This selection of the very best, and most intriguing, writing on cricket, drawn from the mid-eighteenth century to the present day, adopts a fresh approach. It is arranged around the theme of the many things that must happen simply for a day's play to happen - from creating a clearing in a Malaysian jungle to getting to the ground - so includes, alongside writing by players both great and unknown, the perspectives of spectators, umpires, scorers and other unsung heroes of the game. There are contributions from John Arlott, Neville Cardus, C. L. R. James and E. V. Lucas; Marcus Trescothick writes on his introduction to cricket aged three; Angus Fraser on meeting Nelson Mandela; Phil Tufnell on being shanghaied into getting a haircut by Mike Gatting; and Rachael Heyhoe Flint on being the first woman to step onto the Lord's ground as a player. But it is the cricket itself and the outstanding players and their achievements that remain the focus - the greats of the recent and distant past involved in some of their most famous exploits. From 'disgraceful scenes at Lord's', described by Irish writer Robert Lynd, to North America, which W. G. Grace toured in 1872, and from a match played on ice to the tropical islands of Fiji and Samoa, this is a collection that does full justice to the extraordinary breadth, diversity and enduring fascination of the greatest game in the world.

The Wisden Book of Test Cricket, first published in 1979, is well established as an invaluable and unique source of reference essential to any cricket library. This new volume includes full coverage of every Test match from late 2014 to the end of the 2019 season in England. Each Test match features Wisden's own scorecard, a detailed match report, details of debutants, close of play scores, umpires and referees, with number of appearances, and Man of the Match winners. Also included is a complete individual Test Career Records section and player index. Edited by Steven Lynch, this new volume brings collectors' libraries up to date, ensuring they have a complete and accurate record - essential for any truly self-respecting cricket enthusiast.

Ground Rules taps into the world's love affair with cricket, and explains how key cricket grounds around the world have played significantly in cricketing heritage since 1877. Each chapter takes a different Test Match venue from one of the ten test-playing nations--two each in the case of Australia, England, and India--and provides a fascinating, colorful account of the players, matches, and incidents that have shaped the history of test cricket at that site. Ground Rules: A Celebration of Test Cricket is beautifully illustrated with two hundred eighty large format color images--many of them rare--from some of the world's leading cricket photographers, including Patrick Eagar and Graham Morris, and renowned photography agencies such as Getty Images. The book also boasts a fascinating compilation of Wisden statistics--including the scorecards of every Test Match played at the featured grounds since the birth of international cricket. With a foreword by David Gower, the authors of each chapter include international cricketers Andy Flower, Steve Waugh, Sourav Ganguly, and Kumar Sangakkara; and celebrated cricket writers and broadcasters Donna Symmonds, Qamar Ahmed, Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Peter Robinson, Richard Hobson, and Richard Boock.