. But despite the quiet comfort of his life, he feels unmoored. Trying to reconnect with his past, he goes to watch the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team play at the Oval. As the sun goes down at the end of the match he realises that love, like cricket, is more than just a game. He sees one last chance to get his life into focus, if only there is time.