Skip to content
FREE SHIPPING ON ALL DOMESTIC ORDERS $35+
FREE SHIPPING ON ALL US ORDERS $35+
Bat, Ball and Field: The Elements of Cricket - Paperback | Diverse Reads

Bat, Ball and Field: The Elements of Cricket

Availability:
Only 5 left!
$18.99 - $18.99
$18.99
$18.99
$18.99 - $18.99
$18.99
Bat, Ball and Field is a wonderful foray into the history and culture of cricket.

‘Hotten is not just good, he is one of the best’ Cricketer

Chronicling the evolution of the sport since its earliest years, highlighting transcendent moments as well as tragedies, Jon Hotten 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.

This book is divided into the three parts that make up the fundamental elements of cricket: bat, ball and field. Their harmony produces cricket’s unique environment; their 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 the sport that began as a country pursuit and is now followed by billions across the world.

ISBN-13: 9780008328368

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: William Collins

Publication Date: 08-08-2023

Pages: 272

Product Dimensions: 5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x 0.69(d)

Jon Hotten is the author of four books, including Muscle and The Years of the Locust, and writes the popular cricket blog The Old Batsman. He co-wrote the award-winning documentary Death of a Gentleman, and his collaboration with the former England bowler Simon Jones, The Test, won the Wisden Almanack's Book of the Year award in 2016.

Table of Contents

A Map of Cricket 10

Introduction: Ben Stokes Connects 12

The Chain and the Notch 17

Bat 28

The Batsman as Hero 30

99.94 39

The Wood that Makes the Bats 53

Phillip Hughes and Youthful Promise 63

Brian Lara and the Urge for Beauty 74

Interlude: Bat Names 88

The 3-2-1 of the Universe Boss 92

Interlude: The Myth of the Nightwatchman 110

Chris Martin's Bike 113

Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and the Unknowable Future 124

Ball 144

At Stonyhurst 148

The Over: Holding to Boycott 160

Interlude: What Was it Like to See Overarm Bowling for the First Time? 176

Warnie: The Magician's Fingers 178

Spedegue and the Quest for Novelty 202

Cricket and Sadness: Sylvers and Maco 216

WG Grace: Bowler 230

Field 238

On Hating Fielding 241

Endless Summer 247

Postscript: Cricket as Metaphor 251

A Note on Women's Cricket 258

Acknowledgements 259

Index 261