John Wisden: A Steadfast Friend
ACS Book of the Week
Each week we spotlight a fascinating title from the vast collection catalogued in the Cricket Bibliography project, drawing on insightful (but not necessarily positive!) reviews from the archives of our journal. Today we bring you John Wisden, a Steadfast Friend (2025) by Stephen Baldwin, reviewed by our reviews editor, Richard Lawrence.
The name of John Wisden has of course lived into immortality through the Almanack, but the man behind the famous annual is much less well known. Although there have been a few books in recent years that have looked at Wisden and his Almanack, this focuses on the man himself and his playing career, although without neglecting the Almanack and Wisden’s legacy to cricketing posterity.
The author traces Wisden’s career not only in what has come to be known as first-class cricket but also in other important cricket. It would appear to have been quite normal for a cricketer in the 1850s to move seamlessly between county cricket, other first-class cricket (in which he could find himself opposing his teammates from the previous match) and exhibition matches against odds. An appendix gives Wisden’s match diary for 1851 with over forty fixtures for six different sides from the beginning of May to the middle of October. A consummate professional, Wisden turned in solid performances whatever the circumstances. Thus in his annus mirabilis of 1850, as well as his famous ‘all-ten’ at Lord’s for North v South in July, he also turned out for Leamington (where he had a joint venture with George Parr) against MCC at Lord’s the week before, taking ten wickets in the match; took thirteen wickets in an innings for the All-England XI against St Ives; and scored a century for Sussex opening the batting against Kent, his maiden first-class hundred.
But the title of the book is not ‘a steady performer’ but ‘a steadfast friend’, and the author skilfully draws out not only Wisden’s consistent performances with bat and ball but also the essence of his personality as revealed in his approach to his profession. This is evident in the impact he had in a very short time as coach at Harrow School and in the number of fellow-cricketers he was able to entice to join him in practice matches there, significantly raising the standard of the game there. Also in the way in which his United England Eleven conducted itself, some important contrasts with Clarke’s All England Eleven being highlighted. Of particular interest, given modern parallels, is how the UEE attempted to accommodate its schedule with the existing fixture list, so that county professionals were still able to play for their counties, for example. A few men of Wisden’s vision would be welcome today!
Although Wisden’s name has lived on mainly in the Almanack, truth be told this is not the greatest example of his visionary status, at least in its early years, where the rival Lillywhite publications are arguably more valuable to historians. But the author shrewdly suggests that the first edition of the Almanack, with its curious mixture of content, was just putting down a marker and getting into the market, with the long-term nature of the book still to be determined. How much of a hand Wisden himself had in his eponymous publication, however, is impossible to tell at this distance, but the author acknowledges the consensus among current historians that his role was probably limited largely to publisher, promoter and bookseller, although he may have had more of a role in the first edition.
As one has come to expect of Charlcombe Books, this is a very nicely presented book, printed on good quality paper with a dust jacket. There has been a steady stream of books from the SCM in recent years, all of them good and some excellent, but this is perhaps the best of them all.