Peter van der Merwe: An unheralded leader who changed South African cricket culture – Almanack
An easily underrated captain, van der Merwe led South Africa to two significant series wins
An easily underrated captain, van der Merwe led South Africa to two significant series wins
He abhorred sledging, coloured clothing and the four-day Championship
Together with his Pakistani counterpart Mushtaq Ahmed, he instigated a romantic revival of leg-spin
"He played shots Gower wouldn’t have bothered with”
One-third of the great 'W' triumvirate, Walcott was upright, commanding and peerless
"I went home and cried my eyes out. But my dad said: ‘Prove people wrong.’”
"It needed something special to keep Ben Stokes off the cover"
"His batting was as undemonstrative as his personality, but as eloquent, too"
When hitting, kicking, throwing and bowling, it was apparent that he had a highly developed ball sense
"Like a sudden gust turning a light windmill”
The latest issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly, guest-edited by Isa Guha, out May 5:
The 160th edition of the most famous sports book in the world – published every year since 1864 – contains some of the world’s finest sports writing. It reflects on the extraordinary life of Shane Warne, who died far too early in 2022, and looks back at another legendary bowler, S.F. Barnes, on the 150th anniversary of his birth. Wisden also reports on England’s triumph at the T20 World Cup, to go alongside their 2019 ODI success, and on their Test team’s thrilling rejuvenation under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.
Writers include Lawrence Booth, Gideon Haigh, James Holland, Jonathan Liew, Emma John, David Frith, Simon Wilde, Jon Hotten, Robert Winder, Tanya Aldred and Neil Harvey, the last survivor from Australia’s famous 1948 Ashes tour of England. As usual, Wisden includes the eagerly awaited Notes by The Editor, the Cricketers of The Year awards, and the obituaries. And, as ever, there are reports and scorecards for every Test, together with forthright opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records.
Cricket’s past is steeped in a tradition of great writing and Wisden is making sure its future will be too. The Nightwatchman is a quarterly collection of essays and long-form articles which debuted in March 2013 and is available in book and e-book formats.
Every issue features an array of authors from around the world, writing beautifully and at length about the game and its myriad offshoots.