Keith Carmody: Keith Miller’s Favourite Captain - Tony Barker - ACS Publications
The story of a tough and unyielding Australian cricket captain, regarded by many as the best man never to play for, or captain a Test team, Tony Barker has used the biographer’s skill to paint a picture of a man whose demeanour was forged in World War II; survived air raids and a spell as a prisoner of war to feature in the ‘Victory’ Tests and later went on to skipper of state sides in Australia. This portrait of an innovative cricketer who struggled with his demons until an early death fills in an important part of cricket history.

Tom Richardson, A Bowler Pure and Simple - Keith Booth - ACS Publications
Another piece in the jigsaw of Surrey and England’s history is completed by Keith Booth, who now adds a portrait of Tom Richardson to his studies of George Lohmann, Walter Read and other luminaries from The Oval. Along the way, myths are exploded, history is rewritten to provide an accurate record for future cricket lovers and gradually, the extraordinary achievements of this lion of English cricket are laid before us, up to and including the mystery of his tragic, early death.

Micky Stewart and the Changing Face of Cricket - Stephen Chalke - Fairfield Books
One of our best cricket authors has joined together with one of cricket’s most enduring personalities to give us a guide from the great days of county sides and one in particular, from the 1950’s right up to the modern professional era of international cricket. Micky Stewart was successful in every role he filled in cricket both on and off the field and this is the story of a man who is still passionate about the game after some sixty years in the service of cricket brought to us by a master of his craft.

We’ll Get ‘em in Sequins - Max Davidson - Wisden Sports Writing
A proud Yorkshireman and journalist, Max Davidson gives us profiles of seven of his home county’s finest players. His aim is to trace the evolution of not just the game but of the men who play it over the course of a hundred years. From the loved and respected George Hirst to the star of ‘Strictly,’ Darren Gough via Sutcliffe, Verity, Trueman, Boycott and Vaughan, social history is combined with a love and deep knowledge of the game to demonstrate how not just cricket but the way that the game is regarded, has changed through the twentieth century and beyond.

Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy: A Journey to the Heart of Cricket’s Underworld - Ed Hawkins - Bloomsbury
The seamy underside of world cricket is examined in forensic detail by an experienced journalist who has a love of the game but is not blind to the damage that can be wreaked by the pursuit of money. A salutary tale that shows how a great game might be brought low if the authorities relax their vigilance and that there are numerous pitfalls that can lurk for players who may be careless in the company they keep. The quest for conversations with the unlicensed bookmakers is worthy of a film-noir script.

The Valiant Cricketer, The Biography of Trevor Bailey - Alan Hill - Pitch Publishing
The life of one of England’s finest all-rounders and broadcasters, sadly no longer with us, is written by Alan Hill who has a long and distinguished record of producing definitive cricket biographies. Fresh material concerning Trevor Bailey’s schooldays and early county career gives a new slant to our understanding of a cricketer who never gave an inch or flinched in the face of everything that he encountered on the cricket field. A worthy memorial to a great man.

CMJ: A Cricketing Life - Christopher Martin-Jenkins - Simon and Schuster
Perhaps the saddest way for a new year to break was with the very much expected but still hard to bear news of CMJ’s early death. His autobiography must now be his epitaph as we follow the path of a career that involved immense amounts of hard work that never translated through to his relaxed and confident broadcasting persona. Although rightly garlanded with honours from both his peers and his monarch, the book makes it clear that the bedrock through life was his family. This memoir can genuinely serve as a proof that when a personal and a professional life exist in harmony, the result is beneficial not just to the man but to everyone with a love of cricket.

Keeping Quiet - Paul Nixon and Jon Colman - The History Press
An ironic title for certainly one of the most vocal of wicket-keepers. A county stalwart who came late to international recognition and a truly modern player, Paul Nixon gives us the lowdown on the dramas and tensions that exist on and off the field. As he journeys from wide-eyed optimistic young player to veteran, he shows that he still retains his competitive edge allied to a true love of the game.

Third Man in Havana, Finding the Heart of Cricket in the Most Unlikely Places - Tom Rodwell - Corinthian Books
A different approach to cricket comes with this account of one man’s determination not just to spread the joy of cricket through the world but to provide the funds that make it possible for disadvantaged children to have the chance of playing the great game. On the way, there is ample proof that charitable good works can be accompanied by fun and games and a splendid cast of characters provide ample confirmation yet again that where there is cricket, there is always humanity and laughter.

Brief Candles - McMaster, Hyland and Other One-Match Wonders - Keith Walmsley - ACS
The joy of cricket not only lies in great stories of great men but in the margins that occasional heroes and others inhabit. The Cricket Society’s statistical guru, Keith Walmsley has delved into his capacious memory to find some examples of players who had their moment in the limelight and then retreated to relax in the wings of life. That single appearance can see success or it can end in bathos and it is fortunate that we have such an able chronicler to bring them to our notice with skill, insight and compassion.

The Sweetest Rose, 150 Years of Yorkshire Cricket - David Warner - Great Northern Books
A man who spent his journalistic life following the team that he revered has now produced a comprehensive history of arguably cricket’s most successful county. From the early rumbustious Victorian days through the iron rule of Lord Hawke and on to the fractious days of the 1970’s and right up to the current era, David Warner has allied personal observation of the modern club with careful research into those earlier days to produce a highly readable and measured account of Yorkshire Cricket.

Gentlemen and Players, The Death of Amateurism in Cricket - Charles Williams - Weidenfeld and Nicholson
The Labour peer, former first-class cricketer and acclaimed biographer, Lord Charles Williams has written a personal account of the struggles that surrounded the vexed question of amateurs and professionals in English cricket at the end of the 1950’s. Added to his personal recollections of the players of the era, we have some diligent research into the Committee papers of the MCC to trace exactly why the decision was necessary and how it was finally arrived at.