Winner of the WISDEN BOOK OF THE YEAR award and the TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE YEAR, this book is a celebration of the elegance and timeless beauty of cricket—its greatest and most stylish players, from past heroes to today’s stars, along with its idyllic and hallowed grounds. Cricket has been played for over three hundred years and in some ways remains largely unchanged. It is this timelessness, and the style and spirit in which the game is conducted, which is celebrated in This Is Cricket. The book brings together such idyllic settings as Sir Paul Getty's Ground in Buckinghamshire, U.K., surrounded by rolling countryside, with the Otago cricket ground in New Zealand set against a backdrop of mountains, as well as the sport's most hallowed pitches, including Lord's (opened by Thomas Lord in 1814) and Melbourne Cricket Ground, which hosted the first-ever International "Test" match in 1877. Readers will venture on a journey to the Caribbean, where the fast bowling attack of the West Indies reigned in the 1970s, and to India, where cricket soared to new heights in the 1980s. From Shane Warne's hat-trick at the MCG in 1994 to Ben Stokes's heroics at Lord's and Headingley in 2019, This Is Cricket captures many of the game's most extraordinary events and players. The striking images of on-field action as well as candid dressing-room moments, some published here for the first time, are taken by some of the most respected photographers in sport. Featuring bucolic village greens, charming pavilions, endearing team portraits, extraordinary catches, devastating bowling, heroic batting, stylish sweaters, and silly fancy dress, this book illustrates why cricket is the second most popular sport in the world and why it is truly loved by so many.

A tribute to the finest writers on the game of cricket and an acknowledgement that the great days of cricket literature are behind us. There was a time when major English writers – P. G. Wodehouse, Arthur Conan Doyle, Alec Waugh – took time off to write about cricket, whereas the cricket book market today is dominated by ghosted autobiographies and statistical compendiums. The Picador Book of Cricket celebrates the best writing on the game and includes many pieces that have been out of print, or difficult to get hold of, for years. Including Neville Cardus, C. L. R. James, John Arlott, V. S. Naipaul, and C. B. Fry, this anthology is a must for any cricket follower or anyone interested in sports writing elevated to high art.

This is a newly-revised version of a book first published in paperback in 1998, which was very popular but went out of print some years ago when the original publishers ceased trading. It has recently been re-published as an e-book, and after it reached the number one spot for cricket books in Amazon's Kindle Store in both July and August 2013, the author decided to publish it again as a paperback. It is a book which explains the game of cricket in a way that isn't over-complicated, takes nothing for granted, doesn't over-simplify unduly and - which is very important - doesn't treat its subject in such a facetious manner as to defeat the whole object. It doesn't pretend cricket isn't a complex game, but it does make sure that you pick up all the pieces of the jig-saw puzzle in the proper order so that everything makes sense right from the start, with every new piece added clearly helping to build a bigger picture and helping you to enjoy the game even more. It is enhanced by lively and charming cartoons drawn by Tim Parker.

"I'm in the team – can you come and watch me play?" If you will be sitting by a cricket pitch this summer, mystified by the antics on the field in front of you, this is the book for you. Not only will it help to explain what is going on from the spectator's viewpoint – it will also raise you several notches in your loved one's esteem. After reading this book you will be able to talk knowledgeably about spin and swing bowling, off drives, knocking in, and know the difference between a googly and an off-break. You might even enjoy the matches much more as a result. Just as well because they can take up a whole day at junior level, or up to five days for a Test match. The author, a mother who has spent many seasons at her sons' playing fields, provides a complete guide to the intricacies of cricket for all those supporters to whom predominantly male sports are a complete mystery. She also includes valuable advice on supporter etiquette and preparing cricket teas as well as dealing with the inevitable washing mountain. This book is for all bemused supporters, male and female, who loyally turn out to cheer in all weathers.

The author sees cricket as an instance of the whole exceeding the sum of the parts and his poems seek to exploit the area of difference. They are essentially for cricketers, drawing on a knowledge of the game, its devotees, participants, and ethos. Many of the poems were written for team evenings and are presented for your reading due to the insistence of his erstwhile team-mates. Arthur very much hopes that you will enjoy some, if not all, of them.

Cricket Explained offers the sports enthusiast a user-friendly introduction to baseball's British cousin, a game that shares with America's national pastime the common ancestor "rounders." This is the definitive beginner's guide to the game of cricket, written by Robert Eastaway, a world authority on the sport, and co-inventor of the Coopers & Lybrand World Cricket Ratings System. Cricket Explained takes the reader from the game's fundamental --basic rules, terminology, equipment --to the finer points of strategy, individual playing styles, and cricket lore. The book includes a combined glossary/index for easy reference and is illustrated throughout with the lighthearted drawings of British cartoonist Mark Stevens. So even if you don't know "short leg" from "silly mid off" or a bowler from a batsman, you'll come away from Cricket Explained with an understanding for this truly international sport which, like baseball, is loved both for its elegant simplicity and its vexing complexity. Among the topics covered in Cricket Explained's concise, user-friendly entries are: -- Cricket's history -- Making sense of the action on the field -- Batsmen and the batting order -- Fielders and fielding positions -- Fielding and batting tactics -- Scoring and statistics -- Bowling strategy -- How many players are required -- How runs are scored, outs are made, and a game is won -- Umpires and the rules -- Bowlers and their individual styles -- Different types of cricket played throughout the world