John Holder – författare

How well do you know your cricket? Do you think you could be the man at the stumps making the right decisions?Put your umpiring skills and knowledge to the ultimate test with this collection of 300 dilemmas from legendaryartist Paul Trevillion. With expert text from renowned first-class umpire John Holder and a variety of complexand occasionally bizarre scenarios for you to adjudicate on, this is an addictive and absorbing read. With questions covering everything from handling off-field incidents to deciding when to signal a no-ball, thesesporting conundrums will keep cricket fans entertained for hours.For anyone who has ever disputed an umpire's call, it's your turn to decide.

Barbados-born John Holder arrived in England during the 1960s as part of the second wave of West Indian immigrants recruited by London Transport after the war. While working on the Underground he was recommended for a trial at Hampshire. Impressed by his speed and hostility with the ball, they signed him on the spot. For seven years, his career as an opening bowler followed an uneven course, periods of loss of form and confidence punctuated with moments of sheer brilliance, the most noteworthy both coming in his final year at Hampshire in 1972, taking 13-128 in the same match against Gloucestershire and a hat-trick against Kent. A back injury brought his county career to a close. What better way to stay in touch than to become an umpire? A first-class umpire for 27 years, he officiated in 11 Tests and 23 one-day internationals. Former team-mate Andrew Murtagh had unique and unfettered access to his subject. A Test of Character throws an interesting light on the job of an international umpire, with all its pressures, vicissitudes, controversies and prejudices, leavened of course with a fair degree of humour too.

People often chose a dog that resembles themselves, consciously or unconsciously. Even scientific experiments have proved it. For example, you rarely find a Hell’s Angel with a bichon frisé, or a sweet little old lady with a bulldog. A gentle quiet academic wouldn’t normally chose a boisterous border collie, nor would an energetic teenager chose a basset hound.Our beloved dogs are rather like our choice of car or the clothes we wear. The science writer David Robson says, ‘The canine mini-me reveals a narcissistic tendency in us all.’In these humorous, colourful illustrations of doppelgänger dogs, artist John Holder has depicted a superb, visually entertaining collection of dogs and their owners in all their lookalike glory. A treat for dog owners everywhere.