Remarkable Cricket Grounds: An illustrated guide to the world’s best cricket grounds

A coffee table style book that, even though it’s all about cricket grounds across the globe, will be picked up and flicked through by anyone who comes round your house. Whilst the text might only be of interest to a fan of the game, the photos will appeal to most. And those are what makes this book.Seventy eight grounds ranging from Test Match venues to the sands at Elie in Scotland where a plastic ball is used amongst other special ground rules. You may laugh, but MCC are regular visitors. There are also a few places where you wouldn’t expect cricket to be played; St. Moritz (where sight screens aren’t needed), Oahu Island in Hawaii, Slovenia and South Korea amongst many. The narrative of each ground gives a history and a few other bits of information but it’s the photos that really steal the show.Yes, we all know what Lords, Headingley, the SCG, etc. look like but if location and vista was the criteria for Test Match grounds, then Queenstown and Te Awanga in New Zealand, Valley of the Rocks in Devon, Himachal Pradesh in India (which has staged a few ODI matches) and both Coniston and New Field in Sedbergh Cumbria would be top of the list. Padang Field in Singapore is also stunning, albeit surrounded by ‘soaring high-rises’, as is Vincent Square simply because it’s a small oasis of tree surrounded calm slap bang in the middle of London. However, the most amazing of them all is Grade 1 listed Portchester Castle where a C12th Norman keep and a complete circuit of Roman walls (the finest in Northern Europe) enclose the cricket ground.With Bamburgh Castle, Maifeld in Berlin where Hitler held his rallies and was the site of the 1936 Olympics, and a few historic houses included in the 78, many grounds are worth visiting not just for the cricket aficionado but history buffs too. You’ll need deep pockets though.

Such a great and interesting book with amazing photos!

A lovely book for the cricket lover, high quality photographs of cricket grounds round the world, from rough, sloping village fields in England to Test arenas at home and overseas, and everything in between.There is great variety, and a lot of photos. This is a large book, bigger than A4 in area, and over 200 pages. The photographs are accompanied by well researched facts and figures, though the emphasis is on the photos.

I bought this as a gift for a family who all love cricket. Some beautiful photos and something a bit different. Great book for ‘coffee table’ browsing.

As it was reported to me, the cricket fan loves the book (it was a birthday present). I took a quick look through it before gifting it away and I found the images are beautiful and the whole book is well put together. It will make a gorgeous reference book to grace the coffee table. Ha! :)

Beautiful interesting book

Bought as a present for a cricket fan in the office. I thought it would be coffee table book - which of course it is - but Malcolm actually reads it and loves it!

The photos are first class and the comments on the grounds are very interesting