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 establishmen...

In 1932, England’s cricket team, led by the haughty Douglas Jardine, had the fastest bowler in the world: Harold Larwood. Australia boasted the most prolific batsman the game had ever seen: the young Don Bradman. He had to be stopped. The leg-side bouncer onslaught inflicted by Larwood and Bill Voce, with a ring of fieldsmen waiting for catches, caused an outrage that reverberated to the back of the stands and into the highest levels of government. Bodyline, as this infamous technique came...

Using contemporary accounts of W.G.'s greatest innings, many for the first time, Robert Low presents a radically new image of the sportsman who was recognised as the pre-eminent athlete of his day.From his emergence as a teenage prodigy to well past his fiftieth year W.G. dominated the game of cricket, taking 2,876 wickets and scoring 54,896 first-class runs in a career lasting an incredible 43 years, from 1865 to 1908. His beard and massive frame made him instantly recognisable wherever h...

Peppered with bouncers, expletives, and even the odd diplomatic incident, this is a rip-roaring journey through over a century of Ashes history.For a list of every Ashes century and five-wicket haul, try Wisden, but if you want to know which England batsman was a martyr to syphilis and which Australian fast bowler reckoned the Queen had 'nice legs for an old Sheila', then read on...Stiff Upper Lips and Baggy Green Caps exposes the seamy side of Ashes cricket. It gives the i...

The story of a lifetime at the very centre of international cricket, from the most respected TV commentator in the game.Few people understand cricket as well as Richie Benaud. For sixty years, as player and commentator, he has set the standards for others to follow and has witnessed all the major events in the game. No one else has found such favour with the vast numbers of cricket lovers in both Britain and Australia.A high-class attacking...

No contest has captured the imagination of cricket lovers around the world as much as the Ashes. From the controversy of the Bodyline series to the brilliance of Bradman, from the heroics of batsmen like Botham and Ponting to the bowling magic of Warne, this is an event that has always demanded the very best of those who wish to win it. From the Test that started it all back in 1882 to the recent triumphant Australian victory in 20067, THE ASHES looks at the moments that have made this one...

The former Prime Minister examines the early history of one of the great loves of his life in a book that sheds new light on the summer game’s social origins.All his life John Major has loved cricket. In ‘More Than a Game’ he examines it from its origins up to the coming of the First World War. Along the way he considers the crucial role of the wealthy patrons who gambled huge sums on early matches; the truth behind the legends that have grown up around the famous Hambledon Club; c...

Hailed as one of the greatest cricket teams of all time, the 1948 'Invincibles' are the only Australians to complete an Ashes tour undefeated. Their crushing victories under Sir Donald Bradman's captaincy created history, even if the Don himself, on his final tour, was left stranded for ever with a Test batting average of 99.94 after his duck in the fifth Test. Yet the mixed feelings about the manner in which these feats were achieved are often forgotten. In his fascinating account of the ...

'What seeps through the pages is Benaud's passion for the game, his open-mindedness and his eye for a story. He has become a cricket institution' The Sunday Times**'**His timing is magical, his phrasing simple and his choice of what and when, quite brilliant ... his heart beats upon our summer game and frequently acts as its conscience' Daily Telegraph'It's his insight, loyalty, generosity and quick wit that has ke...

Jonathan “Aggers” Agnew, England’s voice of cricket, showcases some of the very best writings on the noble game, from the 1930s to the present day.In this wide-ranging and beautifully-produced anthology, Test Match Special’s Jonathan ‘Aggers’ Agnew, chooses a wide variety of writings on the sport that has consumed his life, from the 1932/33 Ashes (Bodyline) series right up to the present day. In a series of carefully considered, thematically organised reflections, he examines the i...

Published in 2003, ' Bradman Revisited ' received favourable publicity. This updated version with Supplement offers further support towards having his form of development and ' Rotary' batting style understood and accepted.Bradman's mastery of bowling and Test Match average of 99.94 is considerably higher than any batsman past or present. As a result he has always been treated as a 'one off' genius whose uncoached technique was different to perceived orthodoxy, his style should not...

From the celebrated mock obituary following England's first-ever defeat by Australia on home soil in 1882, to the on-pitch insults (or 'sledges') of today, ashes cricket has spawned nearly as many memorable quotes as it has balls bowled and runs scored.Gentlemen and Sledgers charts the ebb and flow of Anglo-Australian cricketing fortunes across 131 years and 314 matches by telling the stories behind 100 memorable ashes quotations. From fast bowler Jeff Thomson's classic 'I...