A delightful and witty book that is also a love letter to cricket through the story of an accidental club that has lasted 25 years and 263 matchesNot everyone can be a true sports hero. Most of us lost out in life's sports lottery, and we have to find whatever virtue we can in effort and incompetence. Not Out First Ball is a laugh-out-loud manifesto for anyone who has ever silently sobbed at the sight of their off stump cartwheeling off into the distance,...

For more than four decades, Jim Maxwell has called the cricket for the ABC. Since 1973 he has covered over 250 Test matches, including six tours to the West Indies, seven to the subcontinent, more than 50 Ashes Tests, and five World Cups. His distinctive voice, dryly understated humor, and immense knowledge of the game have been part of the fabric of Australian cricket for 40 years. It's not too much to say that Jim is the sound of our summer. In...

Born in South Africa in 1980 to an Afrikaner father and English mother, he made his first-class cricket debut at the age of 17. In 1999, while playing with KwaZula Natal, he impressed former England captain Nasser Hussain and the following year signed for Nottinghamshire where he had a stunning debut season. He moved to Shane Warne's Hampshire in 2004 and went onto make his international debut the same year, soon becoming a cornerstone of the England...

When New Zealand beat India to win the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021 it was more than a David v Goliath for the sport, it was the culmination of the greatest era in the country' s cricket history.Since the turn of the century the Black Caps, despite the country' s tiny playing pool compared to most of the cricketplaying world, have produced an outsized number of brilliant and influential players.In this book, long-time cricket...

The Telegraph has always been sports fans' paper of choice, and its wonderful Letters page a forum for trenchant debate and robust wit. This first collection of the finest letters written to the paper over the years ranges from Bodyline to helmets, swing bowling to sunglasses. SIR-I don't see why batsmen today accept being confronted by bowlers wearing gold necklaces and particularly sunglasses. When I played cricket no jewelry was worn. As batsmen,...

Nothing compares to the Ashes. The Ashes is always coming, even when it is finished. The Ashes is where hope, expectation, magic and chagrin flourish in equal measure, and performance is permanently burnished.'The best cricket writer in the world' Guardian'The Bradman of cricket writing' Sunday Telegraph'The finest cricket writer alive' The Australian'Australia's finest writer on cricket' The Times'The most gifted cricket essayist of his generation'...

Lost Cricket Stickers brings you the inside story of the 1983 cricket season, locating lost heroes and discovering their journeys with the help of a Panini sticker album. 1983 was a pivotal year for cricket. India won the World Cup and England lost to New Zealand at home, both for the first time. There was a 35-minute century and a 14 all out. Yorkshire came bottom of the Championship (and won the John Player League), while South Africa tour rebels,...

Since 2003 the Wisden Cricketer has run a monthly feature called 'Eyewitness'. Each article takes a seminal moment in the history of cricket and invites the key protagonists to reminisce about it, relive it and reflect. Now for the first time the very best of 'Eyewitness' has been collected in one volume. The result is a fascinating tour of cricket's most memorable moments, as told by the very people who were there and who made them happen. Here is...

Ian Botham's approach to cricket is simple: keep fit, play hard, aim to win and, above all, enjoy the game. His advice on the skills is equally straightforward: attempt to master the basics...But never be afraid to try something new. In Cricket My Way, Ian elaborates on his philosophy, explaining just why a positive attitude to all matches can pay dividends and how much he, despite his reputation as a brilliant individualist, places a heavy reliance...

The Shane Warne Poetry Book is a tongue in cheek collection of short poems about the famous cricketer. It is written from the point of view of fictional character Victoria Coverdale who has devoted her life to thinking about Shane. Victoria was created by author Annabel Tellis. Both were featured in The Times in 2007 during the Ashes series and both have had fun presenting the poems in a serious manner at RAW comedy and other venues.