Barbados-born John Holder arrived in England during the 1960s as part of the second wave of West Indian immigrants recruited by London Transport after the war. While working on the Underground he was recommended for a trial at Hampshire. Impressed by his speed and hostility with the ball, they signed him on the spot. For seven years, his career as an opening bowler followed an uneven course, periods of loss of form and confidence punctuated with moments of sheer brilliance, the most noteworthy both coming in his final year at Hampshire in 1972, taking 13-128 in the same match against Gloucestershire and a hat-trick against Kent. A back injury brought his county career to a close. What better way to stay in touch than to become an umpire? A first-class umpire for 27 years, he officiated in 11 Tests and 23 one-day internationals. Former team-mate Andrew Murtagh had unique and unfettered access to his subject. A Test of Character throws an interesting light on the job of an international umpire, with all its pressures, vicissitudes, controversies and prejudices, leavened of course with a fair degree of humour too.

Former county cricketer and one-time England Test batsman Alan Butcher was looking for a new challenge after leaving his job coaching Surrey County Cricket Club. A phone call out of the blue from a Zimbabwean great alerted him to the possibility of coaching the nation's cricket team. His three years in charge presents an insight into the at times schizophrenic nature of cricket in this intriguing country. Starting at the point when Butcher was offered the job, he describes the process of moulding a team out of a dispirited and disillusioned group of players. Part cricket memoir, part travelogue, part ode to Zimbabwe, part lament for a beautiful-but-troubled country, The Good Murungu? is a fascinating insight into Zimbabwean cricket.

The Wisden Book of Test Cricket, first published in 1979, is well established as an invaluable and unique source of reference essential to any cricket library. This new volume includes full coverage of every Test match from late 2009 to the end of the 2014 season in England. Each Test match features Wisden's own scorecard, a detailed match report, details of debutants, close of play scores, umpires and referees, with number of appearances, and Man of the Match winners. Also included is a complete individual Test Career Records section and player index. Edited by Steven Lynch, this new volume brings collectors' libraries up to date, ensuring they have a complete and accurate record - essential for any truly self-respecting cricket enthusiast.

Glamorgan CCC Miscellany collects together all the vital information you never knew you needed to know about the Dragons. In these pages you will find irresistible anecdotes and the most mindblowing stats and facts. Heard the one about the opposing vicar who scored a hundred, the game when Glamorgan only had five fielders, or the side that were all born in Wales? How about the times when a number 11 was top scorer for the county, or when a batsman was dismissed twice in the space of a minute? Do you know who was keeping wicket when Glamorgan won the 1969 Championship? Who took a wicket with his first-ever ball? Or who was the club's tallest ever player? All these stories and hundreds more appear in a brilliantly researched collection of trivia - essential for any Dragons fan who holds the riches of the club's history close to their heart.

Coaching young cricketers is a demanding role no matter how experienced you are. "Youth Cricket Coaching "provides an authoritative, practical, one-stop guide for all cricket coaches, teachers and players looking for ways to improve both young players' game and their own coaching methods. Using clear, jargon-free language, it starts with the fundamental principles and philosophies (such as outlining what makes a good coach and how to communicate with players and their parents), and takes the reader through managing practice sessions with various-sized groups or individuals, season-long planning and how to add value to your club. Coaching on a match day is addressed in a detailed section that focuses on selection, how to maintain a good relationship with the captain, and the importance of allowing players to think for themselves and learn from their mistakes. Other topics covered include: - Structuring a coaching session - Keeping the kids interested and involved - Finding the balance of instruction vs participation - Planning and developing season-long practice programmes - Maintaining interest and participation as players' skill levels develop at different rates - How to get to the next stage as a coach. A broad variety of drills are included - all clearly illustrated with detailed photographs to ensure good technique - and broken down into sections on batting, bowling and fielding (including wicket-keeping), making this the must-have book for any youth cricket coach.

The story of one obsessive fan's unlikely ambition: to bowl just one ball at his childhood hero, Sachin Tendulkar. From the very first time he'd ever watched the 'Little Master' bat, as a 12-year-old boy, Adam Carroll-Smith had been transfixed. He dreamed not just of bowling to Tendulkar, but of actually knocking over his off stump. Just one problem: he was never really much of a cricketer. However, determined not to let such a small detail stand in his way - and eager to settle an old score with a childhood chum - Carroll-Smith earnestly set about achieving the unthinkable during India's 2011 tour of England. A hilarious summer ensued as he attempted to live out his fantasy, fending off the attentions of over-zealous fellow fans, crazed Italian spiritualists and his meddling best friend - not to mention the dozens of blazered officials and luminous-jacketed stewards standing between him and his hero.

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of "Bumble," the legendary SkySports cricket commentator who's one ball short of an over and delivers madcap moments galore in this ebullient, endearing and hilarious new book.

David "Bumble" Lloyd is a legend in our living rooms, a genuine "good bloke" all cricket fans feel they know inside out because of his infectious, larger-than-life personality and that distinctive Lancashire burr.

Bumble has become the one constant for passionate English fans in cricket's rapidly changing landscape. He has earned cult status as a commentator and pundit, with viewers loving his unerring dedication to the game's great fables.

The World According to Bumble: Start the Car revels in the quirkier and humorous side of cricket, while offering behind-the-scenes action of Lloyd's years spent following cricket around the globe, from Accrington to Lahore.

Bumble waxes lyrical on everything from the genius of Shane Warne to the merits of Lancashire s premier pies and the delights of finishing the day with a couple of pints and a curry.

Enjoy the camaraderie that exists among the SkySports team - including former England captains Sir Ian Botham, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and David Gower - and laugh out loud at the stories and anecdotes which have forged Bumble's character.

Whether he is holding up play to retrieve lost balls from the top of sight-screens, or enacting mock pitch reports from car parks, Bumble is capable of stealing the limelight at all times."

"You do well to love cricket," said Lord Harris, "for it is more free from anything sordid, anything dishonourable, than any game in the world." Harris, who captained the first England team to do battle with the Australians in this country, obviously never got his hands on a copy of The Worst of Cricket. If that volume failed to totally convince you that the sport is designed to disturb, dismay and disgruntle in equal measure, then maybe it was because it only scratched the surface. Subtitled 'More Malice and Misfortune in the World's Cruellest Game', The Worst of Cricket 2 completes the job, taking up where its predecessor, one of the best-selling titles in Pitch's popular 'Worst of Sport' series, left off. The book takes another humorous look at the whole catalogue of malevolence, misadventure and madness associated with the sport - corruption, violence, drunkenness, incompetence - on and off the pitch!

This book looks back on Northamptonshire CCC's past, reflecting on the achievements of 100 players whose influence on the club was particularly significant. Each player biography is accompanied by detailed statistical information and illustrations. Among the players included are William Gunn, Tom Wass, Harold Larwood, Gary Sobers, Richard Hadlee, Clive Rice, Reg Simpson and Derek Randall.

In this new anecdotal book, the unstoppable Dickie Bird takes one County Cricket Club at a time and revisits each with the aid of memorabilia, statistics, books and videos. A mass of new hilarious stories flow from Dickie as he flexes his memory: he describes the cricketers, the matches and the character of these clubs. Dickie also relives his journeys as a umpire to clubs and Test match arenas overseas and recalls the humorous times that have filled his unique career. A must have for cricket enthusiasts everywhere.

Voted the greatest English cricketer of the 20th century by the fans, Sir Ian Botham is the English game's one true living legend and his story both on and off the pitch reads like a Boy's Own rollercoaster ride. Born with a natural genius for cricket, Botham began breaking records with bat and ball from a young age and soon became the man English cricket expected most from. After a troubled period as England's captain, Botham rose once again to become a national hero with his display in the Miracle Ashes of 1981. But, with his confrontational nature and wild streak, he began regularly making the wrong kind of headlines. With accusations of drink and drugs, affairs and ball-tampering, he became hounded by the tabloid pack, never sure whether they wanted him to triumph or implode. Now a Knight and just as famous for his tireless charity work, Beefy gives us the definitive story of his never-dull life and times in his own no-nonsense words.

John Cleese, Christopher Lee and Michael Parkinson share their passion for cricket with the great broadcaster, Brian Johnston. During the lunch interval on the Saturday of every Test in England, BBC Radio's 'Test Match Special' used to invite a well-known guest into the commentary box for a chat with Brian Johnston about themselves and their passion for cricket. Some turned out to be able cricketers, but they all had stories to tell about matches they had seen and cricketers they had met. Barry Johnston - Brian Johnston's son - has selected five chats from the series 'A View from the Boundary', beginning in 1980 with the playwright Ben Travers, and his vivid recollections of W.G. Grace and other characters from the golden age of cricket. He is followed by Michael Charlton, the political broadcaster and former cricket commentator, who covered the great Australia v West Indies tied Test in 1960, and John Cleese, a lifelong Somerset supporter, who tells some funny stories about 'Monty Python' and 'Fawlty Towers'. Hollywood film star Sir Christopher Lee recalls watching the legendary Jack Hobbs and Don Bradman, and Sir Michael Parkinson talks about opening the batting at Barnsley with Dickie Bird and how he nearly played for Hampshire. Publisher's note: This recording was taken from part of the cassette release of 'A View from the Boundary'. 1 CD. 1 hr 15 mins approx.

The tours include Taverners jaunts to the Balearics, an Aborigine team visiting England in 1868, Australia trying to win in India, Sydney Barnes in South Africa, Wally Hammond Down Under and more. The lively conversational style which made Mike Harfield's previous book, Not Dark Yet, so popular appears again, along with a cornucopia of cricket. Most of the time it is the cricket which lives in the memory; occasionally contemporary events intervene. Always the journey is entertaining.

'A sequel to The Grade Cricketer? It's like junk time in a second innings - something you just have to be part of.' Gideon Haigh. Is life without cricket worth living? It's a question asked and answered by the Grade Cricketer, as he faces a cricket-free future after a devious plan goes horribly wrong. Hilarious, ridiculous and completely true to life to anyone who's ever spent time in a dressing room, Tea and No Sympathy takes us on a skeweringly funny sporting misadventure through the world of grade cricket and the flawed, damaged and occasionally appalling people who play it, from the creators of the bestselling novel The Grade Cricketer. Praise for The Grade Cricketer: 'The Grade Cricketer is the finest tribute to a sport since Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, and the best cricket book in yonks. It's belly-laughing funny but it's also a hymn to the grand and complex game delivered with a narrative pace and ability I'm afraid most Test players don't have. For anyone who ever dreamed of excelling at a sport but never quite made it but still gave it your life, this is the story. A great read!' Tom Keneally 'The Grade Cricketer has taken us so far inside a district club dressing room that you feel like a locker. Ligaments could not be closer to the bone than some of his observations.' Kerry O'Keeffe 'The Grade Cricketer is strange and, I suspect, brilliant'. Wisden