Stefan SzymanskiCrickonomics: The Anatomy of Modern Cricket: Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Sports Book Award

The book is full of stories told in an entertaining fashion. The reader is taken on a tour of the world, particularly the world of the British Commonwealth. In a surprise twist in later chapters we learn how the love of cricket played in the Indian sub-continent taught Afghani refugees from the Russian occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980's and 1990s to enjoy and learn to play cricket in the camps in Peshawar leading to Afghanistan becoming a full member of the international cricket community in 2017 and through further emigration of young Afghanis to Europe in the recent decade bringing the game to Germany.Befitting the collaboration of a journalist and economist the book is full of facts and stats. Some are more difficult to appreciate for cricket non-aficionados such as the Lewis Duckworth method for restarting games interrupted by rain and used as resource measure for analysing batting performance. Others statistical sections reveal racial and gender biases, influence of public school education on the development and prevalence of batters from top private schools in England as well as Australia, and the impact of unusual weather patterns on chances of winning (very significant!).As someone who has researched and written about other sports this book provided an interesting take on the influence of culture, politics, history on the development and the governance of sport, but also shows how innovation is possible against the odds as the example of the rise of India and the success of the Indian Premier League has recently demonstrated.

A really interesting book with thought provoking analysis on the game of cricket. If you’re a badger like me, this is the book for you

Cricket is a sport in constant flux, with shifting powers and emerging formats. This excellent book provides analysis in a compelling way that helps you make sense of it all.

Bought as a present cant really review. Quality book at a reasonable price.

Not a traditional story of cricket ; part of new generation of cricket writers using data to interpret changes to the game. Covers many areas but fair to say concentrates on 21st century issues. Well written and pacey approach I found refreshing. Not over academic or numbers based but fascinating.T20, IPL and rise of India to be a top nation and the resources they have are covered well. Also some off beat topics like schools and the Barmy Army. Probably a book more for my son but I am enjoying.