The Cricket Writers' Club Book of the Year for 2015. Sponsored by the England and Wales Cricket Board, this lavishly produced 352-page book celebrates 125 years of cricket's county championship: from WG Grace facing the first ball in May 1890 to Joe Root leading out the triumphant Yorkshire team in September 2014 - and now reprinted to take the story up to the close of 2016. Stephen Chalke tells in entertaining style the story of English county cricket: bringing alive the great teams and players, the memorable matches and the bizarre episodes, the times of crisis and the fascinating social history that moulds it all. Arranged in double-page spreads, extensively illustrated with colour throughout, it is a book to fascinate and absorb all those who follow cricket in England.