Firsts, Lasts and Onlys of Cricket: Presenting the Most Amazing Cricket Facts from the Last 500 Years

This title features 200 brilliant and bizarre curiosities highlighting the First, Last and Onlys that have occurred during the illustrious history of this sport - from the determined cricketers fined for playing on the Sabbath to the only virtuoso to score a century and take all ten wickets in a single innings. This absorbing collection of stories is guaranteed to enthral and includes some of the greatest gentleman to have graced the field of play, such as: the first player to bat on all 5 days of a test match; the last incidence of under-armed bowling in an international match; and, the only father and son to score centuries in the same First Class innings. Delight in a myriad of facts that you never knew about this glorious game.

Table of Contents

Voyage through the captivating annals of cricket and encounter an array of rarities, including: * The first streaker at a Test match in England. * The first batsman under 20 to score a Test 100. * The first bowler to take four consecutive wickets in Australia. * The first knighthood for services to any sport. * The first batsman to be out for 99 in a Test match. * The last white player to captain the West Indies Test team. * The last century scored in the prestigious Gentlemen vs Players match. * The last delivery in the last eight-ball-over in Australian First Class cricket. * The last England match overseas as the MCC. * The last Test appearance by W.G Grace. * The only Test match decided on the last delivery. * The only player to hit a six on all five days of a Test match. * The only man to play First Class cricket and First Class football on the same day. * The only Englishman to score a century against Australia in England on their debut. * The only Test cricketer never to bat, bowl or field.

Author Biography

Described by Jeremy Beadle as 'one of the world's leading oddity hunters', Paul Donnelley is a freelance author, journalist and pop historian. He is a Sunday Times Top 10 Best-selling Author with over 15 books to his name and contributions in many more. Paul has also written features for numerous national newspapers and magazines, and has published a number of sports titles including Television Sporting Heroes, The Arsenal Companion, Arsenal: On This Day and Cricket: On This Day. Location: Essex, UK.