One for the nerds

This chunky book arrived with a Wisden-ish thump on the doormat, and weighs in at a daunting 542 pages, with only a few photos (plus some interesting scorecards and other ephemera) to divert from the text. The format features multifarious chapters on most aspects of cricket. It's a pleasant enough ramble, although a bit indigestible at times - but then the idea presumably isn't to sit down and read it from A to Z, or rather "All-Rounders" to "Zimbabwe".

It's more of a book for dipping into - perhaps in the loo - and plucking out a factoid or two to impress your cricket-loving mates. But treat some of the pronouncements with a certain amount of caution: your friends might get a beer or two back if you start telling them about Alf "Glover" of Surrey (page 74), or announce that Allan Donald was a notable Sussex player (p421) or that Wisden's first female Cricketer of the Year was Charlotte Edwards (p496).

Some might cavil at some of the nuggets that have been included - the first five entries under "Twenty20", for example, are rather dry as they all concern the playing regulations - but if you skim over them there's a lot of fun to be had. It's obvious that the compiler, Les Scott, who grew up in Durham (then a minor county, not a champion one), enjoyed himself assembling this labour of love.

Bats, Balls & Bails: The Essential Cricket Book
by Les Scott
Random House