8

Notes by the Editor

CONTENTS

Part One Comment

14

Warne: the mighty craftsman by Mike Atherton

WISDEN ’S ALL-TIME GREATS

Picking players for the pantheon by Matthew Engel

The Leading Cricketer in the World, 1900–2006

Trueman: bloody-minded, beautiful, t’best by Michael Parkinson

TEST MATCH SPECIAL AT 50

Not so much a programme, more a way of life by Gillian Reynolds 47 Setting the style by Jim Maxwell 50 BEING THERE

Cold? Windy? Boring? Let’s go! by Simon Lister

The real contest: Barmies v calmies by Andrew Miller

Why do they always get injured? by Kamran Abbasi

Captain! The pitch is sinking! by Marcus Berkmann

REVERBERATIONS

The boom goes on… by Roland Watson

…but the ratings go bust by Steven Barnett

Out of the frying pan by Sambit Bal

The Oval and after: Where do we go from Hair?

Touch players, and touched journalists by Dicky Rutnagur

Now Hick passes Hobbs by Steven Lynch and Philip Bailey

FIVE CRICKETERS OF THE YEAR

Paul Collingwood by Stephen Brenkley

Mahela Jayawardene by Charlie Austin

Mohammad Yousuf by Osman Samiuddin

Monty Panesar by Emma John

Mark Ramprakash by Rob Steen

27

32

35

42

54

57

62

65

68

70

73

76

79

81

84

86

87

89

91

Part Two The Ashes

The Ashes, 2006-07

ASHES AFTERTHOUGHTS

A failure of planning and passion by John Woodcock

Ten reasons why England lost by Simon Hughes

Thanks, guys – four times over by Ian Chappell

THE ASHES IN THE MEDIA

94

136

138

140

England losing? That’s more like it! by Leo McKinstry

142

Hard but sensitive (especially when criticised) by Christian Ryan 148 Twenty20 international 154 Commonwealth Bank Series (Australia, England, New Zealand) 155

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Part Three World View

World cricket in 2006 by Simon Wilde

Test averages, 2006

Index of Tests

The state of one-day cricket by Richard Hobson

Women’s cricket, 2006 by Sarah Potter

Part Four The Players

THE WISDEN FORTY

The Leading Cricketer in the World: Muttiah Muralitharan

by Simon Barnes

The Forty

Retirements

A question of numbers

Career figures

Births and deaths of Test cricketers

Register of current players

Register of leading women players

Cricketers of the Year, 1889–2007

Contents

First-class

Test (overall)

Test (series by series)

One-day international

Part Five Records

292

298

335

374

484

Twenty20 international

List A one-day

Twenty20

Miscellaneous

Women’s Test

9

178

187

189

191

194

196

198

214

219

221

222

269

287

288

498

500

503

505

509

Part Six English Cricket

The England team in 2006 by Scyld Berry

England players in 2006

England Test averages in 2006

512

518

527

STATISTICS

Features of 2006

First-class averages

528

533 Scores of 100 and over

Ten wickets in a match

541

547

All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this content in any form or by any means.