*Soft cover edition* The 159th edition of the most famous sports book in the world - published every year since 1864 - contains some of the world's finest sports writing, and reflects on a year when Azeem Rafiq forced the sport to examine, more painfully than ever, its attitude to racism. The launch of The Hundred gave a huge boost to the women's game while raising many questions about the men's. Then, in the last two months of the year, Australia's men won the World T20 and retained the Ashes. Writers include Lawrence Booth, Stephen Fry, Mike Atherton, Gideon Haigh, Henry Blofeld, Vic Marks, Tanya Aldred, Andy Bull, Tim de Lisle, Emma John and Scyld Berry. As usual, Wisden includes the eagerly awaited Notes by the Editor, the Cricketers of the Year awards, and the famous obituaries. And, as ever, there are reports and scorecards for every Test, together with forthright opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records. "There can't really be any doubt about the cricket book of the year, any year: it's obviously Wisden" Andrew Baker in The Daily Telegraph @WisdenAlmanack

In this new anecdotal book, the unstoppable Dickie Bird takes one County Cricket Club at a time and revisits each with the aid of memorabilia, statistics, books and videos. A mass of new hilarious stories flow from Dickie as he flexes his memory: he describes the cricketers, the matches and the character of these clubs. Dickie also relives his journeys as a umpire to clubs and Test match arenas overseas and recalls the humorous times that have filled his unique career. A must have for cricket enthusiasts everywhere.

When Kerry Packer appeared on the cricket scene in the late seventies he revolutionised the game. Today's followers are used to coloured clothing and all the other razzmatazz that is now a part of cricket, but back in 1977 Packer's intervention was divisive and nearly broke the game completely. Players were ostracised by their nations and for a while it looked as if cricket might not survive. Henry Blofeld observed the goings on from his position as both a cricket commentator and writer. In 1978 he compiled a detailed account of the events that unfolded, aided by his interviews with Packer, as well as the deposed English captain Tony Grieg. He witnessed at first hand the Packer Tests in Australia, The Australia-India Test series, MCC play Pakistan and New Zealand, and finally the young Australian side that took on the 'Packer-filled' West Indies. In a mere seven-week period he witnessed all the then six Test-playing nations playing Test cricket. The first time that had been possible. The Man Who Coloured Cricket is Henry Blofeld's detailed document that also shows concern for the human dimensions of the controversy. The varied reaction of the English county players; overseas players; the legal tussles; the complex and surprising character of Packer himself, and the establishment figures with whom he did battle, are strands of the story expertly woven together to make The Man Who Coloured Cricket a dramatic and moving story.

In 1932, England's cricket team, led by the haughty Douglas Jardine, had the fastest bowler in the world: Harold Larwood. Australia boasted the most prolific batsman the game had ever seen: the young Don Bradman. He had to be stopped. The leg-side bouncer onslaught inflicted by Larwood and Bill Voce, with a ring of fieldsmen waiting for catches, caused an outrage that reverberated to the back of the stands and into the highest levels of government. Bodyline, as this infamous technique came to be known, was repugnant to the majority of cricket-lovers. It was also potentially lethal - one bowl fracturing the skull of Australian wicketkeeper Bert Oldfield - and the technique was outlawed in 1934. After the death of Don Bradman in 2001, one of the most controversial events in cricketing history - the Bodyline technique - finally slid out of living memory. Over seventy years on, the 1932-33 Ashes series remains the most notorious in the history of Test cricket between Australia and England. David Frith's gripping narrative has been acclaimed as the definitive book on the whole saga: superbly researched and replete with anecdotes, Bodyline Autopsy is a masterly anatomy of one of the most remarkable sporting scandals.

'An astonishing work of research, detail and revelation. Bulging with information, packed with nuggets.' John Etheridge, Sun 'Superbly researched... His eye for detail never wavers. It's a pleasure to read.' Vic Marks, Observer 'The Cricket Book of the Year: Dauntingly comprehensive and surprisingly light-footed.' Simon Briggs, Daily Telegraph England: The Biography is the most comprehensive account of the England cricket team that has ever been published, taking the reader into the heart of the action and the team dynamics that have helped shape their success, or otherwise. It is now 140 years since England first played Test match cricket and, for much of that time, it has struggled to perform to the best of its capabilities. In the early years, amateurs would pick and choose which matches and tours they would play; subsequently, the demands of the county game - and the petty jealousies that created - would prevent many from achieving their best. It was only in the 1990s that central contracts were brought in, and Team England began to receive the best possible support from an ever-increasing backroom team. But cricket isn't just about structures, it depends like no other sport on questions of how successful the captain is in motivating and leading his team, and how well different personalities and egos are integrated and managed in the changing room. From Joe Root and Alastair Cook back to Mike Atherton, Mike Brearley and Ray Illingworth, England captains have had a heavy influence on proceedings. Recent debates over Kevin Pietersen were nothing new, as contemporaries of W.G.Grace would doubtless recognise. As England play their 1000th Test, this is a brilliant and unmissable insight into the ups and downs of that story.

*Paperback edition* The 158th edition of the most famous sports book in the world - published every year since 1864 - contains some of the world's finest sports writing, and reflects on an unprecedented year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Writers include Lawrence Booth, Sir Garfield Sobers, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Gideon Haigh, Andy Zaltzman, Tom Holland, Duncan Hamilton, Robert Winder, Matthew Engel, Scyld Berry, Derek Pringle, Jack Leach and James Anderson. As usual, Wisden includes the eagerly awaited Notes by the Editor, the Cricketers of the Year awards, and the famous obituaries. And, as ever, there are reports and scorecards for every Test, together with forthright opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records. "There can't really be any doubt about the cricket book of the year, any year: it's obviously Wisden" Andrew Baker in The Daily Telegraph @WisdenAlmanack

*Standard hardback edition* The 158th edition of the most famous sports book in the world - published every year since 1864 - contains some of the world's finest sports writing, and reflects on an unprecedented year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Writers include Lawrence Booth, Sir Garfield Sobers, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Gideon Haigh, Andy Zaltzman, Tom Holland, Duncan Hamilton, Robert Winder, Matthew Engel, Scyld Berry, Derek Pringle, Jack Leach and James Anderson. As usual, Wisden includes the eagerly awaited Notes by the Editor, the Cricketers of the Year awards, and the famous obituaries. And, as ever, there are reports and scorecards for every Test, together with forthright opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records. "There can't really be any doubt about the cricket book of the year, any year: it's obviously Wisden" Andrew Baker in The Daily Telegraph @WisdenAlmanack

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to umpire a match in which the bowlers wore top hats, and gentlemen thought that wearing pads and gloves was beneath their dignity? 'The Meadow at Chapel Hill Cross' takes you back to the opening of the first "proper" cricket ground in Torquay, and to the match against the famous All England Eleven which celebrated it. The author dreams that he is asked to umpire this match, and takes the reader with him into a world of cunning under-arm bowlers, and round-arm pacemen who hurl "tosses" at the batsman's head. You get to listen to the chat of some of the finest cricketers in the game's history, Old Clarke, George Parr, and the laugh-a-minute Billy Buttress. Neither umpires, nor the world's leading professionals, are allowed into the sanctity of the members' pavilion, so the author must glimpse through the doorways, and spend his time, sharing jugs of ale with those who attracted thousands to watch, yet were deemed unworthy of a gentleman's company. Welcome to a world of cricket where sheep crop the grass, the groundsman stamps the turfs, the fielders chase "booth balls", and boundaries are not even dreamed of! It is a world which will fascinate you, and a journey that you will always remember!

Between 1967-69 Henry Blofeld was fortunate to witness cricket on three continents. He followed the great West Indies side captained by Garry Sobers through its home series against England - to the 1968-9 Australian tour, and finally their early summer '69 tour of England. Two main themes are explored throughout: The gradual demise of the West Indian side that included the likes of Lance Gibbs, Basil Butcher and Deryck Murray - but which also saw the emergence of future greats such as Clive Lloyd - and the link between a country's topography, style and endemic characteristics with the type of cricket it plays. These threads are skilfully woven together to highlight great cricketing moments and analyse the humour and style of both the Australians and West Indians with thoughtful insight.

Black Swan Summer tells the extraordinary story of Western Australia's first season of Sheffield Shield cricket, when an unheralded group of unknown, unfashionable and inexperienced players won Australian cricket's biggest prize at their first attempt. But it's more than just a story of an upset result in a cricket competition. It's a chronicle of the summer in which Don Bradman scored his 100th century, India toured Australia for the first time and the country plunged into political turmoil - which not everyone noticed, because they were at the cricket. The book explains the connections between men who returned from war to play cricket, the fear of communism, Mahatma Gandhi, rationing, Keith Miller, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, Ray Lindwall's back foot and a boxer called the Alabama Kid. Drawing on the personal reminiscences of the last three surviving cricketers from the 1947/48 season, it brings that hot, wet summer vividly to life.

Im 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.

Kings in Waiting is the story of how Somerset failed to win their maiden Championship title despite finishing second five times during the 2010s. Since they finished bottom of the table in 2006, Somerset have enjoyed and endured the most exciting period in their history. Following their bottom-of-the-table finish, they hired Justin Langer as their captain and he transformed them into one of the most competitive teams in the land. He departed in 2009, although the good work he had done alongside his successor Marcus Trescothick was expected to result in trophies. But they somehow failed to deliver, remarkably finishing as runners-up in eight tournaments between 2009 and 2012. This led to them being described as the bridesmaids of English cricket. After a few quiet years, a new team began to emerge under Chris Rogers, one full of youth and promise. He guided them to second in 2016 and his successor Tom Abell finally managed to win a trophy in 2019. Yet the all-important Championship title remains absent from their cabinet.

*Standard format paperback* The 156th edition of the most famous sports book in the world--published every year since 1864--contains some of the finest sports writing of the year and covers every first-class game in every cricket nation, making it the cricketers' bible worldwide. @WisdenAlmanack

Hardly a week goes by without Dickie Bird visiting a county or Test match arena where he can keep up to date with all that is happening in the cricket world, while at the same time taking the opportunity to reflect, in the company of old friends and acquaintances, on his own colourful contribution to the sport that lasted for over half a century. Dickie remains the most famous umpire of them all and is still highly respected throughout the world. A lovable eccentric with a joyful sense of fun, he decided, as he approached his eightieth birthday, to recall the highlights of his life in cricket, while also providing an illuminating insight into what he has been up to since his retirement.

From one of India’s finest writers, thinkers and commentators, a memoir of a love affair with cricket. As a fan, player, writer, scholar, controversialist and administrator, Ramachandra Guha has spent a life with cricket. In this book, Guha offers both a brilliantly charming memoir and a charter of the life of cricket in India. He traces the game across every level at which it is played: school, college, club, state and country. He offers vivid portraits of local heroes, provincial icons and international stars. Following the narrative of his life intertwined and in love with the sport, Guha captures the magic of bat and ball that has ensnared billions.

This book is a volume in the Penn Press Anniversary Collection. To mark its 125th anniversary in 2015, the University of Pennsylvania Press rereleased more than 1,100 titles from Penn Press's distinguished backlist from 1899-1999 that had fallen out of print. Spanning an entire century, the Anniversary Collection offers peer-reviewed scholarship in a wide range of subject areas.

Tony Greig is remembered as the colourful captain who led cricket into its biggest crisis of the last century. An all-rounder who mixed boldness with belligerence, he was the first South African to skipper England, restoring national pride with victory in India after poundings at the hands of Australia and the West Indies. A controversial and charismatic competitor whose "make them grovel" comment about the West Indies signalled trouble, he later lost the captaincy for recruiting players for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. More than three decades later, now a leading television commentator, Greig has never been fully absolved. Featuring many new interviews, including with Greig himself, the book asks whether cricket history judges the accomplished all-rounder fairly, or is coloured by off-field controversies. Tony Greig offers a compelling portrait of a fascinating cricketing era - and was shortlisted for Best Cricket Book at the 2012 British Sports Book Awards.

Anyone But England is a detailed exploration into the origins of cricket; the romance, cultural identity, hypocrisy, flaws of governance and glory of the game. Mike Marqusee, an American who fell in love with cricket when he moved to the UK in the 1970s, looks at the history of elitism and empire, and how race and class have always been issues in the game. Scrutinising the long saga of South Africa's exclusion from world cricket, Marqusee charts England's collusion with apartheid, and also details an eye-opening account of Pakistan's controversial 'ball-tampering' tour of England, which provoked intense debate amongst cricket fans about the role of both the media and racism in the modern game. Showing that supporting the game does not mean you need be blind to its flaws, Marqusee's passion and enthusiasm for cricket is threaded through every element of Anyone But England. Winner of the Aberdare Literary Prize, awarded by the British Society of Sports History, 1994 Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, 1994

The Secret Cricketer first picked up a cricket bat as a toddler and became a county junior. He secured a professional contract and has been at the coalface of the English county game ever since. This fast-paced, insider's account lifts the lid on modern cricket to reveal what life is really like for an English professional in the 21st century. How do players cope when they can't take a wicket or score a run and their livelihood is on the line? What makes a good coach and how many are there (hint - not many)? Is there still an old-school hierarchy in dressing rooms or a bullying culture? What's the secret to a winning dressing room, and what's it like to be in one when morale hits rock bottom? How much do county players earn? And what's it like to walk out at Lord's to play in a major final? With unique first-hand insight into the fast-evolving modern game, the book answers all these questions and more. It's brimming with untold stories - some that will make you laugh and others that will shock you.

Fully updated to include England's series victory over South Africa and the World T20 Finals. Joe Root is undoubtedly cricket's next superstar, adored by fans and the press alike for his incredible talent and his cheeky personality. At just 24 years old he has already scored nearly 3,000 Test runs, taken 12 Test wickets. Joe was the star of England's incredible 2015 Ashes campaign - his knock of 130 at Trent Bridge secured the series victory and saw him named by the ICC as the best batsman in the world. This is Joe's personal account of his speedy climb to stardom, from schoolboy cricket to early days with Yorkshire, culminating with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to an England team at the top of their game. A perfect gift for all England cricket fans, this gives the inside story to an historic Ashes victory from a player who is instrumental to the team.

Geoffrey Boycott is one of the most outspoken and knowledgeable voices on cricket - but this book opens up a whole, new personal side to his life. Thirteen years ago, he received the diagnosis that tore his world apart: he had cancer of the tongue. Having faced down the fastest bowlers during his career as one of England's greatest-ever batsmen, he now had to take on an even more daunting foe. In this fascinating new book, his first autobiographical work for more than 15 years, Boycott not only relives his terrifying battle with cancer but also writes movingly about his long-time love Rachael, and their daughter Emma. He talks about his many other interests and friendships beyond cricket, with a great chapter on Brian Clough as well as revealing some surprising enthusiasms: Boycott and Katy Perry? But Boycott has devoted his life to cricket, and his insights on the game, its players and those who write and talk about it are never less than frank, revealing, entertaining and very honest. He assesses the modern generation of players: how does he rate England's prolific captain Alastair Cook? And is Kevin Pietersen a batting genius or a player who has frittered away his talent? His opinions come with the authority of someone with profound knowledge of and love for the sport. In commentary, he refers to the 'corridor of uncertainty' for a batsman - but with Geoffrey Boycott there is never any room for that, which is why this book is such a compelling and entertaining read.

'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 about sport. My Sporting Life is Sir Michael's love letter to sport, to the heroes and legends of his Yorkshire youth, to the characters of the international games he watched and wrote about, and to the very idea of sport itself. With warm humorous anecdotes about many icons of sport, from Shane Warne to George Best and Muhammad Ali to Fred Trueman, Sir Michael Parkinson reflects on his life writing about his one great passion.