Product Description

Calling all cricket fans: settle back in a deckchair, pour yourself a refreshing pint of hoppy English ale, and prepare to savour summer's timeless symphony of leather on willow in the congenial company of Barry Norman (not just one of Britain's best-loved broadcasters, but also a self-confessed cricket obsessive - 'Cricket is my great passion, right up there with the movies!'). Barry Norman's Book of Cricket delivers a wealth of information about every aspect of the world's most popular summer game: how its rules developed from its 18th-century beginnings; its pre-World War I 'golden age' and international expansion in step with the onward march of Britain's empire; the growth of test match cricket (and of Anglo-Australian 'Ashes' rivalry in particular); the emergence of the English county championship and of Australia's state competition; profiles of great players past and present; the modern phenomenon of one-day cricket and the cricket World Cup; legendary matches (from attritional test match classics to limited-overs thrillers); cricket crises and controversies (from Bodyline to Muralitharan and from chucking to sledging); bizarre facts and records; cricket's rich and intriguing vocabulary of words and phrases (from Yorker to doosra); memorable cricket quotes (including, of course, 'the bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey'). And beyond this sumptuous feast of cricket history, facts and feats - enlivened by anecdotes, jokes, quotes and quizzes - Barry Norman's Book of Cricket provides practical guidance on how to become a cricketer. Elegantly designed, gorgeously illustrated, and wryly but affectionately written by an author with a genuine passion for and deep knowledge of the game, Barry Norman's Book of Cricket is a cricket book for all seasons, presented in the same style and spirit as Quercus's best-selling Bumper Book of Football. As appealing to the boy or girl who is anxious to find out more about the game as it is to the seasoned fan looking for a cricketing gift book or memento, it looks set to be the must-have cricket book of 2009.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48733 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

From the Inside Flap
Barry Norman - much-loved broadcaster and self-confessed `cricket nut' - invites you to take a visually sumptuous and richly entertaining global tour of cricket and its history...
From the formation of the Marylebone Cricket Club in the late 18th century to the `Golden Age' of Fry, Ranji and Hobbs in the early 20th, and from the advent of Anglo-Australian `Ashes' hostilities in the late 19th century to the emergence of Twenty20 cricket in the first years of the 21st, Barry Norman's Book of Cricket imparts a wealth of information on every aspect of the world's most popular summer game.
The book's central core focuses on the ten Test-playing nations - England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Concise histories of the game in each country and lively pen-portraits of their greatest players - from Bradman to Botham, from Larwood to Lillee and from Trumper to Tendulkar - are supplemented by a feast of facts, records and statistics. Elsewhere, Barry Norman describes his six greatest Test matches and five greatest Test-match teams; profiles each of the 18 English first-class counties; examines cricket's controversies from Bodyline to sledging; charts the growth of the limited-overs game; and provides guidance on how to become a cricketer. On a lighter note, he explores cricket's intriguing vocabulary of words and phrases from doosra to yorker.
With a generous complement of photographs and a plethora of statistics, anecdotes and one-liners, Barry Norman's Book of Cricket is ideal for browsing and for checking cricketing facts. But its sparkling and very personal text - wrily humorous, affectionate and insightful by turns - also makes this a book for sustained, pleasurable and thought-provoking reading. From an author with a lifelong passion for and deep knowledge of the sport, Barry Norman's Book of Cricket is a book for all seasons: both the perfect introduction to cricket for the inquisitive newcomer and a joyous celebration of it for the seasoned fan looking for a cricketing gift or memento.

From the Back Cover
A beautifully illustrated and richly informative celebration of cricket from self-confessed `cricket nut' and perennially popular broadcaster Barry Norman, who has loved and watched cricket for more than 60 years.
Published to coincide with Australia's 2009 Ashes tour of England.
Covers every aspect of the game - domestic and international cricket, great players, great teams, unforgettable matches.
Studded with stats, facts, and one-liners.
Offers practical advice on how to become a cricketer.
Stunningly designed and illustrated: the perfect gift book for cricket fans from eight to eighty.

About the Author
Barry Norman fell hopelessly in love with cricket while watching England play Australia in a victory test match at Lord's in 1945. Despite a long flirtation with cinema (he presented BBC1's Film programme from 1972 until 1998), he has remained true to his oldest flame ever since. As a member of the Lord's Taverners, he has played with and against some of the great names of the game (including Ian Botham and Dennis Lillee). He was once the proud scorer of 1 not out in a match at the Kennington Oval.