Once the preserve of the English, now, for nations the world over, summertime means cricket bats to be oiled, rain forecasts analysed and tea in the pavilion. Cricket has enthralled us since the seventeenth century. But what is it about the game that provokes such fervour? Award-winning sports author Gavin Mortimer calls together a cast of salt-of-the-earth Yorkshiremen, American billionaires and dashing Indian princes to tell the strange and remarkable tale of cricket's journey from medieval village sport of 'club-ball' to the global media circus graced by superstars from Denis Compton to Sachin Tendulkar. If you've ever wanted to know what a hoop skirt has to do with overarm bowling, why England fight Australia over a burnt bail, or how to avoid tickling a jaffa in the corridor of uncertainty, Mortimer chalks up a stunning century of tales in the first truly accessible global history of cricket.

A delightful book ... compulsively quotable -- Tom Holland
You don't have to be a regular at Lord's to enjoy Mortimer's well-chosen anecdotes. * Guardian *
Praise for History of Football in 100 Objects: 'Great fun * Bookseller *
Extremely clever, quirky, and deliciously funny * Blackpool Gazette *
A richly original account of the game's past, present and future -- Mark Perryman
Praise for The Great Swim: 'A fascinating and irresistible slice of sporting history * Daily Mail *
Cracks along like a Channel tide ... his descriptions of the caprice of the ribbon of water that defeated so many are compelling * Daily Telegraph *

Gavin Mortimer, who lives in Paris, is an award-winning writer and journalist. He is the author of A History of Football in 100 Objects [9781781250617] and Puffin's Ultimate Guide to Cricket. He regularly contributes to The Cricketer and The Week as well as to the Sunday Telegraph and BBC History Magazine.