We’re delighted to announce that four Pitch authors have titles in the long list for the prestigious Cricket Media Club Book of the Year award, which will be announced in October.

The four Pitch books nominated in a long list of 16 are: Deadly by Mark Peel; Cricket’s Black Dog by Andrew Murtagh; The Club by Rod Lyall; and Ten Drunks and a Parson by Ian Lockwood.

In Deadly, the first-ever biography of Derek Underwood, one of England’s finest spin bowlers, Mark Peel assesses the qualities that made him such a formidable bowler, the reasons behind his signing for Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket and the England rebel tour of South Africa in 1982, plus much more.

English cricketers are almost twice as likely to commit suicide as the country’s average male. Andrew Murtagh, a former first-class cricketer who has battled depression for most of his life, draws on his own experiences as well as those of high-profile players in Cricket’s Black Dog, a wide-ranging yet deeply personal examination of an urgent and perplexing problem.

In The Club author Rod Lyall uncovers the fascinating history of cricket’s world governing body as it evolved from the Imperial Cricket Council, established in 1909 to bring together the major cricket-playing countries of the Empire, into the International Cricket Council, a multi-billion-dollar business dominated by the Indian Board of Control and its allies.

Ted Peate was rated by W. G. Grace as the world’s best spin bowler. Ten Drunks and a Parson traces his rise and fall, from his days touring the country with a troupe of clowns to his dramatic breakthrough to England fame. His character flaws led to his sacking by new Yorkshire captain Lord Hawke when he was at the peak of his powers.

The award winner will be announced at the Cricket Media Club (formerly Cricket Writers’ Club) annual lunch at the Kia Oval on 23 October. 

Good luck to all our authors.