Looking at the inter-war period, this work explores the relationship between cricket and English social and cultural values.

This work is a timely exploration of the bonds which tie English cricket to the English nation as both face apparently inexorable decline.

Shortlisted for the Cricket Writers Club 'Book of the Year' 2022 and the Sunday Times Sports Book Awards 'Cricket Book of the Year' 2023 In telling the story of cricket from the bottom up, Different Class demonstrates how the "quintessentially English" game has done more to divide, rather than unite, the English. In 1963, the West Indian Marxist C.L.R. James posed the deceptively benign question: "What do they know of cricket, who only cricket know?" A challenge to the public to re-consider cricket and its meaning by placing the game in its true social, political and economic context, James was, all too subtly, attempting to counter the game’s orthodox history that, he argued, had played a key role in the formation of national culture. As a consequence, he failed, and the history of cricket in England has retained the same stresses and lineaments as it did a century ago — until now. In examining recreational rather than professional (first-class) cricket, Different Class does not simply challenge the widely accepted orthodoxy of English cricket, it demonstrates how the values and belief systems at its heart were, under the guise of amateurism, intentionally developed in order to divide the English along class lines at every level of the game. If the creation of opposing class-based cricket cultures in the North and South of England grew out of this process, the institutional structures developed by those in charge of English cricket continue to discriminate. But, as much as the exclusion of Black and South Asian cricketers from the recreational mainstream is the most obvious example, it is social class that remains the greatest barrier to participation in what used to be the national game.

'An astonishing work of research, detail and revelation. Bulging with information, packed with nuggets.' John Etheridge, Sun 'Superbly researched... His eye for detail never wavers. It’s a pleasure to read.' Vic Marks, Observer 'The Cricket Book of the Year: Dauntingly comprehensive and surprisingly light-footed.' Simon Briggs, Daily Telegraph England: The Biography is the most comprehensive account of the England cricket team that has ever been published, taking the reader into the heart of the action and the team dynamics that have helped shape their success, or otherwise. It is now 140 years since England first played Test match cricket and, for much of that time, it has struggled to perform to the best of its capabilities. In the early years, amateurs would pick and choose which matches and tours they would play; subsequently, the demands of the county game - and the petty jealousies that created - would prevent many from achieving their best. It was only in the 1990s that central contracts were brought in, and Team England began to receive the best possible support from an ever-increasing backroom team. But cricket isn't just about structures, it depends like no other sport on questions of how successful the captain is in motivating and leading his team, and how well different personalities and egos are integrated and managed in the changing room. From Joe Root and Alastair Cook back to Mike Atherton, Mike Brearley and Ray Illingworth, England captains have had a heavy influence on proceedings. Recent debates over Kevin Pietersen were nothing new, as contemporaries of W.G.Grace would doubtless recognise. As England play their 1000th Test, this is a brilliant and unmissable insight into the ups and downs of that story.

Award-winning cricket writer Mark Peel charts the development of the England captaincy from 1945 to the present, with portraits of England's 43 captains. Is England's failure to produce sufficient leaders of stature - especially in comparison with Australia - down to individual deficiencies or the exacting nature of the job?

A teasing but affectionate celebration of cricket through the ages, written by one of Ireland's greatest living critics. Cricket is the strangest game. It features idealism, brutality, low comedy, high intelligence, luck and sheer bravery in equal measure – and often achieves the condition of art. Declan Kiberd's remarkable book is a celebration of cricket through the ages, and of the peculiarities of the people who love and play it. He evokes brilliantly what it is like to be 'out there' on the field of play. Although the modern game is rooted in the gentle rural England described by LP Hartley and George Orwell, it has in its more modern versions come to reflect the industrial power and intermittent violence of modern life. England and Eternity is a teasing but affectionate study of the genius of the English people as seen from a postcolonial perspective – and of the game which was one of their richest, oddest and most lasting gifts to the wider world.

ICC Cricket World Cup England 2019: The Official Book is a celebration of the world's most important 50-over cricket tournament, the World Cup. Eight teams will be joining hosts England in the summer 2019 trying to prise loose the grip on the trophy, enjoyed by Australia (they have been world champions four of the last five times). Eleven venues will stage the 48 matches across England and Wales, from Taunton and Cardiff to Headingley and Chester-le-Street between 30 May and 14 July. This book contains everything fans will need, from venue guides to detailed information on every team in the finals, key players, playing strengths, coaches, past form and a prediction of teams' hopes of success. In addition to the fill-in ICC Cricket World Cup England 2019 fixture schedule, famous games are recalled in special features, together with biographies of the men most likely to light up the tournament. The Cricket World Cup's glorious history and tournament records are also fully covered making ICC Cricket World Cup England 2019: The Official Book essential reading for all fans interested in one-day cricket in its longer format.ed making ICC Cricket World Cup England 2019: The Official Book essential reading for all fans interested in one-day cricket in its longer format.ed making ICC Cricket World Cup England 2019: The Official Book essential reading for all fans interested in one-day cricket in its longer format.ed making ICC Cricket World Cup England 2019: The Official Book essential reading for all fans interested in one-day cricket in its longer format.