1864: The Year That Changed Cricket

A unique look at the major cricketing milestones that all occurred in 1864.

The first book to pull together into a single volume the ground-breaking events of 1864 that changed cricket forever.

There have been a great many watershed years in cricket history. The year overarm, rather than underarm, bowling was introduced. The year first-class cricket began to be organised in countries other than England and Australia. The year WG Grace, the greatest player of all time, first arrived on the sporting stage. The year a group of Indian architects began constructing the worlds largest stadium, at Eden Gardens in Calcutta. The year the English press hit upon the notion of a County Championship. And, of course, the year John Wisden launched his world-famous Cricketers Almanack.

All these years were, in fact, one year: 1864.

Using contemporary newspaper and magazine reports and letters as its source, 186