MCC/CRICKET SOCIETY BOOK OF THE YEAR

Pitch Publishing is a fantastic imprint.
They do all the great Got, Not Got series
and plenty of other retro sports titles.

James Brown, The Late Tackle, talkSPORT

Pitch Publishing show the way for enterprising
sports book publishers and remains a beacon
of hope for sports authors aspiring or established.

The Sports Bookshelf.com

Pitch Publishing, an outfit whose "pitch perfect"
commissioning of boxing material stands
as a rebuke to more established houses

Boxing Monthly

Pitch capture the real spirit of sport with entertaining
and clever ideas. They work out what the aficionado
would want to read, then deliver it with great verve.

Paul Hayward, The Daily Telegraph

Pitch have enabled me to write in the ways I enjoy most.
Their production support is superb, delivering eye-catching
designs, attentive proof-reading, energetic marketing and helpful advice.

Tim Quelch, Good Old Sussex by the Sea, Orient to the Emirates, Underdog!

Pitch are willing to back out-of-the-blue and innovative
ideas and turn them into viable, entertaining books.
They do so with great presentation and editorial flair.

Justin Parkinson, Then Came Massacre

Pitch saw the potential in my story, used their expertise
to polish it, published it and helped inspire thousands
around the world to get into the sport of triathlon.

Andy Holgate, Can’t Swim, Can’t Ride, Can’t Run & Can't Sleep, Can't Train, Can't Stop

The process of working with Pitch to produce Picking up the Threads
was enjoyable and rewarding, with the final edition surpassing
expectations and becoming a resounding success.

John Chandler, Picking up the Threads

Pitch will take a chance on books that other publishers won't
and realise that interest in football extends beyond the
Premier League and the top 20 countries in the FIFA rankings.

Steve Menary, Outcasts!

Pitch have the vision to look beyond the obvious,
seeking out interesting ideas and subjects and
matching them with the right target audience.

David Tossell, Tony Greig, The Great English Final, Grovel!, Natural

Pitch have been an absolute joy to work with,
contributing their passion, expertise, knowledge
and experience to help produce a brilliant book.

Sam Pilger, Ashes Match of My Life

Pitch took our original concept and further enhanced it,
using their knowledge, experience and expertise, and helped
make Got, Not Got one of the football books of the year for 2011.

Derek Hammond, Got, Not Got series of books

Pitch bought into the concept of development through football,
channeling profits and proceeds from Eleven into helping
some of the most disadvantaged young people in the world.

Steve Fleming, Eleven

In the highly competitive world of sport publishing,
Pitch have consistently demonstrated the happy
knack of spotting, nurturing and promoting winners.

Neil Dunkin, Anfield of Dreams

20 Mar

MCC/CRICKET SOCIETY BOOK OF THE YEAR

We are pleased to announce that 'Ambassadors of Goodwill' has been shortlisted for the prestigious MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year Award 2019.

Congratulations go out to Mark Peel, whose book on the MCC tours of 1946/47-1970/71 so impressed the judges, who described their six chosen books as offering “a vibrant mix of writing about cricketing personalities and the sport’s history.”

This year’s Chair of Judges Robert Winder said: “The range of titles under consideration, from club to country, from fiction to non-fiction, from Sydney to Swansea via Durban and Delhi – reminds us that cricket is a game that hums with fine writing.”

The full shortlist is as follows:

Moeen - Moeen Ali with Mihir Bose, Allen and Unwin
On Cricket - Mike Brearley, Constable
Arlott, Swanton and the Soul of English Cricket - Stephen Fay and David Kynaston, Bloomsbury
Steve Smith’s Men, Behind Australian Cricket’s Fall - Geoff Lemon, Hardie Grant
Ambassadors of Goodwill: On Tour with the MCC 1946-71 - Mark Peel, Pitch Publishing
England, The Biography: The Story of English Cricket - Simon Wilde, Simon and Schuster

The overall winner will be announced at an event, in the Long Room at Lord's on Tuesday 16 April 2019.

Click here for more information, or to read a sample from Ambassadors of Goodwill.

Ever since Victorian times, the MCC had embraced the amateur ideal that cricket was more than a game. It was the very essence of camaraderie and good sportsmanship. Yet for all their evangelising, the game’s privileged elite were part of the British establishment which revelled in its national prestige and imperial hegemony. And winning at cricket was essential to maintaining that stature.

Ambassadors of Goodwill assesses the MCC’s attempt to marry these conflicting objectives and foster goodwill within the Empire/Commonwealth via long, formal overseas tours. After the war, the amateur ideal suffered when Len Hutton was appointed England’s first professional captain. His uncompromising leadership brought success on the field but discord off it.

Managers were installed to restore diplomatic harmony but, with the growing upheavals of the late 60s, cricket became increasingly associated with nationality, race and professional cynicism. Ray Illingworth’s controversial win in Australia in 1970-71 clearly signalled the MCC’s waning influence.

Read Ambassadors of Goodwill and you will discover:

A rich vein of material recently mined from the MCC archives, which provides a fresh appraisal of postwar tours and the players involved
The changing nature of touring in the jet age, and its changing role
How the ‘goodwill’ tour of Australia 1946-47 failed to live up to expectation due to the antipathy between the captains, Don Bradman and Wally Hammond
The story of the ‘perfect’ South African tour of 1948-49 – sportsmanship and goodwill in abundance and two last-over wins for England in the Tests
How the MCC’s growing professionalism ruptured relations with host countries in the 50s
How the pace of Frank Tyson turned the tables on Australia in 1954-55
The real reasons behind Peter May’s disastrous tour to Australia in 1958-59
The legacy of the last amateur captains on 60s tours – Dexter, Cowdrey and Mike Smith
The real reason why Basil D’Oliveira wasn’t selected for South Africa in 1968-69
The challenges of touring the subcontinent – and how the MCC was exploited politically in Pakistan 1968-69
The deep rift between manager David Clark and captain Ray Illingworth in Australia 1970-71
A topical assessment of the ongoing debate about wives and families on tour