Cricket Sport

Harold Larwood is an England cricketing legend. During the MCC’s notorious 1932–3 Ashes tour of Australia, his ‘Bodyline’ bowling left Australia’s batsmen bruised and battered, halved the batting average of the great Don Bradman – and gave England a 4–1 series victory. But the diplomatic row that followed brought Anglo-Australian relations to the brink of collapse. Larwood was used as a scapegoat by the MCC, which demanded he apologise for bowling Bodyline.

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.

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.

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.

This isn't a book of life lessons. It's not going to tell you make your bed, or stand-up straight or any of that. There's no blueprint to follow here. But, at 43 years of age, and with a bit more time on his hands than usual, Freddie Flintoff has had a moment to reflect, and he's noticed that although there's been little method in the madness, there has been the occasional common thread.

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.

'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.

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.

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.

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.

One of SA’s premier cricketing journalist, Neil Manthorp, presents 20 of the Proteas’ landmark cricket matches from the last 20 years to mark the 20th anniversary of our return to international competition (on 10 November 1991 at Eden Gardens, Calcutta). Including new interviews with many of the players involved, this unique and exciting book is a celebration, analysis, and ultimately history of the Proteas since that pioneering series.

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.

An emotionally rich, moving and nuanced memoir from the Yorkshire and England wicketkeeper. As a young boy of eight, Jonny Bairstow was dealt a cruel blow. His father David 'Bluey' Bairstow, the combative and very popular wicketkeeper and captain of Yorkshire, took his own life at the age of 47. David left behind Jonny; Jonny's sister, Becky, and half brother, Andy; and his wife, Janet, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer at the time of his death.

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.

Holmes recognizes his nonpareil as he watches cricketer, Don Bradman, at the Oval in 1930. But Holmes's petitioner is none other than future England captain, Douglas Jardine, who wants Holmes to find a way of getting the better of the Australia star.

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.

Blowers will delight his many fans with this pick of the very best of his stories. In "My dear old thing!" cricket fans everywhere will recognise Henry Blofeld's rich, plummy voice and sharp wit from BBC's Test Match Special. Now enjoy the very best of Blowers in this blockbusting collection, including jokes, anecdotes, and stories from a life immersed in cricket.

A compelation of cricketing moments including the letter from William H Tit, the streakers commentaries, the chocolate cake mouthfuls, Johnners numerous scoring mix ups, the resemblance between Fred Truemand and a turnip, cricket for the blind, Jim'll Fix it voiceover, Ned Sherrin interviewing Johnners on his last Test Match, the Parrot impersonation, John Cleese and John Major admitting he stopped cabinet meetings to get the test match results.