When Dakota stole away in her fathers jeep, she had no idea of the dangers she would be facing. But she finds out when she becomes dinner for a giant cricket. But when Jake saves her in a nick of time she falls for him. it becomes a race against time when they are chased by giant crickets and lava. But deep in the cave there are a colony of people. And the leader has different ideas about them leaving.

From one of the finest writers on the game comes ""Inside Out"", Gideon Haigh's latest despatches from the crease.In 2008, he celebrates the centenary of Bradman's birth and 75 years of Bodyline; ponders the quintessence of the 'Don', even as he looks at cricket's other knights; dissects the Australian way of cricket across demography, politics and the politics of race; attempts to unravel the mystery that is cricket administration; and explains the finer points of cricket technique from taking guard to the leave.Whether it be the game as it is played on the world arena or at grass-roots level, Haigh will compel you to regard the game anew.

The 2007 World Cup changed the terms of the debate around cricket. For India, the tournament turned out to be a national tragedy; for the first time in years there was a palpable weakening of the foundations of the country's universal obsession. For the hosts, West Indies, it almost put an end to the dream of creating a unified political, social and economic entity. For Australia, the world cup triumph was accompanied by a sense of deja vu which was evident in the muted celebrations. In the final analysis, for reasons of money, the ninth edition of the cup was bloated to accommodate sixteen teams for over a month and a half. Yet the tournament had no distinctive quality and no particular innovation, its format was dull and its title rendered meaningless in the process. What it did generate was heated discussions about the market, about the nature of profits, and about sportsmanship or the increasing lack of it. He examines the controversial legacy of the tournament and the importance of cricket, if any, in the shaping of contemporary societies.

Dickens gave his first formal expression to his Christmas thoughts in his series of small books, the first of which was the famous "Christmas Carol." There followed four others: "The Chimes," "The Cricket on the Hearth," "The Battle of Life," and "The Haunted Man." The five are known today as the "Christmas Books." Of them all the "Carol" is the best known and loved, and "The Cricket on the Hearth," although third in the series, is perhaps next in popularity, and is especially familiar to Americans through Joseph Jefferson's characterisation of Caleb Plummer.

'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

Adult, sports autobiography, printed in Large Print. Brim Full of Passion follows the story of Wasim Khan's journey to becoming the first British born Asian to play professional cricket. Eight-year-old Wasim Khan yanks a board out of the garden fence, nicks his Mum's only decent knife, and starts whittling. A month later he's putting his first bat to good use: sending the school's tennis balls high onto the roof so that he can sneak back over the gate at night and liberate them. Brim Full of Passion follows this son of Kashmiri immigrants from the grimy streets of Small Heath to leafy Edgbaston, where he breaks in through the fence to watch England play Pakistan. A year later he's there legitimately, batting for the under-13s. The dream is simple: Warwickshire, England, the world. After four gruelling years as an apprentice pro he makes the all-conquering Bears team of 1995, and is on the brink of the England 'A' squad. But a loss of form, a dodgy selection policy, and one of the first British-born Asians to make the country grade loses his confidence. A move to Sussex is a disaster: he falls out with captain Chris Adams, can't get a game, and winds up playing for Derbyshire for nothing. At 30 it's all over and he's embarking on a new career as a coach. Anything to stay in the game he loves.

R. C. Robertson-Glasgow once again employs his well-known wit and urbanity to introduce a further collection of cricketing portraits .This time he has winded his scope to include not only the cricketers who have won international fame, but also those who have given years of faithful service to their countries and universities. Ranging from Sir Aubrey Smith, whose cricketing feats for Sussex and Cambridge date back to the mellow Edwardian days, to Kenneth Miller, dashing Australian batsman-bowler, these prints include such stalwarts as, Laurie Fishlock, Len Hutton and L.J.Todd of Kent-and J.M. Lomas, the graceful Oxford batsman, whose untimely death robbed cricket of a potential great name. Robertson-Glasgow, former Oxford University and Somerset cricketer and now correspondent for the Observer brings not only wide playing experience but years of acute observation and comparative criticism to bear on his subject. His style, as easy and assured as a Compton off-drive, combines with his wisdom and kindly shrewdness to make this book a memorable successor to Cricket Prints, his first book.

Crickety Cricket - A Collection Of Cricketing Poetry and CaricatureBy Douglas Moffat 112 pages Contents include: At the nets - Let us toss - The champion - The smiles of grace - Alphabet - A woodcock - Ye cricketers of England - Bob Peel - The captain's address to his men - Father, Dear Father - The Irish boy - Thomas Hearne - J.T. Hearne - Let me whisper in your ear - Ho! In London - Grace preparing to bowl - The lobster of Sussex - Pougher - S.M.J. Woods Originally published in 1898. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Originally published in 1900. A study of this most English of games. With contributions by other well known authors. Contents Include: How To Prepare A Wicket and How to Look After A Ground by T.A. Hearne - Batting by Albert Ward - Slow Bowling by F.G.Bull - Cricketing of Today by M.A.Noble - Fielding by P.F.Warner - Fast Bowling by T.C.Collings - Hints to Young Cricketers by O.R.Borradaile - Recreation and "Cricket" by Lord Harris - Management of a Club by C.W.Alcock - The Rules of Cricket - What Cricket Costs. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

An excellent book on a topic rarely explained, Practical Groundsmanship will be the greatest possible assistance to all who have a respponsibilit of turf upkeep from the park-keeper to the groundsman of the smallest local sports club. Contents Include: The Presentation of Groundsmanship - Cricket - Tennis - Bowls - Hockey - Football - Outfields and General Areas - Running Tracks - Garden Lawns and Paths - Maintenance - Composts - War on Weeds - The Worm Problem - Machinery and Equipment - The Groundsman's Calendar - Dimensions of Playing Areas - Practical Points

C.T.Studd - Cricketer and Pioneer By Norman P. Grubb. Originally published in 1933. A fascinating biography of an english country gentleman and cricketer who becomes a devoted missionary. Contents Include Foreword by Alfred B.Buxton Author's preface A visit to a theatre and it's consequences Three Etonians get a shock An all England cricketer The crisis A revival breaks out among students C.T. becomes a Chinaman He gives away a fortune An Irish girl and a dream United to fight for Jesus Perils and hardships in inland China On the American campus Six years in India A mans's man The greatest venture of all Through cannibal tribes The very heart of Africa C.T. among the natives Forward ever Backward never The God of wonders When the holy ghost came Bwana's house and daily life Hallelujah God enabling us We go on Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

THE #5 TIMES BESTSELLER Ever wondered what it's truly like being an England test cricketer? Why not ask England's greatest ever bowler? Jimmy Anderson invites you into his world of cricket and gives you a very personal insight into what it's like playing at the top level. Through stories of his 16-year international career, Jimmy draws back the curtain on test cricket to reveal bizarre superstitions and rituals, strange training camps, the personalities he's encountered, life on tour and what it's like being a bowler in a batsman's world. Bowl. Sleep. Repeat. is a fascinating, entertaining and deeply personal look at the game of cricket and what life's like beyond the boundary rope.

Winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, this is the first ever biography of Harold Larwood. Larwood, one of the most talented, accurate and intimidating fast bowlers of all time is mainly remembered for his role in the infamous Bodyline series of 1932-3 which brought Anglo-Australian diplomatic relations to the brink of collapse. Larwood was made the scapegoat - and despite the fact he was simply following his captain's instructions, he never played cricket for England again. Devastated by this betrayal, he eventually emigrated to Australia, where he was accepted by the country that had once despised him. Acclaimed author Duncan Hamilton has gained unprecedented access to the late sportsman's family and archives to tell the story of a true working-class hero and cricketing legend.

Included in the Financial Times best books of 2020 selection 'For those who fear the worst for the sport they love, this is like cool, clear water for a man dying of thirst. It's barnstorming, coruscating stuff, and as fine a book about the game as you'll read for years' Mail on Sunday 'Charming . . . a threnody for a vanished and possibly mythical England' Sebastian Faulks, Sunday Times 'Lyrical . . . [Henderson's] pen is filled with the romantic spirit of the great Neville Cardus . . . This book is an extended love letter, a beautifully written one, to a world that he is desperate to keep alive for others to discover and share. Not just his love of cricket, either, but of poetry and classical music and fine cinema' The Times (best summer books) 'To those who love both cricket and the context in which it is played, the book is rather wonderful, and moving' Daily Telegraph 'Philip Larkin's line 'that will be England gone' is the premise of this fascinating book which is about music, literature, poetry and architecture as well as cricket. Henderson is that rare bird, a reporter with a fine grasp of time and place, but also a stylist of enviable quality and perception' Michael Parkinson Neville Cardus once said there could be no summer in England without cricket. The 2019 season was supposed to be the greatest summer of cricket ever seen in England. There was a World Cup, followed by five Test matches against Australia in the latest engagement of sport's oldest rivalry. It was also the last season of county cricket before the introduction in 2020 of a new tournament, The Hundred, designed to attract an audience of younger people who have no interest in the summer game. In That Will Be England Gone, Michael Henderson revisits much-loved places to see how the game he grew up with has changed since the day in 1965 that he saw the great fast bowler Fred Trueman in his pomp. He watches schoolboys at Repton, club cricketers at Ramsbottom, and professionals on the festival grounds of Chesterfield, Cheltenham and Scarborough. The rolling English road takes him to Leicester for T20, to Lord's for the most ceremonial Test match, and to Taunton to watch an old cricketer leave the crease for the last time. He is enchanted at Trent Bridge, surprised at the Oval, and troubled at Old Trafford. 'Cricket,' Henderson says, 'has always been part of my other life.' There are memories of friendships with Ken Dodd, Harold Pinter and Simon Rattle, and the book is coloured throughout by a love of landscape, poetry, paintings and music. As well as reflections on his childhood hero, Farokh Engineer, and other great players, there are digressions on subjects as various as Lancashire comedians, Viennese melancholy and the films of Michael Powell. Lyrical and elegiac, That Will Be England Gone is a deeply personal tribute to cricket, summer and England.

A gently mocking view of English village cricket by an Australian (the 'Old Enemy', no less) who has been bewitched by its grace, charm, and sheer otherworldliness.

Nominated for Cricket Society Book of the Year Award 2002.Winner of the 2001 Lord Aberdare Prize for Sports History.Any attempt to understand the nature of social relations and cultural identities in modern Britain must consider the significance of sport. Sports have had a crucial role in sustaining national consciousness. Because cricket has so often been regarded as a symbol of Englishness, especially amongst those with economic and political influence, the role of race in the sport provides penetrating insights into English national identity, from the belief in racial superiority underlying imperial expansion through to more recent debates about sporting links with South Africa, and racial animosities at test matches. This book examines cricket and race in England over the past century and a half. The author considers how far and in what respects cricket has reflected the racist assumptions of whites, and its role as an arena for ethnic conflict as well as understanding and harmony in England. In the first half of the twentieth century, commentary on the playing abilities of West Indian cricketers was often superficially laudatory but condescending in tone, and argued that racial characteristics would limit their achievements as players. More recently, campaigns to combat racism in the sport and the contributions of African-Caribbeans and Asians to recreational cricket show how central cricket is to appraisals of the cultural factors that have shaped ethnic relations. This absorbing book provides an incisive overview of the interconnections among cricket, race and culture.

Originally suppressed by the Test and County Cricket Board in 1985, 'Standing the Test of Time' is the controversial autobiography of the respected Test umpire and former Somerset cricket legend Bill Alley, revised and updated to include recent developments in the world game. Now in his 80th year and still living in Taunton, Alley tells of his remarkable rise from poverty in New South Wales, through Colne in the Lancashire League and breaking countless county records with Somerset, to umpiring on the international stage.

In this first volume Professor Hilary Beckles examines the short-lived first rising of West Indian cricket supremacy, arguing that it sent a clear message to the world that the newly independent nations of the West Indies were able to lead world cricket with certainty, purpose and poise.

In this second volume, Beckles assesses what impact the globalization of cricket has had on the cricketers of the Caribbean. He also describes the emergence of what he argues is a debilitating sub-nationalism in the West Indies, and the effect this has had on the game.

Tom Melville presents a well-documented history of cricket playing in America, focusing on its period of growth in the 1840s and its periodic revivals. Cricket failed to take on, or resisted, an American identity, but the sport had considerable appeal both as a sport and as an activity that fostered sportsmanship, control, public manners, and decorum. Cricket found acceptance mainly in the upper class but also appealed to working-class people.