Wisden at The Oval

Wisden at The Oval
Author: Jon Surtees
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2017-06-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1472942647

The Oval in Kennington, south London – with its instantly recognisable gasholders – is one of sport's most iconic and popular venues. It has played host to an array of blue-ribbon sporting events over the years, including the FA Cup final and rugby's first varsity match. But it is as an iconic cricket venue that it is so widely known and loved. Since opening in 1845, The Oval has been the home of Surrey County Cricket Club, and these days it traditionally hosts the final Test match of the English season. It was one of the first grounds to stage a Test match (second only to Melbourne's MCG), when it hosted England–Australia in 1880, and its place in sporting history continues as 2017 sees the 100th Test match at the venue. The modern-day history of cricket can be told purely by referencing events that have taken place at The Oval or players that called the ground home. Wisden at The Oval takes the reader through that rich history, delving into the Almanack's archive, and arguing that more memorable events and moments have happened at The Oval than any other ground in the world. It will showcase the remarkable matches and series: from that first Test match in England and the subsequent birth of the Ashes, to the first ever official County Championship (won by Surrey), the first ever One Day World Cup in 1975, The Oval's key role in the birth of Twenty20 in 2003, and the biggest series of modern times with the 2005 Ashes and three subsequent Ashes victories in the following decade. It will celebrate the outstanding players and performances, including: Jack Hobbs, who played home games and his final Test at The Oval; Len Hutton's astounding 364* in 1938; Don Bradman's final innings; the iconic performances of Surrey's Jim Laker; Fred Trueman becoming the first player to take 300 Test wickets; the era-defining West Indians of the 70s and 80s who called it a home from home; and all the greats of the game through to today.

Wisden on the Great War

Wisden on the Great War
Author: Andrew Renshaw
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2014-05-08
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1408832364

Readers of the 1917 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack were advised by the editor, Sydney Pardon: “Its chief feature is a record of the cricketers who have fallen in the War – the Roll of Honour, so far as the national game is concerned.” By the time the conflict was over, Wisden had carried almost 1,800 obituaries. Test players like Colin Blythe were far outnumbered by men with a lesser claim to fame, as schoolboy cricketers were sent out to the battlefields fresh from their playing fields. Amid the carnage and confusion, errors inevitably crept in: names were wrong and there were cases of mistaken identity. Some mistakes have lain buried in Wisden's pages for a century: as this book discloses, three men outlived their obituary by many years. All the obituaries have been updated in Wisden on the Great War with new information about the subjects' lives and deaths, their families and memorials, and ordered by the year of death. There is a listing of the 289 men who had played first-class cricket, while the 89 who did not get an obituary in Wisden are now recognised. The book also lists for the first time the 407 first-class cricketers who were decorated for gallantry, of whom 381 survived. Among the men included is an officer who as a boy was an inspiration for J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, and one whose agonising death on the battlefield is movingly described in Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That. These men now receive proper tribute, along with literary names that are already well-known, such as Rupert Brooke, who headed his school's bowling averages in 1906 and received an obituary in Wisden that mentioned that, at the time of his death, he 'had gained considerable reputation as a poet'. The wartime Wisdens have long been cherished by families whose relatives are commemorated in them, but the originals are scarce and command a high price. Now the lives of the men are properly celebrated, enhanced by many remarkable stories of courage and coincidence. The result is a poignant insight into the cohorts of cricketers who played the ultimate game for their country.

Wisden on the Ashes

Wisden on the Ashes
Author: Steven Lynch
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 607
Release: 2011-11-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1408165236

The Wisden on the Ashes: The authoritative story of cricket's greatest rivalry is a detailed chronological journey through the history of this famous English-Australian contest. With Test reports, scorecards, "Great bowlers of the year" and other fascinating material from the archives, together with new editorial pieces, this is a remarkable record of cricket's most enduring battle. The book begins its journey with England's first tour of Australia in 1876 and the subsequent three series prior to the 1882 tour that led to a mock obituary being placed in the Sporting Times "In affectionate remembrance of English cricket, which died at The Oval on 29th August, 1882. ... The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." Celebrating the players who made their mark on the game and the controversies that shook the sport, the book covers every series since then through to the most recent series. In 2005 England won a highly competitive series that helped raise the popularity of the sport, and each series since then has attracted huge attention. Beautifully produced, this book will be a welcome addition to all cricket enthusiasts' collections, as well as an ideal gift purchase. This updated edition includes the 2009 series, which saw England regain the Ashes on home soil after the disappointment of the 2005-06 series, and the fantastic, recent 2010-11 series held in Australia. It also includes a colour photo section celebrating the players, the matches and the key moments from an ongoing rivalry.

This is Cricket

This is Cricket
Author: Daniel Melamud
Publisher: Rizzoli Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020-10-20
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0847868575

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.

Wisden Cricketers of the Year

Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Author: Simon Wilde
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2013-09-17
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1408140845

A beautifully-produced and fully-illustrated, large format celebration of the greatest players in the history of cricket.

The Shorter Wisden 2011 - 2015

The Shorter Wisden 2011 - 2015
Author: Scyld Berry
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 1850
Release: 2015-08-06
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1472927338

The Shorter Wisden is a compelling distillation of what's best in its bigger brother. Available from all major eBook retailers, Wisden's digital version includes the influential Notes by the Editor, all the front-of-book articles, reviews, obituaries and all England's Tests from the previous season. Brought together for the first time, here are the first five editions of The Shorter Wisden, distilled from the Almanacks published between 2011 and 2015.

Wisden's The Laws Of Cricket

Wisden's The Laws Of Cricket
Author: Don Oslear
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2010-12-15
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1446406717

WISDEN'S THE LAWS OF CRICKET sets out in full the text of the new laws of cricket, 42 in number (with permission of the MCC which own the copyright in them). For each law it provides a commentary covering the reasons for any changs, explaining the background, and highlighting how they are likely to affect the way the game is played at every level. Full discussion is devoted to the major contentious issues, such as the introduction of penalty runs for various misdemeanours, and the revisions to the 'no ball' law. Don Oslear, the distinguished umpire, has been intimately involved over several years in the process of drafting the new laws, and explains why they needed changing, what views his committe recieved from the governing bodies of all the cricketing nations and from players, spectators and the media, how these were resolved, and what effect they are expected to have on the future of the game. No one who plays cricket, or is seriously interested in the game, can afford to miss this book.

Wisden on Grace

Wisden on Grace
Author: Jonathan Rice
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2015-03-12
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1472911644

Wisden was first published in 1864, the same year that William Gilbert Grace, then aged 16, made his debut in first-class cricket. The great man made his first appearance in the 1865 edition and two years later Wisden reported his 224 not out against Surrey at The Oval. From then on, W.G. was the main headline in each year's annual as he cast his considerable shadow over the game. Today the continuing interest in, and influence of, Grace on cricket is remarkable. Wisden on Grace records the highlights of an astonishing playing career – W.G. remains not only one of the top ten run-scorers of all time, but also one of the top ten wicket-takers – with notable scorecards, match reports and records. But the real treasures are to be found in the opinions and articles written about – and sometimes by – W.G. during his lifetime and afterwards. Whether it is first-class status for matches, the professionalism debate, or the question of throwing, the game's eternal issues are to be found here. Wisden on Grace also celebrates W.G.'s extraordinary family. The Graces remain the only family to have fielded three brothers in the same Test side for England, and all the Graces – W.G., E.M., their tragic younger brother G.F., and W.G. Grace junior – feature here, as do the obituaries of all the Graces (including W.G.'s mother and his wife). In the year of the centenary of W.G.'s death, Wisden's tribute to Grace gives a clear picture of the way that Grace and the game in general have been viewed over the past 150 years, and is a delight for any cricket lover.

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1864

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1864
Author: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2020-01-06
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1472979052

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 £50 and £100. Now, for the first time, John Wisden & Co is offering a digital version of the 1864 edition, to allow cricket lovers more affordable access to this historic book which forms such a significant part of the game's great heritage.