No doubt we are all suffering with withdrawal symptoms already with the sun shining and no cricket to watch. However my postman has certainly been busy this week with new cricket annuals arriving almost on a daily basis. Having already got the county second XI annual and the excellent Cumberland county cricket yearbook, this week's arrivals have been the Yorkshire yearbook, the Playfair annual and of course the Wisden Almanack.
The Cumberland book has a new editor Chris Gore, who has taken over from the admirable Mike Latham. Mike certainly set the standard and will be a hard act to follow, but Chris has stuck to his format of all levels of county and league cricket and still a large collection of colour photographs. The cover picture shows the Cumberland team picture at the one day trophy final against Berkshire at Wormsley. This was no doubt the most exciting game of the season with Cumberland losing by the narrowest of margins, just one run!
The Yorkshire yearbook also has a new editor, Graham Hardcastle a cricket journalist who has reported on Yorkshire for The Telegraph & Argus, The York Press and the Northern Echo since 2008. He gets off to a bad start by admitting that he is not a Yorkshireman, but his origins remain clouded in mystery! However he has stuck to the tried and trusted format used by his eminent predecessor David Warner. I must admit that the exhaustive records section is always my favourite and to browse through the section of eight wickets or more in an innings is to re-live the great days of Rhodes, Hirst, Haigh and Verity plus of course Fred Trueman of more recent vintage.
The Playfair cricket annual is of course the essential guide for any follower of county cricket and retains it's convenient pocket sized shape. Don't think I am too taken with it's front cover this year (Jofra Archer), but otherwise the essential content with details of every player who appeared last season remains compelling reading. As with all these publications the saddest part is to read through
the fixtures pages of games which are unlikely to take place in the current situation. One newish player who caught my eye when flicking through the pages was Ben Compton of Notts, born in South Africa but another grandson of Denis Compton and cousin of Nick Compton of Middlesex.
Finally Wisden 2020 seems thicker than ever this year, although one wonders what can fill the pages next season. I am certainly happy with four of the five selections as cricketers of the year, but cannot help feeling that, despite his few great moments, Jofra Archer has not really done enough yet to be chosen in such exalted company as the greats of the past. However only a minor criticism, as is my perennial gripe about the amount of space given to public schools cricket over age group cricket in general. However I am sure it sells plenty of copies. Good to see pictures of two of Yorkshire's white hopes for the future under the Sedbergh School section - George Hill and Matthew Revis.
Anyway these four excellent volumes should keep cricket followers occupied and entertained during the long weeks and months which seem to lie ahead. The thought of some cricket behind closed doors does not really appeal, although I suppose will be better than nothing. However we must hope for the best and pray that we do not lose too many more friends along the way.
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