A lasting memorial to those from the cricketing world who fought and those who fell.

As famous for its complicated rules as it is for its contentious (and lengthy) matches, cricket is the quintessentially English sport. Or is it? From cricket in literature to sticky wickets, Cricketing Lives is a paean to the quirky characters and global phenomenon that are cricket. Cricket is defined by the characters who have played it, watched it, reported it, ruled upon it, ruined it, and rejoiced in it. Humorous and deeply affectionate, Cricketing Lives tells the story of the world’s greatest and most incomprehensible game through those who have shaped it, from the rustic contests of eighteenth-century England to the spectacle of the Indian Premier League. It’s about W. G. Grace and his eye to his wallet; the invincible Viv Richards; and Sarah Taylor, “the best wicketkeeper in the world.” Richard H. Thomas steers a course through the despair of war, tactical controversies, and internecine politics, to reveal how cricket has always warmed our hearts as nothing else can.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, for many English men and women of Welsh origin the idea of being in some part 'Welsh' reaffirmed their own understanding of what it meant to 'be British'. Wales in England, 1914-1945 is the first cultural history of this English Welsh duality - an identification with two constituent nations at once - and explores how 'Welshness' was imagined, performed, and mobilised in England during and between the two world wars. In so doing, and making use of individual English Welsh case studies from the worlds of politics, art, literature, and soldiering, the book provides a wholly new perspective on the social, cultural, and military history of Britain at war. It shows English-Welsh duality to have been an important strand of pluralistic Britishness in wartime, and that this diasporic construction of Welshness held a wide urban appeal with significant implications for military enlistment, cultural production, and commemorative practices in England. Working at the intersection of war studies, British studies, and diaspora studies, Wales in England makes a significant contribution to 'four nations' history and the history of British society at war.

Much has been written about 1914 and the drift to war. This book examines what it was like playing and watching cricket that year and how the eventual coming of war affected the game. It challenges the common but lazy notion that the war brought a dramatic end to the era of sweetness, light and eternal sunshine that was the golden age of amateur cricket.

The most famous sports book in the world, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack has been published every year since 1864. Wisden 2015--the 152nd edition--contains coverage of every first-class game in every cricket nation, and reports and scorecards for all Tests and ODIs. Including the eagerly awaited Notes by the Editor, the Cricketers of the Year awards, and some of the finest sports writing of the year--such as the brilliant obituaries--together with trenchant opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack truly is a must-have for every cricket fan. A perennial bestseller in the UK.

As the civilised world fought for its very survival, Sir Home Gordon, writing in The Cricketer in September 1939, stated that ‘England has now started the grim Test Match with Germany’, the objective of which was to ‘win the Ashes of civilisation’. Despite the interruption of first-class and Test cricket in England, the game continued to be played and watched by hundreds of thousands of people engaged in military and civilian service. In workplaces, cricket clubs, and military establishments, as well as on the famous grounds of the country, players of all abilities kept the sporting flag flying to sustain morale. Matches raised vast sums for war charities whilst in the north and midlands, competitive League cricket continued, with many Test and county players being employed as weekend professionals by the clubs. Further afield the game continued in all the Test-playing nations and in further-flung outposts around the world. Troops stationed in Europe, Africa and the Far East seized on any opportunity to play cricket, often in the most unusual of circumstances. Luxurious sporting clubs in Egypt hosted matches that pitted English service teams against their Commonwealth counterparts. Luminaries such as Wally Hammond and Lindsay Hassett were cheered on by their uniformed countrymen. Inevitably there was a sombre side to cricket’s wartime account. From renowned Test stars such as Hedley Verity to the keen but modest club player, many cricketers paid the ultimate price for Allied victory. The Victory Tests of 1945 were played against a backdrop of relief and sorrow. Nevertheless, cricket would emerge intact into the post-war world in broadly the same format as 1939. The game had sustained its soul and played its part in the sad but necessary victory of the Grim Test.

In the second half of the 19th century Britain ruled the largest and most culturally diverse empire the world had ever seen, yet non-European faces were a rarity in all but the larger port cities. For the majority of Britons, the colonies were seen as distant and exotic outposts populated by natives who were frequently characterised as alien and uncivilised. Against this background, the arrival of a touring party of Australian Aborigines in 1868 caused something of a sensation. Initially viewed as a curiosity, they soon won the public over with their athleticism and demeanour. Over the following decades others followed in their footsteps; well off Parsee amateur enthusiasts in the 1880s, mixed race West Indian teams in the 1900s and the first Indian side composed of representatives of all her major communities in 1911. From the 1890s onwards the first individual Black and Asian players also began to appear for English club and county sides. They came from a wide range of backgrounds, some were princes others plantation workers, and their stories once they reached Britain were equally diverse. All of their stories are part of a tale in which cricket - that most English of institutions - became a catalyst for multi-cultural Britain and helped shape emerging national identities in the Commonwealth.