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Eleven Bats cover art

Eleven Bats

By: Anthony Moffitt
Narrated by: Ric Herbert
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Publisher's Summary

Anthony 'Harry' Moffitt spent more than 20 years in the SAS. His decades of service and his multiple tours in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan made him one of the regiment's most experienced and recognised figures.

Alongside the SAS, Harry's other lifetime love is cricket. An improvised game of cricket was often the circuit-breaker Harry and his team needed after the tension of operations. He began a tradition of organising matches wherever he was sent, whether it was in the mountains of East Timor with a fugitive rebel leader, or on the dusty streets of Baghdad, or in exposed Forward Operating Bases in the hills of Afghanistan. Soldiers, locals and even visiting politicians played in these spontaneous yet often bridge-building games.

As part of the tradition, Harry also started to take a cricket bat with him on operational tours, 11 of them in total. They'd often go outside the wire with him and end up signed by those he met or fought alongside. These 11 bats form the basis for Harry's extraordinary memoir. 

It's a story about combat and what it takes to serve in one of the world's most elite formations. It's a story about the toll that war takes on soldiers and their loved ones. And it's a story about the healing power of cricket and how a game can break down borders in even the most desperate of circumstances.

©2020 Anthony Moffitt (P)2020 W F Howes

What listeners say about Eleven Bats

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Stoicism & Resilience

An enthralling read bring two vastly different elements being high end counter insurgency warfare and the simple game of cricket

Well worth a read

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Eleven Bats

This is a nice flowing recount of life, family, physical and psychological requirements to pass selection and then to remain relevant and able to provide service in an elite special operations unit.
It goes a long way intertwined with the story of the eleven bats that provide memories for recount and the stories each of them has which cricket provides a grounding and release in stressful and demands of the job.

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great story, greater guy

I was fortunate enough to be on a course for my work, where 'Harry' presented for us. I was captivated by the presentation and found myself hanging on each word.
after a little self plug at the end about the book, I promptly purchased the audiobook. I was not disappointed. whilst not being much of cricketer, I found I couldn't put this book down, in a manner of speaking.
I would recommend this book to everyone, despite their walks of life.

Thank you for service both past and present 'Harry' and for sharing your story.

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Could not stop listening

Amazing story - great lessons and insight to a truely remarkable life - thank you & well done

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Well worth the read, as real as you can get

I am not a cricket fan, nor ex regiment. I played lots of backyard growing up in Perth in the 80s. But I did deploy at the same time to Afghanistan as Harry, and his story unexpectedly helped me piece together an event which has had a huge impact on my life, but I had problems recalling in any detail since it happened in 2005.
A true warrior scholar, the bats are his way of attaching meaning to experiences that cannot be understood because language fails. And like many other soldiers, found that art and other things that transcend culture and time, like sport and totems, do a much better job. In an age of memoirs that give the gory details to satisfy the consumer, I highly recommend that anyone wanting to understand war and the ethical problems that soldiers face, while getting a few laughs along the way (also a part of war, and a very important one), well done on a great career, an excellent read, and a legacy.

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Excellent story

Harry’s story is thought provoking and needs to be heard by everyone who may have an opinion on Australia’s participation in the war against terror.
These men and women and their families have paid a high price.
The narration of the story is brilliant.
Well done.

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The best modern war autobiography

Ive listened to many autobiographies based on the stories of soldiers during modern conflicts. This is probably my favourite. Maybe because I too am a cricket fanatic and that aspect of this was so wholesome. The narration was as good as the book in my opinion and the Richie Benaud impersonation in particular was 10/10. Thanks for your service 'Harry', bloody legend.

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insight - Psychology and Transition thinking.

A very insightful and thought provoking book. I loved the story telling and context forming way in which it gives understanding to the emotion and thought process.

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A good book

Harry’s story of his life and service and how he has woven his love for cricket into it made this a fantastic book.

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11 Bats

Great book. Recommended it wholeheartedly. Enjoyed all aspects of the storyline. A book of mixed emotions.

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