{"product_id":"127685056_product","title":"Tony Hannan - Wicket Men : The Last Rites of Minor Counties Cricket -","description":"New Store Stock\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout this Item\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe item is a book Paperback\u003cbr\u003eThe Author Name is Tony Hannan\u003cbr\u003eThe Title is The Wicket Men : The Last Rites of Minor Counties Cricket\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCondition New\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOther Comments\u003cbr\u003eNew Store Stock\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eProduct Description -\u003cbr\u003eIt's Britain's hottest summer since 1976 and English cricket is in a sweat of transformation. The public is no longer interested in County Championship games, traditional touchstone of the calendar.   Fans prefer a bit of flash, bang, wallop - or so the experts tell us.\r\n\r\n   Where though does that leave the twenty minor counties - strung out from Northumberland to Norfolk to Cornwall - who for the past one hundred and twenty-five years have fancied themselves the stepping-stone between regional club and first class county competitions?A level of the game seen as either an ex-professionals' graveyard or the last refuge of blazered old duffers is in a struggle for its very existence.   And come 2020, the venerable Minor Counties Championship will indeed be blown away, like dandelion seeds on the breeze, replaced by the newly-branded and 'more marketable' National Counties Championship.   At least that was the plan.\r\n\r\n   In 2018, no-one has yet heard of Covid-19. What they do know is that this threat to their competition is existential and the modernisers at Lord's are to blame, far more interested in such innovations as a proposed new 'Hundred' than bolstering that which has stood the test of time.   Granted full access to committee and squad, Tony Hannan, author of Underdogs - A Year in the Life of a Rugby League Town, spent a season with Cumberland CCC amid the lakes, fells and mountains of Cumbria.\r\n\r\n   And as might have been expected in such dramatic terrain, he tells a story full of ups and downs - complete with one or two surprises.   Skippered by former Durham player Gary Pratt - who as substitute fielder ran out Australia captain Ricky Ponting during the 2005 Ashes - Cumberland's expenses-only nomads are nevertheless just one important thread in a yarn stretching well beyond the boundaries of Cumbria.   The Wicket Men is a cricket book unlike any other.\r\n\r\n It draws stumps on a small but fascinating aspect of a pastime whose rhythms and rituals, while endlessly evolving, are rooted firmly in the English folk tradition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen possible we will add details of the items we are selling to help buyers know what is included in the item for sale. The details are provided automatically from our central master database and can sometimes be wrong.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBooks are released in many editions and variations, such as standard edition, re-issue, not for sale, promotional, special edition, limited edition, and many other editions and versions.  The Book you receive could be any of these editions or variations. If you are looking for a specific edition or version please contact us to verify what we are selling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGift Ideas\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThis is a great gift idea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHours of Service\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nWe have many warehouses, some of the warehouses process orders seven days a week, but the Administration Support Staff are located at a head office location, outside of the warehouses, and typically work only Monday to Friday.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003eLocation ID 245z\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eiHaveit SKU ID 1351257097\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Scratching Shed Publishing Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title \/ unisex","offer_id":43881424847092,"sku":"1351257097","price":16.76,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/ihaveitmarketplace.com\/products\/127685056_product","provider":"iHaveit","version":"1.0","type":"link"}