THE Top Six

HOLDING ON TO CRICKET’S SOCIAL CONTRACT

It’s hard to imagine a functioning administration enacting

Don’ t hate the players; hate the game

The term may have negative connotations, but ‘player power ’ – shot through with a strong dose of righteous indignation – may be just what the game needs, says Andrew Miller

The exponential rise of T20 and its unintended consequences

On the eve of the men’s World Cup in the UAE, Lawrence Booth considers the impact T20 has had on the game’s overall landscape and the new narratives being created around the format

The sideshow must go on

Adam Collins, returning columnist for the Australian summer, argues that the onfield action in an Ashes series has become increasingly dominated by the hoopla which surrounds it

How to lose friends and alienate people

Peter Oborne and Richard Heller, co-authors of White on Green, a book celebrating the drama of Pakistan cricket, consider the damage done by England’s withdrawal from their October tour of the country

Quick Singles

The month’s news in brief

The world according to... Tymal Mills

29, LEFT-ARM QUICK AND PART-TIME COMMENTATOR

NEWS CYCLE

The phoney war just feels different after an 18-month pandemic, writes Ben Gardner

Kieron Pollard

As West Indies prepare to defend their T20 World Cup title in the UAE, their iconic skipper speaks to Jo Harman about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, how he’d have gone as a Test cricketer, and being a “legendary mercenary”

THE COUNTY FILES

Darren Stevens and his six-year-old son, Finn, with

Houghton moves on after “bitterly disappointing ” season

Derbyshire FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 5th in Div 3;

Durham left to rue what might have been

Durham FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 3rd in Div 2;

Tendo calls time

Essex FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 1st in Div 2;

Oval run-fest concludes erratic season

Glamorgan FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 6th in Div 2;

Dent resigns after nearly campaign

Gloucestershire FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 2nd in Div 2;

Wheal of fortune

Hampshire

Air Jordan ends Kent’s long wait

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 1st in Div 3; T20: Winners; ODC: 9th in Group 1

Lancs continue to build from within

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: Runnersup; T20: QF; ODC: 4th in Group 1

Callum Parkinson: ‘I’m trying to shake the “brother of” tag’

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 4th in Div 3; T20: 6th in North Group; ODC: 4th in Group 2

Resurgent Stoneman gives cause for optimism

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 2nd in Div 3; T20: 8th in South Group; ODC: 8th in Group 1

Ripley steps down after a decade in charge

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 4th in Div 2; T20: 9th in North Group; ODC: 8th in Group 2

Clarke finds the right tempo

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 3rd in Div 1; T20: QF; ODC: 6th in Group 2

Finals Day agony caps frustrating season

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 6th in Div 1; T20: Runners-up; ODC: 7th in Group 2

Elworthy steps in

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 5th in Div 2; T20: 5th in South Group; ODC: SF

Haines heeds Cook’s advice

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 6th in Div 3; T20: SF; ODC: 7th in Group 1

The Bears find their bite

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: Winners; T20: QF; ODC: 5th in Group 2

Leadership vacuum needs filling

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 3rd in Div 3; T20: 5th in North Group; ODC: 5th in Group 1

Headingley ’s summer in the shade

FINAL POSITIONS: CC: 5th in Div 1; T20: QF; ODC: QF

CRICKIPEDIA

The alternative compendium of cricket

RE:VIEW

On November 16, Stephen Fry will become the 20th speaker to deliver the MCC Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s. Three writers imagine who they’d have picked if given the chance

Mailbox

In association with Botham Wines, letter of the month receives a bottle of Botham 81 Series Barossa Valley Shiraz – an extra special wine presented in a hand-embossed wooden case which commemorates Sir Ian’s Ashes heroics of 40 years ago

THE GREATEST SHOW ON TURF

BEN JONES, CRICVIZ ANALYST, OPENS OUR PREVIEW OF THE T20 WORLD CUP, AN EXPANSIONIST 16-TEAM EPIC THAT TAPS INTO THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE

THE TEAMS

FIRST ROUND The top two teams in Group A and Group B will progress to the Super 12 phase

SUPER 12

Groups 1 and 2 will each include two teams who have qualified from the first round. The top two in each group will then progress to the semi-finals

MOHAMMAD RIZWAN: THE KEEPER WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD

MOHAMMAD RIZWAN

Flying the flag of Defiance

Afghanistan’s men’s team arrive at the T20 World Cup with the future of the game in their country hanging in the balance following the Taliban’s seizure of power. Karunya Keshav reports on the start of a grim new chapter in the extraordinary story of Afghan cricket

ICONOGRAPHY of cricket

PART 2: 1910-1919

7-67 Pat Pocock

Sussex v Surrey | County Championship | Eastbourne 1972

John CRAWLEY

The Lancashire, Hampshire and England batter on his early influences, playing in a golden era for county cricket and falling foul of Duncan Fletcher

Grassroots: where the game lives and breathes

Every year, the ECB’s Grassroots Cricket Awards provides heartwarming stories from the frontline. Adam Hopkins speaks to five of this year ’s winners

Number 54 Neil Riddell

Scott Oliver meets a Minor Counties legend who helped pave the way for Durham’s entry to the first-class scene

BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES: TRAVELS ON ENGLAND CRICKET TOURS

Book of the Month Fairfield, £22 David Gower

Time Warp

The two winners of this month’s quiz will receive a collection of four books

My Golden Summer 2013

Tales & treasures from cricket’s glorious past

England sent spinning by Gibbs

Richard Whitehead recalls the visit of Frank Worrell’s freewheeling West Indians

Chaos Theory

South Africa v England Second Test, Johannesburg, 1995

Andy Zaltzman’s Number Palace!

Zero days of cricket were played in the