The Wisden Almanac: A Cricket Lover’s Bible
The sport of cricket is loved by people from all over the world. It is a game that is full of statistics, facts and figures. From the number of runs scored in a particular innings, to the number of no balls bowled in an entire test series, to how many times rain has affected play. Cricket fans love these types of statistics it seems and this has given rise to one of the most popular sporting books of all time. The Wisden Cricket Almanac is full of facts and figures and is currently in its 147th edition. It was started by a cricket player named John Wisden in 1864 and instantly became very popular amongst cricket fans. Over the years it has grown and changed to now becoming something of a collector’s item.
The history of this cricket lover’s favourite is very interesting. Over the years the book has changed and evolved but it has always stayed true to its original ideals and has been very closely linked to the world of cricket. John Wisden, who the book is named after, was born in 1826 in Brighton, England and he played professional cricket for the England national team. He first published the Wisden Cricket Almanac in 1864 and it was only 112 pages long and included non cricket stories about things like the English Civil War. The Almanac then grew over the years to become the defining authority on the sport of cricket in the world it is today. In 1938, the now famous yellow jacket appeared for the first time on the 75th Edition and also featured the wood engraving of the two gentlemen in top hats. It has remained pretty much the same ever since then. Later issues introduced the Wisden cricketing awards for best player and also special limited edition versions of the book were released for the first time.
The nature of the game of cricket is such that a large number of facts and figures are generated during every match. People did not know where to store these facts and figures early on but when the Wisden Almanac arrived there was not only a place for the storage of all this data but there was also a handy reference guide for all those cricket mad fans out there. The book itself is a compilation of all the statistics that anyone could ever want to find out about the game itself. The interesting aspect of the Almanac is the fact that it has the power to influence cricket ratings as well. Due to the fact that it is so well established and so thoroughly researched, it is seen as a measure of a player's standing in the game. Over the years, certain aspects of the game have been talked about in the book and have influenced the outcomes. Once, the editor of the Almanac made a statement against the Bodyline Series saying that he deplored its introduction and wanted to see it end as soon as possible.
There are different reasons why people buy the Wisden Almanac. Many people buy it as a collector's item because the books are highly prized and they go up in value every year. In 1963 a full set of the books was said to cost £250 and a full set today costs £100,000 in good condition. For a book of cricket statistics that is a great price. The other reason why people buy the Almanac is because they are genuinely interested in the game of cricket and all of its little facts, figures and important statistics that they will not be able to get anywhere else in the world. Since the first edition the book has been a favourite of cricketing mad fans who needed to know everything there is to know about the sport.
Over the years the Wisden Almanac has become something of a legend. It is the most comprehensive book of cricket statistics in the world but it is not affiliated with any official cricket body. It is an unofficial book that has stood the test of time and has become the single leading authority on the game. There is no other sport on the planet that can boast such an impressive and well researched book as the Wisden Almanac and we will continue to see it improve and become more popular as the years go by.
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