Cricket Biography

For Michael Parkinson it was never really in doubt that he would spend his life in sport. His father, a fearsome fast bowler himself, indoctrinated young Michael from an early age into the Yorkshire cricket tradition and supporting Barnsley FC. All he ever wanted was to play cricket for Yorkshire and England. My Sporting Life is Sir Michael's love letter to sport, to the heroes and legends of his Yorkshire youth, to the characters of the international games he watched and wrote about, and to the very idea of sport itself.

It seemed a simple enough idea at the outset: to assemble a team of eleven men to play cricket on each of the seven continents of the globe. Except…that's not a simple idea at all. And when you throw in incompetent airline officials, cunning Bajan drug dealers, overzealous American anti-terrorist police, idiotic Welshmen dressed as Santa Claus and whole armies of pitch-invading penguins, you quickly arrive at a lot more than you bargained for.

At the young age of 17, Sachin Tendulkar earned the title of being the second youngest man to score 100 runs in international cricket. Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman is an audiobook that traces the life and achievements of this individual, who is hailed as being the finest batsman in the world. He has made more than 33,000 runs in international cricket, which is the highest number of runs to be scored by any cricketer. He also has a total of 100 international centuries in his kitty as well.

For more than four decades, Jim Maxwell has called the cricket for the ABC. Since 1973 he has covered 285 Test matches, including over 50 Ashes Tests, six tours to the West Indies, seven to the subcontinent, and five World Cups. His distinctive voice, dryly understated humour and immense knowledge of the game have been part of the fabric of Australian cricket for generations of listeners. It's not too much to say that Jim has been the sound of our summer.

A hugely enjoyable and life-affirming memoir from the ever-popular ex-cricketer and now successful broadcaster. When Phil Tufnell hung up his cricket boots back in 2003, little did he know the dramatic direction his professional life would take next. Yet since being crowned "King of the Jungle" in I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, the ex-England spin bowler has never looked back and is now a much loved television and radio presenter.

This is the remarkable story of Rahul Dravid's extraordinary cricketing career that commenced in 1996. The book highlights the physical, mental and, of course, technical attributes that have elevated Rahul to legendary status. In this honest endeavour to recount the story of Rahul Dravid, the author is assisted by reminiscences from his mentors, seniors, teammates and even opponents, all of whom witnessed the making of a cricketing legend from close quarters.

Here, for the first time, the world of a pro cricketer is revealed, and the man pulling back the dressing room curtains is one of England's greatest ever cricketers: James 'Jimmy' Anderson. 565 Test Wickets and counting. Written with Felix White - musician, cricket enthusiast and Anderson's co-host on BBC Five Live's phenomenally popular podcast Tailenders - Jimmy invites us all into his world of cricket.

Fast bowler, six-hitter, popular hero, one of the lads, king of the jungle - Andrew Flintoff is all of those things. In Second Innings, his searingly honest yet uplifting autobiography, Flintoff reveals unseen, surprising sides to his career and personality. The restless need to push and challenge himself that led him to take up professional boxing. The complex and troubled relationship with discipline, alcohol and authority during his exhilarating cricket career.

Voted the greatest English cricketer of the 20th century by the fans, Sir Ian Botham is the English game’s one true living legend, and his story, both on and off the pitch, reads like a Boy’s Own rollercoaster ride. Born with a natural genius for the game, Botham began breaking records with bat and ball from a young age and soon became the man English cricket expected most from. After a troubled period as captain, Botham rose once again to become a national hero with his display in the Miracle Ashes of 1981.

Harold Larwood is an England cricketing legend. During the MCC’s notorious 1932–3 Ashes tour of Australia, his ‘Bodyline’ bowling left Australia’s batsmen bruised and battered, halved the batting average of the great Don Bradman – and gave England a 4–1 series victory. But the diplomatic row that followed brought Anglo-Australian relations to the brink of collapse. Larwood was used as a scapegoat by the MCC, which demanded he apologise for bowling Bodyline.

Michael Parkinson's relationship with his late father, John William, was, and remains, a family love story overflowing with tenderness and tall tales of sporting valour, usually involving Yorkshire cricket or Barnsley FC. However, it was the overwhelming grief which poured out of Michael when Piers Morgan pressed him about John William in a television interview that convinced one of the outstanding broadcasters and journalists of our time to delve deeper into the dynamics of their lives together.

From being Champion of Champions to one of the world's top cricket commentators to Team India's head coach, Ravi Shastri has an incomparable perspective when it comes to the game of cricket. In Stargazing: The Players in My Life, the legendary all-rounder looks back at the extraordinary talent he has encountered over the years.

In this engaging, cradle-to-grave biography, award-winning author Todd James Pierce explores the life of Ward Kimball, a lead Disney animator who worked on characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket, and the Mad Hatter. Through unpublished excerpts from Kimball's personal writing, material from unpublished interviews, and new information based on interviews conducted by the author, Pierce defines the life of perhaps the most influential animator of the 20th century.

Seventy-five minutes of laughter, anecdotes, and memories from cricket's best-loved umpire. Now collected for the first time on one audiobook, here are the brilliant highlights from Dickie Bird's three best-selling recordings: My Autobiography, White Cap and Bails, and An Evening with Dickie Bird. From his childhood in Barnsley to his hilarious experiences with Test cricketers, here are the best stories from cricket's favourite storyteller.

To understand England's greatest cricket player is to know what it takes to succeed. Alastair Cook is the greatest batsman to ever play for England, and as one of the most gifted players in the world, he knows that his triumphs are as important as the challenges and moments of resilience. Now, as he English cricket team reel from his dramatic retirement, Alastair tells his story: a close-up account of his last chapter, his 33rd and last Test hundred, an intimate tale of his life, his family, of the man he is today and the man he will be - after cricket.

Henry Blofeld's voice is the sound of the summer to thousands of cricket lovers all over the world, and this autobiographical audiobook is a celebration of his career commentating on the sport he loves. Henry has been a summariser on Test Match Special for over 40 years, and cricket fans all over the world adore him. In this book he relives his favourite moments in the sport and shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes and stories told in his unique style.

Scyld Berry attended his first Test match in a professional capacity in June 1973, as EW Swanton's 'amanuensis'. With his 501st Test now on the horizon – an achievement never reached by any other greats of the cricket-writing world – Berry has watched the sport evolve like no other. Test cricket is a steady stream: England have not had a winter off-season since 1972, some Test series almost overlap with the next, and players span eras.

In a sport where legends are forged on hallowed grounds from Lord's to Eden Gardens, one umpire's story stands apart. A passionate Australian cricketer trades his whites for an umpire's coat, embarking on a journey that would challenge cricket's traditions. For six years, he witnesses the game's magic from cricket's most privileged position — standing in matches across England's most storied grounds, where giants of the game once played. But it's his return to Australia that delivers an unexpected twist — like a Kumble googly that deceives even the most seasoned batsman.

In 1960, Frank Worrell was appointed the first Black captain of the West Indies cricket team. Within three years he was knighted; within five, the West Indies were the champions of the world and would come to dominate cricket with their wicked bowling and electrifying play. Yet two years later, in 1967, Worrell died of leukaemia and cricket lost its 'ideal cricketer'. But Worrell wasn't merely an extraordinarily talented and record-breaking sportsman. By the time he died he was a founder of the University of the West Indies and a Jamaican senator.

Hawke first captained Yorkshire in the Championship in 1883. He was also the man who sacked Bobby Peel, the greatest left-arm bowler of his era, and infamously declaimed "Pray God, no professional shall ever captain England", sentiments that very nearly damned him forever. A man of contradictions, strong convictions, more often than not his own worst enemy, this cricketing biography goes behind the myth of the man looking to paint a picture of one of cricket’s great men.