The Observer interviews Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland. In case you don’t know, the book concerns a cricket team in New York among other themes.

There is a wonderful quote in the interview.

As a teenager, O’Neill played cricket for the Netherlands’ under-19 side. He kept up the sport in England and, when he came to New York, he set about looking for a game. Eventually he called up the Staten Island cricket club. ‘Joe,’ asked the club official, ‘are you a white man?’ ‘Yes,’ O’Neill replied. ‘Well,’ said the official, ‘you better pack a helmet.’