The Cricket Society has been running a competition since 1970, in partnership with MCC since 2009, for books nominated by MCC and Cricket Society Members. This competition is highly regarded by writers and publishers.
The shortlist includes books about England's white-ball cricket revolution, a biography of Frank Worrell, and, for the first time, a cricketing play by Shomit Dutta. The list is completed with a history of England's tours and a review of international stars playing league cricket.
All six books and authors will be celebrated, and the winner will be announced at the annual awards evening at Lord's on Tuesday 9 April.
Additionally, the Stephen Fay Award 2024 will be presented posthumously to Tony Cozier for his services to cricket, and it will be accepted on his behalf by Clive Lloyd.
An Island’s Eleven, The Story of Sri Lankan Cricket by Nicholas Brookes was the winner of 2023.
The six books shortlisted for 2024 are:
Son of Grace, Frank Worrell A Biography, Vaneisa Baksh, Fairfield Books
Bazball, The Inside Story of a Test Cricket Revolution, Lawrence Booth and Nick Hoult, Bloomsbury
Stumped, Shomit Dutta, Concord Theatricals
Sticky Dogs and Stardust, When the Legends Played in the Leagues, Scott Oliver, Fairfield Books
White Hot, The Inside Story of England Cricket’s Double World Champions, Tim Wigmore and Matt Roller, Bloomsbury
The Tour: The Story of the England Cricket Team Overseas 1877-2022, Simon Wilde, Simon and Schuster
Longlist:
How to be a Cricket Fan: A Life in 50 Artefacts from WG to Wisden, Matthew Appleby, Pitch
Disappearing World, Our 18 First-Class Cricket Counties, Scyld Berry, Pitch
Turning Over the Pebbles, Mike Brearley, Constable
Broadly Speaking, Stuart Broad, Hodder and Stoughton
Legacy, My Autobiography, Nick Compton, Allen and Unwin
From Darkness into Light, John Broom and Anthony Condon, Pitch
Footprints, David Foot’s Lifetime of Writing, Stephen Chalke, Charlcombe Books/ Fairfield Books
Balls to Fly, Ricky Ellcock, An Autobiography, Fairfield Books
Cambridge Sport in Fenner’s Hands, Nigel Fenner, self-published by Cambridge Sports Tours
Ashes 2023, A Cricket Classic, Gideon Haigh, Scribe Publications
All-India and Down Under, Peace, Partition and the Game of Cricket, Richard Knott, Pitch
No Picnic, The Historic First MCC Tour of India and Ceylon 1926-27, Jeremy Lonsdale, ACS Publications
Gilly: The Turbulent Life of Roy Gilchrist, Mark Peel, Pitch
Yorkshire Grit: The Life of Ray Illingworth, Mark Peel, Pitch
David Warner, Daring to be Different, Ken Piesse, Wilkinson Publishing
The Last Corinthian, The Cricketing Life of MJK Smith, Mike Thompson, Pitch
One Day at a Time, The History of Limited Overs Cricket in 25 Matches, David Tossell, Fairfield Books