Expansion Theory

THE Top Six

The month in cricket No.1

The man who tamed the machine to change cricket forever

Andrew Millers pays tribute to the unsung hero, Travis Basevi, whose genius changed the way the game is understood

Team of the Month

In a new regular feature, Jo Harman selects an XI based on performances across the game in the month of October

England committed to rebrand but familiar problems persist

Stokes and McCullum have identified how they want to play in Pakistan, but they will be hampered by England’s longstanding neglect of spin bowling, writes Mark Ramprakash

Gould steps into the breach

Phil Walker considers the virtues of Richard Gould, a strong and perhaps inspired choice as the ECB’s new chief executive

Getting rich while the planet burns

The ICC’s new sponsorship deal with Aramco, the giant Saudi oil company, is a dereliction of duty at a time of global crisis, writes Lawrence Booth

FAF DU PLESSIS

LEADER, HITTER, BLOCKER, THREE-TIME IPL WINNER, MOTORCYCLE RIDER, BOOK WRITER

RE: VIEW

Three writers make their predictions for England’s three-Test series in Pakistan, which begins at Rawalpindi on December 1

CRICKIPEDIA

The alternative compendium of cricket 

Yorkshire THE IMPLOSION

Jo Harman explores what went wrong at Yorkshire this season as the embattled club prepares for life in the second tier of the County Championship for the first time in more than a decade

In other news...

Warwickshire Buoyed by their great escape on the

Mailbox

SIR IAN Botham WINS

Setting fire to the manual

England have doubled down on their ultra-aggressive philosophy by selecting an adventurous 15-strong squad for the three-Test series in Pakistan. Jo Harman introduces a special feature on five new or returning batters who’ve been picked to play their shots

Harry BROOK

Setting fire to the manual

Keaton JENNINGS

Setting fire to the manual

Liam LIVINGSTONE

If it’s ever going to work, it’s now

Will JACKS

The new Moeen Ali?

Ben DUCKETT

‘Nowadays my for ward defence is my sweep’

What England need to do to win the 2025 World Test Championship

Whatever happens in Pakistan, England are already out of contention for the 2023 World Test Championship final. But with Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes at the helm, they will be dreaming of a title push in 2023-25. Ben Gardner takes a look at what they will need to do to reach the final

The third element

James Wallace explores the art and evolution of fielding and celebrates its greatest practitioners

A GAME WITHOUT BORDERS

The Twenty20 World Cup has further highlighted the increasingly meritocratic nature of top-level cricket, a world now expanded to incorporate talents from the farthest-flung corners of the globe, writes Matt Roller

HOOKERS

In the third part of our series, Phil Walker looks back at some of the finest exponents of cricket’s most thrillingly dangerous shot

Buffeted by the winds of change

Sixty years on, Christopher Sandford looks back on the Ashes series of 1962/63 when Ted Dexter led an England tour party which didn’t always see eye to eye

PRO CREATION

In the first of a new series exploring what it’s like to be the parent of a top-level cricketer, Jo Harman speaks to Alan Butcher and his son Mark about their tight-knit relationship and the various forms that it’s taken

TIM MURTAGH

The evergreen Middlesex and Ireland seamer on the moments that have defined his career

Make a cricket ball

James Wallace heads to the headquarters of Dukes to discover the art and science of ball-making

Big fish in small ponds

At the heart of club cricket

Matters of life and death

Investing in a defibrillator for your club has never been cheaper or easier

In the Nets

The WCM coaching team is here to help you improve your cricket. Got a query? A kink in your backlift? A front-foot problem you can’t fix? Email us at the usual address and one of our experts could be tackling your question in a future issue

TOP FIVE: THE SWEEP SHOT With Lydia Greenway

Playing at an average Saturday league level, we’re often stuck on crappy pitches with rubbish bounce which makes it difficult to get slow bowlers away. I want to develop my options against them and get more out of my sweep shots

Tricks of the trade

OFF-BREAK BOWLER

Gear of the Year

Over two issues in the build-up to the festive period, we’ve collaborated with the experts at Pro:Direct, the world’s largest online sports store, to bring you a selection of the gear that’s impressed us the most in 2022

Ken Pearson

The Wisden Club Cricket Hall of Fame

Time Warp

The winner of this month’s quiz will receive a Wisden 2023 calendar featuring 12 Andrew Redden Collection prints which celebrate the most popular cricket grounds across the UK.

Stars of the silver screen

WIN! This competition is open to UK residents

Books for Christmas

Jon Hotten picks out a selection of gift ideas ahead of the festive season

Chaos Theory

England v New Zealand, First Test, Lord’s 2004

The Sketch That Changed My Life

JACK RUSSELL