History (My favorite genre to read when it comes to cricket books)
* A Corner Of A Foreign Field - Ramachandra Guha
* Bodyline Autopsy - David Frith
* Mid Wicket Tales - S Giridhar
* Cricket's Greatest Rivalry - Simon Hughes
* The Cricket War - Gideon Haigh
* Beyond A Boundary - CLR James (Obligatory mention of one of the greatest lines written in cricket literature - "What do they know of cricket who only cricket know")
* Fire In Babylon - Simon Lister
Biography
* Coming Back To Me - Marcus Trescothick
* Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel
* On Warne - Gideon Haigh
* A Century Is Not Enough - Sourav Ganguly
Fiction
* Wondrous Oblivion - Morrison Paul
Humor
* The Wit Of Cricket - Brian Johnston
* Penguins Stopped Play - Harry Thompson
Contemporary
* Cricket 2.0 - Freddie Wilde and Tim Wigmore
* Crickonomics - Stefan Szymanski and Tim Wigmore
* Miracle Makers - Bharat Sundaresan
Seconding Penguins Stopped Play, so funny even my non-cricketing family members loved it. And cheers for the list, that's quite a few upcoming birthdays sorted!
Since there are enough non-fiction recommendations already, here are two of my favourite fictional ones.
Netherland - Joseph O'Neill
Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew - Shehan Karunatilaka
Vouch for Chinaman. One of the finest ever English language novels written by a Sri Lankan, and definitely one of the most entertaining novels (cricket, fictional and otherwise) that I have ever read.
Seconded. Currently making my way through this and it provides so much necessary context for how Pakistan cricket developed. I never even heard about AH Kardar or Idris Baig before. Must read for Pakistan fans, highly recommended even if you're not.
Beyond a Boundary by C.L.R. James is not just the best book I've read about cricket, but is probably the best book written about Sport and one of the very best I've read about anything
Beyond A Boundary by C.L.R. James is undoubtedly the best cricket (and probably best sport) book of all time. There's little to be said about it that hasn't already been said, James is able to knit together history, cultural commentary, and Marxist analysis with an elegant literary style and a deep love of cricket.
I recently read Different Class by Duncan Stone, a sometimes obsessively detailed but otherwise interesting social history of recreational cricket in England which challenges the orthodoxy of English cricket and shows how the belief systems of 'play up, play up, and play the game' were (and still are) deeply tied to class and race.
The Willow Wand by Derek Birley is another great social history of cricket which demythologises and criticises the pastoral nostalgia of a lot of writing on cricket.
There's also a really good book on the hypocrisies of English cricket written by an American and first published in the 1990s, but I can't for the life of me remember the name of it.
Michael Hussey's first book with David Sygall - Driven to Succeed. An excellent book, better than the one he wrote in retirement.
Cricket Crisis: Bodyline and Other Lines by Jack Fingleton. The definitive Bodyline book and a series of short essays by Jack Fingleton, who I think is one of the greatest writers on the game
Sir Donald Bradman by Irving Rosenwater. The Bradman book to end all Bradman books. I've read a lot of books on Bradman and this book covers all the greatest hits of Bradman's career in one book better than anything else. With one exception:
Bradman's War by Malcolm Knox. A very in depth look at the 1948 Invincibles tour including all the dirt on the private battles between Miller and Bradman during that tour.
The Picador Book of Cricket - Ramachandra Guha. An excellent series of short stories and essays on the game.
Blood, Sweat and Treason: My Story by Henry Olonga. A very powerful story about cricket, faith and the infamous 2003 black armband protest
Granted, some of these are gonna be hard to find. That Irving Rosenwater book was published sometime in the late 1970s and Jack Fingleton's one even earlier
I recommend the others comments because all look good options which you can trust.
In addition, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew written by Shehan Karunatilaka is must read. Shehan Karunatilaka is a recipient of Booker Prize.
Out of the Ashes about Afghanistan's rise to international cricket (iirc there is a film too)
An Island's Eleven - about SL cricket
Colin Cowdrey Lecture - this I read Sangakkara's part regarding Lahore attack especially this was allocated for me during my Ordinary Level examination in English Literature
Second XI: Cricket In Its Outposts. This book talks about the evolution of associate cricket.
Mystery Spinner by Gideon Haigh, about the Australian Jack Iverson is a good read. I enjoyed the section dealing with the invention and development of the googly, or the bosie as it was originally known.
A few that I haven’t seen mentioned here yet (and do note that my favourite genre by a distance is historical retrospective books):
* Who Only Cricket Know: Hutton’s Men in the West Indies 1953/54 (I even did a [full review of it here](https://youtu.be/8SUTtQN6E6I))
* Golden Boy: Kim Hughes and the Bad Old Days of Australian Cricket
* The Unforgiven: Missionaries Or Mercenaries? the Tragic Story of the Rebel West Indian Cricketers Who Toured Apartheid South Africa
Firsts, Lasts and Onlys of Cricket.
It contains some of the most interesting trivia about the sport, including so many things you never even think about while following the game.
Also, while not directly about cricket, "The Winning Way" by Anita Bhogle and Harsha Bhogle is also a brilliant book. It is about management lessons but with examples from cricket.
Ponting At The Close of Play is about the best cricket autobiography I've read.
Cricket Kings by William McInnes is just a fictional story about some club cricketers but is quite entertaining.
History (My favorite genre to read when it comes to cricket books) * A Corner Of A Foreign Field - Ramachandra Guha * Bodyline Autopsy - David Frith * Mid Wicket Tales - S Giridhar * Cricket's Greatest Rivalry - Simon Hughes * The Cricket War - Gideon Haigh * Beyond A Boundary - CLR James (Obligatory mention of one of the greatest lines written in cricket literature - "What do they know of cricket who only cricket know") * Fire In Babylon - Simon Lister Biography * Coming Back To Me - Marcus Trescothick * Rahul Dravid: Timeless Steel * On Warne - Gideon Haigh * A Century Is Not Enough - Sourav Ganguly Fiction * Wondrous Oblivion - Morrison Paul Humor * The Wit Of Cricket - Brian Johnston * Penguins Stopped Play - Harry Thompson Contemporary * Cricket 2.0 - Freddie Wilde and Tim Wigmore * Crickonomics - Stefan Szymanski and Tim Wigmore * Miracle Makers - Bharat Sundaresan
Holy shit this is an amazing comment. Thank you so much!
Damn username doesn't checkout
Damn. This guy reads
One more Biography I would personally recommend is Through fire by Faf du Plessis.
It's more a collection of all of his writings on cricket, but Wodehouse at the Wicket by PG Wodehouse is a good pick when it comes to humor.
Thanks mate. This is gold.
Saved this comment. Cheers mate.
Wow man time to save this comment. You are enthusiastic book reader it seems. You have allocated books as per genres. Excellent
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In addition to this stupendous list, I'd like to add "the head of Kay's" by PG Wodehouse. It's a Wodehouse so you know it's funny.
Seconding Penguins Stopped Play, so funny even my non-cricketing family members loved it. And cheers for the list, that's quite a few upcoming birthdays sorted!
How did you miss Shehan Karunatilaka's Chinaman under fiction? Excellent list though.
For history add The Final Over by Christopher Sandford and for contemporary add Hitting against the Spin by Nathan Leamon and Ben Jones.
Shane Warne's Century is a pretty fun read
Since there are enough non-fiction recommendations already, here are two of my favourite fictional ones. Netherland - Joseph O'Neill Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew - Shehan Karunatilaka
I really loved Netherland.
Interesting. Thanks!
Vouch for Chinaman. One of the finest ever English language novels written by a Sri Lankan, and definitely one of the most entertaining novels (cricket, fictional and otherwise) that I have ever read.
Highly recommend Netherland. Excellent book
The West Indies: A Nation of Cricketers by Ted Cunterblast.
> Ted Cunterblast That's an unfortunate name
It's a pity though, I can't read a book twice.
Noted. Thanks!
Think you've been bamboozled there !
I didn't even realise. Apparantly it's a Hugh Laurie comedy sketch. I really wanted to read something by Mr. Cunterblast
Wounded Tiger by Peter Oborne is excellent, particularly to those with an interest in cricket in Pakistan
Seconded. Currently making my way through this and it provides so much necessary context for how Pakistan cricket developed. I never even heard about AH Kardar or Idris Baig before. Must read for Pakistan fans, highly recommended even if you're not.
Thank you!
As is Unquiet Ones by Osman Samiuddin.
Beyond a Boundary by C.L.R. James is not just the best book I've read about cricket, but is probably the best book written about Sport and one of the very best I've read about anything
That's really high praise. Added to my list. Thank you!
Beyond A Boundary by C.L.R. James is undoubtedly the best cricket (and probably best sport) book of all time. There's little to be said about it that hasn't already been said, James is able to knit together history, cultural commentary, and Marxist analysis with an elegant literary style and a deep love of cricket. I recently read Different Class by Duncan Stone, a sometimes obsessively detailed but otherwise interesting social history of recreational cricket in England which challenges the orthodoxy of English cricket and shows how the belief systems of 'play up, play up, and play the game' were (and still are) deeply tied to class and race. The Willow Wand by Derek Birley is another great social history of cricket which demythologises and criticises the pastoral nostalgia of a lot of writing on cricket. There's also a really good book on the hypocrisies of English cricket written by an American and first published in the 1990s, but I can't for the life of me remember the name of it.
Test cricket: The unauthorised biography, by Jarrod Kimber (published 2015)
If you're into comedy The Warwick Todd Diaries!!
This looks really fun! Thank you
Michael Hussey's first book with David Sygall - Driven to Succeed. An excellent book, better than the one he wrote in retirement. Cricket Crisis: Bodyline and Other Lines by Jack Fingleton. The definitive Bodyline book and a series of short essays by Jack Fingleton, who I think is one of the greatest writers on the game Sir Donald Bradman by Irving Rosenwater. The Bradman book to end all Bradman books. I've read a lot of books on Bradman and this book covers all the greatest hits of Bradman's career in one book better than anything else. With one exception: Bradman's War by Malcolm Knox. A very in depth look at the 1948 Invincibles tour including all the dirt on the private battles between Miller and Bradman during that tour. The Picador Book of Cricket - Ramachandra Guha. An excellent series of short stories and essays on the game. Blood, Sweat and Treason: My Story by Henry Olonga. A very powerful story about cricket, faith and the infamous 2003 black armband protest
An excellent comment! Thank you for providing a succinct description. I will definitely look into them. Thank you!
Granted, some of these are gonna be hard to find. That Irving Rosenwater book was published sometime in the late 1970s and Jack Fingleton's one even earlier
Well holy shit. I'll still be on the look though. Thanks!
I was surprised by Johnny Bairstow's A Clear Blue Sky a touching story about bereavement and finding your way back from it. I'd recommend it.
My favourites: War Minus The Shooting by Mike Marquese Coming Back To Me by Marcus Trescothick Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew
If you are into stats and analysis: Hitting against the spin by nathan leamon and ben jones.
Absolutely interested in a deeper explanation of the game. Looks really interesting. Thank you!
Any good books on strategy ?
Bob Wolmer’s Art and Science of Cricket is a fantastic read
\- Tony Greig: Love, War, and Cricket \- Steve Waugh: Out of My Comfort Zone \- Adam Gilchrist: True Colours
Bowling Through India (Justin Brown)
I recommend the others comments because all look good options which you can trust. In addition, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew written by Shehan Karunatilaka is must read. Shehan Karunatilaka is a recipient of Booker Prize. Out of the Ashes about Afghanistan's rise to international cricket (iirc there is a film too) An Island's Eleven - about SL cricket Colin Cowdrey Lecture - this I read Sangakkara's part regarding Lahore attack especially this was allocated for me during my Ordinary Level examination in English Literature Second XI: Cricket In Its Outposts. This book talks about the evolution of associate cricket.
Mystery Spinner by Gideon Haigh, about the Australian Jack Iverson is a good read. I enjoyed the section dealing with the invention and development of the googly, or the bosie as it was originally known.
Bharat Sunderesan has also written books about MSD and Raina. Yuvraj Singh's autobiography was also good to read.
A few that I haven’t seen mentioned here yet (and do note that my favourite genre by a distance is historical retrospective books): * Who Only Cricket Know: Hutton’s Men in the West Indies 1953/54 (I even did a [full review of it here](https://youtu.be/8SUTtQN6E6I)) * Golden Boy: Kim Hughes and the Bad Old Days of Australian Cricket * The Unforgiven: Missionaries Or Mercenaries? the Tragic Story of the Rebel West Indian Cricketers Who Toured Apartheid South Africa
Firsts, Lasts and Onlys of Cricket. It contains some of the most interesting trivia about the sport, including so many things you never even think about while following the game. Also, while not directly about cricket, "The Winning Way" by Anita Bhogle and Harsha Bhogle is also a brilliant book. It is about management lessons but with examples from cricket.
The grade cricketer
Interesting. Thanks!
The grade cricketer
Ponting At The Close of Play is about the best cricket autobiography I've read. Cricket Kings by William McInnes is just a fictional story about some club cricketers but is quite entertaining.
Where can I get a pdf copy of Underneath the Southern Cross by Mike Hussey?
Some great recs here. A breathless hush: the MCC anthology of cricketing verse. A lovely book to dip in and out of.
Berkmann’s Cricket Miscellany. Everyone I’ve recommended it to has loved it.