A tale of two series

WISDEN CRICKET MONTHLY

EDITOR’S LIST

TNT’S BURGEONING COVERAGE It’s crept up on us

THE Top Six

The month in cricket No.1

Bazball lays down gauntlet to the county game

Following England’s confronting Test series defeat in India, Andrew Miller considers the sustainability of their ultra-aggressive approach and how it may impact the outlook of the first-class counties

Team of the Month

The month in cricket No.3

The incomparable James Anderson

Returning columnist Mark Ramprakash pays tribute to England’s record-shattering seamer after the 41-year-old snared his 700th Test wicket

Mike Procter: A giant whose greatness was matched only by the generosity of his spirit

Stephen Chalke pays tribute to the legendary talents of Mike Procter, who died in February aged 77

Savvy Surrey primed for historic hat-trick

In a rapidly changing landscape the oldest trophy still matters most to Surrey as they chase a third consecutive County Championship title, writes Lawrence Booth

NEWS CYCLE

Ben Gardner has plenty of time for timed-out shenanigans

SHAN MASOOD

LEADER, THINKER, ADOPTED TYKE, NOLAN AFICIONADO

The India Question

T he most desired item on Masood’s

RE:VIEW

Three writers predict who will come out on top in the 2024 County Championship

The Game’s GONE

#11 THE ‘ART’ OF SLEDGING

Mailbox

In association with Chapel Down, the letter of the month receives a bottle of awardwinning 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.

Beyond the spin

England’s new spinners were derided as no-hopers when they arrived in India. But between them they showed glimpses of a positive and progressive future, and not just with the ball

On Bazball…

We asked our readers and podcast listeners for their thoughts on Bazball, two years since its invention

The wild mercury brilliance of Zak Crawley

It’s not worth writing about Zak Crawley from

THE WISDEN CRICKET MONTHLY BREAKOUT XI

To begin our preview of the new county season, our writers select a team who we fancy to go particularly well in 2024. Some of our XI may be on the cusp of higher honours, while others slip into the ‘ talented but unproven’ bracket. One thing unites them: they ’ll all be great to watch

County Championship preview

Jo Harman gives the lowdown on each of the 18 counties ahead of the 2024 season

Mining for Gold

No. 2  Who was the most dominant Test batter of the 1990s?

375 The making of a masterpiece

Thirty years ago this month, a 24-year-old left-hander from Trinidad changed the face of cricket forever. James Wallace looks back at an innings that was heard all around the world

The whole world in their hands

The IPL returns for its 17th edition bigger, brasher and, as the secondmost lucrative sports league in the world, richer than ever. The Indian writer Aadya Sharma, who has grown up with the IPL as a constant in his cricket-watching life, considers what the tournament has come to symbolise, and what it could yet morph into

Eight to go

The team at Wisden India selects eight players

TEST UPSETS

It’s been a winter of shocks, from Hyderabad to Brisbane, so here are seven of the most memorably improbable Test match results

The mad magic of Murali

England v Sri Lanka Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets Only Test, The Oval August 27-31, 1998

The feast of Fazal

England v Pakistan Pakistan won by 24 runs Fourth Test, The Oval August 12-17, 1954

‘A bit of Barnsley bastard’

England v Australia England win by six wickets

Salutes you, sir

New Zealand v Bangladesh Bangladesh won by eight wickets First Test, Mount Maunganui January 1-5, 2022

Undone in Dunedin

New Zealand v West Indies New Zealand won by one wicket First Test, Dunedin February 8-13, 1980

Kings of Kingston

West Indies v England England won by nine wickets First Test, Kingston February 24-March 1, 1990

JIMMY ADAMS

The former No.1-ranked Test batter in the world looks back on his career, sharing the crease with the maestro and the challenges of overseeing cricket in the West Indies

Dales and Bails: The Heart of Yorkshire Club Cricket

John Fuller has spent the last few years travelling the length and breadth of Yorkshire to capture the untold stories of club cricket life. Here he gives a snapshot of the inner world of a “cricketing superpower”

Run-chase batting With Maia Bouchier

Maia Bouchier has recently broken into the England batting line-up in white-ball cricket. She describes how she approaches T20 batting, from visualisation to execution

Nigel Hilliard

Number 81

The core of bowling quick With Lauren Filer

Lauren Filer had a breakthrough 2023, turning heads as she regularly clocked speeds above 75mph in her maiden summer with England. She talks us through the drills she’s used to get her pace up

Time Warp

The winner of this month’s quiz will receive a copy of issue 45 of The Nightwatchman, the Wisden cricket quarterly, available to buy at thenightwatchman.net

THE ONE INDISCRETION OF HIS LIFE

Book of the Month

THE STORY OF CRICKET IN 50 BOOKS

In association with RATHBONES

Collector’s Corner

No. 1 Cricket in Oflag VIIB

The Phone Call That Changed My Life

GERAINT JONES