Cricket Books

Book SynopsisOne of the great rivalries in sport returns this summer, but what is it about a six-inch terracotta urn that en flames the passions of Poms and Aussies? Why do the English think that all Australians are alcoholic simpletons? Why do Australians think the English all have a stick up their backside? And why do they need (and needle) each other so much? In this humorous look at one of the truly great rivalries, written by "The Times'" cricket blogger and a professional Australian bar-room pontificator, the grudges, sledges, heroes and villains are laid bare.Trade Review"The quirky approach is refreshingly different from the usual chronological plod" - Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians

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Book SynopsisIm in the team can you come and watch me play? If you will be sitting by a cricket pitch this summer, mystified by the antics on the field in front of you, Cricket Made Simple is the book for you. Not only will it help to explain what is going on from the spectators viewpoint it will also raise you several notches in your loved ones esteem. After reading Cricket Made Simple, you will be able to talk knowledgeably about spin and swing bowling, off drives, knocking in, and know the difference between a googly and an off-break. You might even enjoy the matches much more as a result. Just as well because they can take up a whole day at junior level, or up to five days for a Test match. The author, a mother who has spent many seasons at her sons playing fields, provides a complete guide to the intricacies of cricket for all those bemused supporters to whom this sport is a complete mystery. She also includes valuable advice on supporter etiquette and preparing cricket teas as well as dealing with the inevitable washing mountain. Cricket Made Simple is for all bemused supporters, male and female, who loyally turn out to cheer in all weathers.

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Book SynopsisYou could argue that Dennis Amiss’ seven-decade cricket career started the day he was born, when his parents named him after not one but two celebrated cricketers.Or maybe it started when he was 7, sneaking into the Birmingham Cooperative Society to play a few matches with his friends – as long as they avoided the groundskeeper!Or perhaps it was on 7 April 1958; not only his fifteenth birthday, but also his first day as a professional cricketer.Whatever day you start on, there’s no denying that Amiss has had an extraordinary career. He is one of England’s cricketing greats, with 100 first-class hundreds to his name and a place as one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year. Hugely well-respected on and off the pitch, he didn’t shy away from controversy, taking part in the 1982 ‘Rebel Tour’ of Apartheid South Africa, and somehow ending up in the midst of the battle between World Series Cricket and the England Cricket Board.Not Out at Close of Play is the story of how passion, commitment and practice – and no small amount of stubbornness! – took a boy from the backstreets of Birmingham to worldwide cricket stardom.Trade ReviewDennis was not only one of the finest batsmen of his generation, he was a cricket innovator and influencer who then also went on to become a very successful administrator at the highest levels of the game. He has been a huge influence on the direction of my own career and I am extremely grateful to him for all of his support. -- Ashley Giles MBE MSDDennis is a Warwickshire legend on and off the field. One of best batters of his generation, he set the standard for players to follow. He was a hero of mine growing up and now I have the pleasure of calling him my friend. -- Ian Bell MBE

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Book SynopsisSir Trevor McDonald is one of Britain''s most celebrated broadcasters and his devotion for cricket is almost as well-known as his legendary professional achievements.In this inspirational memoir, On Cricket, Sir Trevor explores his childhood in the Caribbean and celebrates his life-long love of the sport that followed him no matter where in the world his illustrious journalistic career would take him.Sir Trevor offers a wide-ranging commentary on cricket as a common language between England, the West Indies and beyond - a sense of belonging that knows no borders - and celebrates cricket as an engine of national identity and an essential feature of daily life and community.An exceptional storyteller and commentator, On Cricket is a love letter to the sport and a study of Sir Trevor''s oldest and most consistent passion: watching, debating and playing the gentleman''s game.

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Book Synopsis''A lovely kind of nostalgia, which colourises the black and white of yesteryear'' - The Oldie Review''He writes about them all with wonderful precision and a powerful evocation'' - Radio Times''Like my father before me, I believe that both the playing and watching of sport can teach us important lessons about ourselves by providing practical instruction in co-operation, tests of resolve and temper''For Michael Parkinson it was never really in doubt that he would spend his life in sport. His father, a fearsome fast bowler himself, indoctrinated young Michael from an early age into the Yorkshire cricket tradition and supporting Barnsley FC. All he ever wanted was to play cricket for Yorkshire and England.He rose through the ranks of Barnsley cricket along with his friends Dickie Bird and Geoffrey Boycott. But while they went on to find fame on the field, he spent the next few decades watching, writing and talking abouTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR MICHAEL PARKISON:A lovely kind of nostalgia, which colourises the black and white of yesteryear * The Oldie Review *He writes about them all with wonderful precision and a powerful evocation * Radio Times *A quietly impressive book, which does something most celebrity autobiographies shy away from: it seeks the truth and, more often than not, finds it * Mail, on Like Father, Like Son *A joyous, breezy read . . . It is also beautifully written * Daily Telegraph on Parky *Funny and self-deprecating and just as laid-back as he is on camera * Independent on Parky *Engrossing and entertaining * Irish Time on Parky *

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Book SynopsisThe Batmaker of Copenhagen is the inspiring story of a cricketing hero who defied the German occupation to keep cricket alive throughoutthe Nazi occupation of Denmark during the Second World War.With Copenhagen under the iron grip of the Gestapo, and German U-boats preventing any supplies coming in from England, a humble cricket scorer sets out on an improbable and dangerous quest to find willow and produce his own cricket bats.Scouring the length and breadth of the country, hounded by Gestapo spies, and risking everything for the game he loves, the ''Batmaker'' undertakes his mission under the very noses of the city''s oppressors.His nemesis, a Gestapo chief by the name of ''Lucifer'', begins a quest of his own to crush the resistance in a battle of wills that shapes the course of the war. Based on a true story, this uplifting tale of passion and patriotism brings cricket and espionage together in a unique and gripping t

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Book SynopsisThe indispensable pocket guide to the cricket season.The 77th edition of the Playfair Cricket Annual is packed with all the information you need to follow the cricket season in 2024, as well as a review of events during the previous twelve months.Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia will all be touring England this coming summer, and here you''ll find comprehensive Test match and limited-overs records and career records to help you follow the action.County cricket is covered in unrivalled depth, with biographies of all players registered to the counties at the start of the season, full coverage of last summer''s events and a fixture list for all major domestic matches in 2024.There are also sections on women''s cricket and the major domestic T20 competitions from around the world, including The Hundred.For any cricket fan, the season is never complete without a copy of Playfair to guide you through it all.

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Book SynopsisA TIMES, GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH AND WATERSTONES BEST SPORT BOOK OF THE YEARGripping' Roger Alton, Sunday TimesThe inside story of how England transformed the way Test cricket is played.For 145 years, Test cricket had been played mainly in one way, but the old ways weren't working. After one win in 17 by the start of the summer of 2022, England needed something new.Then came Bazball', driven by new head coach Brendon (Baz') McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. They embarked on a brand of Test cricket that breathed life into an ailing format, breaking records as they began by winning 11 out 13 games. The once rudderless and ridiculed England Test team soon became cricket's most talked-about phenomenon.Told via a mixture of interviews with the protagonists and ringside reporting, Bazball is an unmissable read, marking one of the most thrilling revolutions in any sport. Updated to include E

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER FROM CRICKET'S HUGELY POPULAR COMMENTATOR With his infectious enthusiasm for the game, David 'Bumble' Lloyd blends immense knowledge and experience with an eye for the quirky detail and an unending fund of brilliant stories. This definitive autobiography recalls his childhood in Accrington, Lancashire, when, after a long day playing cricket in the street, he would get his chance to wash himself in his family's bath - but only after his parents and uncle had taken their turn first. From being last in the tin bath, he moved on to make his debut for Lancashire while still in his teens, eventually earning an England call-up, when he had to face the pace of Lillee and Thomson - with painful and eye-watering consequences. After retiring as a player, he became an umpire and then England coach during the 1990s, before eventually turning to commentary with Sky Sports. After spendin

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Book SynopsisSachin and Azhar at Cape Town is the story of an incredible partnership between Tendulkar and Azharuddin in the Newlands Test of 1997. Replying to 529, India slumped to 58/5 against Donald, Pollock, McMillan and Klusener. What followed was an exhilarating counter-attack from both ends, seldom seen in Test cricket. With Nelson Mandela watching on - he met the players during lunch that day - the pair added a magical 222 in 40 overs, treating the lethal bowling attack with disdain. Arunabha Sengupta and Abhishek Mukherjee relive the partnership, recounting and analysing every stroke, but as they do, they also bring to life the cricket, history and society of the two countries. Covering a multitude of topics as diverse as apartheid, Mandela and Gandhi, Indians in South Africa; cricket isolation and non-white cricket in South Africa, rebel tours; the television revolution and commercialisation of cricket; with other historical details and numerical analysis of the game supporting the text, this is a fascinating snapshot of cricket at that time through the prism of that impressive sixth-wicket stand.

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Book SynopsisAlongside 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, eleven 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 eleven bats form the basis for Harry's extraordinary memoir. It's a book about combat, and what it takes to serve in one of the world's most elite formations. It's a book about the toll that war takes on soldiers and their loved ones. And it's a book about the healing power of cricket, and how a game can break down borders in even the most desperate of circumstances.Trade ReviewA compelling soldier's story of combat, survival and backyard cricket in a war zone. Harry Moffitt's unforgotten wars make an unforgettable story. -- Jim MaxwellA superbly evocative story of cricket and war. It's not just cricket. And it's not just war. It's both, and it is compelling. -- Peter FitzSimons

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Book SynopsisThe 158th edition of the most famous sports book in the world. The 2021 edition of the cricketer''s bible includes full coverage of the Cricket World Cup and this year''s momentous drawn Ashes.Published every year since 1864, the Wisden Cricketer''s Almanack 2021 contains some of the finest sports writing of the year, and tells the story of England men''s first World Cup win, as well as a remarkable Ashes series. Home to some of the finest sports writing of the year - from the likes of Lawrence Booth, Gideon Haigh, Tanya Aldred, Emma John, Andy Bull, Jon Hotten, Anand Vasu, Paul Edwards, Simon Wilde, Osman Samiuddin and Raf Nicholson - it includes the eagerly awaited Notes by the Editor, the Cricketers of the Year awards, and the famous obituaries. As always, it contains reports and scorecards for all Tests, one-day and Twenty20 internationals, together with trenchant opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records.There can''t really be any doubTrade ReviewOverall, Wisden succeeds again in meeting its challenge, recording meticulously and comprehensively while finding time to breathe and reflect. -- Richard Hobson * The Cricketer *It is a book of three parts: comment; record; and delightful minutiae, which always brings the most cheer. -- Mike Atherton * The Times *The joys of the Almanack are the joys of cricket. Its landscape is vast, its minutia endlessly explorable. It is somewhere to escape to. -- Jon Hotten * Wisden Cricket Monthly *

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Book SynopsisRuling the World tells the enthralling story of the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. From the early exchanges in the warm-up matches, up to the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, tales of classic stature and previously untold gems regularly arise. Each match is explored along with its unique backstory, with many key players contributing memories after more than a quarter of a century. Interviews with stars such as Derek Pringle, Phillip DeFreitas, Gladstone Small, Brian McMillan and Gavin Larsen help bring to life the greatest ever Cricket World Cup. Contributions from fans offer a unique insight into the high emotions in the stands as the tournament was played out. And exclusive behind-the-scenes access is granted by documents from the tournament's organising committee, including minutes from meetings and reports presented to the International Cricket Council. Ruling the World brings all the drama and excitement of 1992 to a new generation of cricket fans, and offers contemporary onlookers the chance to fondly reminisce.

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Book SynopsisTHE #5 TIMES BESTSELLEREver wondered what it's truly like being an England test cricketer? Why not ask England's greatest ever bowler?Jimmy Anderson invites you into his world of cricket and gives you a very personal insight into what it's like playing at the top level. Through stories of his 16-year international career, Jimmy draws back the curtain on test cricket to reveal bizarre superstitions and rituals, strange training camps, the personalities he's encountered, life on tour and what it's like being a bowler in a batsman's world.Bowl. Sleep. Repeat. is a fascinating, entertaining and deeply personal look at the game of cricket and what life's like beyond the boundary rope.

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Book SynopsisIn Cricket Changed My Life Annie Chave throws the spotlight on a diverse medley ofpeople, whose very variety highlights the fact that cricket can benefit anyone, that the game's reach isnot confined to players or even to fields of play.

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Book SynopsisDavid 'Bumble' Lloyd is one of cricket's great characters - hilarious, informative and insightful, and filled with boundless enthusiasm for the game. Now, in Cricket Characters, he tells the stories of the most important, influential, talented and entertaining characters he has come across in sixty years in the game.   Following on from the bestselling successes of Last in the Tin Bath and Around the World in 80 Pints, in his new book Bumble looks back at the cricketers who have had the greatest impact on him throughout his career. From the gnarly veterans he first played against as a teenager in the Lancashire League, through the old pros he met on the county circuit while at Lancashire on to a revealing insight into life alongside Mike Atherton, Ian Botham, Nasser Hussain and Shane Warne in the commentary box, this book reveals Bumble at his best: telling great stories about his favourite people

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Book SynopsisLost Cricket Stickers brings you the inside story of the 1983 cricket season, locating lost heroes and discovering their journeys with the help of a Panini sticker album.1983 was a pivotal year for cricket. India won the World Cup and England lost to New Zealand at home, both for the first time. There was a 35-minute century and a 14 all out. Yorkshire came bottom of the Championship (and won the John Player League), while South Africa tour rebels, banned from playing for England, dominated the county game. Thatcher won a landslide election victory post-Falklands.This is a warm, funny and insightful tale of tracking down a fondly remembered player from each county, each with his unique take on then and now. The book is based on the only cricket sticker album of the era.Four decades on, the county game has transformed. The Hundred and video analysis have replaced the John Player League and pub sessions after a long day in the field. But is that for

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Book SynopsisJonathan Aggers Agnew, England's voice of cricket, showcases some of the very best writings on the noble game, from the 1930s to the present day.In this wide-ranging and beautifully-produced anthology, Test Match Special's Jonathan Aggers' Agnew, chooses a wide variety of writings on the sport that has consumed his life, from the 1932/33 Ashes (Bodyline) series right up to the present day. In a series of carefully considered, thematically organised reflections, he examines the importance of their contribution to our understanding and appreciation of cricket. With input from several eminent cricketing historians, including the librarian at Lord's, the book contains a fascinating range of material, from renowned classics to books that have hardly seen the light of day in the United Kingdom (e.g. The Hanse Cronje Story by Garth King); from overseas fiction to modern day autobiographies (Marcus Trescothick, Simon Hughes, Mike Brearley etc.) that have attained classic status. With 75 seminaTrade ReviewPraise for THANKS JOHNNERS: ‘A splendid book…Like TMS it is funny, fluid and conversational.’ THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ‘So good that I felt as if the radio had been surreptitiously switched on and I was, in fact, listening to Test Match Special…it is the easiest and most enjoyable of reads.’THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE WISDEN BOOK OF THE YEARAs a young boy of eight, Jonny Bairstow was dealt a cruel blow. His father David Bluey' Bairstow, the combative and very popular wicketkeeper and captain of Yorkshire, took his own life at the age of forty-six.David left behind Jonny, Jonny's sister Becky and half-brother Andy, and his wife Janet, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer at the time of his death. From these incredibly tough circumstances, Jonny and his family strived to find an even keel and come to terms with the loss of their father and husband.Jonny found his way through his dedication to sport. He was a gifted and natural athlete, with potential careers ahead of him in rugby and football, but he eventually chose cricket and came to build a career that followed in his father's footsteps, eventually reaching the pinnacle of the sport and breaking the record for most Test runs in a year by a wicketkeeper.Written with multiple-award-winning writer Duncan Hamilton, this is an incrTrade Review‘Incredible… outstanding… A Clear Blue Sky is not just the ‘cricket’ book of the year. It will become a very important reference point for anyone who has suffered like they have… It will be an inspiration to thousands’ Daily Mail ‘A Clear Blue Sky is far more gripping and revealing than most of its peers… The passages about love and loss are superbly orchestrated’ Daily Telegraph ‘Profoundly moving’ Sky Sports ‘Moving’ Sunday Times Books of the Year ‘An exceptional book in every way’ Daily Mail Books of the Year

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Book SynopsisWinning takes many forms. For fans of Matthew Syed, this is a great sports book about leadership, judgement and decision-making rooted in the theory that helped Ed Smith lead England cricket to sustained success. And to help us all win more.An absolutely fascinating book' THE GAME, The Times football podHow do you spot the opportunities that others miss?How do you turn a team's performance around?How do you make good decisions amid a tidal wave of information? And how can you improve?As chief selector for the England cricket team, Ed Smith pioneered new methods for building successful teams and watched his decisions tested in real time on the pitch. During his three-year tenure, England averaged 7 wins in every 10 completed matches, better than they have performed before or since.Making Decisions reveals Smith's unique approach to finding success in a fast-changing and increasingly data-reliant world. The best decisions, Smith argues, rely on a combination of differing kinds of intellTrade Review PRAISE FOR MAKING DECISIONS ‘Sincere and often self-reflective… offers genuine searing insight, making points you feel have never been made before. A learned and engaging study of decision-making.’ New Statesmen ‘A WONDERFUL book’ Stumbling and Mumbling Economics blog ‘An excellent read… based on his years as England’s chief cricket selector, but drawing on much broader thinking on decision-making’ Simon Kuper ‘A masterful combination of analysis and personal experience of decision-making at the highest level. Full of insights, wisdom and highly entertaining’ Mervyn King ‘In this fascinating and highly readable book, Ed Smith explores how the human and the machine can work together’ Matt Ridley PRAISE FOR ED SMITH’S LUCK ‘There's hardly a sentence here that isn't clear, thought-provoking and beautifully expressed. Sport bores me rigid. Inspirational books repel me. But Smith on sport, life and luck brings fresh ways of looking at things on every page and, despite myself, I read on’Matthew Parris ‘Smith is a beguiling and skilful writer: good-humoured, anecdotal, discursive and often fascinating. You'll probably read his book in an evening but think about it for weeks, even years, afterwards’New Statesman ‘Book of the week … Elegant and absorbing … Smith is excellent at exploring nuances … The writing on sport is superb … Smith moves beyond sport with great effect’The Times ‘Funny and honest … like one of Smith's well-crafted innings in his playing career, it leaves you wanting more’Sunday Times ‘Blends personal experience, sporting insight and a broad knowledge of history with the journalist's talent for storytelling to fashion an original and thought-provoking book … not only refreshing but uplifting’Spectator An exceptional book: lucid, thought-provoking, informative and fair. Outstanding’The Times

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Book SynopsisWinning takes many forms. For fans of Matthew Syed, this is a great sports book about leadership, judgement and decision-making rooted in the theory that helped Ed Smith lead England cricket to sustained success. And to help us all win more.An absolutely fascinating book' THE GAME, The Times football podHow do you spot the opportunities that others miss?How do you turn a team's performance around?How do you make good decisions amid a tidal wave of information? And how can you improve?As chief selector for the England cricket team, Ed Smith pioneered new methods for building successful teams and watched his decisions tested in real time on the pitch. During his three-year tenure, England averaged 7 wins in every 10 completed matches, better than they have performed before or since.Making Decisions reveals Smith's unique approach to finding success in a fast-changing and increasingly data-reliant world. The best decisions, Smith argues, rely on a combination of differing kinds of intellTrade Review PRAISE FOR MAKING DECISIONS ‘Sincere and often self-reflective… offers genuine searing insight, making points you feel have never been made before. A learned and engaging study of decision-making.’ New Statesmen ‘A WONDERFUL book’ Stumbling and Mumbling Economics blog ‘An excellent read… based on his years as England’s chief cricket selector, but drawing on much broader thinking on decision-making’ Simon Kuper ‘A masterful combination of analysis and personal experience of decision-making at the highest level. Full of insights, wisdom and highly entertaining’ Mervyn King ‘In this fascinating and highly readable book, Ed Smith explores how the human and the machine can work together’ Matt Ridley PRAISE FOR ED SMITH’S LUCK ‘There's hardly a sentence here that isn't clear, thought-provoking and beautifully expressed. Sport bores me rigid. Inspirational books repel me. But Smith on sport, life and luck brings fresh ways of looking at things on every page and, despite myself, I read on’Matthew Parris ‘Smith is a beguiling and skilful writer: good-humoured, anecdotal, discursive and often fascinating. You'll probably read his book in an evening but think about it for weeks, even years, afterwards’New Statesman ‘Book of the week … Elegant and absorbing … Smith is excellent at exploring nuances … The writing on sport is superb … Smith moves beyond sport with great effect’The Times ‘Funny and honest … like one of Smith's well-crafted innings in his playing career, it leaves you wanting more’Sunday Times ‘Blends personal experience, sporting insight and a broad knowledge of history with the journalist's talent for storytelling to fashion an original and thought-provoking book … not only refreshing but uplifting’Spectator An exceptional book: lucid, thought-provoking, informative and fair. Outstanding’The Times

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Book SynopsisMichael Simkins was born in 1957 and spent his childhood in a sweetshop in Brighton. In 1966 he saw his first cricket match on the TV, and from that moment he was hooked.When he hasn't been playing, watching or dreaming about cricket, Michael has spent his time acting. He has appeared in countless plays and musicals in the west end, most recently as Billy Flynn in Chicago, and also features regularly on TV and the silver screen, usually playing unsuspecting husbands, police sergeants or experts. He lives with his wife, the actress Julia Deakin, in north-west London, and still plays cricket to a worryingly low standard all over the Southern Counties.Trade ReviewOnce you've read this account of one man's love affair with cricket, you'll never want to read another ghosted autobiography by a Pietersen or a Vaughan again - incompetence and failure is far more fun -- Michael AthertonAn instant classic -- Stephen FryThe childhood recollections, suffused with warmth and spangled with pain and humour, are the book's unique selling point. Lovely stuff * Daily Telegraph *Simmo may be a shockingly average amateur cricketer, but when it comes to self- deprecating wit and telling a good anecdote, he's as sprightly as Garry Sobers in his prime ... anecdotes and quirky characters hurtle down at us like yorkers bowled by a fast bowler that I'm not quite knowledgeable enough to name ... an entertaining read indeed * Sunday Times *Michael writes about disaster, humiliation, rejection and ridicule - the hilarious truth -- Nicholas Hytner

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Book Synopsis''The funniest writer ever to put words to paper'' HUGH LAURIE_____________________________________________From his early days Wodehouse adored cricket and references to the game run like a golden thread though his writings. He not only wrote about this glorious British pastime, but also played it well, appearing six times at Lords, where his first captain was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.Illustrated with wonderful drawings and contemporary score-sheets, Wodehouse at the Wicket is the first ever compendium of Wodehouse''s writings on cricket. Edited by cricket historian Murray Hedgcock, this delightful book also contains fascinating facts about Wodehouse''s cricketing career and how it is reflected in his work. The perfect gift for Wodehouse readers and fans of all things cricket._____________________________________''You don''t analyse such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour'' Trade ReviewSublime comic genius -- Ben EltonP.G. Wodehouse wrote the best English comic novels of the century -- Sebastian FaulksThe funniest writer ever to put words to paper -- Hugh LaurieWitty and effortlessly fluid. His books are laugh-out-loud funny -- Arabella WeirCompulsory reading for anyone who has a pig, an aunt - or a sense of humour! -- Lindsey Davis

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Book SynopsisAmol Rajan is Comment Editor at the Independent, having previously been a news reporter and Sports News Correspondent for the newspaper. He is also a columnist for the Independent and Evening Standard, and a restaurant critic for the Independent on Sunday. He grew up in Tooting, south London, and from the age of 11 played for Sinjuns Cricket Club (now Sinjuns & Grammarians) in Wandsworth, becoming the youngest captain of a men's team when leading the Sunday First XI in 2002, aged eighteen.www.twitter.com/amolrajanTrade ReviewEnchanting. Twirlymen is packed with anecdotes that fizz like a Murali doosra * Spectator *Wonderful * The Economist *Erudite... Charming and insightful... Knowledgeable, obsessed and astute * New Statesman *Rajan captures the distinctiveness of spin bowlers, a tribe within the wider nation of cricketers * Literary Review *I could not stop picking it up... A history of spin bowling, diligently researched but written with wit and, most tellingly, an obsessive's eye for detail -- Andy Bull * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisCricket is a strange game. It is a team sport that is almost entirely dependent on individual performance. Its combination of time, opportunity and the constant threat of disaster can drive its participants to despair. To survive a single delivery propelled at almost 100 miles an hour takes the body and brain to the edges of their capabilities, yet its abiding image is of the gentle village green, and the glorious absurdities of the amateur game.In The Meaning of Cricket, Jon Hotten attempts to understand this fascinating, frustrating and complex sport. Blending legendary players, from Vivian Richards to Mark Ramprakash, Kevin Pietersen to Ricky Ponting, with his own cricketing story, he explores the funny, moving and melancholic impact the game can have on an individual life.Trade ReviewA beautifully written meditation on the joys of summer -- Tom Holland * Evening Standard, Book of the Year *Hotten is not just good, he is one of the best... He has the eye for a beautifully judged phrase -- Richard Whitehead * Cricketer *Hotten has emerged as a worthy addition to the lineage of writers who adhere to C L R James’s aphorism: “What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?”… This will be a worthy addition to any cricketing bookshelf -- Tim Wigmore * New Statesman *For those dreaming of summer, The Meaning of Cricket is accessible, fun and elegantly written. -- Hilary Mantel * New Statesman, Book of the Year *Simultaneously playful and packed with insight … All cricketing life is here... Hotten’s writing is accessible and often moving -- Ben East * Observer *Memory and meditation twirled into a lovesong: Jon Hotten hits it out of the park -- William FiennesA collection of Jon Hotten's writing that is lively with insight and anecdote, and informed by the persona of the knowledgeable and fascinated practitioner… On amateur cricket Jon is alternately hilarious and poignant, but it's when he's in his almost-a-pro-yet-somehow-not-quite vein that he truly breaks out. He considers cricket's capacity for revealing us to ourselves. -- Gideon Haigh * Cric Info *

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Book Synopsis How and why Americans chose baseball over its early rival, cricket, as the national pastimeIn discovering how and why Americans chose baseball over its early rival, cricket, as the national pastime, George B. Kirsch takes us back to amateur playing fields around the country to recreate the excitement of the early matches, the players, clubs, and their fans. As a narrative history,Baseball and Cricketplaces the growing popularity of the two sports within the social context of mid-nineteenth-century American cities. The book''s comparative analysis follows baseball''s transition from a leisure sport to a commercialized, professional enterprise and offers the first complete discussion of the early American cricket clubs.A volume in the series Sport and Society, edited by Benjamin G. Rader and Randy Roberts Trade Review"A unique comprehensive history of America's first organized team sports. Focusing on New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Newark, Kirsch is the first to combine a history and analysis of baseball and cricket, showing the unique relationship between the two, and their places in urban history. . . . This is a major work in the field of sport history." --Choice"Kirsch's account is highly engaging and quite edifying. . . . His analysis is keen, his prose readable, and his thesis fascinating. . . . Kirsch rescues from dusty archives the names of the important cricket teams (or rather clubs), their lineups, their statistics, and wonderfully vivid accounts of critical cricket matches that help provide a contemporary American audience scantly familiar with the game a sense of its excitement, its attraction."--Aethlon: Journal of Sports Literature"This is a marvelous book. It tells us much about who played the game, what sorts of persons they were, and gives us many details of early baseball, who won, and why, and what this meant to viewers of the game."--Journal of Social History

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Book SynopsisBatting for the Poor is the authorised biography of David Sheppard, telling the story of his life as a celebrated cricketer and his remarkable work as Bishop of Liverpool.Trade ReviewAs Liverpool’s exceptional bishops, David Sheppard and Derek Worlock healed old wounds, championed great causes, and put faith into action in the city’s forgotten neighbourhoods. A first-class biography of David Sheppard is long overdue, and Andrew Bradstock has provided it. * David Alton (Lord Alton of Liverpool) *David Sheppard "stood out" in every sense of the term. He was unusually tall; played cricket for England; championed the disadvantaged; and turned a fiercely sectarian city into a beacon of ecumenism. This book tells us how. * Grace Davie, Professor Emeritus, University of Exeter *David Sheppard continually asked awkward questions, both of himself and others, but always in the context of an unshakeable faith. This is a book, and a life, we could all learn from. * David Puttnam (Baron Puttnam, CBE) *Bishop David Sheppard’s partnership with Archbishop Derek Worlock overcame the religious barriers as they led the fight against poverty and division in Liverpool, which has had a lasting effect and which is well documented in this publication. * The Most Rev’d Malcolm McMahon OP, Archbishop of Liverpool *This is a superb biography. At the end of it you feel you know not only the man, with all his strengths and frailties, but also the times in which he lived, with all their challenges. * Stephen Chalke, cricket historian *With elegant prose and faithful reporting, Andrew Bradstock has produced an accurate portrait of the life and ministry of the David Sheppard I knew and admired. * Rt Revd Wilfred Wood, retired Bishop of Croydon *David Sheppard’s life is fully deserving of this detailed, even forensic, biography. His character fully epitomized the old adage for life, 'make a plan and stick to it'. He was a friend to me in my private life, as well as a stalwart partner on the cricket field – we put on 124 runs together on the final winning day of the Melbourne Test in 1963! * Ted Dexter, CBE, former captain, Sussex and England *David Sheppard, former England Cricket Captain, ought to have been Archbishop of Canterbury. He was a remarkable man, who did good wherever he went. This splendid work is the full-scale biography that we have long needed. * Peter Oborne, author, biographer of Basil D'Oliveira and political columnist for the Daily Mail and Middle East Eye. *David Sheppard: Batting for the Poor is an excellent biography dedicated to the life and times of outstanding English test batsman, captain and highly respected Anglican bishop, David Sheppard. David was a man of principle often facing difficult social times in ministry and sport. He lived his life in sacrificial service to others and for the glory of God. A wonderful opponent and encouraging Christian friend when the Ashes were played in true respect of cricket. An uplifting and challenging read. * Brian Booth, Australian test cricketer and captain *I was honoured to have known and worked with David Sheppard. At least I thought I knew him. What is clear to me from this not wholly uncritical yet authorised biography is that I had only the sketchiest knowledge of this remarkable man of God. And cricket. A fascinating read on many levels. * Jane Reed CBE, former editor, Woman’s Own *David Sheppard reshaped Church approaches to poverty, especially among evangelicals, paving the way for today’s foodbank movement. This great account of his eventful life underlines Sheppard’s lasting influence. * Rt Hon. Stephen Timms, MP *An excellent biography, well researched, well written. Bradstock explores the struggle between ambition and virtue in Sheppard’s life on the cricket field, in the church and in his family. This is fascinating not just for cricket-lovers but for everyone. * Brian Griffiths (Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach), Chairman, Centre for Enterprise, Markets and Ethics (CEME) *The picture that emerges in this book is of a man who far ahead of his time...A suitable memorial to a life well lived. Everyone reading it with any degree of self awareness is certain to be given a cause to reflect on their own beliefs and behaviours. -- Terry Wright * Deep Extra Cover *Compelling . . . This impeccably researched book does ample justice to Sheppard’s remarkable life as a cricketer and clergyman. * Wisden Cricketer’s Almanac 2020 *This is a biography of the very highest order: informed, inspiring and brilliantly crafted. * Christianity *Whatever one’s stance on the religious aspect, this is a superb book. * Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians *It is difficult to imagine a more enriching life than that lived by Sheppard and impossible to think a better book could be written about it than the one Bradstock has given us. * The Cricketer *A remarkable book about a remarkable man . . . a star who shone brighter than nearly all others and had three careers, as batsman, bishop, and peer. Bradstock has expertly woven diversity into a tapestry where a mass of detail, including pages of cricket scores, supports the big stories of personal theological growth, sporting prowess, passionate social concern, and extraordinary inner-city leadership. * Church Times *A fitting and timely tribute to a fine cricketer, albeit one who reserved his greatest achievements for life beyond the pages of Wisden. -- Martin Chandler * Cricket Web.net *

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Book SynopsisAn hilarious and irreverent examination of the history of cricket.Trade ReviewThe one thing that shines throughout an entertaining and witty read is Blofeld's marked respesct for the game of cricket and its composite parts. * The Independent *Blofeld has a strong feeling for the history of the magnificent game, but his wicked humour and sense of fun can all too often disguise an encyclopaedic knowledge. This is a canter through many of the well-worn tales that surround the game, with a good measure of the more obscure.' * Yorkshire Post *As one would expect, Blofeld's new book is ripe with choiceness of opinion and observation ... of Alec Stewart: 'a magificent cricketer, but a captain who made Ethelred the Unready look hot stuff. * Eastern Daily Press *His enthusiasm for the game is contagious and he has a rare wit, clearly influenced by his love of one of the greatest humourists of the last century, PG Wodehouse. * Telegraph & Argus *Written with Henry Blofeld's contagious sense of humour, CRICKET AND ALL THAT shows cricket as a game that has had a profound effect on the very structure of English life. * Bolton Evening News *A highly readable and impressively factual account. * The Cricketer *...the Blofeld legend provides us all with some warmth and cheer. This book, the great mann's take on the history of the game, is well up to standard. It takes the game at a rattling pace from its medieval oriigins to the present day. * Simon Heffer, Country Life *

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Book SynopsisThere are many cricket books, and they are all the same. ''Don''t Tell Goochie'', autobiographical insights of nights on the tiles in Delhi with Lambie and the boys; ''Fruit cake days'', a celebrated humourist recalls ''ball'' - related banter of yore; and Wisden, a deadly weapon when combined with a thermos flask. Rain Men is different. Like the moment the genius of Richie Benaud first revealed itself to you, it is a cricketing epiphany, a landmark in the literature of the game.Shining the light meter of reason into cricket''s incomparable madness, Marcus Berkmann illuminates all the obsessions and disappointments that the dedicated fan and pathologically hopeful clubman suffers year after year - the ritual humiliation of England''s middle order, the partially-sighted umpires, the battling average that reads more like a shoe size. As satisfying as a perfectly timed cover drive, and rather easier to come by, Rain Men offers essential justification for anyone who has ever runTrade ReviewThe Fever Pitch of cricket. Very funny * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Many thousands of cricketers will be able to identify with Marcus Berkmann's marvellous Rain Men. A masterpiece -- Sir Tim RiceA very funny book about some very sad men -- Ian HislopIt captures splendidly the many dazzingling facets of the truly atrocious cricketer * OBSERVER *For addicts with a low batting average - i.e. most cricket lovers * GUARDIAN *This wonderfully funny book reads like an inside account of a secret cult, its members tinged with guilt, shame and a curious defiant pride * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *Delightfully tongue in cheek * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *

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Book SynopsisPLAYING HARD BALL is a unique sports book, a cultural comparison of two national games - cricket, English in origin and American baseball - written from the viewpoint of a top-class practitioner of both codes. Ed Smith - the young Cambridge University and Kent batsman - has spent the winters since 1998 in Spring Training with the New York Mets baseball team. It has enabled Ed to contrast and compare arguably the two most iconic of sports from the inside. In fact, baseball had a thriving following in Britain until the Great War: Derby County''s former stadium was called the Baseball Ground; Tottenham Hotspur was at first a baseball club. Apart from learning two very different techniques, Ed learned that the sports'' ultimate heroes, the Babe and the Don - Babe Ruth and Don Bradman - might as well have come from different planets, whilst baseball''s pristine Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is a far cry from the ramshackle cricket museum at Lord''s. Ed Smith''s PLAYING HARD BALL draws on thesTrade ReviewOriginal...engrossing...lucid and informative * Christopher Martin-Jenkins, THE TIMES *Quite simply it is brilliant * THE CRICKETER *Ed Smith is superb on analysing the different techniques involved in the two activities. He also writes with great insight... excellent on the social and historical contexts of both baseball and cricket. * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *An instructive and entertaining book, full of insights. * DAILY TELEGRAPH *

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Book SynopsisAffectionate, witty and often hilarious, award-winning author Harry Pearson celebrates medium-paced 'trundlers'; cricket's most overlooked men.Trade ReviewQuirky and thoroughly entertaining * Good Book Guide *An unalloyed delight for anyone remotely interest in the history of the game - Sport Book of the Week * Independent on Sunday *This may be a book forged in the deepest pit of eccentricity, but nobody writes about cricket's lunatic fringe more beguilingly * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the MCC Book of the Year AwardHis father was a first-class cricketer, his grandfather was a slave.Born in rural Trinidad in 1901, Learie Constantine was the most dynamic all-round cricketer of his age (1928-1939) when he played Test cricket for the West Indies and club cricket for Nelson. Few who saw Constantine in action would ever forget the experience. As well as the cricketing genius that led to Constantine being described as ''the most original cricketer of his time'', Connie illuminates the world that he grew up in, a place where the memories of slavery were still fresh and where a peculiar, almost obsessive, devotion to ''Englishness'' created a society that was often more British than Britain itself. Harry Pearson looks too at the society Constantine came to in England, which he would embrace as much as it embraced him: the narrow working-class world of the industrial North during a time of grave economic depression. Connie<Trade ReviewAt last Constantine has found a biographer capable of telling his magnificent story - Harry Pearson has written a beguiling work that does full justice to this wonderful sportsman and most honourable of men -- Peter Oborne * Daily Mail *an excellently researched and sensitively handled account of Constantine's life and impact beyond the game. He was "a 'Champagne cocktail' cricketer - effervescent but with a kick" and half a century on, his story has lost none of its fizz * ESPN.com *Harry Pearson is an author with an aversion to uninteresting sentences. Connie is a constantly engaging study -- Giles Smith * The Times *Cricket fans will cherish . . . and Harry Pearson 's admirable Learie Constantine biography Connie -- Huw Richards * Guardian *A beautiful book * New European *

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Book SynopsisMarcus Berkmann, author of the cricket classics Rain Men and Zimmer Men, returns to the great game with this irresistible miscellany of cricketing trivia, stories and more fascinating facts than Geoffrey Boycott could shake a stick of rhubarb at. Which England captain smoked two million cigarettes in his lifetime? Which Australian captain, asked what his favourite animal was, said ''Merv Hughes''? What did Hitler think of cricket? Which National Hunt trainer had a dog called Sobers? Who was described in his obituary as ''perhaps the only unequivocally popular man in Yorkshire''?No other sport is so steeped in oddness and eccentricity. There''s the only Test player ever to be executed for murder, the only first-class cricketer to die on the Titanic, and the only bestselling author to catch fire while playing at Lord''s. (It was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The ball hit a box of matches in his pocket.) All cricket is here, including an XI entirely made up of plTrade ReviewRather like your perfect cricket tea, comes Marcus Berkmann's fabulous book: well, not so much a book, more an Aladdin's cave of trivia, quizzes Test match reports and some of the best writing about cricket and cricketers you will find . . . full of the kit you have always wanted and stuff you never knew you had. Carry this with you at all times to the match, any match, in case of that dreaded rain break . . . There are riches on every page . . . go and buy this magical book. It's almost as much fun as scoring a century. Almost * Daily Mail *An alternative Wisden, and the perfect thing to have in your kit bag for when rajn stops play * The Bookseller *Fantastic stories * Radio Times *This is charming stuff from a writer who has not lost a certain boyish delight in the game or its myths and legends, but he varies the light with some sensitively drawn shade . . . the book serves as a wonderful prop for woollen jumper wearers this summer as they wait for yet another rain delay to pass * The Times *Berkmann brings the dogged romanticism of the village green to this hugely enjoyable smorgasbord of gossip, anecdote and celebration of the sport's legends * Sunday Times *Anyone with the slightest knowledge of the game is likely to find Berkmann's Cricketing Miscellany extremely funny. The book has a confident, but slightly eccentric organisation, giving it the dreamy atmosphere of a sun-dazed game at one of the more beautiful venues * Country Life *A crickipedia! Marcus Berkmann has stories about them all . . . I suspect we shall all be giving one another this book for Christmas * Mail on Sunday *The essential Christmas gift for all cricket-lovers * Spectator *A delightful assemblage of pearls of wisdom and trivia * Sunday Times *Like your best-ever cricket tea, this wonderful book is jam-packed with treats and goodies, trivia, quotes, cartoons and fabulous fun-filled facts about the summer game. The perfect companion to help while away these winter nights . . . The whole thing is magical * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisSir Trevor McDonald is one of Britain''s most celebrated broadcasters and his devotion for cricket is almost as well known as his legendary professional achievements.In this inspirational memoir, On Cricket, Sir Trevor explores his childhood in the Caribbean and celebrates his life-long love of the sport that followed him no matter where in the world his illustrious journalistic career would take him.Sir Trevor offers a wide-ranging commentary on cricket as a common language between England, the West Indies and beyond - a sense of belonging that knows no borders - and celebrates cricket as an engine of national identity and an essential feature of daily life and community.An exceptional storyteller and commentator, On Cricket is a love letter to the sport and a study of Sir Trevor''s oldest and most consistent passion: watching, debating and playing the gentleman''s game.

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Book SynopsisThis excellent biography - written with the full cooperation of its subject - is now reissued with more illustrations, to commemorate the centenary of Len Hutton's birth.

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Book SynopsisCricket defines Englishness like no other national pastime. From its earliest origins in the sixteenth century (or an early version played by shepherds called creag in the 1300s), through the formation of the MCC and the opening of Lord''s cricket ground in 1787, to the spread of county cricket in the next century, when the Wisden Cricketers'' Almanack was first published and the Ashes series was born, this simple sport of bat and ball has captured the imagination of the masses. Throughout its 500-year history, cricket has been a mirror for society as a whole, reflecting the changes that have brought us from the quintessential village green to Freddie Flintoff''s pedalo, from W G Grace to Monty Panesar, via a fair number of eccentrics, heroes and downright villains.William Hill Award-winning writer Simon Hughes, no mean player himself, has lived and breathed cricket his whole life and now takes his analytical skills and typically irreverent eye to charting theTrade ReviewExcellent and innovative * Richie Benaud *The culture and history of the game are amusingly brought out in an enormously jolly book by one of our best cricket writers, Simon Hughes. Its very title - And God Created Cricket - appropriately echoes the near-religious fervour with which many of us regard, or used to regard, the game. With his usual combination of authority and wit, Mr Hughes guides us through all the great tales of the game, from the earliest days to the present: a story he characterises as our having invented the game, and others having learned swiftly how to beat us at it -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *An appreciation of the past is more generally found among cricket devotees than those of any other sport, a fact understood perfectly by Simon Hughes in And God Created Cricket. Hughes takes us on a breathless tour through cricket history, the great players, personalities, matches and events. He never slackens pace or dwells on the dry details of the scoreboard; the next entertaining anecdote is always waiting in the next paragraph -- Richard Whitehead * The Times *A lively romp through cricketing history... Hughes is a spirited and entertaining guide through the vicissitudes of God's own sport... brilliant and hilarious -- Jim White * Daily Telegraph *Do we really need yet another history of cricket? Yes, if it's as perkily written as this. The former Middlesex quickie has strung the story of "the greatest game on earth" (his words, but we agree) together in entertaining, conversational manner, and he is as sound on players past as present and acute on some of today's greats... A fresh trip down a well-trodden path -- Simon Redfern * Independent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisGreat stories of unusual happenings on and off the cricket field. The story of cricket is littered with big stories, like Bodyline, underarm balls and tycoons changing the game. But, like Tony Greig checking out the pitch with his keys, sometimes things fall through the cracks.Sticky Wickets takes a look at stories both big, small and perhaps forgotten. From bees and their dislike of cricket to a storm caused when a cameraman criticised a Test player's fielding. It's perfect to pick up when rain delays play.

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Book SynopsisMahendra Singh Dhoni's cricket career is defined by innovation, pragmatism, and game-changing abilities. "Do Different" explores his enigmatic journey from Ranchi to World Cup glory, offering insights from peers and teammates on his profound impact both on and off the field.

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