Here is the inside story of Fairfield Books: from its beginnings in the cricket coaching that the 45-year-old Stephen Chalke sought in the autumn of 1993 through the journeys around England and Wales that generated his first book 'Runs in the Memory' and on to the publication of 42 titles. The characters are recalled, the issues involved in creating books based on oral testimony considered, and the triumphs and disasters of small-scale publishing described. There are moments of great humour and harrowing tragedy, of unnerving encounters and unexpected revelations. 'Through The Remembered Gate' tells the story of a journey of discovery. Its author starts out with a desire to write but little knowledge of publishing, and with a love of cricket but no significant contacts in the game. By a series of accidents he becomes a chronicler of cricket's past and an established publisher of his own and others' books. Despite its moments of sorrow, it is a tale filled with joys. Into this rich mix the author adds a little of his own back story, revealing how these journeys into cricket's past have led him to see the world of his childhood with a fresh perspective.

The 150 editions of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack have contained a total of more than 133,000 pages since the first edition was published in 1864. Over the years the Almanack - published every year without fail - has charted the highs and lows of the game, giving its authoritative opinion on the players, the matches and the pressing issues of the day. The Essential Wisden provides the highlights of all 150 years for the first time. From the forthright Editor's Notes by the likes of Sydney Pardon, Norman Preston, John Woodcock and Matthew Engel, through reports on key matches around the world, and features on the game's top players, to the renowned obituaries of people in and around the game, and a range of cricket's idiosyncratic "Unusual Occurrences", John Stern and Marcus Williams distil the Almanack's most significant and fascinating writing into one anthology. With the pick of a century and a half of the best cricket writing from leading writers on the game, including John Arlott, Mike Atherton, Neville Cardus, Gideon Haigh, Christopher Martin-Jenkins and E. W. Swanton, and famous players such as Don Bradman, Denis Compton, Learie Constantine, Fred Spofforth, Mike Brearley and Michael Vaughan, The Essential Wisden provides a fascinating lens through which to view the evolution of the game.

** Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award ** Fanatical about cricket since he was a boy, Miles Jupp would do anything to see his heroes play. But perhaps deciding to bluff his way into the press corps during England's Test series in India wasn't his best idea. By claiming to be the cricket correspondent for BBC Scotland and getting a job with the (Welsh) Western Mail, Miles lands the press pass that will surely be the ticket to his dreams. Soon, he finds himself in cricket heaven - drinking with David Gower and Beefy, sharing bar room banter with Nasser Hussain and swapping diarrhoea stories with the Test Match Special team. But struggling in the heat under the burden of his own fibs, reality soon catches up with Miles as he bumbles from one disaster to the next. A joyous, charming, yet cautionary tale, Fibber in the Heat is for anyone who's ever dreamt about doing nothing but watching cricket all day long.

'A superb portrait of the most brilliant cricketer of his generation' Mike Atherton Shane Warne dominated cricket on the field and off for almost thirty years - his skill, his fame, his personality, his misadventures. His death in March 2002 rocked Australians, even those who could not tell a leg-break from a leg-pull. But what was it like to watch Warne at his long peak, the man of a thousands international wickets, the incarnation of Aussie audacity and cheek? Gideon Haigh saw it all, still can't quite believe it, but wanted to find a way to explain it. In this classic appreciation of Australia's cricket's greatest figure, who doubled as the nation's best-known man, Haigh relieves the highs, the lows, the fun and the follies. The result is a new way of looking at Warne, at sport and at Australia. 'Bloody brilliant... As good as anything I have read on the game' Guardian Winner of The Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year

The day the county cricket fixtures are revealed each winter, hoteliers in Scarborough get ready for their phones to melt. The migration of cricket fans each August to the North Yorkshire coast has yet to feature in a nature documentary but county cricket by the seaside has been a Yorkshire institution since 1876. Be transported to one of Yorkshire's finest sporting amphitheatres. Enjoy tales from the game and town that will surprise and delight, like the time the PA system picked up a funeral during play or when Derek Randall gave Sarfraz Nawaz a wire rubbish bin to aid his ability to field. There are interviews with fans, players and coaches past and present and those who have been coming to Scarborough for up to 50 years. Read Geoffrey Boycott's last innings for Yorkshire in his own words, Ken Rutherford's 317 in a day recalled by the man himself and Jason Gillespie on his favourite Festival memories. John Fuller travels to the coastal town to find the characters and stories, watch Yorkshire in action and tap into Scarborough's enduring appeal.

'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' STEPHEN FRY 'Immersed in a P.G. Wodehouse book, it's possible to keep the real world at bay and live in a far, far nicer, funnier one where happy endings are the order of the day' MARIAN KEYES 'The greatest comic writer ever' DOUGLAS ADAMS 'P.G. Wodehouse should be prescribed to treat depression. Cheaper, more effective than valium and far, far more addictive' OLIVIA WILLIAMS

David Mitchell's connection with cricket began when his grandad took him to Bradford in 1961 to watch Yorkshire play the Australians. It was the start of a lifelong passion for the game. Many hours were devoted to helping in the scorebox, playing Owzthat and listening to Test Match Special. `From Snicket to Wicket' is a personal, nostalgic and whimsical view of a game once played by white-clad players with a red ball. Now it is the opposite.