Cricket Sport

Phil Tufnell played in five Ashes series and has commentated on another ten. With the next tear-up just around the corner, 'Tuffers' has sat down and personally chosen his 50 Ashes 'legends' from the modern era and from both sides of the divide. Tuffers' Ashes Heroes is crammed with cricketers he has played with or against, admired from afar, enjoyed a drink with or just knows well. Everyone from Ian Botham, Freddie Flintoff, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad to Merv Hughes, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and Steve Smith.

From over three decades of covering The Ashes, Gideon has brought together an enduring vision of this timeless contest between Australia and England—the world's oldest sporting rivalry—from the colonial era to the present day.

The IPL has expanded, but Australia's Big Bash is contracting; the 2023 men's Ashes were concertinaed into a tiny window but The Hundred continues to dominate. Is there still hope for Test cricket in this tumultuous sporting landscape? Turbervill recalls the poignancy of the final Test of the English summer at The Oval in 2022, and describes how the match could be seen as a metaphor for the demise of the longer game.

In The Little Wonder, Robert Winder traces the central role the game has played in national life for so long. The book's 150th anniversary in 2013 is the ideal time to tell the extraordinary story of Wisden's - and cricket's - journey from Victorian times to the modern world. New every year, it feels as though it has been with us for ever.

To understand England's greatest cricket player is to know what it takes to succeed. Alastair Cook is the greatest batsman to ever play for England, and as one of the most gifted players in the world, he knows that his triumphs are as important as the challenges and moments of resilience. Now, as he English cricket team reel from his dramatic retirement, Alastair tells his story: a close-up account of his last chapter, his 33rd and last Test hundred, an intimate tale of his life, his family, of the man he is today and the man he will be - after cricket.

In a sport where legends are forged on hallowed grounds from Lord's to Eden Gardens, one umpire's story stands apart. A passionate Australian cricketer trades his whites for an umpire's coat, embarking on a journey that would challenge cricket's traditions. For six years, he witnesses the game's magic from cricket's most privileged position — standing in matches across England's most storied grounds, where giants of the game once played. But it's his return to Australia that delivers an unexpected twist — like a Kumble googly that deceives even the most seasoned batsman.

Drawing on decades of expertise, visionary leader and team expert Michael G. Rogers presents an unparalleled approach to team development that sets this audiobook apart from any other in the leadership genre. With captivating stories, relatable examples, introspective activities, and actionable exercises, this audiobook challenges your team’s mindset and equips them with the tools to elevate their personal performance and that of your entire team.

Mike Brearley is one of the most successful cricket captains of all time, and in 1981 he captained the England team to the momentous Ashes series victory against Australia. In The Art of Captaincy, his treatise on leadership and motivation, he draws directly on his experience of man-managing a team, which included a pugnacious Ian Botham and Geoffrey Boycott, to explain what it takes to be a leader on and off the field.

In Imperfect, Sanjay Manjrekar brings his famous analytic powers to look back at his own career as a cricketer. His photographic memory takes the listener along on his journey from the dusty maidans of Mumbai to the world stage as the diminutive batsman faces up to the fearsome West Indian and Pakistani pace attacks. In his precise plainspeak, Sanjay reflects on his father Vijay Manjrekar, and the effects of that legend on his game; comments on the complex equations with the Indian greats with whom he shared the dressing room and on the lessons learnt from his opponents.

Old friends and Test Match Special colleagues, Henry Blofeld and Peter Baxter had many outrageous tales of life in and around the radio cricket commentary boxes of the world. So in 2012, the two embarked on a tour that saw them take their hilarious stories onto the stage in a two-man show. They soon found themselves treading the boards in the West End, at the Edinburgh Fringe, and travelling as far afield as Australia.

Hallo—I'm Mark Wood. As an England and Durham cricketer who was born, raised and refined in Ashington, Northumberland, my life has been quite unique. Over the course of my career so far, I've won an Ashes and a World Cup in an international career that at the time of writing is going on seven years and counting. Being a fast bowler like myself is up there with the toughest of all sporting pursuits, like being Tyson Fury's punchbag or working behind the bar during the darts at Ally Pally. Being a cricketer? There's nothing like it.

Phil Tufnell, cricket legend and national treasure, has populated his very own Cricket Hall of Fame with a deliciously eclectic collection of cricket legends and offbeat characters, with joyful results. From boyhood heroes to legendary teammates to fearsome opponents to idiosyncratic umpires and broadcasters, Tuffers has gathered together the most enchanting cast of cricketing figures every assembled.

Cricket on the Beach is book one of the alternative history series Timeline 10/27/62 - Australia. Timeline 10/27/62 is set in a world in which the Cuban Missiles Crisis went wrong and the swinging '60s never happened. The thermonuclear madness might not have reached as far south as Australasia, but in the weeks and months after the Cuban Missiles War, many more people might have succumbed to the "On the Beach" syndrome had it not been for the distraction of a unique sporting odyssey.

All cricketers long to know the answer to these questions and many more. Only 15 years ago, it would have been difficult to answer them - cricket was guided only by decades-old tradition. Data has changed everything. Today we can track every ball to within millimetres; its release point, speed and bounce point are measured as are how much the ball swings, how much it deviates off the pitch, the exact height and line that it passes the stumps and multiple other variables. Hitting Against the Spin is the story of that data, and what it can tell us about how cricket really works.

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.

From one of India’s finest writers, thinkers and commentators, a memoir of a love affair with cricket. As a fan, player, writer, scholar, controversialist and administrator, Ram Guha has spent a life with cricket. In this book, Guha offers both a brilliantly charming memoir and a charter of the life of cricket in India. He traces the game across every level at which it is played: school, college, club, state and country. He offers vivid portraits of local heroes, provincial icons and international stars.

Rudyard Kipling called cricketers 'flannelled fools'. Groucho Marx asked halfway through a cricket match when it would begin. But despite the game's slow pace, strange language, eccentric umpires and frequent scandals–or perhaps because of them–cricket is one of the world's most loved sports.

Phil Tufnell, aka 'Tuffers', is the much-loved English cricketer from the 1990s who has now become one of this country's favourite broadcasters. Not cast from the same mould as other players of his generation, Tufnell became a cult figure for his unorthodox approach to the game...and to life in general.

As a cricketer, broadcaster and celebrity jungle-dweller, Phil Tufnell has travelled the world far and wide. From the great cricket tours of Australia and South Africa to his equally memorable jaunts to Benidorm and Blackpool, Phil has spent much of his life living out of a suitcase, meeting a host of colourful and memorable characters along the way. The Tourist takes you out on the road, into the dressing room and behind the scenes of the commentary box to reveal just what really happens on Tour.

For Michael Parkinson it was never really in doubt that he would spend his life in sport. His father, a fearsome fast bowler himself, indoctrinated young Michael from an early age into the Yorkshire cricket tradition and supporting Barnsley FC. All he ever wanted was to play cricket for Yorkshire and England. My Sporting Life is Sir Michael's love letter to sport, to the heroes and legends of his Yorkshire youth, to the characters of the international games he watched and wrote about, and to the very idea of sport itself.