Pizzazz, catharsis, and heroes old and new: The summer before the summer to end all summers
"It was gloriously fearless cricket: this was England, but not as we knew it"
"It was gloriously fearless cricket: this was England, but not as we knew it"
"People ask me now: ‘Do you miss it?’ No, I don’t miss it"
"They were better than what we were. And we were nowhere near good enough"
"I don't think it'll be a problem – Stokes for a one-off Test"
"I had literally thrown everything at Clarke and nothing worked"
"Go and watch the whole thing again, I can hardly bowl any bouncers"
Harmison spent eight weeks at the Premier League club in the run up to England's 2004 tour of the West…
"The game was over in a day and a half"
‘Here he comes, the silly old sod.’
"I could see Shoaib losing it and losing it and losing it"
The latest issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly, guest-edited by Isa Guha, out May 5:
The 160th edition of the most famous sports book in the world – published every year since 1864 – contains some of the world’s finest sports writing. It reflects on the extraordinary life of Shane Warne, who died far too early in 2022, and looks back at another legendary bowler, S.F. Barnes, on the 150th anniversary of his birth. Wisden also reports on England’s triumph at the T20 World Cup, to go alongside their 2019 ODI success, and on their Test team’s thrilling rejuvenation under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.
Writers include Lawrence Booth, Gideon Haigh, James Holland, Jonathan Liew, Emma John, David Frith, Simon Wilde, Jon Hotten, Robert Winder, Tanya Aldred and Neil Harvey, the last survivor from Australia’s famous 1948 Ashes tour of England. As usual, Wisden includes the eagerly awaited Notes by The Editor, the Cricketers of The Year awards, and the obituaries. And, as ever, there are reports and scorecards for every Test, together with forthright opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records.
Cricket’s past is steeped in a tradition of great writing and Wisden is making sure its future will be too. The Nightwatchman is a quarterly collection of essays and long-form articles which debuted in March 2013 and is available in book and e-book formats.
Every issue features an array of authors from around the world, writing beautifully and at length about the game and its myriad offshoots.