In the latest issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly, out December 16, we reflect on a watershed month for English cricket, when the game was forced to confront its own reflection.

In a 12-page special feature on the racism scandal which has engulfed cricket, Taha Hashim – whose interview with Azeem Rafiq in August 2020 sparked a chain of events which led to last month’s explosive DCMS hearing – examines how we reached this point and considers what Rafiq’s legacy will be. The Yorkshire-based academic Duncan Stone considers the wider landscape in the county, while acclaimed author Adam Rutherford writes that outdated notions of race are still the norm in English cricket.

Elsewhere in the magazine, we’ve got the Ashes covered as Dawid Malan speaks to Phil Walker about trying to block out the noise and nail down the No.3 position, James Wallace looks back at the painful recent history of English spinners in Australia, and Greg Chappell tells John Stern he’d rather spend time with David Warner than some of the more “squeaky clean” figures in the game.

Jo Harman investigates the worrying issue of concussion in cricket, exploring whether the game needs to adapt to protect its long-term future, Misbah-ul-Haq talks Saj Sadiq through a career like no other, and Kate Cross tells us she’s never felt more comfortable as an England cricketer after taking on the “Liam Plunkett role”.

As for our columnists, Lawrence Booth questions whether Eoin Morgan, England’s white-ball captain, is still worth his place in the side, Andrew Miller says the Vaughan supremacy is over, Adam Collins analyses Tim Paine’s demise and Pat Cummins’ coronation, and Neil Manthorp argues that AB de Villiers’ career was unfulfilled. To round things off, the inimitable Andy Zaltzman takes the deepest of dives into the number 22.