The Meaning of Cricket

An exploration of what it is about the peculiar game of cricket that so takes hold of the imagination, from the writer of the popular blog The Old BatsmanCricket is a strange game. It is a team sport that is almost entirely dependent on individual performance. Its combination of time, opportunity and the constant threat of disaster can drive its participants to despair. To survive a single delivery propelled at almost 100 miles an hour takes the body and brain to the edges of their capabilities, yet its abiding image is of the gentle village green, and the glorious absurdities of the amateur game.In The Meaning of Cricket, Jon Hotten attempts to understand this fascinating, frustrating and complex sport. Blending legendary players, from Vivian Richards to Mark Ramprakash, Kevin Pietersen to Ricky Ponting, with his own cricketing story, he explores the funny, moving and melancholic impact the game can have on an individual life.

“"Simultaneously playful and packed with insight . . . All cricketing life is here . . . Hotten's writing is accessible and often moving . . . It deserves a wider readership." --Ben East, Observer”

A beautifully written meditation on the joys of summer -- Tom Holland Evening Standard, Book of the Year
Hotten is not just good, he is one of the best... He has the eye for a beautifully judged phrase -- Richard Whitehead Cricketer
Hotten has emerged as a worthy addition to the lineage of writers who adhere to C L R James’s aphorism: “What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?”… This will be a worthy addition to any cricketing bookshelf -- Tim Wigmore New Statesman
For those dreaming of summer, The Meaning of Cricket is accessible, fun and elegantly written. -- Hilary Mantel New Statesman, Book of the Year
Simultaneously playful and packed with insight … All cricketing life is here... Hotten’s writing is accessible and often moving -- Ben East Observer
Memory and meditation twirled into a lovesong: Jon Hotten hits it out of the park -- William Fiennes
A collection of Jon Hotten's writing that is lively with insight and anecdote, and informed by the persona of the knowledgeable and fascinated practitioner… On amateur cricket Jon is alternately hilarious and poignant, but it's when he's in his almost-a-pro-yet-somehow-not-quite vein that he truly breaks out. He considers cricket's capacity for revealing us to ourselves. -- Gideon Haigh Cric Info

Jon Hotten is the author of four books, including Muscle and The Years of the Locust, and writes the popular cricket blog The Old Batsman. He co-wrote the award-winning documentary Death of a Gentleman, and his collaboration with the former England bowler Simon Jones, The Test, won the Wisden Almanack's Book of the Year award in 2016.

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