Wisden – serie

'Worth its weight in gold' Indian Cricket Stats JournalThe Wisden Book of Test Cricket, first published in 1979, is well established as an invaluable and unique source of reference essential to any cricket library. This new volume includes full coverage of every Test match from late 2019 to the end of the 2025 season in England. Each Test match features Wisden's own scorecard, a detailed match report, details of debutants, close of play scores, umpires and referees, with number of appearances, and Man of the Match winners. Also included is a complete individual Test Career Records section and player index.Edited by Steven Lynch, this new volume brings collectors' libraries up to date, ensuring they have a complete and accurate record - essential for any truly self-respecting cricket enthusiast.

Cricket has perhaps held more writers in its thrall than any other sport: many excellent books have been written about it, and many great authors have played it. The Authors Cricket Club used to play regularly against teams made up of Publishers and Actors. They last played in 1912, and include among their alumni such greats as PG Wodehouse, Arthur Conan Doyle and JM Barrie. A hundred years on from their last match, a team of modern-day authors has been assembled to continue this fine literary and sporting tradition in a nationwide tour in search of the perfect day's cricket. The Authors XI is the story of their season.Over the course of a summer they played over a dozen matches, each one capturing an aspect of cricket, in some of England's most spectacular and historic grounds and against a range of opponents. Each player contributes a chapter, using a match report as a starting point for an essay on cricket and its appeal, both historically and today.From Matthew Parker on cricket and empire, and Kamila Shamsie on the women's game, to Tom Holland on cricket and ageing, and Thomas Penn on cricket and history, this is an engaging look at cricket's enduring appeal. Further chapters from other team members examine issues such as class, empire, and sport and the stage.

It’s one thing to be 14 years old and a loser. It’s one thing to be the class swot, and hopelessly infatuated with someone who doesn’t know you exist. But what kind of teenager is besotted with an entire sports team – when the players are even bigger losers than she is?In 1993, while everyone else was learning Oasis lyrics and crushing on Kate Moss or Keanu, Emma John was obsessing over the England cricket team. She spent her free time making posters of the players she adored. She spent her pocket money on Panini stickers of them, and followed their progress with a single-mindedness that bordered on the psychopathic.The primary object of her affection: Michael Atherton, a boyishly handsome captain who promised to lead his young troops to glory. But what followed was one of the worst sporting streaks of all time – a decade of frustration, dismay and comically bungling performances that made the England cricket team a byword for British failure.Nearly a quarter of a century on, Emma John wants to know why she spent her teenage years defending such a bunch of no-hopers. She seeks out her childhood heroes with two questions: why did they never win? And why on earth did she love them so much?

*Standard hardback edition*The 159th edition of the most famous sports book in the world – published every year since 1864 – contains some of the world’s finest sports writing, and reflects on a year when Azeem Rafiq forced the sport to examine, more painfully than ever, its attitude to racism. The launch of The Hundred gave a huge boost to the women’s game while raising many questions about the men’s. Then, in the last two months of the year, Australia’s men won the World T20 and retained the Ashes.Writers include Lawrence Booth, Stephen Fry, Mike Atherton, Gideon Haigh, Henry Blofeld, Vic Marks, Tanya Aldred, Andy Bull, Tim de Lisle, Emma John and Scyld Berry. As usual, Wisden includes the eagerly awaited Notes by the Editor, the Cricketers of the Year awards, and the famous obituaries. And, as ever, there are reports and scorecards for every Test, together with forthright opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records."There can't really be any doubt about the cricket book of the year, any year: it's obviously Wisden" Andrew Baker in The Daily Telegraph @WisdenAlmanack