WISDEN CRICKET

Change is the only constant

This game that we love has gone through

EDITOR’S LIST

WELCOME TO WREXHAM My football acumen is pretty

Why Isa?

First of all she’s a friend, and I

THE Top Six

The month in cricket No.1

Weight of history hangs heavy as cricket faces its day of reckoning

The long-awaited ICEC report on equity in English cricket is set to expose the fault lines which run through the game’s history, writes Andrew Miller

Welcome to the age of the extrovert

With style of play increasingly dictating selection in England’s Test side, Mark Ramprakash says that Stokes and McCullum are challenging our understanding of how a cricket team should be picked

Team of the Month

Jo Harman selects a team of standout performers from the last month, including an IPL veteran and headliners from the shires

Old boys’ reunion on the cards for showdown

Australia have chosen not to roll the dice with their red-ball squads for the summer, while India have gone back to one of the old masters

NEWS CYCLE

Don’t believe everything you read, even if it comes with a blue tick, writes Ben Gardner

Stokes doubles down on commitment to The Project

The month in cricket No.6 No.4

Quick Singles

The month’s news in brief

CHARLOTTE EDWARDS

LEADER, RUNMAKER, ADVOCATE, MUMBAIKAR

RE:VIEW

Three Wisden writers pick their England XI for the first Test of the men’s Ashes at Edgbaston, beginning on June 16

The Game’s GONE

#2 SPONSORGEDDON

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An alternative prize will be provided if the winner is aged under 18, or if requested *Only available to UK residents

THE COUNTY FILES

Covering each of the 18 firstclass counties every month, including news, interviews and stats, as well as the oddities which make county cricket what it is

Rew a ray of light in stuttering start

Somerset

The Duke of Kennington

Surrey

Carson goes on the attack

Sussex

Fired-up Hasan reignites the Bears

Warwickshire

Pears fast out of the blocks

Worcestershire

False start leaves Yorkshire under pressure

Yorkshire

THE COMPETITIONS

2023

‘This is a fresh beginning’

BLAZE

‘I was devastated not to go to the World Cup’

CENTRAL SPARKS

‘The regional structure catches you when you fall from England where nothing caught you before’

LAUREN WINFIELD-HILL

‘Regional cricket gave me a platform’

SOUTH EAST STARS

‘If my England chance comes, I’m going to take it’

SOUTHERN VIPERS

‘I’m fortunate to be beginning my career now’

SUNRISERS

‘England is still the dream’

THUNDER

‘It doesn’t feel like a closed shop anymore’

WESTERN STORM

Stillness in the storm

Jos Buttler has done as much as any cricketer this century to change the way the game is played And he’s not done yet

Dressing-room culture

Dressing-room culture is under (he microscope in English

LINES OF AGES

Phil Walker charts the story of cricket commentary through a selection of some of the classic calls in the game’s broadcasting history

The Disquieted Ones

County cricket’s total membership is around 65,000, but while the numbers aren’t huge, their voice is demanding to be heard, writes Ben Bloom

The Members’ View

Trish Garrard, 64 Surrey member Everybody has concerns

‘We lost our dreams in Afghanistan’

In late 2020 the first professional contracts were awarded to Afghanistan’s best female cricketers. Less than a year later they were fearing for their lives. Katya Witney speaks to two players about surviving the Taliban, and what’s left of their cricketing futures

Pushing the Boundaries

The appointment of Temba Bavuma as South Africa’s Test captain was a seismic moment for cricket in the country and reward for years of perseverance in the face of adversity, writes Luke Alfred

PRO>CREATION

Next in our series on the origin stories of elite cricketers, Jo Harman tells the tale of Australian wicketkeeping royalty

SWANSONGS

In part eight of our series, we celebrate those rare moments when the final act of a great career matches up to – and in some cases surpasses – the feats that went before it

ENID BAKEWELL

The trailblazing all-rounder on selling potatoes to fund her England career, starring in cricket’s first ever World Cup, and her friendship with the indefatigable Rachael Heyhoe Flint

HOW TO... Score (using ancient technology)

Test Match Special statistician Andy Zaltzman reveals the secrets of one of the game’s most arcane and mysterious practices

HOTBEDS

No.4 BRADFORD

Vice Captain’s Log

THE MANKAD DEBATE

Tackling the short ball

The WCM coaching team is here to help you improve your cricket. Email us at editorial@wisden.com and one of our experts could be tackling your question in a future issue

Playing the pull/pivot shot

With WCM’s specialist batting coach, Toby Radford

Finding an extra yard

I’m 17 years old, play a good standard

Get bowling fit

Drills to improve…

Number 72 Paul Berry

The Wisden Club Cricket Hall of Fame

Foundation for success

The Surrey Cricket Foundation are preparing a team of young people for the Street Child Cricket World Cup in India this September, and plenty more besides

Time Warp

The winner of this month’s quiz will receive a copy of Sticky Dogs and Stardust: When the Legends Played in the Leagues by Scott Oliver, published by Fairfield.

Books of the Month

Ben Stokes was named the leading male cricketer

The Coach That Changed My Life

EBONY RAINFORD-BRENT

thenightwatchman

thenightwatchman.net

CRICKET

b3cricket.com

thenightwatchman

thenightwatchman.net

wisdenalmanack

www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe

THENIGHTWATCHMAN

THENIGHTWATCHMAN.NET

FOUR AWARDS ONE MUST-READ BOOK

THENIGHTWATCHMAN.NET

WHISKY Magazine

subs.whiskymag.com/WC23

THE Nightwatchman THE WISDEN CRICKET QUARTERLY WISDEN

www.thenightwatchman.net