The love of lists

Seven books on cricket figure in the 2005 list of "Fifty Best Books on Sport" chosen by the readers of the Observer Sports Monthly. Fourteen per cent is probably a fair representation for a sport that is played at the highest level by fewer than a dozen countries. If the selection had been made by an American publication, only one, or perhaps two, cricket books might have made the cut. I can see CLR James's Beyond A Boundary in such a list, and perhaps a Cardus. The choice would be representational. Still, considering cricket has spawned more literary books than other sports, 14% may not be such a high figure. But, as the monthly pointed out, high literature was not a criterion.

There is no Australian in this group, which comprises five Englishmen, a West Indian and an American; no Jack Fingleton, no Ray Robinson. There is no John Arlott, no Alan Ross, no Scyld Berry, no Ian Peebles or Frank Keating. Of the modern masters there is no Ramachandra Guha or Gideon Haigh. All such lists and choices are personal, of course, which is what makes the selection as difficult as choosing a World XI of players. Current form, past record, longevity, range, quirkiness - all the qualities that go towards making great players also make for great books.

Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch led the rankings, which was not a surprise given that it was a genre-busting effort. Following are the cricket books in the list, with their rankings in brackets. Beyond a Boundary by CLR James (3), The Art of Captaincy by Mike Brearley (6), A Lot of Hard Yakka by Simon Hughes (19), Anyone But England by Mike Marqusee (31), Basil D'Oliveira by Peter Oborne (34), Harold Gimblett: Tormented Genius of Cricket by David Foot (39), and Close of Play by Neville Cardus (44).

Twenty-nine of the books in the 50 were published after 1990, which probably tells us something about the age of the respondents, accessibility of books, and the style of the authors - apart from literary tastes. It is difficult to believe that more than half of the finest books on sport were written in the last decade and a half. Availability must also have been a factor because the exercise was carried out with the aid of a prominent bookstore.

In a similar exercise to choose the 50 best cricket books of all time, Ramachandra Guha in the Picador Book of Cricket first picked the best writers and then their books. That way he ensured that the best writers were represented.

The Observer looked for the best books, not the best writers. The distinction is a subtle but clear one; had it been the other way round, some of those left out would have found places in the list. A closer look also reveals that the different genres - autobiography, instruction, sociology, biography, personal journey, essay - have all been represented. So why am I complaining?

I complain for the same reason anyone else would: because my personal favourites are not on the list. I would have voted for the James and the Cardus, but here's an alternative list. And following the Guha method, I shall first choose the writers: Fingleton (Cricket Crisis), David Frith (Archie Jackson: the Keats of Cricket), Guha (A Corner of a Foreign Field), Peebles (Straight from the Shoulder) and Arthur Mailey (10 for 66 and All That).

There is no Arlott or Ross or Robinson or Haigh, which shows just how tricky the whole business is. It is impossible to satisfy the self, let alone everyone else. We will have to introduce artificial barriers - no books written after 1990, or only books written before the war, or something like that, and even then there is no guarantee of unanimity. Most readers would pick Beyond A Boundary whether they have read it or only heard about it, because in the four decades since it was first published its reputation has only grown. Likewise with Cardus - almost a generic term for "cricket writer". After that there are bound to be as many choices as there are choosers.

List-making is the occupational joy of any sports fan. Most fans will remember choosing teams right from their schooldays. Teams of left-handers. Teams of players whose names begin with the letter T. Teams of players who sound like poets, and so on. Having said that, what would be your list of the ten best cricket books, dear reader? There is a condition, though: you cannot include James or Cardus.