If someone were to say 'it's not tennis', or 'not football' of shabby behaviour in any walk of life, he or she would not be understood. If they said 'it's not cricket', they probably would be (though less reliably than a century ago). Is there some special spirit of cricket? The laws of cricket, like the laws of the land, aim at a sort of justice or balancing between different factions. The purpose behind cricket's laws, and behind changes in them, is often to calibrate the balance in the game between batsmen and bowlers, between attack and defence, between safety and risk. Cricketing lawmakers are interested in the overall appeal of the game to players and spectators alike. In Spirit of Cricket, Mike Brearley alternates between issues and examples within the game - from 'Mankading' and the 'Sandpaper' affair to sledging, mental disintegration and racism - as well as broader issues such as the spirit and letter of the law. Brearley examines the issue of how far what purports to be justice (in law or in spirit) may or may not be the expression of the powerful within the activity or within society. He also contrasts cheating and corruption, and reflects on the nature of penalties in regard to each. He discusses the significance of the notion of the spirit of the game for umpires, groundsmen, administrators, media and spectators - and, of course, for players. Intelligent and insightful, Spirit of Cricket points to qualities in cricket that enhance our development as people - including a sense of fair play, the embracing of striving both for our team and for ourselves and the important values of playfulness in life and professional sport.

Brian Close is a true sporting icon: schoolboy cricket and football prodigy, youngest ever England selection, played for England in 22 Tests over four successive decades, best win ratio of any England captain ever, unfairly sacked by Yorkshire (about which the protests of Yorkshire supporters are heard even now), loved a flutter on the horses, hair-raising driver and, through it all, the most likeable and popular of men. It was not until after Brian Close's death in September 2015 that either David Warner or Ron Deaton - or anyone else for that matter - had even the remotest idea that the subject matter for this book ever existed. Only when the scores of letters which Brian wrote in the early stages of his career to lifelong friend, John Anderson, surfaced did it become apparent that they were of major historical significance in highlighting in great detail the day-to-day events of one of cricket's best known personalities. To many, they will also be of geographical interest as the letters and their envelopes show exactly which hotels he stayed in while playing first-class cricket in this country and in Australia and Pakistan. The details contained in them are a graphic reminder of just how gifted a sportsman Brian was, not only on a cricket field but when participating in a multitude of other sports including soccer (on the books of Leeds United, Arsenal and Bradford City),golf, boxing, swimming and shooting to name but a few. It is over 70 years since the first letters to John Anderson were penned and it is extraordinary that they and all of the rest have survived the passage of time. A remarkable set of circumstances led to them being seen by Warner and Deaton and their astonishment upon sifting through them was all the greater because there had never even been the slightest suggestion that letter writing formed any part of Brian's make-up. The letters, the autograph books which he filled on John's behalf, and the other memorabilia contained within these pages are part of a much wider collection which is now in the hands of the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation. The material selected for this book will surprise and enthral readers..

Test your knowledge of cricket over a wide range of topics: not only run outs and centuries but also cricketers who share their names with film stars and animals - everything from 'Tipping the Scales' to 'Holy Orders'. There are 18 picture rounds - memorable moments of cricket history and images of celebrity cricketers - and 16 rounds where well-known cricketers have set questions about themselves. Perfect rain break reading - full of fun and quirkiness! All proceeds are being donated to the Professional Cricketers' Association's Trust.

THE DOTS WILL NOT BE JOINED is both a rich, sentimental memoir and a racy 'Compendium of Ideas'. It's about sport (mainly football and cricket) but it carries wise, sometimes cheeky diversions - snapshots into what makes us and what liberates us. The *stories* and the challenges range. Rick Walton is a coach and a writer with a fearless, impossibly positive streak coursing through him. He recounts scary or electrifying visits to football and those wonderfully daft adventures so many of us have had in village teams. Combs forgotten in boots; lacerating North Sea gales; chunks of orange and blissfully sweet tea; 'team talks'. But we also have Proper Coaching - notions around how to approach and nourish and support players. There is the contention, too, that sport really can be 'good'; that how we play can matter. All this in a matrix of arty or philosophical hunches which unashamedly (but also humbly) celebrate the raw, The Human, the ridiculous, the unknowable, the 'unweighted'. Walton's book is a one-off, daring to chase a zillion narratives so as to capture something actually rather profound about how activity works, in a world where the 'Social' and Corporate kaleidoscopes are blurring, bending and maybe even crushing our will.