The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop

After one win in 17 by the start of the summer of 2022, England needed something new. For 145 years, Test cricket was played mainly in one way: batters laid a foundation, before daring to attack – and, even then, only if circumstances were favourable. Bowlers tried to bowl maidens, calculating that they would eventually force an error. But the old ways weren’t working. Then came ‘Bazball’, driven by new head coach in Brendon (‘Baz’) McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. What followed was one of the most thrilling revolutions in any sport, as a rudderless and ridiculed England Test team became – almost overnight – cricket’s most talked-about phenomenon. They embarked on a brand of Test cricket that breathed life into an ailing format, breaking records as they went on to win 11 out 13 Tests before the start of an eagerly anticipated Ashes series. This book is an unmissable read.