Cricket: The Game of Life

The extended piece on the pressures of Ashes series on captains is beautifully painted….I think every aspiring young England cricketer should read this….not as something to be afraid of, but to enlighten and prepare for the challenges that may come his way - Andy Flower

When I see the quality of writing by people like Scyld Berry…I feel daunted. I can never write as well as they can. - Rahul Dravid

Cricket’s rich and varied tapestry, revealing character and national characteristics is passed on here by a man who has always been passionately interested in both.

The game of cricket manages to invade the minds of all that are passionate about it on so many levels - it’s combination of tradition, innovation, rivalry and friendship makes it truly unique. Scyld manages to encapsulate everything that is great about cricket into a fantastically entertaining book that reminds us all of how lucky we are to have involvement in the best game of all.

Perhaps more than any other sport, cricket has inspired outstanding writing. As Scyld Berry reveals in his new book, Cricket: The Game of Life, around 20,000 books or pamphlets have been produced in English on cricket over the years, a record. Now Mr Berry, a former editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack and the cricket correspondent of the Sunday Telegraph, has written a worthy addition to this rich lineage. The book may be eclectic, but it is also rewarding’ - The Economist

…400 page love letter to the sport, weaving in his own memories with tales from around the world. - Sport

Scyld Berry has reported on more England Test matches than any cricket writer, over 400 of them, including 20 Ashes series. He was born and grew up within a mile of Bramall Lane in Sheffield. He started as a cricket journalist in 1976, and has successively been the cricket correspondent of the Observer, the Sunday Correspondent, the Independent on Sunday, the Sunday Telegraph and the Daily Telegraph. For four years he was the editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.

On the field, he has taken five wickets in an innings in county cricket - for Gloucestershire Over-60s.

Cricket: The Game of Life is Scyld’s seventh book - six of which are about cricket. He has three children, two cats and a wife.