THE COUNTY FILES

EDITOR’S LETTER

Fever pitch

The month in cricket No.1

A combustible Lord’s Ashes Test match is interrupted

Trent Bridge showstopper leaves the crowd wanting more

The Ashes clash in Nottingham more than justified the five days it was afforded, but the imperfect multi-format points system has done the series a disservice, argues Andrew Miller

Team of the Month

Jo Harman picks a side of the best performers from the last month including a quartet of Aussies who’ve had the wood over England

Stokes epic provides blueprint for success

Ben Stokes’ stunning effort in a losing cause at Lord’s showed that England shouldn’t view adaptability as compromising their values, writes Mark Ramprakash

The Ollie Robinson Diaries

The England seamer is writing for Wisden across the Ashes series. He gives a glimpse into the dressing room at Edgbaston and Lord’s, and reveals what it felt like to be Australia’s public enemy No.1

Discrimination laid bare

Lawrence Booth asks whether cricket is ready to wake up and listen following the release of the damning ICEC report which found that structural and institutional racism, sexism and elitism continues to exist within the game and described its culture as “rotten”

NEWS CYCLE

2005 hasn’t got anything on this, writes Ben Gardner

PAT CUMMINS

LEADER, SPEED MERCHANT, MATINEE IDOL, CAMPAIGNER

RE:VIEW

Three writers debate the merits and ethics of Alex Carey’s ‘stumping’ of Jonny Bairstow on that chaotic final afternoon at Lord’s

The Game’s GONE

#4 CRICKETING CHARACTERS

Mailbox

In association with Chapel Down, the letter of the month receives a bottle of award winning English sparkling wine – Chapel Down Brut. Based in Kent, Chapel Down is England’s leading wine producer and the official sparkling wine of the ECB

Derbyshire’s red-ball woes continue

Derbyshire NEXT MATCHES: Durham, CC (H), July 19-22;

De Leede shows the way

Durham NEXT MATCHES: Derby, CC (A), July 19-22;

Lawrence flies the nest

Essex NEXT MATCHES: Kent, CC (H), July 19-22;

Swepson sweeps in

ABOVE: Mitchell Swepson is assisting Glamorgan’s promotion bid

Prices soar

LEFT: Ollie Price pictured with Marchant de Lange,

Red-hot Dawson slips beneath England’s radar

Hampshire NEXT MATCHES: Notts, CC (A), July 19-22;

Spitfires swoop for Parkinson

Kent NEXT MATCHES: Essex, CC (A), July 19-22;

Lancs find their mojo

Lancashire NEXT MATCHES: Warks, CC (A), July 19-22;

Nixon placed on gardening leave

RIGHT: Paul Nixon is not expected to resume

Middlesex hit rock bottom

Middlesex NEXT MATCHES: Surrey, CC (H), July 19-22;

Northants cash out on a Shaw bet

Northamptonshire NEXT MATCHES: Somerset, CC (H), July 19-22;

Martindale signs on

Nottinghamshire NEXT MATCHES: Hants, CC (H), July 19-22;

Sodhi adds extra fizz to the mix

Somerset NEXT MATCHES: Northants, CC (A), July 19-22;

501-5

Surrey NEXT MATCHES: Middx, CC (A), July 19-22;

Gritty Sussex dreaming big

Sussex NEXT MATCHES: Yorks, CC (A), July 19-22;

Mousley makes his mark

Warwickshire NEXT MATCHES: Lancs, CC (H), July 19-22;

Giles takes the reins

Worcestershire NEXT MATCHES: Leics, CC (A), July 19-22;

Yorkshire find their flow but penalties await

Yorkshire NEXT MATCHES: Sussex, CC (H), July 19-22;

Regional Round-Up

Jo Harman picks out the big stories from the last month of women’s regional cricket, including another trophy for the formidable Southern Vipers

Shrubsole sets retirement date

After a typically skilful display in the Charlotte

Filer whipping up a Storm

Speaking to WCM ahead of the 2023 season,

‘It's not about driving our own agenda’ - Wasim Khan, ICC’s cricket general manager

As the free market obliterates the old orders, what remains of the International Cricket Council’s power? What is its function today, beyond attempting to manage the competing priorities of a lopsided members’ club? Phil Walker speaks to Wasim Khan, the man who took on cricket’s impossible job, before a selection of writers tackle the issues closest to their own hearts

THE BALL THAT CHANGED CRICKET

Ben Gardner delves deep into the past, present and future of the wobble-seam delivery, an innovation which has had a radical impact on the way cricket is played

ASHES TO ASHES

What’s it like to be burned by cricket’s most iconic series?

REBORN IN THE USA

Can cricket finally crack America? And what impact might Major League Cricket, the States’ ambitious new franchise tournament, have on the wider global game? Nicholas Brookes investigates

PROCREATION

Next in our series on the origin stories of elite cricketers, Jo Harman meets the son of an All Black who has carved out a remarkable career in his own right

ASHES SELECTIONS

In the 10th part of our series, we take our lead from England’s selectors to celebrate some of the more audacious selections from Ashes past

KATHERINE SCIVER-BRUNT

KATHERINE SCIVER-BRUNT

LEGACY: MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Book of the Month

CRICKET CAPTAIN 2023: BAZBALL GOES DIGITAL

Cricket Captain is a series well-known for its

HOTBEDS

No.6 TYNE & WEAR

Vice Captain’s Log

THE GREAT ESCAPE?

The Club Scene

Adam Hopkins scours the country for the club game’s more unusual stories att Baty of Wistaston Village had a less

Gary Loveday

The Wisden Club Cricket Hall of Fame

Time Warp

The winner of this month’s quiz will receive a copy of issue 42 of The Nightwatchman, Wisden’s cricket quarterly.

The Teammate That Changed My Life

DIMITRI MASCARENHAS