Who (or what) is being protected? Ford Parade, Lindisfarne. January 2012. Two books this week, with one departure of the norm and another collection of short stories from an unknown German. The first is Tasmanian Tiger Ed Cowan’s In The Firing Line . Essentially the diary of the Australian domestic cricket season as seen through a player [then] on the periphery of the international game, Cowan struck lucky to decide on this endeavour the year that Tasmania won its second Shield title. While these books are often dry affairs, Cowan is both brutally honest in his assessment of himself, his cricket and the impact of his chosen career path on his loved ones. Moreover, he offers great insight with some considered and oft-unspoken views on the state of State cricket in Australia and the future of the game. I was particularly drawn to his observation on the effect of Twenty20 on both the domestic and international game. His frank and portrait of life as one of the invisible ‘not quite top-run...