BAT, BALL AND FIELD: The Elements of Cricket

In the summer of 2019, Ben Stokes was batting in the Third Test against Australia at Headingley. England had lost the first match, drawn the second, and were about to lose this one too, and with it in any chance of winning back the Ashes. The penultimate wicket had fallen with England still 73 runs short of their target of 359, which was more than the entire team had made in the first innings when they'd been skittled for 67. With Stokes was Jack Leach, a left-arm spinner from Somerset playing his seventh Test, who'd become a cult hero at Lord's earlier in the summer when he'd gone in against Ireland as nightwatchman and made 92. They were an odd couple." Chronicling the evolution of cricket since its earliest days, and highlighting transcendent memories as well as tragedies, the author lifts the seemingly impregnable veil from the Laws, batting strokes, types of bowling, and the sometimes absurd names given to where fielders stand, allowing anyone a pathway into enjoying the sport, and an introductory immersion into its long history. Is divided into three parts - Bat, Ball and Field. Their harmony produces cricket's unique environment; the centuries-long conflict provides its innovation, adaptability, and vast psychological hinterland. These sections unite to map out in a completely original way the story of cricket that began as a country pursuit and which is now followed by billions across the world. Find out which laws of cricket remain unchanged since Elizabeth I ruled, what a reverse sweep is and what a googly is! As summer approaches, we can now understand this wonderful game and enjoy watching it more. 272 pages, many diagrams, including a cross-section of a cricket ball, links and lines in diagrams and touching on many of the heroes like W.G. Grace, plus a note on women's cricket. With map.