1984

Again the amount of space in the book was an issue. The editor pointed out that 30 years ago the Test records took up 20 pages, now they occupied over 80. The ongoing problem of South Africa was dealt with by Matthew Engel, a future editor, and on a lighter note, Marcus Williams discussed collecting cricket stamps, and picked his own World Stamp XI. Zaheer Abbas was featured for becoming the 20th player to reach 100 hundreds, and there is a piece by Stephen Green, MCC's curator, looking back on the history of pitch-covering. George Headley, who averaged over 60 in Tests, died and was remembered as "the first of the great black batsman to emerge from the West Indies".
Editor John Woodcock
Pages 1291
Price £9.95

Almanack essays

Notes by the Editor

Essex overtake Middlesex and more, 1984