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'a wonderful tale' - David 'Bumble' Lloyd

'one of cricket's most distinctive writers' - Andy Zaltzman

THIS GROUND-BREAKING BOOK REVEALS THE SCIENCE, SKILL AND CULTURE THAT MADE THE 50 GREATEST BATTERS OF ALL TIME.

Most batters just do their best, yet the top players create art. It is physically impossible to face an 80mph delivery and track it with your eyes, yet the greatest batters do more than just watch the ball, they can see into the future.

This book is about the batters who see what mortals don't: Javed Miandad purposefully making errors to manipulate the field; Sachin Tendulkar digging up a pitch to take on Warne; Shivnarine Chanderpaul practising non-stop on a beach until he mastered his technique; and Joe Root playing against spin as a result of three random events. Others, such as Smith, Pietersen and Richards, carried on the work of a man 100 years before their time, meanwhile Ranji changed cricket with a bucket.

Their methods and stories are different, but their currency is the same: runs. Through interviews with cricketing greats such as David 'Bumble' Lloyd, Nasser Hussain, Rahul Dravid and Brian Lara, this book shows you the science, skill and culture that made the 50 greatest batters of all time - and, ultimately, how they conquered leather with willow.

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An illustrated history of unforgettable tests, legendary players and record-breaking performances.

This is the story of Test cricket and how it came to dominate the global sporting calendar. With access to the The Times archives, this book features player profiles, photographs and match reports from the most dramatic Tests throughout history.

For almost a century and a half, Test cricket has provided some of the most dramatic highs and lows in the sporting world. Since the first exhilarating Test match between Australia and England in 1877, this unique format of the game, in which fortunes can change as quickly as the condition of the pitch, has challenged players' mental and physical endurance. It has provided the stage for great players from Sir Donald Bradman and Sir Garfield Sobers to Sachin Tedulkar, Shane Warne and James Anderson, whose incredible performances have inspired generations of cricketers worldwide.

Written by sports journalist Richard Whitehead, with a foreword by former England captain Mike Atherton OBE, The Times Test Cricket tells the gripping history of unforgettable tests, legendary players and record-breaking performances.

Accompanied by visually stunning photography, player profiles, and match reports from The Times archive on the most famous Tests, this is an essential book for all cricket fans.

Chapters include:

· Foundation story (1877-1914)

· Between the wars (1921-1939)

· Boom and bust (1946-1970)

· Revolution in the air (1971-1989)

· The age of the superstar (1990-1999)

· The 21st century (2000-2024)

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'500 Tests is a mind-boggling number, a testimony to Scyld's commitment and passion for the game' - Ravi Shastri

'Hell of an effort. All round quality' - Michael Vaughan

AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW

Legendary cricket writer Scyld Berry celebrates his reporting of 500 Test matches in this unique portrait of English cricket culture.

Scyld Berry attended his first Test match in a professional capacity in June 1973, as EW Swanton's 'amanuensis'. Having reached 500 England Tests - an achievement never reached by any other greats of the cricket-writing world - Berry has watched the sport evolve like no other.

Test cricket is a steady stream: England have had only one winter without Test cricket since 1972, some Test series almost overlap with the next, and players span eras. But the game has changed enormously in the last half-century: helmets, neutral umpires, bigger bats, new shots, data, abolition of rest days, ICC Test Championship, and DRS have transformed this sport on the field. As screens take over, publications shrink and, accelerated by Covid, cricket is increasingly covered remotely, being a newspaper correspondent represents a way of life that is dying out.

500 Declared explores these fundamental changes and developments. From in-depth profiles and explanations to snippets lifted directly from Berry's notebooks, this is a cricket book unlike any other. It is the culmination of a lifetime watching and writing about this fascinating sport.

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On The Ashes

by Gideon Haigh