Disappearing World: The 18 First-Class Cricket Counties

by Scyld Berry

Award-winning cricket writer Scyld Berry brings us a heartfelt celebration of what county cricket has been for more than a hundred years – an integral part of English life.

Drawing on 60 years' experience of watching county cricket, the author provides an in-depth profile of each of the 18 first-class counties, delving into the past to explore how the game took off, in no small part thanks to the legendary W.G. Grace.

With change and possible existential threat looming in the shape of The Hundred franchise, and the proliferation of T20 tournaments around the world, the England and Wales Cricket Board is looking to cut the County Championship to just ten games per season.

There' s never been a more pertinent time to unpick the workings of this centuries-old institution and examine why its survival is so important.

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 10, 2023

Reviews

[David Lowther · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super book about a world that is indeed rapidly disappearing. The author deals with each county in turn with a brief resume of what they’d brought to English cricket.
I’ve watched county cricket for almost 70 years and never lost sight of the value of the long version of the game. Indeed until the 1960s it was the only version of the game. Four day cricket, earlier it was three day matches, is so important in developing players for cricket’s ultimate challenge - test cricket. Indeed the recent Ashes series against Australia demonstrated that with great emphasis.
Cricket writers have a flowing style like the smoothness of a beautifully timed cover drive. Scyld Berry’s prose shows him to be a natural successor to the great writers of the past. Add to that a deep knowledge of the game and you have a classic.

David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen, Two Families at War, The Summer of ‘39 (all published by Sacristy Press) and Ordinary Heroes (to be published by I M Books on November 16 2023).

[Henry Skey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scyld Berry is undoubtedly a terrific writer, I just wish I knew more about County Cricket before I read this book. Although I've played the game for 27 years, I am a stranger to most of the minutia and zeitgeist. I know my mid-week club in Victoria and that's about it.

I loved, loved, loved the chapter on Worcestershire, easily the best in the book. Reading about the cathedral and how the pitch floods, and the adventures of the head groundskeeper was fascinating. And it rings true to what I suspected prior to reading the book; reading stats about how this batsmen got 170 or this bowler got 7 wickets in a match is not exciting. Reading about the personalities and history behind those stats are far more interesting - stories like how hungover a player was, or how owners of clubs would employ their players in the off-season, or how the World Wars impacted the clubs, or the economics behind keeping a ground alive, or how some were arrested on the way to the pitch, etc.

It reminds me of my own match reports I write for my team - https://rossbaycricketclub.wordpress....

There are only so many ways to make a cricket game seem exciting, so the sizzle is just as important as the steak. Amusing anecdotes, clashing of personalities, hubris and history make reports come alive. If more chapters were like Worcestershire, this would have been a 4 or a 5, easily. Glad I read this one!

[Paul Bacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing detail and some great quirk. Fantastic read.

[Jack Creasey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore county cricket and learning more about all 18 counties is right up my street