A spin-off which shines

Spin-offs have grown since the original idea of releasing a series of weighty Wisden anthologies in the 1980s. In 2003, a pocket-sized Wisden Collection - a miscellany of oddities, matches, obituaries and vignettes - under the editorship of Graeme Wright was issued to critical acclaim, and now Jonathan Rice has taken over the reins for volume two, released just in time for the Christmas market. Whereas the 1980s anthologies concentrated on the great and the good and were effectively Wisden abridged, the more petite Wisden Collection concentrates on the more quirky and bite-sized offerings hidden in the Almanack. Despite Wisden's rather staid image, it has always contained much to treasure and entertain, and Rice has unearthed plenty of it.

There is an interesting section on the ones that got away ... which also covers one or two who the Almanack thought had slipped through the net only for them to bounce back. In 1965 Dennis Amiss was reported to have failed to bridge the gap between Minor County and first-class cricket - but he went on to win 50 Test caps for England and at one time held the record for the most Test runs in a calendar year.

There is a section on women in Wisden - before 1938 they were virtually ignored, but that didn't prevent nearly 10,000 people turning up to watch a match at Mitcham in 1937 - and one on Holy Orders. What possessed Worcestershire to pick the Revd Reginald Moss in 1925 at the age of 57, some 32 years after his last first-class appearance? Whatever it was, Wisden decided that he didn't warrant an obituary when he died 31 years later.

And leafing through the pages also highlights what goes around comes around. The subject of overseas players in county cricket was raised way back in 1907. "No one I think wishes Australian or other Colonial players to be excluded absolutely from our county elevens," wrote the then-editor, "but at the same time there is a very strong feeling that the free importation of ready-made players does not make for the good of county cricket."

The book is packed with gems to raise an eyebrow or generate a smile, and at about 20% of weight and pagination of its annual big brother, it can be read on the train or in the bath without fear of serious muscle strain. A recommended stocking filler, even for those whose bookshelves are cluttered with a collection of the real thing.