Cricket on This Day

Paul Donnelly is an experienced author and journalist who has written for the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror.

Which wicketkeeper walked on 97 and never made a Test century? Who was the medical cricketer who was murdered by his mistress after he tried to break off their affair? Which fast bowler failed to see off the massed ranks of Dad's Army? Which monarch professed his dislike of cricket: "It was the fielding I could not get used to"? Did a commentator really announce "The batsman's Holding, the bowler's Willey?" What about "Lillee, caught Willey, bowled Dilley"? Who was the fast bowler who when batting would suck a lemon between strokes and spit in the wicketkeeper's eyes if he thought the appeal unjustified? Play at which English ground was held up for an hour because of the intense heat in 1868? Were ringers only introduced into Indian cricket in recent years or is it a more ancient art? Who was the first man to be knighted for services to cricket? When was the first County Championship match to be rained off? Who was the first player to be capped by three different counties? From the first Test match, Cricket On This Day chronicles the major events in the history of the game. With individual entries for every day of the year, it takes a daily look at the world of leather on willow. From Don Bradman to Gary Sobers, it features all the biggest names in cricket--their triumphs and their disasters, their successes and their near misses.