Taking Fresh Guard
by Tony Lewis. Headline. �18.99

Lewis book critical of ECB

The autobiography of the man who has done almost everything in the game, and much more besides.

A broadcaster, MCC president, captain of England and Glamorgan, chairman of Glamorgan, the Welsh Tourist Board and the successful bid to bring the Ryder Cup to Wales as well as violinist and rugby player with Cambridge and Neath.

It charts his days in the game from playing on the streets of Neath, south Wales, as a child, through his career to the very top of the sport.

A whole chapter is dedicated to the doyen of TMS commentators, John Arlott, and Lewis also touches on his stint as president of the MCC.

And the book includes some tremendous anecdotes, a couple of which caught the eye of TMS summariser Vic Marks.

"He recalls a Test match in India in Ahmedabad when the line went down and the 'well-known Baxter temper ignited'.

And the famous Marks giggle was in evidence when he recalled the "Bath Incident".

"He was playing at Bath and was sent down to field at third man partly because there was a very attractive young lady there," Vic explained.

"Having been sent down to investigate by his captain, he was surprised to see his then fiance Joan.

"She looked a little frosty before declaring; 'If it is your wish to take the Bishop of Portsmouth's daughter to the Christ College cocktail party and not me, then you can jolly well marry her'."

"It was loudly acclaimed by the crowd who thought it great entertainment, and the upshot was that they were married three weeks later."

Eric Hollies: The Peter Pan of Cricket
by Norman Rogers. Private publication. �16.99

Hollies is famous for bowling Don Bradman second ball in the Australian legend's last Test innings.

It may have been the most famous thing he did on a cricket field, but it overshadows what was an impressive career with Warwickshire and England.

In the foreword, Jack Bannister describes Hollies as the "best bowler to ever bowl for Warwickshire".

He clearly enjoyed his cricket because in all the pictures he's smiling Peter Baxter on Hollies

Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1955, Hollies took 2,323 career wickets at an average of 20.94, including 44 wickets in 13 Tests.

"It's a great effort by Warwickshire to get this published because there'll be a small band of people absolutely fascinated by the time that Eric Hollies played," was Vic's verdict.

And the book reveals that Hollies did not want to play in the Oval Test for which he is best remembered.

"England were 3-0 down and he felt that the series was dead and he didn't want to miss two vital championship matches," Vic explained.

Fortunately he was persuaded to play, and subsequently earned himself a place in history.

The book is available through the Warwickshire shop, the largest specialist cricket book shop in Britain.

Cricket - The Golden Age
Extraordinary images from 1859 to 1999
Edited by Duncan Steer. Cassell. �30

The coffee table style collection of cricketing photos has been leafed through by allcomers in the TMS box throughout the Edgbaston Test.

Both famous and rare, photos from all aspects of cricket over a 140-year period are included.

Randomly open it and something will catch your eye.

Have your say: Unusual places to play cricket

From cricket in odd places, such as the fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain playing beside their spitfires, to some of the most renowned Test match images from the 20th century.

There are also appearances from the likes of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Joan Collins.