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.

It's Britain's hottest summer since 1976 and English cricket is in a sweat of transformation. The public is no longer interested in County Championship games, traditional touchstone of the calendar. Fans prefer a bit of flash, bang, wallop – or so the experts tell us. Where though does that leave the twenty minor counties – strung out from Northumberland to Norfolk to Cornwall – who for the past one hundred and twenty-five years have fancied themselves the stepping-stone between regional club and first class county competitions? A level of the game seen as either an ex-professionals' graveyard or the last refuge of blazered old duffers is in a struggle for its very existence. And come 2020, the venerable Minor Counties Championship will indeed be blown away, like dandelion seeds on the breeze, replaced by the newly-branded and 'more marketable' National Counties Championship. At least that was the plan. In 2018, no-one has yet heard of Covid-19. What they do know is that this threat to their competition is existential and the modernisers at Lord's are to blame, far more interested in such innovations as a proposed new 'Hundred' than bolstering that which has stood the test of time. Granted full access to committee and squad, Tony Hannan, author of Underdogs – A Year in the Life of a Rugby League Town, spent a season with Cumberland CCC amid the lakes, fells and mountains of Cumbria. And as might have been expected in such dramatic terrain, he tells a story full of ups and downs – complete with one or two surprises. Skippered by former Durham player Gary Pratt – who as substitute fielder ran out Australia captain Ricky Ponting during the 2005 Ashes – Cumberland's expenses-only nomads are nevertheless just one important thread in a yarn stretching well beyond the boundaries of Cumbria. The Wicket Men is a cricket book unlike any other. It draws stumps on a small but fascinating aspect of a pastime whose rhythms and rituals, while endlessly evolving, are rooted firmly in the English folk tradition.

The latest release in the Remarkable illustated sports series features Britain's idyllic village cricket grounds. Featuring original photography from all corners of the British Isles. Written by Brian Levison, author of the 8,000-selling Remarkable Cricket Grounds, an Amazon No.1 bestseller.

In 1968, Yorkshire County Cricket Club won a record 29th outright County Championship title. Blessed with the talents of Brian Close, Fred Trueman and Geoffrey Boycott, they dominated their opponents through sheer desire, skill and belief. It was a golden era for the club, and no one saw it coming to an end. But over the next few years, everything changed. Yorkshire's star players departed and their rivals benefited from the introduction of overseas professionals like Garry Sobers, Viv Richards and Clive Rice. As they decided only to hire those born within the county, Yorkshire struggled to compete with their contemporaries and became one of the worst-performing teams in the land. It was a dire time for the club. But when a young Sachin Tendulkar arrived at Headingley in April 1992, a revolution began. Through his talent and personality, Yorkshire's first overseas player modernised a failing institution and gained experience that helped him become the greatest international batsman of his generation. This is the story of how a promising 19-year-old became an Honorary Tyke... and, in the process, changed the history of England's most successful club.

As one of the first great wicketkeeper-batsmen Jim played 46 times for England in a career that earned him widespread respect throughout the game of cricket.