Cricket Biography

Perfect for cricket fans everywhere, Thanks, Johnners is a rich blend of biography and anecdote, of antics and dramas on and off the pitch, in and out of the commentary box, filled with stories about the great names of cricket, including Fred Trueman, Geoffrey Boycott, Vivian Richards, Michael Holding, and Ian Botham.

In 1960, Frank Worrell was appointed the first Black captain of the West Indies cricket team. Within three years he was knighted; within five, the West Indies were the champions of the world and would come to dominate cricket with their wicked bowling and electrifying play. Yet two years later, in 1967, Worrell died of leukaemia and cricket lost its 'ideal cricketer'. But Worrell wasn't merely an extraordinarily talented and record-breaking sportsman. By the time he died he was a founder of the University of the West Indies and a Jamaican senator.

Dickie Bird is not only the world's most famous cricket umpire, he is also one of the most entertaining public speakers of our time.

At the young age of 17, Sachin Tendulkar earned the title of being the second youngest man to score 100 runs in international cricket. Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman is an audiobook that traces the life and achievements of this individual, who is hailed as being the finest batsman in the world. He has made more than 33,000 runs in international cricket, which is the highest number of runs to be scored by any cricketer. He also has a total of 100 international centuries in his kitty as well.

For more than four decades, Jim Maxwell has called the cricket for the ABC. Since 1973 he has covered 285 Test matches, including over 50 Ashes Tests, six tours to the West Indies, seven to the subcontinent, and five World Cups. His distinctive voice, dryly understated humour and immense knowledge of the game have been part of the fabric of Australian cricket for generations of listeners. It's not too much to say that Jim has been the sound of our summer.

Henry Blofeld's voice is the sound of the summer to thousands of cricket lovers all over the world, and this autobiographical audiobook is a celebration of his career commentating on the sport he loves. Henry has been a summariser on Test Match Special for over 40 years, and cricket fans all over the world adore him. In this book he relives his favourite moments in the sport and shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes and stories told in his unique style.

Fanatical about cricket since he was a boy, Miles Jupp would do anything to see his heroes play. But perhaps deciding to bluff his way into the press corps during England's Test series in India wasn't his best idea. By claiming to be the cricket correspondent for BBC Scotland and getting a job with the (Welsh) Western Mail, Miles lands the press pass that will surely be the ticket to his dreams. Soon, he finds himself in cricket heaven - drinking with David Gower and Beefy, and sharing bar room banter with Nasser Hussain.

Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff is one of the most exciting cricketers in the world and has improved out of all recognition during the last two years. In 2003, he was England's best player at the World Cup. Then, explosively, he lit up the second half of the summer in 2004, lifting spirits at Lord's with a bat-smashing 142. He walked off with the England man of the series award and averages to flaunt. This audiobook marks his story so far in his own words, taking us up to and including the summer of 2005.

Henry Blofeld is one of the greatest characters in cricket. For nearly thirty years his distinctive rich, plummy voice and his famous expression 'My dear old thing!' have delighted the millions of listeners to BBC Radio's Test Match Special.

A hugely enjoyable and life-affirming memoir from the ever-popular ex-cricketer and now successful broadcaster. When Phil Tufnell hung up his cricket boots back in 2003, little did he know the dramatic direction his professional life would take next. Yet since being crowned "King of the Jungle" in I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, the ex-England spin bowler has never looked back and is now a much loved television and radio presenter.

Cult hero of the Big Bash League, Brad Hogg is still in his prime almost three decades after he first played cricket. As well as playing for his country, Brad has worked in shearing sheds and on the Fremantle wharf, as a postman, football umpire, tree-lopper and roustabout, even completing a finance degree along the way. Memorable, sad and often hilarious, The Wrong 'Un is the inspirational story of one of the game's most popular players.

Glenn McGrath is an Australian cricket great - a fast bowler both feared and admired by top-level cricketers around the world. Off the field, his life was touched by tragedy with the death of his first wife, Jane, from breast cancer yet also marked by a determination to celebrate her life and make sure her legacy helps thousands of others through the Jane McGrath Foundation - now one of Australia's biggest and most effective breast cancer charities

From the turbulent life of the late Shane Warne to the skill, mentality and character behind Pat Cummins' new-look captaincy, and through the decades to the wit, wisdom and genius of Sir Donald Bradman, Great Australian Cricket Achievers and Characters examines the career highs and lows of many of the game's big names.

'If you carry on like this, you'll do nothing but play football and cricket all your life.' These were the exasperated words of Mike Brearley's mother, as he once again trod mud into the family home after a long day playing outdoors. They were also an unwitting but half-accurate prediction, for Brearley would become one of the most successful sportsmen of his generation by playing cricket for Cambridge, Middlesex and then becoming one of England's finest captains. But for Brearley, cricket wasn't just a physical activity, it was also an intellectual game.

When England beat Pakistan to become T20 World Champions in November 2022, they crowned an extraordinary rise to the top from the depths of 2015, and became the first male side to hold the 20-over and 50-over titles at the same time. This is the story of how they got there. From early failure, to the building of a golden generation, and a look to the future, this is the must-listen story from the key protagonists about building one of England’s most successful sporting teams from rubble.

It seemed a simple enough idea at the outset: to assemble a team of eleven men to play cricket on each of the seven continents of the globe. Except…that's not a simple idea at all. And when you throw in incompetent airline officials, cunning Bajan drug dealers, overzealous American anti-terrorist police, idiotic Welshmen dressed as Santa Claus and whole armies of pitch-invading penguins, you quickly arrive at a lot more than you bargained for.

Michael Simkins is the ultimate Sunday cricketer - passionate, obsessive, technically inept and hopelessly deluded. When an injury rules him out, he decides to set off on an odyssey across the counties of England. It's a journey that begins at the birthplace of cricket, takes in the burial site of his favourite ground and even stops along the way to flirt with the love child of WG Grace and Kerry Katona that is Twenty20. It ends with the ultimate cricketing zenith - returning to the field of play to bowl an over to Freddie Flintoff in fading light in front of a capacity crowd.

Reminiscing about his long life and career at the BBC, Brian talks about many of the diverse occasions and programmes with which he was involved. He also indulges in his well-known love of (rather bad) jokes and puns.

Seventy-five minutes of laughter, anecdotes, and memories from cricket's best-loved umpire. Now collected for the first time on one audiobook, here are the brilliant highlights from Dickie Bird's three best-selling recordings: My Autobiography, White Cap and Bails, and An Evening with Dickie Bird. From his childhood in Barnsley to his hilarious experiences with Test cricketers, here are the best stories from cricket's favourite storyteller.

Felix takes us through his life growing up in South West London and describes how his story is forever punctuated and given meaning by cricket. Through his own exploits as a slow left arm spinner of 'lovely loopy stuff', to the tragic illness of his mother, life with The Maccabees and his cricket redemption, Felix touches on both the comedic and the tragic in equal measure. Throughout, there's the ever-present roller coaster of following the England cricket team.