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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Ball games > Cricket
THE HILARIOUS NEW BOOK FROM ONE OF BRITAIN'S BEST-LOVED NATIONAL
TREASURES! This is not a book of life lessons. But Freddie Flintoff
has had a moment to reflect and he's noticed that throughout his
four decades, although there's been little method in the madness,
there has been the occasional common thread. The Book of Fred is
filled with anecdotes, observations and the odd opinion all told
with Fred's trademark humour and no-nonsense style. Fred's approach
to life draws on the sublime (his series winning performance in the
2005 Ashes) and the ridiculous (singing Elvis Presley's 'Suspicious
Minds' in front of a live audience), from highs (making the
transition to top TV presenter) to occasional lows (accidentally
upsetting the lovely Bruce Forsyth), from the profane (discussing
Shane Warne's barnet with Hollywood royalty) to the profound (why
'having a go' leads to self-respect). Throughout, Fred shares his
code for success, happiness and a life fully lived - and gives his
readers a laugh, some joy, and (the occasional) pause for thought
along the way.
Samir Chopra is an immigrant, a "voluntary exile," who discovers he
can tell the story of his life through cricket, a game that has
long been an influence-really, an obsession-for him. In so doing,
he reveals how his changing views on the sport mirror his journey
of self-discovery. In The Evolution of a Cricket Fan, Chopra is
thus able to reflect on his changing perceptions of self, and of
the nations and cultures that have shaped his identity, politics,
displacement, and fandom. Chopra's passion for the sport began as a
child, when he rooted for Pakistan and against his native India.
When he migrated, he became a fan of the Indian team that gave him
a sense of home among the various cultures he encountered in North
America and Australia. This "shapeshifting" exposes the rift
between the Old and the New world, which Chopra acknowledges is
"cricket's greatest modern crisis." But it also illuminates the
identity dilemmas of post-colonial immigrants in the Indian
diaspora. Chopra's thoughts about the sport and its global
influence are not those of a player. He provides access to the
inner world of the global cricket fan navigating the world that
colonial empire wrought and that cricket continues to connect and
animate. He observes that the Indian cricket team carries many
burdens-not only must they win cricket matches, but their style of
play must generate a pride that assuages generations of wounds
inflicted by history. And Chopra must navigate where he stands in
that history. The Evolution of a Cricket Fan shows Chopra's own
wins and losses as his life takes new directions and his fandom
changes allegiances.
The Cricket World Cup in 2019 was the first to be held in England
for 20 years and expectations were high. It did not disappoint.
Over six weeks and 48 matches it showcased the best that the
one-day game has to offer, with compelling individual performances
and spellbinding matches - all culminating in England's
unforgettable victory over New Zealand in the final. The Times
England's World Cup gives you a chance to relive the drama as it
happened with the best of cricket writers.
The Wisden Collector's Guide is the definitive companion to one of
the world's most important sporting publications. It begins with an
overview of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, introducing the original
John Wisdenand describing the history of the publication. The next
section contains highlights and information from each of the 147
editions, including bibliographic details (page extent, price,
reprints etc), excerpts from the best articles, cricketers of the
year, obituaries, and noteworthy events and matches. There is also
additional information of interest to collectors and historical
context in the form of news 'headlines' from each year. The guide
concludes with a section dedicated to the serious collector.
Covering everything from reprints to rebinds and from pagination to
publishers, it is a vital resource for collectors. Affording a
glimpse of the cricketing and historical landscape of the last 147
years, this is an accessible and fascinating volume for cricketing
fans generally and a must-have item for Wisden collectors.
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack was first published in 1864, and a new
edition has been published every year since then. While
limited-edition reprints of every edition of Wisden from 1864 to
1946 have been published over the past few decades, collecting
these limited-edition reprints is not cheap as each one has
normally been priced between GBP50 and GBP100. Now, for the first
time, John Wisden & Co is offering a bundle of the
print-on-demand reprints of the editions between 1916 and 1919, to
allow cricket lovers more affordable access to this historic book
which forms such a significant part of the game's great heritage.
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