Wisden Cricket Monthly

This game that we love has gone through turmoil in recent years. For those of us involved in it, wanting to see it thrive, it’s been upsetting to watch. You will have heard and read the stories by now. Stories of deep personal anguish, carrying the echoes of so many others. Certain stories and names have come to dominate the headlines, and my heart goes out to the families of all involved. While Azeem Rafiq, by his own admission, has had failings which have affected others, he has been vindicated with seven charges upheld in his case against Yorkshire. And it can’t be denied that the defiance he’s shown has put a spotlight on racism and the failings of institutions. What he’s done has sparked change across the game and…

WELCOME TO WREXHAM My football acumen is pretty ropey. I supported Man Utd as a kid but lost interest and felt it was too big to get my head back into again. I’ll always support England when they play, but lately I’ve found myself bingeing Welcome to Wrexham and am suddenly completely hooked. It’s amazing what can be achieved with owners that care as they do and while there may have been plenty of cynicism, Rob and Ryan have proved themselves worthy of a Hollywood ending with promotion this month. It’s been making me think what it would be like if this model happened in cricket… FAITH THOMAS This month we said goodbye to a legend. I sadly never had the opportunity to meet Faith but friends say she could…

First of all she’s a friend, and I knew that if she took it on, she’d give it her all. That’s just the way she is. No half measures, no corners cut. We actually spoke about the idea a year ago, but she was juggling about seven careers at once and we couldn’t find the time. It was only when she managed to take a few weeks off after a winter as a broadcaster on Fox Sports in Australia that she could give the gig the focus she wanted to. Having worked with a few guest editors before – Fred, Bumble, Swann, MCJ Nicholas et al; even, for this particular title, David Gower (who was especially marvellous) – it’s fair to say that everyone tackles the job differently. Some are…

Harry Brook finds the boundary on the way to a sparkling century for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. After scores of 13, 3 and 13 in his first three knocks, Brook, who was purchased for £1.35m in December’s auction, blitzed 100* from 55 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens. He joins Kevin Pietersen, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow in the list of England batters to make IPL hundreds. “I think I was putting pressure on myself a little bit after the first few games,” said Brook after his innings. “If you go on social media, people are calling you rubbish and you start to doubt yourself slightly. I went out with an I-don’t-care mentality tonight and, thankfully, it came off. “There’s a lot of Indian fans…

For all the grandeur of the Long Room at Lord’s, and the self-perpetuating mystique of the dressing-room honours boards, the true might of Marylebone Cricket Club – and by extension that of the English cricket establishment – resides in the Committee Room on the pavilion’s southern wing. It was here that MCC formulated its response to a stream of vexing issues in the course of the 20th century, from Bodyline in 1932/33 and the abolition of amateur status in 1962, to the non-selection of Basil D’Oliveira for the South Africa tour of 1968/69, and on through to the overdue admission of women to the club’s membership in 1998. Issues of class, race and gender, in other words – each of the grounds on which the Independent Commission for Equity in…

I’ve been reading Ed Smith’s book, Making Decisions, in which he discusses the strategies he used during his three years as England’s national selector. It’s a fascinating read, particularly when you consider the transformation of England’s Test team over the last 12 months. When Smith became a selector, there was a lot of talk about data, looking at patterns within the game, and we started to hear a lot more about strategy and vision. Before Smith’s tenure, Eoin Morgan had revolutionised England’s ODI side by clearly identifying a style of play and then selecting players who suited that strategy. We began to see signs of that in the Test team, most notably with Smith’s selection of Jos Buttler. He wanted an X-factor player in the middle order and picked Buttler…