The Cricketer's companion

by Alan Ross

582 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 1960

About the author

Alan Ross (1922-2001) was a poet, writer, journalist, editor and publisher. In fact, he was a man of letters par excellence. Born in India, educated in England, he joined the Royal Navy in the Second World War and endured the Arctic convoys to Russia. Alan Ross took over The London Magazine (the definite article was later dropped) from John Lehmann and revitalized it. There, it has been said, 'he simplified as well as unified contemporary culture by the clarity of his unique editorial taste. He also discovered many new talents.' His writing embraced poetry, cricket journalism, biography, autobiography, criticism and travel writing.

Reviews

[Peter Langston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of prose and poetry from the golden age of cricket when those who wrote about the game were writers, not journalists … their subjects greater in description almost than in life.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful book that I have dipped into on many occasions over the years. It is that sort of book --you can pass a few minutes or spend half a day reading selections. Edited by Alan Ross, it contains cricket stories, tales of great matches, essays on great players and men and moments, plus some lovely poetry about the summer game. And some of the finest writer on cricket are here: R.C. Robertson-Glasgow, Neville Cardus, Ray Robinson, A.A. Thomson, Jack Fingleton, etc. A treasury and a treasure!