My Favourite Cricketer

Bluey the indomitable

Bluey the indomitable

The embodiment of doughty Yorkshire spirit, David Bairstow made the county's cricket watchable through its most dysfunctional era

16-Nov-2015•David Hopps

Gooch, with a side of chips

Gooch, with a side of chips

The most English of English batsmen turned an eight-year-old into a lifelong fan of the game

07-Feb-2015•Daniel Brigham

The outlaw I adored

The outlaw I adored

Harold Larwood was a great who was made out to be a villain - the perfect replacement for Robin Hood in the eyes of a young ten-year-old

19-Jan-2015•Nicholas Hogg

Love before first sight

Love before first sight

First-class batsman Yere Goud caught a 13-year-old's attention with his unusual name and news-making runs

29-Nov-2014•Karthik Krishnaswamy

Top dog of the underdogs

Top dog of the underdogs

Jack Russell brought brazen, cartoonish villainy to the game, and a neatness to the keeper's art that was matched by his meticulous scruffiness in other regards

31-Oct-2014•Scott Oliver

Automaton, man, inspiration

Automaton, man, inspiration

Twenty years on, Shivnarine Chanderpaul continues to be understated, underestimated. And that doesn't bother him. What's not to like?

19-Sep-2014•Brydon Coverdale

Never another like Geoffrey

Never another like Geoffrey

Boycott represented a peak moment in the evolution of the game - the natural conclusion of a long era

06-May-2014•Jon Hotten

They broke the mould after Sir Garry

They broke the mould after Sir Garry

Even today - and not just to those of a certain vintage - Garry Sobers remains above every other claimant to the title of cricket's greatest allrounder

27-Feb-2014•V Ramnarayan

The saint

The saint

His purity of technique and image make him an icon with more than a touch of the divine

12-Dec-2013•Greg Baum

The responsible Mr Wog

The responsible Mr Wog

Steve Waugh always fulfilled his duties, and managed to never be crushed by them: he was the kind of man any bookish 11-year-old would aspire to be

13-Jun-2013•SB Tang

The idol who went too soon

The idol who went too soon

Raman Lamba was a feisty strokeplayer, a stern mentor who brooked no passengers, and a hero to a generation of Indian cricketers

10-Apr-2013•Aakash Chopra

The leggie who was one of us

The leggie who was one of us

It's hard not to admire the story and spirit of a club spinner who believed he would one day make it to the big leagues - and briefly did

16-Jan-2013•Jarrod Kimber

The bowler who wiped the smile off batsmen's faces

The bowler who wiped the smile off batsmen's faces

Waqar Younis made a young English fan believe that the opposition could be dismissed in the space of balls, not days

19-Nov-2012•Alex Bowden

That languid, Gower summer

That languid, Gower summer

In 1985, at the height of his powers, David Gower was flawless, influential, and a lesson to eight-year-olds on what style meant

04-Oct-2012•Ed Smith

Attack and revel

Attack and revel

Les Favell didn't play for numbers or records but to entertain; and he lived his life that way as well

06-Sep-2012•Ashley Mallett

Howard Roark via Atticus Finch

Howard Roark via Atticus Finch

Not lovable on first sight, Younis Khan grows on you with his determination and commitment

03-Aug-2012•Saad Shafqat

Saved for the best

Saved for the best

Few have been bred tougher than Peter Willey, who specialised in fronting up to West Indies head-on

15-Oct-2011•Mike Dickson

The most underestimated batsman of his era

The most underestimated batsman of his era

Derek Randall played the game as we thought we would if we were in his shoes, only with 2000 times more natural ability

24-Apr-2011•Marcus Berkmann

The commoner's colossus

The commoner's colossus

A Lahore urchin, Lala Amarnath grew to walk with princes, but never lost sight of his roots

28-Mar-2011•KN Prabhu

Lambie and I

Lambie and I

'Twas a bond that brooked neither stats nor sense

16-Dec-2010•Lawrence Booth

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