A follow-up to 2023’s Wisden Book of the Year winner, Sticky Dogs and Stardust: When the Legends Played in the Leagues –  The Second Innings is another cache of fascinating and – in many cases – previously untold stories documenting the experiences of superstar cricketers playing for recreational teams.

The stars featured include Australian heavyweights Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Dennis Lillee, West Indian icons Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner, cult heroes such as Jesse Ryder and even the leading Test wicket-taker of all time, Muthiah Muralidaran. Fittingly, there’s also a foreword by one of England cricket’s most iconic and best-loved figures, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd.

Unlike other sports, cricket – and especially the club cricket of England and the British Isles – allows recreational players to rub shoulders with international stars and even superstars in a fully competitive context, providing them with some of the most cherished memories of their lives. These magical stories are unique to cricket. And yet no one has collected them in one place. Until now.