Scyld BerryRezensionen

Cracking read. Having lost v Australia in August 1882, resulting in the obituary notice, this is the 1882-1883 tour to recover the ashes. But it's more than that as captain Ivo Bligh falls for an Australian lass. And why does a three -test series become four?½

What was cricket like back in the dim past of 2008? There's no better place to find out than the 2009 "Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack".

I always head immediately to the back of the "Wisden" for the "Index of Unusual Occurrences"; here we find that Andrew Symonds scored an eight in a Test match against New Zealand and that a fox stopped play in an English county match. Elsewhere, the Obituaries section recorded, amongst many others, the deaths of Bill Brown, Bob Cunis, Zulfiqur Ahmed and, disconcertingly, Paul Hibbert, who I saw live in a Shield match surely not that long ago.

I could go on, but if you've read this far, you know that "Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack" is always the highlight of the cricket year.½

Everyone devours the latest “Wisden” in their own way. Some start from the start, reading the Editor’s notes, then the five cricketers of the year and so forth. Some, with ties to a particular English county or country, will turn to the relevant pages covering their team’s results. I am part of another group; those that immediately flip to the back of the book to read “the index of unusual occurrences”.

2007 was just as strange a year in cricket as ever. In Cuttuck, India, play in the Himachal Pradesh v Orrissa was twice stopped by swarms of bees (sadly, “Wisden” does not note whether that is a record). Meanwhile, play was stopped in a match between Lancashire and Kent when the pavilion was evacuated after a smoke alarm was set off by some burnt gravy. And of course the after effects of an Artic Monkeys concert caused play to be delayed in a Lancashire v Hampshire match.

The “Cricket round the world” is another favourite of mine, with entries from outposts like Guam, the Dominican Republic and Greece.

All in all, “Wisden” is one of my favourite wastes of time.½

Wisden 2011 - the 148th edition - contains coverage of every first-class game in every cricket nation, and reports and scorecards for all Tests and ODIs, including the 2010-2011 Ashes series in Australia where England will seek to retain the Ashes after their victory in the 2009 summer series. Including the eagerly awaited Notes by the Editor, the Cricketers of the Year awards, and some of the finest sports writing of the year - such as the brilliant obituaries - together with trenchant opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack truly is a "must-have" for every cricket fan. A perennial bestseller in the UK. "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

"Wisden 2010", the 147th edition, contains coverage of every first-class game in every cricket nation, and reports and scorecards for all Tests and ODIs, including the 2009 Ashes series. Trenchant opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records make it the cricketers' bible worldwide. A perennial bestseller in the UK. '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".

The 145th edition of Wisden reports on the calamitous World Cup, the invigorating World Twenty20, the volatile Australia v India series and twelve stuttering months for England. Under a new editor, Scyld Berry, the 2008 Almanack is the first Wisden to include the record of every Test cricketer, past and present. The game s best writers cover all the stories you would expect.and some you wouldn t. * Mike Brearley, Ian Chappell, John Woodcock, Simon Barnes and Tony Cozier profile the five greatest cricketers never chosen to be a Wisden Cricketer of the Year (clue: there are four bowlers and only one batsman) * Andrew Strauss looks at What Duncan did for us * Four county cricketers tell the stories of their 2007 season * Carl Bridge and Doug Insole look behind the legend of Don Bradman on the centenary of his birth * Nick Newman celebrates the enduring power of cricket cartoons * Mike Atherton, Ian Healy and Robert Craddock assess the great careers of Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath PLUS: The burnt gravy which stopped play .and the visiting county who had to bring their own stumps 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.

The 146th edition of Wisden Cricketers Almanack recounts a year when cricket was turned on its head. The Twenty20 revolution threatened the established order, as the IPL exploded onto the scene with the Stanford $20 million match muscling in later on. Meanwhile England managed to lose three captains and a coach within six months. And as the next Ashes series looms, both England and Australia lost consecutive Test series away to India and home to South Africa. In such hectic times the cricket-lover - more than ever - needs Wisden to make sense of it all. As usual it offers insight, inside information and a little contemplative calm. * David Foot reveals why the new Twenty20 tournaments can trace their lineage back almost 80 years to Stinchcombe, in Gloucestershire * Michael Vaughan reflects on his England captaincy, while Mike Atherton recalls Kevin Pietersen s eventful reign. Simon Barnes wonders why it always ends in tears * A captain, a Kolpak and a colt tell their stories from the 2008 season * David Frith analyses Ashes masters of the past * Matthew Engel on how the schedule became a shambles * Nasser Hussain assesses the feats of Mark Ramprakash and Graeme Hick * Dean Wilson ponders the disappearance of England s Afro-Caribbean cricketers PLUS Wisden reports from the Arctic, scene of yet another England defeat; Romania, where the Transylvanian Impalers take on all-comers; and Samoa, where heavy bats and light fingers guarantee a shortage of balls AND Wisden announces its first World Test XI 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.