'Fascinating and insightful . . . lifts the curtain to reveal the inner workings of international cricket. A must-read for any cricketer, coach or fan' Eoin Morgan'This path-breaking book should be compulsory reading for commentators and captains - and all cricket fans' Mervyn King'Clever and original but also wise' Ed SmithHow valuable is winning the toss? And how should captains use it to their advantage? Why ...

'Engaging and enjoyable . . . as probing and as penetrative as a Jimmy Anderson opening spell . . . This is no ordinary novel by no ordinary novelist' Sunday Times'A fine addition to the painfully thin oeuvre of modern fictional works about cricket' Mike Atherton, The Times'Outstanding' Mail on Sunday'If all you know is cricket, then cricket will break you . . .'It is the ...

The Times Best Sports Books 2021 - 'the sporting nerd's book of the year''Fascinating and insightful . . . lifts the curtain to reveal the inner workings of international cricket. A must-read for any cricketer, coach or fan' Eoin Morgan'This path-breaking book should be compulsory reading for commentators and captains - and all cricket fans' Mervyn King'Clever and original but also wise' Ed Smith

Bloomsbury presents Crickonomics by Stefan Szymanski and Tim Wigmore, read by David Thorpe.SELECTED AS ONE OF WATERSTONES BEST SPORT BOOKS OF 2022.A CRICKETER BOOK OF THE YEAR.An engaging tour of the modern game from an award-winning journalist and the economist who co-authored the bestselling Soccernomics.Why does England rely on private schools for their batters – but not their bowlers? How did demographics shape India’s rise? Why have women often been the ...

*******A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK &**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER"Felix White's beautifully, elegantly and passionately written book reminds me why I love cricket so much. And reading, come to that." - Stephen Fry"The love of cricket is both communal and individual. Felix has a wonderful knack of evoking both in a book full of life, joy and resilience." - Gideon Haigh"Whether you love cricket or are ...

Bloomsbury presents The Art of Batting written and read by Jarrod Kimber'a wonderful tale' – David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd'one of cricket’s most distinctive writers' – Andy ZaltzmanCOLOURFUL CRICKET HISTORY MEETS EXPERT ANALYSIS IN THIS RICHLY RESEARCHED EXPLORATION OF THE ART OF BATTING.Most batters just do their best, yet the top players create art. It is physically impossible to face an 80mph delivery and...

SELECTED AS ONE OF WATERSTONES BEST SPORT BOOKS OF 2022.A CRICKETER BOOK OF THE YEAR.'Superb' Matthew Syed, The Times'Fascinating' The Observer'Crickonomics is packed with sufficient statistical analysis to have the most ardent cricket geek purring with pleasure' Mail on Sunday'An insightful, Hawk-Eye-like analysis of the nu...

*******A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK &**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER"Felix White's beautifully, elegantly and passionately written book reminds me why I love cricket so much. And reading, come to that." - Stephen Fry"The love of cricket is both communal and individual. Felix has a wonderful knack of evoking both in a book full of life, joy and resilience." - Gideon Haigh"Whether you love cricket or are ...

*A MULTIPLE AWARD-WINNING SPORTS WRITER*'Hamilton's book is a marvel . . . I'm not sure he could write a dull sentence if he tried' SpectatorOne of Duncan Hamilton's favourite writers on cricket, Edmund Blunden, wrote how he felt going to watch a game: 'You arrive early, earlier even than you meant . . . and you feel a little guilty at the thought of the day you propose to give up to sheer luxury'.Following Neville Cardus's assertion that '...

Bint Allah knows herself only as the Daughter of God. Born in a stifling male-dominated state, ruled by the Imam and his coterie of ministers, she dreams of one day reaching the top of a distant hill visible through the bars of the orphanage window.But Bint Allah's ambitions do not escape the attention of the Imam, who never feels secure no matter how well he protects himself. When the Imam falsely accuses Bint Allah of adultery and sentences her to death by stoning, he is not prep...

The 1400-year-old schism between Sunnis and Shi`is has rarely been as toxic as it is today, feeding wars and communal strife in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and many other countries, with tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran escalating. In this richly layered and engrossing account, John McHugo reveals how this great divide occurred. Charting the story of Islam from the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad to the present day, he describes the conflicts that raged over the succes...

A unique and extraordinary collection, Desert Songs of the Night presents some of the finest poetry and prose by Arab writers, from the Arab East to Andalusia, over the last 1,500 years. From the mystical imagery of the Qur'an and the colourful stories of The Thousand and One Nights, to the powerful verses of longing of Mahmoud Darwish and Nazik al-Mala'ika, this captivating collection includes translated excerpts of works by the major authors of the period, as well as by lesser known writ...