Henry Blofeld's My A-Z of Cricket is a wonderfully evocative jaunt through the summer game, a foray into the cricket alphabet which draws upon his six decades covering the sport. the result, infused with Blower's trademark humour, is a rich compendium of quirky personalities, bizarre controversies, perplexing terminology, hallowed venues and hilarious anecdotes.

The legendary writer and broadcaster's thoughts on WG Grace, Dennis Compton, Fred Trueman, Ian Botha, Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne and latter0day stars such as Jonny Bairstow and Chris Gayle are interspersed with captivating tales of ball-tampering skippers, Bodyline bruisers and eccentric umpires.

We encounter Miss Paterson, the swing-bowling schoolteacher who fired the severn-year-old Blofeld's imagination, Barton King, from Philadelphia, who plundered 7-13 at brighton; South African 'chucker' Geoff Griffin, who was forced to bowl underarm at Lord's and later ran a bar called The Bent Arm Inn; and the far away cricketing havens of Argentina, Corfu and Menorca. Then there's his idiosyncratic take on his Test Match Special colleagues and his appreciation of the extraordinary exploits of Ben Stokes in the 2019 World Cup and the subsequent Ashes series.

A hugely entertaining book by a unique character, My A-Z of Cricket is an indispensable addition to any cricket lover's library.